November 9, 2002	Saturday	Ramazan 3,1423

PARIS, Nov 8: Ronald K. Noble, Interpol’s secretary-general, says that Osama bin Laden is not only alive, but is in process of preparing something “worrisome” for Europe in the not so distant future.

Noble, the first American to head Interpol, said that recent terrorist attacks in Bali and Moscow were only “diversionary” tactics employed by “terrorist groups of minor importance” which allow Al Qaeda “to quietly pursue its activities.”

Interpol’s secretary-general said that “although the recent wave of attacks have occurred in Asia, the risk remains planetary and no country should believe itself protected” from a future attack.

Notably in Europe, where, Noble says, “in spite of the stepped-up police cooperation among such countries as France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Spain, the spectre of a terrorist attack has far from disappeared.”

Another source of worry to Interpol, says Noble, is the continued financing of international terrorism in general and Al Qaeda in particular.

Al Qaeda, he says, “continues to raise funds through the extortion of rich Saudis and wealthy Arabs, but also through contraband and the traffic in drugs, diamonds and precious metals.”