"More than two weeks ago I gave the Taliban a series of clear and specific demands. None of those demands was met. And, now the Taliban will pay a price." Said by US President George Bush as he attempted to justify ordering a military attack on Afghanistan."
"On my order, U.S. forces have begun strikes on terrorist camps of al Qaeda, and the military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, " US President George Bush said in a televised address from the White House Treaty Room. He further stated, "Today we focus on Afghanistan, but the battle is broader. Every nation has a choice to make. In this conflict, there is no neutral ground. If any government sponsors the outlaws and killers of innocence, they have become outlaws and murderers themselves. We are supported by the collective will of the world".
"These attacks were carried out without regard to world public opinion and particularly the Islamic countries. These attacks will result in loss of life among civilians, and, therefore, they are not acceptable." Said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi."
"What America did today is that it had targeted a country and people who are among the poorest in the world. Anybody would condemn this attack, not because it's coming from America or because it's against Muslims and a Muslim country -- but because it was done outside the framework of international law and because America didn't present a convincing proof against those it accuses of terrorism." From an Iraqi government statement."
"Lebanon said the U.S. strikes on Afghanistan showed the United States was forcing its definition of terrorism on the world. "We have no doubt about America's capacity to destroy," Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi al-Aridi told Reuters. "What is after Afghanistan? Is it for America to define terrorism and its targets...according to its policies and interests? This is a dangerous matter."
"Sunday's strikes by the US against Afghanistan were condemned by Hassan Youssef, a senior official of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, quoted by Reuters as saying "What America has done is pure terrorism against an innocent people when there was no proof they were involved in the September 11 attacks."
"In a statement issued by the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, soon after American and British forces launched strikes to force the Islamic movement to hand over terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden., had this to say, "We condemn the terrorist act against the Afghan nation. Afghanistan is the victim of American arrogance and expansionism. It wants to snatch from the Afghan Muslim people their present Islamic system. These brutal attacks are horrendous, terrorist acts, as inhuman as any in the world. America will never achieve its political goals by launching bestial attacks on the Muslim people of Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has always chosen the path of talks and reason to solve problems, but America has always chosen a militaristic approach. However, such a brutal attitude by America will unify the whole Afghan nation against aggression. The Afghan nation will rise up against this new colonialism."
"Israeli Defense Minister Shimon Peres referring to the US attack on Afghanistan told CNN that he did not have "the slightest doubt the decision that was taken by the President of the United States, George Bush, is the right one, the just one, and you are going to win it. Osama bin Laden offers nothing but killing and hate and murder. He cannot win. On the other hand, the United States and all the free world must win. There is no room for compromise."
"The Islamic Defenders Front of Indonesia(FPI) demanded President Megawati Sukarnoputri cut relations with the United States and its allies giving her three days to comply. "They(Americans) are terrorists that must be driven from the face of the earth," the official Antara news agency quoted FPI head Muhammad Rizieq saying. "The United States is a terrorist nation."
"These events have split the world into two camps, belief and disbelief. Americans will never know safety again unless the United States changes its policies toward the Islamic world," suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden said in a taped statement broadcast on Sunday on a Qatar-based television station."
"Malaysia is against the military strikes on Afghanistan by the United States and British because it will not overcome terrorist acts," Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad says. "That's why the Malaysian Government does not agree with the war against any country allegedy to have given safe haven to terrorists."
"Senior MCA( Malaysian Chinese Association) Politician, Chor Chee Heung, says, "The US should not attack towns but only terrorist camps."
"PAS(Islamic Party Of Malaysia) President, Fadzil Noor, in Malaysia says, "The attacks were not only against the Taliban rulers but also a direct assault on Muslims". And, "America attacked a small and defenceless country without showing to the world strong proof. They are war criminals. All Muslims must oppose these criminals - this time there is no denying a call to jihad."
"The Taliban Cabinet's Deputy Chairman, Mullah Mohammad Hassan, says, "The US cannot tolerate a pure Islamic government. It wants to eradicate islamic conviction."
"Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, called the US attack on Afghanistan, " an act of aggression that runs contrary to international law."
"Retired Pakistani soldier, Mohammed Iqbal, in Lahore says angrily, "Any Muslim who calims that he is a Muslim will not support this attack."
"United States Senator, John McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, when naming other nations that might face American military action said, "Iraq is the first country, but there are others - Syria, Iran, and Sudan who have continued to harbor terrorist organizations and assist them. We have invoked the U.N. charter as far as every nation's right of self-defense if attacked, and I believe this is the first step in preparing if ncessary, attacks on other countries that may continue to feel that they can with impunity harbor terrorist organizations who continue to inflict acts of terror on Americans and our property."
"The use of armed forces or a war to kill innocent people, aggravate a regional situation, and disturb regional stability cannot be justified under any circumstances. We hold that the action of the United States should not be a source of vicious circle of terrorism and retaliation that may plunge the world into the holocaust of war," said a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman quoted by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)."
"Al Qaeda spokesman, Suleiman Abu-Gheith, said, "Those youths who did what they did and destroyed Americans with their planes, they did a good deed."
"America will gain nothing by killing the innocent people of Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan are ready to sacrifice anything to defend their solidarity and integrity," the Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, said."
"Dr. Mahathir, Prime Minister of Malaysia, told Parliament, "Those who committed terrorism against the Palestinians were the Israelis. Retaliate against Israel then. Those who were killed in attacks on the WTC buildings included many foreigners who had nothing to do with the terrorist acts committed by the Israeli authorities. Therefore, if they wanted to take any action they should pick on those who had acted against them, and I would support them if they had committed these terrorist acts against Israel because Israel has killed many Palestinians."
"PAS(Islamic Party of Malaysia), which has declared a jihad against the United States for its attacks on Afghanistan, has given its members permission to fight alongside the Taliban forces, describing the Americans as "war criminals". PAS Secretary-General, Nashruddin Mat Isa said the party leadership had agreed on the jihad and that its targets were the enemies of Islam. "Members no longer need to seek the approval of the party if they wish to take up the fight in Afghanistan," he said."
"Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, stated at a press conference that, "The United States was using terrorism to set up a friendly government in Afghanistan that would allow it to control the trade in oil and gas from Central Asia. We are prepared to offer two million more martyers for independence and soveignty if need be."
"A top Saudi Arabian Cleric, Sheik Saleh al-Lahidan, head of their Islamic judiciary said, "Muslims must support what is right and spread justice. They must not approve of and support oppressors who kill the innocents. They must not remain silent when they see an aggression from non-Muslims against Muslims. Undoubtably, killing innocent people in Afghanistan and destroying the property of helpless people is unnaceptable."
"An Afghani schoolboy, a 15 year old named Khairullah, who had been studying in Pakistan said on reaching a border post on his way back to join the fight against the Americans said, "This is a test of our faith. I don't care if I die."
"The left-wing British Guardian newspaper says, "Yesterday's riots in Pakistan, and unrest in other Muslim and arab countries, may be only a foretaste of a fundamental turbulance if the conflict proves protracted and intractable."
"The right-wing British Daily Mail newspaper says, "Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's regime could fall as a result of his support for London and Washingtom and be replaced by a regime of fundamentalist firebrands."
"A member of the Niger Government and President of the Niger Islamic Associations, Isoufou Bachard, said bitterly, "When the twin towers are knocked are knocked down the entire world is in a panic; but, what happened was little compared with the genocide in Rawanda where more than 500,000 were killed. If Osama did this then I support him. I know he did it for a cause. This is a war that does not say its name, but it is against Islam, and those who realize this are entitled to defend Islam and strike where they want and where they are able. The main thing is to hurt the Americans and shock them and make them think. The Americans are beginning to reflect about their support for Israel."
"Sitting on a carpet in the street in the miserable neighborhood of Nazaret in Niger, Souleymane Imam Inoussa, President of the Association for Culture and Islamic Education said he believed, "that people would pray in the mosques so that the fire is returned to the United States. It is the duty of the Muslim to pray that calamity befalls the United States."
