New push to catch bin Laden

Reuters ^ | Sat 28 February, 2004 22:47 | Staff

[Anti-Bubba182]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has approved a plan to intensify the effort to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, The New York Times reports.

The newspaper said on Saturday the plan would apply new forces and new tactics to the task of hunting down bin Laden, and take advantage of better intelligence and improving weather along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The main force in the new effort is Task Force 121, a covert commando team of Special Operations forces and CIA officers that was involved in the capture of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in December, the Times said.

The force is gradually shifting its resources to Afghanistan to step up the search for bin Laden, accused mastermind of the September11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and the ousted Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, it said.

"Under the new plan, officials say, the 11,000 American forces in Afghanistan are changing their tactics," the Times said. "Rather than carrying out raids and returning to their bases, small groups will now remain in Afghan villages for days at a time, handing out various forms of aid and conducting patrols."

U.S. officials hope such tactics would allow them to receive and act on intelligence within hours to crack bin Laden's support network, the paper said. The technique helped the U.S. forces capture Saddam.

"With a great deal at stake strategically, symbolically and politically, Mr. Bush and his national security team have repeatedly met in recent months to refine the new approach, and it appears to have been approved in the last two months," the Times said.

"White House officials will not say exactly when, emphasising that the hunt for Mr. bin Laden never stopped, though clearly the effort lost momentum."

[Keith in Iowa]

Pakistan is going to more or less serve up Usama on a platter to try and make up for their nuke proliferation...or at least deflect attention from it.

[Andy from Beaverton]

But I thought we already caught him .

[jocko12]

WE DO NOT NEED OBL UNTIL SEP. OR OCT.

[GeorgiaYankee]

Osama is important as a motivational and symbolic leader, but more important operationally is his #2, Ayman Al Zawahiri, the Egyptian Doctor. He founded Egyptian Islamic Jihad and was behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in '81.

I believe there are fervent, but quiet, efforts to capture him first. Just a guess about US strategery.

[alaskanfan]

Check Madeline Halfbright's basement.

[Betaille]

"WE DO NOT NEED OBL UNTIL SEP. OR OCT."

I know you were probly just joking, but you really shouldn't say stuff like that. It feeds the impression that we're politicizing this. OBL being caught anytime this year means a Bush victory in my approximation. The political boost from it will be huge and long-lasting, plus Bush will be able to beat the dems over the head with the national security issue the way he did in nov. 2002

[AUH2OY2K]

From a political point of view, it would be better to catch OBL in October. The Democrats with the complicity of the media are good at hurling hand grenades. When proven wrong, there is not accountability. Example: Bush stole the election. This was and is still the talking point of the media and Democrats. This is despite the fact that Bush won 4 recounts, and "won" in a recount conducted by the NYT.
Example 2: The invasion of Iraq will result in a quagmire. Again, proven wrong in short order. Does anyone recall the media or Democrats being held accountable for such wrongheaded statements?
If OBL is caught in April, by August, the Democrats and the media will be asking why do we need a "war" president when there are so many unemployed, homeless, and corporate malfeasance. So, from a purely political standpoint, October is better than April. Don't get me wrong, I want this terrorist strung up as soon as possible.

[Tall_Texan]

There is still Iran, Syria and North Korea to clean up, not to mention "friends" like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

To me, April and May will do just fine although, from a political standpoint, capturing Osama during the DNC converntion in July would be optimal. Those little Rat bastards would be leaping headfirst into the Charles River if Osama was snagged the day Kerry was nominated.

[thegreatbeast]

How do you catch a ghost? UBL has been dead for two+ years!

[jennyp]

Dittos to everything you said, especially "I want this terrorist strung up as soon as possible."

One thing to consider: The sooner we get OBL, the more likely we can hand over power to the Iraqis this summer relatively smoothly.

[jennyp]

Osama is important as a motivational and symbolic leader, but more important operationally is his #2, Ayman Al Zawahiri, the Egyptian Doctor.

Yep, Zawahiri is what really made al Qaeda so dangerous. Though they're both of supreme importance in their own ways.