Posted on 10/22/2004 12:38:06 PM PDT by Smogger
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.
The Bush administration does not WANT to capture or kill Bin Laden at this time. If the coalition had taken out Bin Laden during the Afghanistan operation, there would have been no Iraq war. The liberals would have insisted that Bush stay home.
The war on terror is broader than Bin Laden. It is broader than Al Queda! For now, we need Bin Laden alive in order to justify future actions.
If we take out Bin Laden, then we sit at home on our hands which is where Kerry wants us.
Just speculating here, but it may be at the request of Mushi. He's not terribly popular in Azzramistan, or Waziristan, whatever it is. A 500lb munition wiping out a village might cause serious problems.
To me this sounds like a dumb thing for Lehman to say. Even if true, what can Bush say? "We know where he is but don't have the troop strength to get him?" Kerry will pounce on this as supporting his contention that the war in Iraw diverted troops from capturing Osama. If Bush says it's "It's not true; we don't know where he is," then it feeds into the old "our war on terror is ineffective" argument. And if Bush goes in and gets him, it feeds into the "using the terror war to support his campaign" schtick.
Unless I'm missing something, I think Lehman should keep his lips buttoned on intelligence info. That said, I repsect him and DO hope I'm missing something here.
:-} 500 pounders don't wipe out villages but I get your point which is another reasonfro Lehman to keep his mouth shut. There aren't many good options if bin Laden is in the Wild West.
Well, I would have to say that this is like saying that we know exactly where the "Denver Strangler" is. He is somewhere in Colorado.
I agree........
>>I believe that OBL shaved his beard, got a Yankee cap and is driving a cab in NYC!
He will be real easy to spot. He will be the only NYC cab driver with a Yankee hat who doesn't have tears on his cheeks.
Sadly posted by a life-long Yankee fan.
I hope some day we will find out for sure.
... and his family is still wasting oxygen because...?
I read another thread saying he was on the move between the Sino-Pak border. Now that would be a safe place for an Arc Light, IMHO.
The 9/11 Commission? Is that still playing in DC?
Lehman can't just shoot off at the mouth on National Security issues he heard about while on the 9-11 Commission and nobody has anything to say about it.
There is a good reason if he is surrounded by the widows and children of the men he lead to hell.
he's dead - but voting for Kerry in Chucago.
Clinton's discharge (into the Oval Office sink) should have cost him the balance of his presidency. It seems appropriate that Kerry's discharge might cost him his chance.
"I hope some day we will find out for sure."
I hope so, too. I work close to WTC... on 9/11 I was spared but the friends of my colleagues were not..
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