"Taliban spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutmaen said, "the activities of Osama bin Laden were no longer restricted following this week's US-led airstrikes. Jihad is an obligation on all Muslims of the world. We want this, Osama bin laden wants this and America will face the unpleasant consequences."
"The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, told a news conference,"As long as America is shedding the blood of Afghans it will not be beneficial to America. If America continues these attacks on Afghanistan it will not be safe."
"There is one way to shorten the campaign in Afghanistan and that is for Osama bin Laden and his leadership to be turned over so he can be brought to justice," US President George Bush told the news media after talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder."
"Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said, "Malayians should not meddle in Afghanistan's domestic affairs by trying to drum up support to launch a jihad in that country."
"PAS(Islamic Party of Malaysia) spiritual advisor, Nik Aziz Nik Mat referring to the US attacks on Afghanistan says, "It is a crime against humanity. If the United States is really after terrorists, then it should attack Israel, which definitely qualifies as one. Osama bin Laden is just a pretext for attacking Islam."
"Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan(RAWA) member, Marina Matin, says when claiming the Northern Alliance is no better than the Taliban, "the Northern Allaiance had committed notorious atrocities when it ruled Afghanistan from 1991 to 1996."
"While presiding over the Organisation of the Islamic Conference emergency session, Qatar's Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, said, "Retaliation should not extend to any but those who carried out those attacks. This requires providing conclusive evidence against the culprits". Sheik Hamad went on call for, "a distinction to be made between terrorism and people's legitimate right to defend their freedom and self-determination."
"A Gulf official at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference emergency meeting said that, "Arab foreign ministers meeting in Qatar had rejected any potential strikes against Arab or Muslim states and called for an international anti-terrorism summit," and that, "The foreign mimisters rejected linking Islam to terrorism and insist on the legitimacy of rejecting occupation and the right for self-defence."
"Life and death are in the hand's of Allah," said 26 year old Sarwono, who traveled from his East Java Islamic school to Jakarta to sign up as a mujahideen fighter and go to Afghanistan for jihad. He said his motive for going to Afghanistan was, "to fight the infidels seeking to exterminate my Muslim brothers."
"British Foreign Office Minister, Ben Bradshaw, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "We know the al-Qaeda network has been trying to get hold of biological and chemical weapons for the last ten years. We do not doubt they will use these weapons if they are given an opportunity."
"Let me emphasise that these strike are against the Taliban and the foreign terrorists that they have invited into their country, not the people of Afghanistan," US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said at a briefing."
"Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef told reporters, "A French man has been arrested but I don't know if he is a journalist or a spy."
"After being warned by the chief US envoy to the United Nations, John Negroponte, not to conduct any military campaigns while the US conducts air strikes against Afghanistan or there would be a "heavy price to pay," Iraq's Ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Aldouri, replied, "Don't you try to take advantage of the situation or there will be a price to pay. Certainly we are aginst the war against Afghanistan not because it is an American war, but because it is illegal and against international law; and, they(America) has not given any acceptable evidence that Afghanistan was involved in what happened on September 11th."
"Chief of the Taliban's Information Agency, Abdul hanan Hemat, said people in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost were, "burning food packages dropped by the US," and told of Khost residents saying it was, "a Satanic attempt by the Americans to make mischief between the Taliban and the people of Khost."
"Spokesman for the British based Islamic group, Muhajiroun, Adbel-Rahman Saleem, speaking to Pakistan's Asharq al-Awsar newspaper said, "Now after the British and American allies have embarked on bombardment in Afghanistan, military installations and 10 Downing Street(residence of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair) have become legitimate targets. He(Prime Minister Blair) has also become a legitimate target, this means if any Muslim wanted to kill him or get rid of him I would not shed any tears."
