Posted on 03/28/2005 3:46:19 AM PST by Straight Vermonter
WASHINGTON - A lone U.S. ambassador compromised America's hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan for more than two years, The New York Sun has learned.
Ambassador Nancy Powell, America's representative in Pakistan, refused to allow the distribution in Pakistan of wanted posters, matchbooks, and other items advertising America's $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Mr. bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders.
Instead, thousands of matchbooks, posters, and other material - printed at taxpayer expense and translated into Urdu, Pashto, and other local languages - remained "impounded" on American Embassy grounds from 2002 to 2004, according to Rep. Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois.
While the American government was engaged in a number of "black" or covert intelligence activities to locate Al Qaeda leaders, Mr. Kirk said, the "white" or public efforts - which have succeeded in the past in leading to the capture of wanted terrorists - were effectively shut down in the months following the September 11 attacks.
Mr. Kirk discovered Ms. Powell's unusual order in January 2004 and, over the past year, launched a series of behind-the-scenes moves that culminated in a blunt conversation with President Bush aboard Air Force One, the removal of the ambassador, and congressional approval for reinvigorating the hunt for Mr. bin Laden.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
From the picture, looks like the US government sent my old lunchlady to Pakistan.
"Incompetence": just another way to spell "State Department"...
She must be required to explain why she chose to do this and she should be charged with something. This is an outrage.
She's just following decades of precedence of the State Department.
For the those watching Fox News right now, it just ran a teaser of this very story, coming up this hour. Stated by the reporter who used to work for Court TV; forget his name at the moment. I've seen reporters from the NY Sun on Fox before; seems there's an informal arrangement.
STATE demartment institutional crisis.
There must be a purge of the career hacks at the state department. They are still fighting for the survival of the USSR.
At least we know she wasn't embezzling money to buy clothes.
As far as I'm concerned it's idiocy and insulting to send any woman to be an ambassador to a Muslim nation.
Benazir Bhutto, a woman, was [elected] prime minister of Pakistan. Under Bhutto, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi was Pakistan Ambassador to the US. Dr. Lodhi later served under Mushareff as Paki ambassador to the US and is currently 'Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK' (whatever the heck that is).
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi
But really not surprising.
Sometimes it's as if the entire State Department has 'gone native' and forgotten who they represent.
Thanks for posting her bio. Now my response --
Holy Crap, Batman!!! She's not competent to do . . . . ANYTHING!!!! She has nothing on her resume to qualify her for any of the positions she has held (except maybe as a social studies teacher, and I stronglt doubt THAT)!!!!!
Maybe. But Pakistan post 9/11? This had to be one of the most sensitive and important ambassador appointments on President Bush's docket given the intense search for Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region from 2002 onward.
And why wasn't this duplicity uncovered earlier? Who was covering up for this nincompoop?
This wasn't a minor slip-up. It was a major blunder.
And to make things worse, she's still on the payroll.
"Interesting". Still be interested in learning the why.
From what I read he didn't know.
A woman diplomat named Powell was just named Deputy to Condi Rice. Is that the same woman I wonder.
Not with the fat and ugly women's society, and the Janet Reno babes looking on.
It's not a Bible, it's the Official State Department Koran.
Maybe she was planning on selling the stuff she withheld on e-bay...
Condi is the one selling the Pakistanis the F-16s.
You go girl?!?! What are you thinking. Let's get a real conservative on the job here.
The article said the Congressman informed the POTUS in July 04, several months before the election.
"Condi is the one selling the Pakistanis the F-16s"
Missed that info. NOT happy about this. GRRRRR
thanks for the enlightenment....
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