U.S. Denies Iran Report of Bin Laden's Capture

Reuters ^ | Sat Feb 28, 2004 06:44 AM ET | Staff

[Anti-Bubba182]

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense denied reports by Iran's official IRNA news agency Saturday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been captured.

IRNA quoted a story on Iran's state radio Pashtun service which reported "a very reliable source" as saying bin Laden had been captured in a tribal area of Pakistan.

A senior U.S. defense official denied the report, telling Reuters it was "another piece of stray voltage that's passing around out there."

Washington says Bin Laden masterminded the September 11, 2001 suicide hijack attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The Iranian correspondent responsible for the report told Reuters the radio had also reported bin Laden's capture a year ago. But said a new source had told him Friday the al Qaeda leader had been seized "a long time ago."

"It could be one month ago, it could be one year, but he has been arrested," he said.

While declining to reveal his source or how his source knew of the capture, he said: "My source said it and he knows it."

He said the reason U.S. officials had denied the report was so that they could time the release of the news of bin Laden's capture to help boost President Bush's chances of re-election at presidential polls in November.

The U.S. military said this month that U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan were moving toward coordinated operations along the border -- "a hammer and anvil approach" -- to prevent fleeing al Qaeda fighters from escaping simply by crossing from one country into the other.

Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror, has stepped-up efforts in recent weeks against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters as the 10,600-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan gears up for a spring offensive against Islamic militants.

[SubMareener]

Nobody in the Bush Administration would have thought of it on their own, but when the RATS accused them of keeping Saddam under wraps until a politically expedient moment, the Bush folks said, "What the heck! They will accuse us of it anyway!"

Give John F-fing Kerry a couple of more weeks of saying Bush is weak on defense because we haven't caught Bin Ladin, and "Viola! The Perp is Here!" ;-)

[samtheman]

Alleged terrorist.

Oh, I forgot. Reuters doesn't use that word.

Alleged militant fighter.

[garyhope]

I think OBL is still spending the weekend at Bernies.

Can you capture a dead man?

[tiamat]

The only reason I find this intriguing is because the other day, Mansoor Ijaz was on Fox INSISTING that Bin Laden was in Iran.

The anchors were of the opinion that Bin Laden was being "boxed in" somewhere on the Afghan-Pak border.

[End Times Sentinel]

The same thing will be said by the Rat's minions when he is captured.

 

You can bet the farm on that, but the only people who will believe it are the loony left who wouldn't vote for G Dub anyway.

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[ASA Vet]

Can you capture a dead man?

You can't. For one dead since Dec 2001 specimen collection can be done,
but you first need access to the cave.

[Seth1]

I don't believe the timed for election nonsense. First, I don't believe they could feasibly do it. There would be people in the know. It wouldn't wash. Second, I don't see how timing matters that much on this one. When we get him, if we get him, people will be very happy. 1000 times happier than we were when Saddam was caught. Catching Saddam was good cuz we figured it'd help us get things squared away over there in Iraq, but it's nothing like the personal desire I am sure 10s of millions of us have for capturing Osama. If Bush gets him, people will be happier. I will be happier. That will affect votes. But I don't believe they could or would time it.

[Vision]

Washington says Bin Laden masterminded the September 11, 2001 suicide hijack attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

No lame propaganda network, Laden took credit for 9/11 in a public video tape

[ASA Vet]

Laden took credit for 9/11 in a public video tape

That tape was ordered "released" by President Bush on Dec 13th, 2001.
No real OBL footage has been aired since.
The Elvis Bin Laden saga continues.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thanks, Anti-Bubba182.

Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, also said he had no information to suggest bin Laden had been caught.

"Things are going well, and we believe we will eventually catch all the leaders of al-Qaida, but I know nothing of that report," he said.

Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed denied the reported capture, saying it was "baseless news."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other side, from Reuters ~ and AP:

Feb 28, 8:19 AM EST

U.S. Denies Report of Bin Laden's Capture

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Pentagon and Pakistani officials on Saturday denied an Iranian state radio report that Osama bin Laden was captured in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan "a long time ago."

The claim came at a time when Pakistan's army was hunting al-Qaida suspects in a remote tribal region along the border with Afghanistan, believed to be a possible hiding place for the al-Qaida leader. The report was carried by Iran radio's external Pashtun service, which is designed for listeners in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the language is widely spoken.