"In answer to a question about the requirement for women in Afghanistan to wear the total head and body covering called a burka, Professor of Islamic Studies at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Mohammad Abu Laila, said, "There is no requirement in Islam that a woman's face and hands be covered. Countries that require women to cover all parts of their body owe less to Islam than to regional or tribal traditions."
"It's not true that the Americans have only been bombing military targets. Many bombs are dropping on residential neighborhoods," said Naseebullah Khan, who works in Kandahar, a repeated U.S. target."
"An angry school teacher and neighbor of the grieving family of a baby girl killed when her home was bombed said, "She was just six months old and was innocent like all civilians in Afghanistan. Why are they bombing us? People have begun to realize the Americans are the enemies of Muslims."
"The emnity of the Afghans will not vanish for hundreds of years. However weak Afghans are, they will take their revenge in the short-term or in the long-term," says Afghanistan's Education Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi."
"White House spokesman, Ari Fleisher at a press briefing to discuss the government's request to the news media to not show Osama bin Laden's recent video message, or any future messages from him, to the public said, "At best, Osama's message is propaganda calling on people to kill Americans. At worst, he could be issuing orders to his followers to initiate such attacks."
"Addressing the issue of Malaysian citizens going to fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammad said, "If they want to go they can go. We are not stopping them, but we are not backing them. I think they are wasting their time."
"Speaking about an American bombing of the village of Kadam in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Taliban told an Afghan Islamic Press reporter, "So far 160 bodies have been recovered, mostly women and children."
"At a White House news conference United States President, George Bush, in referring to Saddam Hussein said, "There is no question that the leader of Irag is an evil man."
"At the same White House news conference President Bush sent a message to the leaders of the Taliban, "You still have a second chance to bring him(Osama bin Laden) in and bring his leaders and lieutenants and other thugs with him." President Bush added that if Osama bin Laden and the others were turned over he would "reconsider what we are doing to your country."
"French group Medicins sans Frontieres(Doctors without Frontiers) criticized the US-British military coalition for its so-called huminitarian aid progrem where food packages are dropped by plane over Afghanistan saying, "It is absolutely not a humanitarian operation, but a military propaganda operation designed to have international public opinion accept the US attack."
"At a press conference, the Prime Minister of Malaysia said, "If we are anti-America, we will not support its attempt to hunt down terrorists."
"Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar told reporters that the, "attacks have caused misery to the Afghans and have not solved the terrorism problem. If they want to bring to justice those who committed terrorist acts, then they should follow the proper channels and act in accordance with international laws."
"Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, said in a press interview that, "although there is not enough evidence to positively pin down a connection of the anthrax cases in America to the chief suspect in the Sepetember 11th attacks(osama bin Laden) I think the only responsible thing to do is proceed on the basis that they are linked."
"Gary Ackerman, a terrorism expert with the US based Center for Nonproliferation Studies says, "It is not likely the Taliban could have developed disease weapons like anthrax."
"An article commenting on claims that Iraq might be responsible for the anthrax attacks on America, in a newspaper run by iraqi President Saddam Hussein's son, charged that, "the United States was contriving accusations against Iraq as a fresh aggression against their country."
"A US Associated Press report says that, "University of California library assistant, Jonnie hargis, was suspended without pay after he criticized US support for Israel in an e-mail sent on the school's computers."
"Taliban Information Minister, Mullah Qudratullah Jamal said, "Osama is not the issue, our jihad will continue until the last breath for the defence of our homeland and Islam."
"Reuters News Agency reports that, "Two German tourists have been kicked and punched after being mistaken for Americans on Indonesia's Lombok Island."
"The Americans have to be careful not to kill civilians or it will be good propaganda for the Taliban," says Daoud Bismillah a Northern Alliance fighter in Afghanistan."
"United nations Human Rights Commissioner, Mary Robinson, said referring to the Afhan people, "They are going to starve. It is absolutely wrong that up to 6,000 innocent civilians were killed in the terrible events of September 11th, but equally we must have regard for the population in Afghanistan."
"Israeli Cabinet Minister, Dan Neveh, said, "Israel staunchly opposes ideas which include at their core the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
