Posted on 10/30/2004 11:43:17 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
The envelope containing terror mastermind Osama bin Laden's latest message to the world was dropped into a mailbox in an upscale neighborhood of the Pakistani capital, the second purported al Qaeda video to come out of this nation in a little more than a week.
Officials cautioned yesterday that release of the tape to the Islamabad office of Arabic television channel Al Jazeera does not prove that bin Laden is in Pakistan.
Nonetheless, its appearance was an embarrassment to Pakistan, which bills itself as a key ally in Washington's war on terrorism and has spent months focusing its troops on a swath of tribal communities along the Afghan-Pakistan border, where the fugitive al Qaeda leader reputedly has been hiding.
--Snip---
Pakistani officials were quick to move into damage-control mode yesterday, saying they had no idea how Al Jazeera got the tape and insisting its existence did not prove the terrorist leader was here.
Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman, said the intensity of Pakistan's efforts in North and South Waziristan would make it impossible for bin Laden to hide there.
"Even if the tape was dropped here, that doesn't mean that he is here," Gen. Sultan said. "Nobody knows where he is, but he cannot be in Pakistan's tribal areas because of the presence of so many troops."
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said, "I don't think he is in Pakistan."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Have to agree with them on this, I believe that delivered in Pakistan to give appearance he is actually in Pakistan to divert from the fact that he may be in Iran, Syria, etc..
He's in Iran. He looked like he was still in relatively good health and was cleaned up. Though he might just be crashing in someones basement for the rest of his life.
With him and Kerry starting to use the same talking points and speech writers (Michael Less is Moore), it would not surprise me if OBL were holed up in one of Ms. Kerry-Heinz 5 mansions.
err Kuwait is not the home to Al-Jazeera but Qatar is(another big US ally & home to CentCom).To understand whether UBL is in Saudi Arabia,pls read up on Saudi-Paki relations.The KSA has been Pakistan's most steadfast friend in the past 50years after China & the Pakis will do anything for them & do you know who were the only non-Saudi/Arab soldiers who have guarded Mecca & Medina??Unlike a lot of the folks here(hope im not throwing my weight around!!!),ive read up on the part that the Pakistani army,the ISI & Saudi groups had to play in the formation of the infrastructure which we now call Al Qaeada & it is far more than what the Iraqis or Syrians have done.The only reason why folks don't see Pakistan in that light is coz they have never been overtly Anti-American just like Saddam was during the 1980s when he was the savior of civilisation.
well it would be far more sensible ,if we see both Pakiland & The KSA as the same-one provides the money & ideology & other the muscle.Even if OBL got smuggled into Riyadh or somewhere,you can be pretty sure he had help from the Pakis in more ways than one.
the ironic thing about Al-Jazeera is that a large number(majority,IIRC) of it's shares are held by the Emir(king) of Qatar,Sheikh Hamad & his foreign minister-both seen worlwide as reformists.Infact it was Hamad,who invited US forces to be stationed in Qatar.Bout US installations in Qatar,the US embassy is more like a fortress & you need to to travel atleast 3 kms from the mainroad to get there,though given the zeal of our Slammic cousins,I won't rate anything as safe.
US soldiers have not been known to go on leave in Qatar or elsewhere in the ME, the way they do in Japan or elsewhere.The ones who venture out to Doha or other parts of this small country,travel in protected groups & intermixing with civilians(even "White" ones) is restricted.Most of the US forces keep to the Al-Udeid base ,which is located outside of Doha & is about 30-45mins drive from the city.The airbase is more like a self contained city(which i got to see this december standing atop a sand dune in december!!),with an American way of life-so no use to venture out.The problem with Qatar is it's extremely small size,so the US embassy is not exactly far from the city centre & the potential for a mass suicide attack cannot be ruled out.
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