Heavily Fortified 'Ant Farms' Deter bin Laden's Pursuers

The New York Times ^ | 11/26/2001 | MICHAEL WINES

[Pokey78]

Ping this one along on your ping list, please?

[appeal2]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this ultra bunkerbuster will be seeing action much much sooner. Like next week. The same thing happened during Desert Storm where the GBU-28 was developed within a matter of a few weeks.

[Sabertooth]

You got it, Pokey.

Thanks for all the good work you do here.

Osama Paki-pool Update:

Osama bin DEAD-pool Update:

All right, here's the up-to-date list for the Osama bin DEAD-pool. Still plenty of open dates, so flag me on this thread if you want in. As you've noticed, since he doesn't look like he'll make it to Pakistan, I went ahead and changed the name of the pool. Sue me.

---

November 16: First day of Ramadan!
November 17: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub - Nope.
November 18: OPEN
November 19: OPEN
November 20: OPEN
November 21: OPEN
November 22: Azzurri -- Thanksgiving - Nope.
November 23: Sabertooth - Nope.
November 24: Jefferson Adams - Nope.
November 25: Victoria Delsoul - Nope. And band-aids on her fingers to prove it.
November 26: airborne - Tick… tick… tick.
November 27: harpseal - On the bubble.
November 28: snippy_about_it
November 29: Tunehead54
November 30: Travis McGee

December   1: alancarp
December   2: onyx
December   3: AfghanAirShow
December   4: Straight Vermonter
December   5: Pokey78
December   6: proudofthesouth
December   7: null and void -- Pearl Harbor Day
December   8: MaeWest
December   9: justlurking
December 10: glock rocks
December 11: KayEyeDoubleDee
December 12: Washi
December 13: FreedomFarmer
December 14: irish guard
December 15: hattend

Not sure when Ramadan ends, but around here somewhere.

December 16: nunya bidness
December 17: abner
December 18: anniegetyourgun
December 19: Collier
December 20: mdittmar
December 21: Nick Danger
December 22: okie01
December 23: peteram
December 24: RasterMaster -- Christmas Eve
December 25: Go Gordon -- Christmas Day
December 26: Loyalist
December 27: Brian Allen
December 28: Snow Bunny
December 29: Alabama_Wild_Man
December 30: CIApilot
December 31: Miss Marple -- New Year's Eve

I really don't think it's going to go this long, but I've had requests for January…

January   1: Freeper 007 -- New Year's Day
January   2: spectr17
January   3: lainde
January   4: Woodman
January   5: Semper911
January   6: be-baw
January   7: aruanan
January   8: PoisedWoman -- Elvis' Birthday
January   9: Diogenesis.
January 10: JeanS
January 11: OPEN
January 12: garycooper
January 13: Torie
January 14: JohnHuang2
January 15: coteblanche -- "Ides of January" (a Canadian thing). Also Martin Luther King's Birthday.
January 16: OPEN
January 17: OPEN
January 18: OPEN
January 19: OPEN
January 20: Gritty -- Anniversary of Dubya's Inagural
January 21: OPEN
January 22: OPEN
January 23: OPEN
January 24: OPEN
January 25: OPEN
January 26: OPEN
January 27: OPEN
January 28: OPEN
January 29: OPEN
January 30: OPEN
January 31: OPEN

February   1: OPEN
February   2: afuturegovernor -- Ground Hog Day
February   3: OPEN
February   4: deadhead
February   5: OPEN
February   6: OPEN
February   7: OPEN
February   8: OPEN
February   9: OnAMission
February 10: OPEN

And here are a couple of Freepers who think that they know something that the rest of us don't…

April 29: dennisw

October 10: susangirl

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If you're not sure what the whole "Paki-pool" idea was about, check out this link from a thread posted by Travis McGee on October 25th...

Will Osama Appear In Pakistan?

The operating theory is was that Osama bin Laden had a plan all along to show up in Pakistan, have himself declared the "Imam al-Mahdi" (a long-prophesied Islamic savior-figure), and start a civil war in an attempt to gain control of Pakistan's nukes.

Sound crazy?

So is he. Crazy evil.

It's still an interesting read.

[McGavin999]

Well, good a place as any to test the new bombs. Hope they work.

[garyhope]

"Da caves, da caves" once again the vaunted and impenetrable caves of Afghanistan and Bin Ladin. Phoeey. And of course it't the NY defeatist Times reporting on them.

How well will we have to do in Afghanistan before the NY Times will give America a break or compliment? Even if we bring peace, prosperity, end "starvation" and "poverty and a cure to cancer and ice cream to everyone on the planet and they would still be writing and spreading the same old negativity about the US.

"How long oh Lord, How long?

[GeronL]

The NYT says we can't do it?? darn, lets just give up.

[Travis McGee]

It sounds like we need "smart bunker busters" that can fly right in the tunnel openings before detonating far inside.

[is_is]

built to withstand everything short a nuclear attack.

well.......

[GeronL]

if the pool is free, give me by b-day Feb 7... although we'll probably be hunting Saddam by then... I think Laden won't make it to Christmas.

[Travis McGee]

I think he will hide in a very obscure and minor cave with only 5-10 of his most trusted and fanatical bodyguards, and then slip into Pakistan at the opportune time to appear at his favorite madrassa school as the Mahdi, (who miraculously escaped from the infidels' bomber).

[Sabertooth]

Done!

February 7th belongs to GeronL.

[is_is]

put me down for 01/11/02

[GeronL]

ever seen those R/C planes with an onboard explosive? Real-time telemetry back to a laptop... fly into the cave and see the enemy... kaboom. The tiny planes have a range of about 6 miles.... probably still in testing... good time and place for a test.

[rockfish59]

do like vietnam and pump in tons of acetylene, drop a match, duck!

[Sabertooth]

Done!

January 11th belongs to is_is.

[Travis McGee]

I saw a TV special (Nova?) on UAVs, which ranged down to the size of a thin paperback book with a video link to send images back to an infantry officer over the hill from his enemy. It's hand launched, with a tiny propeller. It was only a working prototype, at the time of the documentary a year or so ago.

Of course, it will be a problem directing it inside a cave.

OTOH, tiny crawling robots sending video back along a trailing fiberoptic thread should be easy to gin up, basing them on EOD robots in use already.

[blam]

"The same thing happened during Desert Storm where the GBU-28 was developed within a matter of a few weeks."

Thirteen days.

[Faraday]

I'd like to take April 14, 2002. I figure we have to get him before we pay income taxes.

[GeronL]

It was on TLC and it mentioned the exploding variety too, about the force of a hand grenade or something.