Iran state radio's main news channel - the Farsi-language service for Iranian listeners - did not carry the bin Laden report. Iran state television also did not carry the report.

The director of Iran radio's Pashtun service, Asheq Hossein, said he had two sources for the report. The radio quoted its reporter as saying bin Laden had been in custody for a period of time, but a U.S. announcement of the capture was being withheld by President Bush until closer to the November election.

"Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election," he said.

There have been reports that military forces believed they had identified bin Laden's general location and had him encircled, but Pakistani officials have denied any specific knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts.

The state radio report, quoting an unnamed source, said U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's visit to the region this week was in connection with the arrest.

Larry Di Rita, the chief Pentagon spokesman who traveled with Rumsfeld this week to Afghanistan, denied the report. "I don't have any reason to think it's true," he said Saturday.

Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, also said he had no information to suggest bin Laden had been caught.

"Things are going well, and we believe we will eventually catch all the leaders of al-Qaida, but I know nothing of that report," he said.

Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed denied the reported capture, saying it was "baseless news."

"We have neither arrested Osama nor we have any information about him," Ahmed told The Associated Press.

Pakistani Army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan also told The Associated Press that the report was not true. "That information is wrong," he said.

A Pakistani official said previously that members of al-Qaida are being sought in the border region, although bin laden was not a specific target.

Separately, Pakistani forces killed 11 people in an exchange of fire Saturday after a minibus failed to stop at a roadblock in a tribal region where the ongoing anti-terrorism operations have been taking place, an army spokesman told the AP. The shooting occurred a day after armed men and soldiers exchanged fire at a military compound in the region.

Speaking to the AP in Tehran, Hossein identified one of the sources for the bin Laden report as Shamim Shahed, editor of the English-language Pakistani newspaper The Nation in Peshawar. Hossein said Shahed told him Friday night that bin Laden was arrested "a long time ago."

But Shahed, who is The Nation's Peshawar bureau chief and not its editor, denied telling Iranian radio that bin Laden had been captured.

"I never said this," Shahed said in a telephone interview with the AP's Islamabad bureau. "But I have for the last year been saying that he is not far away. He is within their (the Americans') reach, and they can declare him arrested any time."

Hossein said he had a second source for his report that bin Laden had been captured, but he declined to identify him except to say he was "a man with close links to intelligence services and Afghan tribal leaders."

The Iranian news agency IRNA was first to report the capture of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. IRNA also carried the state radio report about bin Laden's capture and said it had contacted a radio announcer at the Pashtun service who confirmed the news.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BIN_LADEN?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME

---

Today's FR thread w/ over 600 comments. Hmmmm?....

8 Osama caught - rumors abound... ~ 2/28/04 | Gigantor

What does Gigantor know and when did he know it?     (^:

[The Raven]

>>>He said the reason U.S. officials had denied the report was so that they could time the release of the news of bin Laden's capture to help boost President Bush's chances of re-election at presidential polls in November.



I smell a Democrat !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Thane_Banquo]

Seems like their source is Madeline Albright.

[jriemer]

As I posted on the "rumor thread":

Iran has a vested interest in saying that "Osama has been captured and that it happened a long time ago" because it takes the focus off their status as the #2 Axis of Evil Country and their own internal domestic power struggles.

By focusing the US and worlds attention on Osama (on the lamb or in custody), they are trying to shift attention away from being destabilized and / or the next country to have their population liberated.

[blam]

Remember that the Iranians like to 'play' in American politics. They waited until minutes after Reagan was inaugerated to release the hostages they had been holding for 444 days.

Expect other politically sensative stories out of there.

[contessa machiaveli]

and mr. rumsfeld flew to afghanistan.

it really is possible, something is bubbling beneath the surface.

[tiamat]

Yes, I noticed that about Rummy.

Keeping my fingers crossed and staying near the computer and the tube today!

[Cap Huff]

From an AP story:

>>snip<<

Meanwhile, U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Coffer Black was in the capital Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials.

He met Friday with Tariq Osman Hyder, a senior Foreign Ministry official, to discuss cooperation in the global campaign against terrorism, a ministry statement said.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed Black's arrival but would give no details about his discussions.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2004/feb/28/022807771.html

[Pan_Yans Wife]

So, is he, or isn't he? Do I have to read the 600+ posts, RC? LOL

[MEG33]

For a brief moment..hope.The thread's at 700 now .We do talk a lot!