Posted on 10/22/2004 6:23:30 AM PDT by freeperfromnj
CLAREMONT — The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, a member of the 9/11 Commission said Thursday.
Commissioner John Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who asserted the al-Qaida terror kingpin was alive and operating in the western part of that country.
Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan Region, Lehman told The San Bernardino Sun after delivering a keynote speech on terrorism at Pitzer College in Claremont to kick off the university's three- day writer's festival.
In the exclusive interview, Lehman said, "There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."
When pressed on why the United States couldn't send troops into the region to capture the world's No. 1 terrorist, Lehman said the Baluchistan Region of the country is filled with militant fundamentalists who do not recognize the legitimacy of President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally of the United States.
"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members," he said, acknowledging that Pakistan's security services also are filled with many who agree with bin Laden's beliefs and would aid him if U.S. Special Forces entered the region.
"Look," he said, "Musharraf already has had three assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go in. We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now."
Asked how bin Laden was surviving, Lehman said he was getting money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.
"He is not a wealthy man," Lehman said. "We ran that information into the ground, and discovered he only receives about $1 million a year from his family's fortune. The rest of what he gets comes from radical sympathizers."
Department of Defense spokeswoman Capt. Ronnie Merritt confirmed the U.S. military believes bin Laden is in Pakistan. However, she would not comment on Lehman's remarks, except to say that he normally didn't speak about these issues, and she was surprised he had.
Lehman is one of the 10 members of the bipartisan commission that authored the "The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States," which is a New York Times best- seller. The ardent Republican also is the author of three books about military tactics.
That's what bin Laden wants you to think. I think he's in Iran.
So it starts... We'll have him by Halloween...
Send in Kerry in his camouflaged oufit.
I thought these were significant comments, considering the source.
Uh-oh...October surprise
i.e. Democrats in the US congress...
let's see kerry build a coalition with the western pakistanis. i am sure that if kerry is elected, because of kerry's superior foreign policy, the pakistani's will simply hand bin laden over to us. (smile)
What, we'd have another situation where we won every major battle, were fully on our way to winning the war only to have the left and their media snatch victory away by convincing us otherwise? Would Dubya start trying to micro-manage the military operations like LBJ did? Silly comment.
Prairie
Send in Kerry in his camouflaged oufit.
Great now we'll hear that he spent "Halloween in Waziristan" instead of "Christmas in Cambodia". Perhaps they could "cook his goose".
Lehman's got a big mouth. I would expect something like this from Ben Veniste or Gorelick and not from Lehman -- but then again, like I said, Lehman's got a big mouth.
I disagree. He is in Tora Bora rotting in a cave, otherwise we would have seen him at least once.
Hmmmm. I wonder if Lehman revealed classified information? The comment by the DOD spokewoman leads you to believe they're NOT happy with his comments.
When I use the term "coward" does it naturally make you think of these AQ terrorists?
Yep, especially the statement by the spokeswomen.
sounds like the logical reason for using weapons that CAN reach him. Measure the region for carpet bombing and place your order.
I still think he's already dead.
I wonder if Lehman knows we are about to get OBL, and he is attempting to water down the shock and awe of it?
He might be carrying Kerry's water on this one.
Kerry will have a summit meeting with the Mullahs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.