President Bush Unveils ‘Most Wanted Terrorists’ List

The president said, “Terrorism has a face and today we expose it for the world to see.”

“We list their names, we publicize their pictures, we rob them of their secrecy.”

Topping the list is Osama bin Laden, who the president has cited as a “prime suspect” in the New York and Washington attacks that killed more than 5,500 people.

There are also two of bin Laden’s top deputies and other members of the al-Qaida network suspected in earlier attacks on U.S. interests, including the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, the 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

The president said the 22 men are “the leaders, key supporters, planners and strategists” in suspected terrorist operations.

“They must be found, they will be stopped,” he said.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is also forming a “9/11 Task Force” within the Justice Dept. to prosecute terrorism cases and focus on preventing further strikes.

The groups will consist of lawyers from U.S. attorney’s offices in New York and Virginia, along with prosecutors from the Justice Dept.’s violent crime and terrorism unit, The New York Times reported today.

Ashcroft said the new efforts would bolster publicity for the investigation and leave the alleged terrorists “no place to hide.”

The FBI had already compiled a list of the 19 suspected hijackers who died in last month’s crashes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. No one has been charged thus far in connection with the hijackings.