John Lehman: Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan.

CLAREMONT - The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, a member of the 9-11 Commission said Thursday. Commissioner John Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who asserted the al-Qaida terror kingpin was alive and operating in the western part of that country.

Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan Region, Lehman said, after delivering a keynote speech on terrorism at Pitzer College in Claremont to kick off the university's three-day writer's festival.

In the exclusive interview, Lehman said, "There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

When pressed on why the United States couldn't send troops into the region to capture the world's No. 1 terrorist, Lehman said the Baluchistan Region of the country is filled with militant fundamentalists who do not recognize the legitimacy of President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally of the United States.

"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members" he said, acknowledging that Pakistan's security services also are filled with many who agree with bin Laden's beliefs and would aid him if U.S. Special Forces entered the region.

"Look," he said, "Musharraf already has had three assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go in. We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now."

Asked how bin Laden was surviving, Lehman said he was getting money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.

"He is not a wealthy man," Lehman said. "We ran that information into the ground, and discovered he only receives about $1 million a year from his family's fortune. The rest of what he gets comes from radical sympathizers."

Department of Defense spokeswoman Capt. Ronnie Merritt confirmed that the U.S. military believes bin Laden is in Pakistan. However, she would not comment on Lehman's remarks, except to say that he normally didn't speak about these issues, and she was surprised he had.

Lehman is one of 10 members of the bipartisan commission that authored "The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States," which is a New York Times bestseller. The ardent Republican also is the author of three books about military tactics.

Jim Mohr can be reached by e-mail at jim.mohr@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 386-3891.

Surrender or face assault, govt tells militants

By Dilawar Khan Wazir

WANA, Oct 21: The government on Thursday warned local and foreign militants in the besieged Spinkay Raghzay area in South Waziristan tribal region to surrender or face a full-scale assault.

No significant engagements occurred on Thursday as over 2,000 soldiers encircling the area tightened the cordon.

The administration sent in a jirga of tribal elders into the besieged area to persuade militants to surrender peacefully.

"They have been given three options, surrender peacefully, or identify militants and show us where they are or face a full-scale assault," a senior security official said.

The jirga, however, returned later in the afternoon without scoring any success.

The elders have sought more time to convince the militants holed up in the area and the government appeared inclined to grant more time to these efforts.

"It is better to wait and resolve this issue peacefully than to cause more bloodshed and killings," an official told Dawn.

A general calm prevailed in the area after overnight clashes between security forces and the militants left one soldier dead and three others wounded.

The fighting has so far claimed the lives of six soldiers in three days.

Officials said that a militant was also killed in the clash while two others were captured alive.

They said that Abdullah Mehsud, who had masterminded the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers on Oct 9, was not in the area.

"Spinkay Raghzay was used as a transit point by militants to cross over into different parts of the tribal region and Abdullah though used this as a route, he is not present there at the moment," the official said.

He did not know the exact number of foreign or local militants holed up in Spinkay who, he added, were determined to put up a fight and die rather than surrender, but said that their number could be significant.

Eight gunship helicopters are on standby in Jandola, adjacent to Tank district.

Officials said that army troops had entered a small bazaar in the Spinkay Raghzay and secured nearby hilltops in the area.

Residents also reported fierce gunbattle between security forces and militants in the Mandana and Qalqala areas while people were seen leaving the area in large numbers.

Militants, meanwhile, fired three missiles on a paramilitary camp in Wana on Wednesday night.

Authorities said that a missile hit a barrack inside the camp, but did not cause casualty. Skirmishes have been reported from the Kaniguram and Karwan Manza areas.

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