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.

 

[petercooper]

[Tensgrrl]

Osama is chained to a lazy boy sofa chair in the basement of the White House, eating Doritos and watching Oprah.

[Arrowhead1952]

Mrs. Heinz Kerry may have been correct on her prediction. < /sarcasm>

[Buck W.]

"Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan region"

I hope this announcement doesn't affect my timeshare value.

[Ranger]

I for one would not be upset if the location he obtained shelter in disappeared in a cloud of dust from a b-1 bombing attack.

[mwp99]

Ramzi Yousef and his "uncle" Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.

[highlandbreeze]

This is just ridiculous. I still think he's dead, a DNA specimen at the bottom of Tora Bora. JMHO

[KellyAdmirer]

A million a year - no taxes - in rural Pakistan. And he's not a wealthy man! ROFLMAO

[DSBull]

no, France sends him the stuff for free...

[ProudVet77]

John Lehman? You mean the guy that signed the last version of Kerry's SS?

[billhilly]

What good is a MOAB if it can't be used?

[Toespi]

Yeah, what if Pakistan captures him before the election? How do you think that would play?

[finnman69]

Meaning getting Bin Laden is not worth the risk of Musharraf getting overthrown an nukes falling directly into Islamists hands.

[counterpunch]

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

Well, you're close, but I think it "grab the..." oh, nevermind.

[bayourod]

We have put a 25 million dollar (or more??) reward on his head (literally--body not required) and now we tell everyone exactly where he is.

Sounds like a good plot for an adventure movie.

Maybe it would be a good cover for a group of bounty hunters to be pretending to be making a movie about capturing Bin Laden's head.

[DSBull]

Didn't UBL play the weird can driver on TAXI...

[Tread]

May I join you? (*rolls eyes*)

[7.62 x 51mm]

Steaming load of BS; Lehman's just another political liar.

[Dog]

The left would go totally bonkers.

[Dr. Zzyzx]

Just as an aside, know what other tow figures are Baluchi ?

???????