BIN LADEN IS LOCATED SAYS 9/11 PANALIST - PAKISTANI ALLIES KEEPING HIM SAFE

Arizona Daily Star ^ | 10/22/04

[areafiftyone]

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission, said Thursday.

 

Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said the al-Qaida leader was alive and operating in the western part of Pakistan.

 

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.

 

In the interview, Lehman noted, "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 Pakistani 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, secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, was one of the 10 members of the bipartisan commission that examined the terrorists attacks on the United States.

 

He also is the author of three books about military tactics.

 

[stanz]

I don't think we're really publicizing this information to make Osama feel secure in the knowledge that we can't get to him.
I really feel that we should keep a lid on any intelligence we may have...unless this all being floated as a ruse...I tend not to think that way, though. It's just the media again.....making the news when there isn't any...I hope, in this case.

[unspun]

Maybe this "leak" is part of a plan, to:

1. Intimidate Bin Ladin
2. Get him on the move
3. Turn Pakistani sentiment against him and his troublemaking cohorts

Juat a 'maybe,' espcecially if Sec. Powell has also just about said the same.

[Grampa Dave]

Condi Rice has a comment for the Girly boy, Jim Mohr © SAN BERNARDINO SUN, who had this wet dream and made it into an article of fiction.

[areafiftyone]

That's great!

[DirtyDawg]

Get Jimmy Carter to organize a snatch and grap expedition. He has plenty of experience and er, well er

[Grampa Dave]

Who in the hell is Jim Mohr © SAN BERNARDINO SUN?

The only Jim Mohr who shows up is a song writer.

So, we are to believe that an unknown writer for the San Bernardino Sun (hell on earth for any reporter) has an exclusive from Lehman?

[stanz]

I sincerely hope it's part of a plan to accomplish those ends, but if not, it's a sad state of affairs to hear that kind of an announcement coming from a journalist and not from the State Department itself.

[stanz]

That is..the journalist who printed it.

[enraged]

"the Baluchistan region of the country is filled with militant fundamentalists"

Well then carpet bomb the whole F'n region until nothing remains (ala dresden in WWII), problem solved

[Sacajaweau]

Not wealthy, huh....So What....It's life in a cave forever!

[enraged]

Nicley done!

[marblehead17]

ping

[ironcitymike]

Clinton's plan is grabbin snatch.

[Antonello]

I think we should send in our Secret Weapon to seek out and Destroy Bin Laden!

Who else but ........ sKERRY MAN ??

You mean...unleash Secret Agent Orange? I doubt windsurfing conditions are good enough in that region to entice him to take the mission.

[streetpreacher]

A million here... a million there; pretty soon, we're talking real money!

[MrBambaLaMamba]

Lehman's correct, can't kill the enemy, might make them angry.

[badpacifist]

Baluchistan region of the country is filled with militant fundamentalists who do not recognize the legitimacy of Pakistani President Pervez

It is a part of Pakistan he can't use? So make it the official above ground nuclear testing grounds.

[savedbygrace]

"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."

OBL and Kerry have a lot in common.

[Chemist_Geek]

Maybe not wealthy by J F'ng Kerry's standards, but I could get by very nicely on a $mil a year....

That's not fair! Do you have any idea of what it costs to run a terror network these days?

In all seriousness, wireman's right - M$ isn't a whole lot of money for an international terrorist conspiracy.

Heck, have you looked at the price of flight instruction lately?

[eeggler1]

Actually, I think "snatch and grab" IS Clinton's plan....

don't you mean grabbin' snatch ??? LOL