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Rumsfeld: Terror Arrests Ongoing in 'Great, Large World of Ours'
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
By SFC Kathleen T. Rhem
U.S. Army
American Forces Press Service

Rumsfeld said June 17 that he's concerned about the constitutional rights of these citizens who are being held without charges, but that he's also concerned for the safety of the American people.

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
So many countries have heightened their defenses that terrorism suspects are being arrested around the world, often without much fanfare, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

"On any given day, week or month, there are going to be arrests somewhere in this great, large world of ours," Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters. More arrests are inevitable "with all the countries that are cooperating on sharing intelligence (and) with all the countries that are at a heightened state of alert and attentiveness to who's moving in and out of their country."

He said he knew no details on two Americans allegedly arrested by Pakistani officials while they were trying to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

"I don't know that they exist yet," Rumsfeld said of the American suspects. "I have no information other than the speculation I've seen in the press."

He said he also had nothing on reports about a number of al Qaeda suspects allegedly arrested by Saudi authorities for terrorist plots in that country.

Rumsfeld said the two instances are only the ones being reported in the media. "There are countries arresting people ... that are not even being noted. That is a continuing process," he explained. "People are being interrogated. New information is being gathered. Laptops are being looked at. All of this puts pressure on the terrorist organizations, and it's a good thing."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan