THE TENTACLES OF TERRORISM

Out of Afghanistan came the attack on American soldiers in Saudi Arabia. From Sudan -- the second deadly attack in Saudi Arabia. Iran is responsible for the two bombings in Argentina. The attack on the World Trade Center was born in Egypt. The four main centers for exporting international terrorism.

FBI agents, trying to track down the perpetrators of the deadly attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, have already focused on possible lines of investigation that are not especially surprising.

Countries like Egypt or Afghanistan, from which, according to certain suspicions, the attackers came, have in the past been used as convenient bases for international terrorism. International terrorism is based along four main axes:

Afghanistan                                              

Beginnings: The struggle for Afghanistan's independence during the mid-1980s brought thousands of volunteers who joined the fundamentalist organizations. The Islamic Mujahedin, which succeeded in taking over most of the country, supported an extremist line. In effect, the export of terrorism from Afghanistan began. It increased two years ago, "thanks" to Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden, who came to Afghanistan and turned it into a base for terrorist operations.

Operations: November 1996 -- The attack on the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan, 17 dead; June 1997 -- the attack on the U.S. air base at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 19 American soldiers dead, 380 wounded; aid to Islamic terrorism in Chechniya, Bosnia, Bangladesh and other countries.

Official policy: The extremist Taliban movement last year took control of most of Afghanistan. It actively supports terrorist operations.

Sudan

Beginnings: Various efforts in the 1980s, after the coup d'etat that turned Sudan into a radical Islamic state, making it a central actor supporting terrorism. Terrorist training bases for terrorism and rear headquarters for most of the Islamic movements can be found on its territory. Between 1991-94, before moving to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden operated there and initiated murderous attacks.

Operations: December 1992 -- attack on a hotel in Yemen hosting American soldiers, 3 dead; June 1993 -- attempted assassination of Jordanian Crown Prince Abdallah; November 1995 -- car bomb at the Saudi National Guard training base in Riyadh, 7 dead and 60 wounded; assistance for terrorist attacks in Israel, Algeria, Bosnia and other countries.

Official policy: Sudan's official policy denies supporting terrorism. At the same time, the authorities continue to provide patronage for extremist Islamic organizations.

Iran

Beginnings: The "blood pact" between Iran and international terrorism was born with the Khomeinist revolution in 1979. Since then, Iran has actively and systematically supported terrorism.

Operations: March 1992 -- attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, 30 killed and 250 wounded. September 1994 -- attack on a Jewish communal building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, over 80 dead, 150 wounded; support for Hizballah in Lebanon, for terrorist attacks in Israel and in European countries such as Greece, Spain and Germany.

Official policy: Despite the support and aid given to terrorism in order to achieve political objectives, Iran officially denies any involvement in terror.

Egyptian extremists:

Beginnings: The murder of Sadat in 1981 was the first important landmark for Islamic terrorism in Egypt. Since the end of the 1980s, the the extremist organisations have grown in strength.

Operations: February 1993 -- attack on the World Trade Center in New York, five killed and 1,000 wounded; many attacks within Egypt, mainly against tourists.

Official policy: This is in fact the only state "teeming with terror" in which the extremist organizations have no support from the authorities. From the point of view of the Egyptian authorities, terrorism is a threat not only to world peace, but first and foremost to the authorities themselves. Despite this, the Islamic organizations in Egypt are managing to survive and even to widen their activity.