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.

 

[areafiftyone]

John Lehman is chairman of J.F. Lehman & Company, a private equity investment firm. He is also chairman of OAO Technology Solutions, director of Ball Corporation, Insurance Services Office, SDI Inc., Elgar Inc., and Racal Instruments, Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board of Paribas Affaires Industrielles. Lehman was formerly an investment banker with Paine Webber Inc. He was president of Abington Corporation between 1977 and 1981. He served 25 years in the naval reserve. Lehman was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Reagan in 1981 and served until 1987. During his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, Lehman was responsible for building a 600 ship Navy, establishing a strategy of maritime supremacy, and reforming ship and aircraft procurement. He has served as staff member to Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council, as delegate to the Force Reductions Negotiations in Vienna and as deputy director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

Lehman holds a B.S. from St. Joseph's University, a B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently an Honorary Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. Lehman is the author of numerous books, including Command of the Seas, Making War, and On Seas of Glory. He serves as Chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation USA, a director of OpSail Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a trustee of LaSalle College High School.

[Cooter]

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

No, that's "grab a snatch".

[atomicweeder]

And also drill along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The enviromentalillists will complain but they're hypocrites. If one really cared about the environment, one would realize that the best place to drill for oil is in the country that has the highest safety and pollution safeguards in the world -- the United States.

[SERKIT]

"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members," he said.....

Sounds like a good place to start cutting the daisies....

[Dr. Frank fan]

Wouldn't it make sense NOT to let the world and Bin Laden know we have this information?

The content of this leak seems to be "we know where he is but will not touch him - we JUST CAN'T because of where he is". One possible motive for saying this could be to make him feel perfectly 100% safe where he is i.e. make sure he doesn't go anywhere. You can guess a motive for wanting to make sure a wanted man does not move anytime in the near future, I'm sure.

I'm not saying that's why this guy said this stuff, of course. Maybe he's just a fool, or made it up.

[DSBull]

Maybe even Pork rinds.

[Ann Archy]

Why in the hell is Lehman giving out this info??? Shouldn't this be CLASSIFIED???

[Dog]

Sorry I disagree....Lehman is a former player in DC.... still connected ...he no doubt knows more than us average joes.

I could see Binny being in a area we can't get at.

[mabelkitty]

Yeah, too bad he isn't more vocal about his signature on Kerry's Naval papers.

[wireman]

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?

[what's up]

Bush wanting to get it out that the admin has known for some time where OBL is?

[Roos_Girl]

Exactly what I was thinking? In what world isn't a mill per year wealthy?

[Toespi]

Maybe Musharraf will be able to cast his vote for Bush in the US afterall. Talk about international involvement in our election process.............

[hosepipe]

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

Bull mushrooms.. Binney is in France where he is far safer than with the Paki's (only a telephone call away from anywhere).... Nuke France and you would probably reduce the world's evil population by half..

[Boundless]

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

Yep, the guy who denied ever even seeing version #3
of the Silver Star cert, much less signing it.

[LeoWindhorse]

There has got to be a way......

[RightWhale]

If we did, we could have another Vietnam

What a pile!

[hobbes1]

KSM, and Ramzi Yousef are both Baluchi. AND Baluchistan has ties to Saddams Intel.

[RamingtonStall]

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

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

................ Here I come to save the Day!
..................That means that sKerry Man is on the way!


And, if he demonstrates his legendary bravery and daring, and if he brings back BinLaden's head on a Silver Plate by Halloween, then I will consider voting for him!

RamS

[dumpdaschle]

There have been sightings of Elvis too since he died. I still think bin Ladin is dead, and the government knows about it but isn't going to admit it because they don't want to make him a martyr. This information would not have been announced if he were alive and cornered. This may be an attempt from the left to remind people that he hasn't been captured. Could be an attempt to get peoples hopes up and then let them down before the election.