U.S.: 'Body of evidence' points to bin Laden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Even as it rejected Taliban demands to see evidence of Osama bin Laden's complicity in last month's terrorist attacks, the Bush administration asserted Tuesday that its investigation had amassed a "body of evidence" tying his group, al Qaeda, to the deadly hijackings.

"We are building a very strong case against al Qaeda," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "This is a process of amassing information. There is a great body of evidence that indicates clearly to us, and to others, that al Qaeda was responsible."

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That sentiment was echoed in Europe by NATO Secretary-General George Robertson after a closed-door presentation made by U.S. officials in Brussels for members of the alliance.

"It is clear that all roads lead to al Qaeda and pinpoint Osama bin Laden as having been involved in it," Robertson told reporters.

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U.S. law enforcement sources said that the evidence handed over to NATO allies includes details about four hijackers linked to training camps run by bin Laden in Afghanistan, money transfers, information from intercepted phone calls and surveillance data.

Boucher said the information being shown to allies was "only a portion" of what U.S. investigators had compiled.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, responding to U.S. demands that they hand over bin Laden, have repeatedly demanded to see evidence of the Islamic militant's complicity in the attacks. The Taliban have said they consider bin Laden a "guest" of their country.

Visiting Washington, Indian's minister of defense and external affairs, Jaswant Singh, appeared to suggest that new documentation was not necessary to convince him of al Qaeda's involvement in the terrorist acts.

"Indeed, I believe that the evidence that already exists -- if you're ready to recognize the evidence, then you don't need to see any pieces of paper," he said in an interview with CNN. "But if you're not ready to recognize evidence, then, no matter how many reams of paper are presented to you, you will not recognize."

Publicly, the Justice Department said little about the vast, 3-week-old investigation, which has resulted in the arrest or detainment of more than 500 people. As yet, no indictments have been returned that directly relate to the attacks.

Attorney General John Ashcroft underscored the international scope of the conspiracy that led to the September 11 hijackings in which four U.S. commercial jets were seized and crashed. Nineteen suspected hijackers, all with Middle Eastern connections, died with their thousands of victims.

"We believe there is evidence that makes it clear that the roots of this activity were in Afghanistan," Ashcroft said, after a meeting with his Canadian counterpart. "And we believe that the branches of the activity not only found their way to the United States of America but were present in substantial ways in Europe. And the activities of the conspiracy carried them to destinations virtually around the globe.

"That's a statement we feel confident in making and that I personally believe reflects the truth."

Sources estimated the cost of the terrorist plot at $500,000 and rising.

Latest developments:

-- In Germany, intelligence services shortly after the attacks intercepted a phone call in which two followers of bin Laden applauded the deadly assaults, a German intelligence official told CNN Tuesday. Such a conversation would appear to buttress the U.S. position that bin Laden was the mastermind behind the deadly hijackings.

-- French sources told CNN that a French-Algerian arrested in Dubai has told prosecutors that he was recruited and trained by a key aide to bin Laden and his target was the U.S. Embassy in Paris. The office of the magistrate investigating the matter would neither confirm nor deny the reports of a confession by Djamel Begal.

-- In the United States, law enforcement sources confirmed to CNN that top Justice and FBI officials denied a request by FBI agents in Minneapolis early last month for a special surveillance warrant on a man now being held as a material witness in the terrorism investigation.

Law enforcement sources said there was not enough probable cause and not enough information to justify a warrant to open up a hard drive belonging to Zacarias Moussaoui. He was arrested in August in Minnesota on an alleged passport violation and was in custody at the time of the attacks.

After the attacks, the agents were allowed to open the computer hard drive, where they discovered information about crop dusters and wind patterns, but nothing specifically related to any terrorist plot.

-- CNN Correspondents Kelli Arena and Eileen O'Connor contributed to this report.