According to Mr Halimi, some Muslims from outside Afghanistan also wanted to join the fight. “We have not allowed them to enter so far,” he said, “but if we find that we need them then we will give orders to allow them to.”The impression of somewhat confused Taliban bellicosity was heightened by their press conference in Islamabad, which was plagued by loudspeaker breakdowns, poor translation and squabbles among television crews.Mullah Omar’s statement appeared to be intended to encourage other Muslim nations to distance themselves from Washington’s alliance against terrorism. Mr Zaeef called on them to “come forward and themselves solve the issue .. it is their obligation”. He read out a Foreign Ministry statement asking the American people to draw the attention of their authorities to the “grave consequences” of a war.The ambassador said it was “good news” that the US intended to produce its evidence against Mr bin Laden. This could help to solve the issue “otherwise than fighting”.. The language of the statement attributed to Osama bin Laden overemphasised the aggressive language of religious scriptures, one theologian said yesterday.

The language of the statement attributed to Osama bin Laden overemphasised the aggressive language of religious scriptures, one theologian said yesterday.
By his repeated use of words such as “martyrs” and “caliphs”, or Muslim rulers, Mr bin Laden was distorting the language of the Koran to motivate his followers, said Karen Armstrong, a theologian and author of Islam: A Brief History.She said: “We are seeing a fundamentalism that is becoming much more extreme than in the 1970s. Fundamentalism distorts faith and this text is a typical example. It is a fundamentalist statement which distorts and over-emphasises the aggressive elements of the scriptures to the point that they are almost unrecognisable.” A handwriting expert said yesterday that Osama bin Laden’s signature showed signs of a “compulsive” and “self-gratifying” character manifesting a “powerful self-protective instinct”.Erik Rees, chairman of the British Institute of Graphologists, examined a statement issued yesterday by Mr bin Laden to the media. Mr Rees said a series of dots on the signature could have significance.He said: “They are a sign of compulsion, of a compulsive manner, something the person cannot control.” The graphologist said that the unusually thick script was referred to by handwriting experts as “pasty” or “doughy” writing.He said: “It shows greed and also creativity and among other things self-gratification.”Mr Rees said there was also symbolism in the shape of Mr bin Laden’s signature. He said: “Here we have a creeping insect, it could be a snake. It looks as if it has swallowed something and it has got stuck in its craw.”Inside the blob is some writing and the writer has drawn something around that as part of the signature We call it cocooning.

It’s a very powerful, self-protective instinct.”Mr Rees also claimed to detect a sign of depression in the gradual downward slope of the Mr bin Laden’s signature.”A signature that droops is a sign of depression. No matter how confident this man seems to be when he comes across to others, psychologically he feels he might on this occasion have bitten off more than he could chew.”. A European Union delegation arrived Tuesday in Islamabad, pledging to look for ways to support Pakistan, which has promised key backing to the United States in its confrontation with Afghanistan over accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. A European Union delegation arrived Tuesday in Islamabad, pledging to look for ways to support Pakistan, which has promised key backing to the United States in its confrontation with Afghanistan over accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
The diplomats said they wanted to send the message that the fight against terror is not a fight against Islam.”We know that fanatics in the last few days have defiled Islam – we know there is no way at all in which you can judge Islam by these foul acts, any more than you can judge, for example, Christianity or the West through terrorist acts” by Basque separatists or the Irish Republican Army, EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten told journalists traveling with the delegation.The group intended to speak with Pakistani officials about the growing humanitarian crisis inside Afghanistan and the social and economic problems faced by Pakistan.

“We appreciate the brave decision that the president and people of Pakistan have taken,” Patten said.Javier Solana, the EU’s security and foreign policy chief, said the delegation would be asking Pakistan for cooperation on intelligence and on cutting financial pipelines to bin Laden’s organization “so we can attain a world that’s safe and more stable for everyone.”The delegation is led by Foreign Minister Louis Michel of Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, and also includes Spain’s foreign minister, Joesp Pique. It will also visit Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Jordan.. The UN World Food Program is resuming food aid shipments to northern and western Afghanistan for the first time since the terrorist attacks in the US. The UN World Food Program is resuming food aid shipments to northern and western Afghanistan for the first time since the terrorist attacks in the US.