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Muslim nations close borders to would be fighters
Asked what he thinks about the war in Afghanistan, Abdullah Hussein unsheathes his curved dagger and shows with a grin how he would stab Americans in the heart. `If I can, I`ll go fight the holy war in Afghanistan tomorrow because Osama bin Laden is defending God and Islam,` he says.
Asked what he thinks about the war in Afghanistan, Abdullah Hussein unsheathes his curved dagger and shows with a grin how he would stab Americans in the heart. "If I can, I'll go fight the holy war in Afghanistan tomorrow because Osama bin Laden is defending God and Islam," he says.
An approving crowd gathers around him on Sana's ancient souk, devoid of tourists since the publicized kidnapping and murder of Western visitors in Yemen three years ago by a group of Islamist terrorists. Schoolteacher Muhammed Juweiber sums up popular feelings. "If they open the borders, we will all go to fight," he says. "No one will be late for jihad."
But despite this fervor, people aren't actually going to Afghanistan. The Countries’ borders are shut tight, in sharp contrast to the last major Afghan war, against Soviet troops in the 1980s.
Back then, Arab governments in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and smaller Persian Gulf monarchies, aided by Saudi money, mobilised thousands of volunteers -- including bin Laden -- to battle side by side with Afghan mujahedeen in a holy war.
Now, former jihad sponsors have barred foreign travel by men they think might end up in Afghanistan. Pakistan, once a welcoming gateway for Arab mujahedeen, has also closed Afghan frontier crossings in recent weeks and carefully screens all Arab visa applicants, submitting their names to local security agencies.
Across the Middle East, hundreds of presumed jihad organizers, who openly worked out of mosques and even government offices to send fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s, have been rounded up since the Sept. 11 killings in New York and Washington.
"Back in the past, going to jihad in Afghanistan was a big thing, something to be celebrated by everybody," explains Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi newspaper editor who frequently met Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan while covering the war in the 1980s. "Now, if you're a Saudi and you're going to fight there for the Taliban, you're joining the enemy."
In part, that's because few Arab governments want to upset the U.S. and end up a target in the Bush administration's war on terrorism. More important, the Afghan jihad campaign against the Soviets badly boomeranged on its Middle Eastern sponsors. Returning Afghan veterans such as bin Laden have helped destabilize much of the Arab world, fueling terrorist groups such as Egypt's Islamic Jihad, Algeria's GIA and the Aden Abyan Islamic Army in Yemen. Bureau Report
But despite this fervor, people aren't actually going to Afghanistan. The Countries’ borders are shut tight, in sharp contrast to the last major Afghan war, against Soviet troops in the 1980s.
Back then, Arab governments in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and smaller Persian Gulf monarchies, aided by Saudi money, mobilised thousands of volunteers -- including bin Laden -- to battle side by side with Afghan mujahedeen in a holy war.
Now, former jihad sponsors have barred foreign travel by men they think might end up in Afghanistan. Pakistan, once a welcoming gateway for Arab mujahedeen, has also closed Afghan frontier crossings in recent weeks and carefully screens all Arab visa applicants, submitting their names to local security agencies.
Across the Middle East, hundreds of presumed jihad organizers, who openly worked out of mosques and even government offices to send fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s, have been rounded up since the Sept. 11 killings in New York and Washington.
"Back in the past, going to jihad in Afghanistan was a big thing, something to be celebrated by everybody," explains Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi newspaper editor who frequently met Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan while covering the war in the 1980s. "Now, if you're a Saudi and you're going to fight there for the Taliban, you're joining the enemy."
In part, that's because few Arab governments want to upset the U.S. and end up a target in the Bush administration's war on terrorism. More important, the Afghan jihad campaign against the Soviets badly boomeranged on its Middle Eastern sponsors. Returning Afghan veterans such as bin Laden have helped destabilize much of the Arab world, fueling terrorist groups such as Egypt's Islamic Jihad, Algeria's GIA and the Aden Abyan Islamic Army in Yemen. Bureau Report