Afghanistan: December 23, 2001

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Investigators found al Qaeda plans for a nuclear "dirty bomb" (nuclear material packed around explosives to spread the radioactive material over a wide area.)

In an attempt to keep track of Osama bin Laden, the CIA recruited 15 Afghans (for less than $1,000 a month each) in 1998. The network of agents operated until this past September. The agents reported daily and their information was compared and analyzed to try and keep track of bin Laden's movements. 

Afghanistan's new president, Hamid Karzai, says American forces can stay in the country for as long as it takes to root out the al Qaeda terrorists. Karzai also said he would turn over bin Laden if Afghans captured him. There are already some 3,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly marines in and around Kandahar and army troops in the north and around Kabul. 

A Jordanian unit consisting of a hundred doctors and nurses, plus some commando troops, is on its way to Afghanistan. 

 

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