Colo. man went on solo mission to kill bin Laden

Associated Press ^ | June 11, 2010 | DAN ELLIOTT and CHRIS BRUMMITT

[presidio9]

An American man has been detained in the mountains of Pakistan after local authorities found him carrying a sword, pistol and night-vision goggles on a Rambo-style solo mission to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden.

Friends and family say construction worker Gary Brooks Faulkner is a devout, good-humored Christian who often talked about building a porch or framing a house — not taking down the world's most-wanted terrorist. They had few clues to explain his 7,300-mile journey.

"I'm like, 'What? They got him where?'" said Daren Paredes, a friend who met Faulkner in the northern Colorado town of Greeley. "He's a joker, and he's real talkative. ... He never really talked about terror or anything like that."

The 51-year-old Faulkner, who has a lengthy arrest record and served time in a Colorado prison, arrived in the town of Bumburate on June 3 and stayed in a hotel there. He was assigned a police guard, as is common for foreigners visiting remote parts of Pakistan. When he checked out without informing police, officers began looking for him, according to the top police officer in the Chitral region, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan.

He said Faulkner was found late Sunday in a forest.

"We initially laughed when he told us that he wanted to kill Osama bin Laden," Khan said. But when officers seized the weapons and night-vision equipment, "our suspicion grew." He said the American was trying to cross into the nearby Afghan region of Nuristan.

Chitral and Nuristan are among several rumored hiding places for bin Laden along the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment generally deny the possibility that bin Laden is hiding somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghan border,

[presidio9]

This Jan. 2006 photo provided Tuesday, June 15, 2010 by the Larimer County, Colo. Sheriff's Office shows Gary Brooks Faulkner, after he was arrested on a Compulsory Insurance charge. Faulkner, armed with a pistol and a 40-inch sword, was detained Tuesday in northern Pakistan as he tried to cross the border into Afghanistan on a mission to avenge the 9/11 attacks and kill Osama bin Laden, police said. Faulkner, a 51-year-old construction worker, also was carrying Christian literature and a small amount of hashish.

[Jewbacca]

[Chickensoup]

Bipolar disorder will carry you far.

Mania certainly clouds judgement.

[marron]

Hunting without a license?

[dragnet2]

Faulkner, a 51-year-old construction worker, also was carrying Christian literature and a small amount of hashish.

Probably gold seal Pakistan....

[Izzy Dunne]

What a Fool Believes.

[Frank_2001]

I’d say that chump is in WAY over his pay grade....

[LeonardFMason]

We need 100,000 more like this guy.

Maybe he is from the “Clan McLeod” with the 40 inch sword.

[freedomlover]

The sad thing is, he is more likely to get OBL than Obama is.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Gee, sounds like he got closer to Bin Ladin than Bill Clinton did..bwahahahaha!

[shalom aleichem]

I there still a $25 million bounty on Osama? I had not heard it was withdrawn but I would guess that Obama has lifted it and issued instead a protection order for him.

[presidio9]

[Oldpuppymax]

Actually, he was headed after the wrong Muslim.

[WKUHilltopper]

Well...isn’t the bounty something like $23 million? I’m just wondering how much it cost for the extra carry on for the pistol and sword when he got on the plane.

[OldDeckHand]

"Hunting without a license?"

Well, when Uncle Sam puts a $25 million bounty on Osama's head, you have to expect a little of this. In fact, I'm surprised there hasn't been more of it.

[Stayfrosty]

Why are you all making fun of him? What have you guys done to help with the war effort or to catch Bin Laden? Too many keyboard commandos around these parts. I laud this guy for his efforts, and if we had more americans like him, we probably wouldn’t be sitting where we are now in regards to catching/killing these international terrorist.

[presidio9]

[Retired Greyhound]

At one point some of my rogue buddies and I (Marines, bikers, Spec Ops guys, etc) had considered organizing a team and going over there.

I say good on this guy.

[dragnet2]

I’d say that chump is in WAY over his pay grade....

Given the U.S. Government's success in capturing Bin Laden, what do you base this on Frank?

[VTenigma]

Let him go he can’t do any worse than we have