Oh my! Could that be OBL in Syria?
Posted on 03/04/2005 8:43:46 AM PST by BigSkyFreeper
WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden remains Public Enemy No. 1 but recent developments raise questions about the ability of U.S. forces to track down the elusive terrorist and the resources dedicated to the hunt more than three years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Fresh reminders of the unsuccessful search come as intelligence officials indicated this week that bin Laden has been in contact with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al-Qaida figure in Iraq, enlisting his help in planning attacks inside the United States.
In a rare mention of his name Thursday, President Bush said bin Laden hopes to attack again on U.S. soil and "stopping him is the greatest challenge of our day."
"We're on a constant hunt for bin Laden. We're keeping the pressure on him, keeping him in hiding," Bush said at a ceremonial swearing-in for Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff.
Current and former government officials say there is no doubt that the Bush administration wants bin Laden "dead or alive," as the president said shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. But skills and dollars may fall short of desire.
Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that bin Laden and the al-Qaida senior leadership have been "our priority target" since Sept. 11 but added, "It's important for all of us to know that military forces do best in attacking the network as opposed to looking for a specific person."
Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said in December 2004 "the trail has gone cold," and U.S. officials largely agree.
Bin Laden is believed to have evaded capture first during the 2001 battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan and then by hiding along the Afghan-Pakistani border with his top deputy and a circle of supporters protecting him at all costs. Some experts believe he may also be spending time in Pakistani cities.
U.S. personnel including CIA paramilitary, contractors and some of the military's highly trained special forces have been on the hunt. In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service said 18,000 U.S. forces remain in Afghanistan, running down al-Qaida and Taliban, joined by thousands of Pakistani forces and agents.
Yet a former intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, wondered about recent decisions on U.S. resources. The official said intelligence and military assets were moved from Afghanistan to Iraq for the Jan. 30 elections there, and it's unclear whether they went back.
Asked to confirm the shift, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable said, "As a matter of security, we don't comment on operational matters."
The Pentagon consumes roughly 80 percent of the classified intelligence budget, estimated at $40 billion.
Since the late 1990s, the government has debated how best to get the terror leader and what his capture is worth. In the 2001 Patriot Act, lawmakers authorized the State Department, through its Rewards for Justice Program, to pay more than $5 million.
In November, Congress authorized increasing the reward for information leading to bin Laden's killing or capture to $50 million. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hasn't boosted the reward.
State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said officials are constantly assessing the success of their efforts.
Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who was behind the most recent rewards legislation, said the department is moving fast - "for the normal speed limit at the State Department" - in its consideration of the November legislation.
Kirk applauded other efforts under way, including a recent television, newspaper and radio campaign in four languages to remind Pakistanis about the reward. He was responsible for this legislation too.
Kirk advises patience. On a trip to Pakistan in January, when newspaper ads were running, he said U.S. officials were getting a dozen tips a day on al-Qaida's leadership - up from zero.
Meanwhile, bin Laden continues to operate. He released a video addressed to the American people days before the November elections, appearing healthy, shaven and lit by studio lights.
I think it's most likely that we know where he is, and as long as he's not able to run things, we're leaving him alone. Maybe that's giving us more credit than is due, but I find it hard to believe that the trail really is cold.
not a chance.
Our intelligence capabilities are good but it's not the "tin foil hat" sci-fi stuff so many numb skulls believe.
We couldn't help Danny Pearl, we can't help so many of the hostages that have been taken in Iraq and we couldn't find the missionaries held hostage in the Philiipines etc..etc..
OBL is alive and well and he may be for years.
"Bin Laden continues operations....:"
OBL: "Hey Al Z., you had any good toilet paper lately?"
Oh my! Could that be OBL in Syria?
Exactly right - We do not know "precisely" where UBL is - If we did, he would be taken out immediately...and not a second later -
Though, I will say I think we know the "region" of where UBL is...and that is the Pakistan border region....The problem is we cannot find a way of flushing him out...nor exact actionable Intel on his whereabouts.
And it is damn frustrating that after 3 years UBL, Al Zawahiri and Mullah Omar are all still alive and free.
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