[Wikipedia-l] Helga again

[Andre Engels]

> The Afghanistan government (unrecognized by the U.S. but
> effectively in charge anyway) did not choose to recognize
> it as a criminal act and hand over the leaders of Al Quada.

The reason was not that they did not see it as a criminal act, but that
they were not convinced that Al-Qaida was responsible for it - the US
basically told when asked for proof: "We have proof, and that should be
enough for you." This asking for proof might well have been a tactic to
give some formal international political reason for a decision that was
taken on fully other grounds, but the Taliban have never said (publically)
that they did not regard the attacks a crime. In fact, like Khadafi, but
unlike Saddam Hussein, they reacted to the attacks with a message of
sympathy for the victims.

Andre Engels