Anti-Terror Teamwork

Less than three weeks after American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, legal steps have been taken in New York that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison for two suspects now in custody. Credit for the swift apprehension of Mohammed Rashed Daoud Owhali, a Yemeni, and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, believed to be a Palestinian or Jordanian, goes to authorities in Kenya and Pakistan. Owhali was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, two days after the bombings. Odeh was seized when he arrived in Karachi, Pakistan, the day of the bombings. He was handed over to Kenyan authorities. Owhali, in U.S. hands, was transported to New York and charged Thursday. Similar news of Odeh was expected soon.

A confession by Owhali, included in the FBI complaint against him, was unsealed in court on Thursday and describes his training in terrorist techniques in Afghanistan, including camps run by the Islamic militant Osama bin Laden. Owhali told the FBI he had expected to die as a martyr in the Nairobi attack. He survived, but 258 people, among them 12 Americans, were killed in the two almost simultaneous embassy attacks. Some 5,000 people were injured in the bombings.

The case against the suspects is expected to be considerably strengthened by an extensive body of intelligence and forensic evidence. Kenya, whose citizens suffered grievously in the bombing, has given immeasurable help to U.S. officials. Pakistan, which from fear of retaliation has repressed any public notice of Odeh’s arrest, also deserves U.S. thanks.

What has been shown again is that transnational cooperation is one of the most powerful weapons for fighting terrorism.