There is where you don't have a clear understanding of the situation then -
Musharaff cannot capture UBL, simply by wanting to do so - The border region of PAK is basically autonomous from the PAK Gov't itself - The Gov't of Pakistan has little influence over this region (and this has been the case for over a century) -
Furthermore the terrain in th Afghan / Pak border region is some of the most brutal on earth and makes sustained operations incredibly complicated -
Additionally, with your logic we should have captured Zarqawi in Iraq by now and the only reason we haven't is because we don't want to?? - The fact is we have over 150,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq (on Avg), we control 90% of the Country, we have new Iraqi Gov't that supports our efforts and yet the man still remains at large!
The fact is hunting a sole individual is extremely difficult! - And if you have an understanding of the terrain and tribal control of the Afghan / Pak border reigon you would understand just how incredibly difficult locating UBL in this region is (or for that matter Zawahiri or Mullah Omar, or an additional 5 other HVT's we are hunting who's names you probably wouldn't know).
But for you to naively think that UBL, Zawahiri, Omar and these other additional HVT's survive simply because Musharaff isn't doing enough.....is just wrong and foolish.
There is much more to it then that - And as I said, we have many whom are at the tip of the spear hunting these individuals and putting their lives on the line in doing so 24/7 - (You don't hear or know about 90% of their on going Ops).
I'll take your words to heart.
Great post!
Look at it this way.... We can't even tell if we knew where Muhammad Atta was before 9/11....in Florida. It's not hard to believe that the US government is too slow to nab a fast moving one legged thug in a huge city (Zarqawi), and a slow moving thug in a remote cave (UBL.)
I try to tell people the same and get mostly blank stares. How long did it take to get the Unabomber? How many fugutives on the US Marshals 15 most wanted have been on the lam for over ten years? Or Rudy what's his name, the loon who bombed the Atlanta olympics? These are folks in our own backyard, for pete's sake, but oh, woe is us, we haven't gotten Osama yet. We must be such doofuses. Fact is, if you're careful and determined, and have even a handful of people to help you, you can disappear. Period.
Nevertheless, I'll be celebrating when Dead has to give up his tagline ("I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar").
Thank you DevSix. Great post.