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Peggy Noonan: The Big Three [that] the president should focus on. (No. 1: Find Osama)
opinion journsl ^ | Ap 26 06 | Peggy Noonan

Posted on 05/07/2006 3:10:45 PM PDT by churchillbuff

...A plan for the administration? Free advice is worth the price, but here goes:

[snip]

Issue 1: Iraq, Afghanistan and the age of terror. On these, stabilize, fortify, succeed. Keep America safe. ...Find Osama--it is a scandal that the man who started the new era is still free, still taunting the West, still inspiring those who see the world as he does. It was a mistake to think finding him was not as important as a wider war on terror. Finding him is key. It is almost five years since he did what he did. Get him, try him, kill him.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 2006agenda; noonan
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To: churchillbuff
Find Osama--it is a scandal that the man who started the new era is still free, still taunting the West, still inspiring those who see the world as he does.

Forget it Peggy. Osama is under tons of rubble. No sense wasting our manpower to dig up the body. I mean, if Osama were alive would it not be in the interest of terrorism to show him calling on terrorists to fight? But he is nowhere to be found and to the terrorist organizations it is best to just not say anything than to admit (take the wind out of terrorists sails) that he is dead. Until I see a video of him holding up the daily newspaper I will consider him fertilizer.

41 posted on 05/07/2006 3:47:25 PM PDT by taxesareforever (Never forget Matt Maupin)
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To: Miss Marple; RHINO369
You are talking about thousands of miles of the roughest terrain

Not to mention a thousand or so miles of caves.

42 posted on 05/07/2006 3:47:27 PM PDT by BigSkyFreeper (There is no alternative to the GOP except varying degrees of insanity.)
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To: livius
the problem is Islam, not Osama"""

Not necessarily. There are billions of Mohammedans in the world - in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia as well as in the Middle East. The percentage who are terrorists is small. Osama is one of the top terrorists. He's the most visible evil Islamic, and yet we don't seem to have put highest priority on capturing him and making him pay for 9-11 and Flight 93.

43 posted on 05/07/2006 3:49:14 PM PDT by churchillbuff
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To: SE Mom

She is one of the best writers out there and what she wrote this time is absolutely correct.


44 posted on 05/07/2006 3:49:29 PM PDT by Paige ("Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." --George Washington)
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To: RHINO369

a very difficult area to operate in with ground troops - OBL knew that all along, that's why all the OBL and the AQ leadership went there to hide after 9-11.


45 posted on 05/07/2006 3:49:42 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: churchillbuff

Osama's been marginalized. It's the other 40 million Mooselimb fanatics we need to work on.


46 posted on 05/07/2006 3:50:17 PM PDT by Cementjungle
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To: Straight Vermonter
Great point. This administration has been terrible at pointing out the many successes in the WOT.

Agree completely - The WH/GOP PR staff need to fight with the same 24/7 intensity they are asking of our warriors in the field -

They have done a piss-poor performance in this regard (too a large degree).

47 posted on 05/07/2006 3:50:56 PM PDT by SevenMinusOne
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To: taxesareforever

he's not dead.


48 posted on 05/07/2006 3:52:11 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: operation clinton cleanup
Imagine the scenario if US commandos were running from cave to cave in Pakistan trying to capture Osama.
The MSM would chastise this Government for starting a hunt since Osama has successor groups and followers galore.
Dead, killed commandos would be presented by the MSM as Bush's ego sacrifices, basically to be thrown in towards a secondary end result.
Waiting, improving or reestablishing better intelligence operations is the way to go.
In the meantime rebuild Iraq's forces, systematically choke off those hide and seek the arrangeurs of these explosive vest carriers, slowly but gradually gain by establishing a Government in Iraq.
The US can not afford to get out by deserting nations in the Middle East that still are free and pro US.
What's feeding these terrorists are sky high oil prices which the US enviro sector with help by liberals and their Dem benefactors generated by blocking for over 30 years any meaningful explorations and maneuvering us in a dangerous dependency.
Threatening shortages that endanger and possibly can kill the best world economy are on the horizon should we fail in Iraq and deviate by making Osama the main objective.
Actively and immediately allow drilling, refining, nuclear and hydroelectric power generations, and we pull the rug from characters like Chavez and this new self appointed Iranian egomaniac Prinz that so loudly announces to eradicate Israel.
49 posted on 05/07/2006 3:52:49 PM PDT by hermgem
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To: taxesareforever
Osama is under tons of rubble.

Congratulations. You're the first person on this thread to have the right response.

50 posted on 05/07/2006 3:53:28 PM PDT by Oschisms
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To: Cementjungle
Osama's been marginalized."""

Simply incredible how many people are uninterested in making Osama pay for having perpetrated 9-11. Even people who went to the movie about Flight 93 and the horrors that Osama did to those people -- Me, I believe in punishing murderers. Osama has murdered more Americans than any other individual currently walking the planet. He needs to be caught and executed -- and that should be the government's top priority right now. The families of 9-11 are owed that justice.

51 posted on 05/07/2006 3:53:42 PM PDT by churchillbuff
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To: churchillbuff
Personally, I don't want a full scale war with Iran. I've argued on this board about not getting into invading Iran because of Israel who can take care of themselves. The main reason is that this country couldn't stand up to it here on the homefront.

If he were in Pakistan, we'd have him already.

The reason I said Iran is going to be a tough decision is that Russia and China will be ACTIVE in any US decision to take action with Iran. If it's nukes and threatening Israel, it would be tough, If it's that coupled with evidence of OBL in Iran, it gets doubly tough...

52 posted on 05/07/2006 3:54:59 PM PDT by Gaffer
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To: sinkspur

symbolically, OBL is the "big catch" in the war on terror. getting him would be huge - politically, symbolically, and as a message to AQ leadership, telling them "no matter how long it takes, we'll get you".

there is no single big event that will materialize in iraq for the president to hang his hat on as a "victory". No VE or VJ day of surrender, no signing of a surrender agreement on a battle ship someplace. yes, things are improving there, but the sheeple aren't going to see any of that, they get their news through 30 second segments and soundbites.


53 posted on 05/07/2006 3:56:30 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: georgia2006
finding OSama is fine, but it wont end the war. American make the mistake of personalizing our middle east enemies rather than the idealogy...Khomanie, Osama etc...the problem is an idealogy I think that the majority of americans think if we cathc Osama, all is fine and dandy and we can go back to 9-10-2001.

You are absolutely right. The majority of Americans have not come to the understanding that we are fighting an ideology not just one man. That's why they don't understand the war on terror and Iraq's role in it or how it affects the greater Middle East. However, Peggy is right that if we caught OBL -- Bush's numbers would go up. That seems like a given.

Her other points are well taken. Securing the border and talking up the booming economy would be good strategies. Can't hurt.

54 posted on 05/07/2006 3:56:57 PM PDT by redgirlinabluestate
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To: Miss Marple; RHINO369
Peggy Noonan apparently thinks Preisdent Bush can't find Osama because he isn't really trying.

It is a ridiculous assumption

Exactly right - Peggy is dead wrong in regard to the premise that we don't have UBL simply because we haven't gone after him enough (that simply isn't the case).

With that said, that UBL remains alive is definitely a real kick in the balls (to be polite). Killing him (along with Zawahiri, G. Hekmatyar in Stan and Zarqawi in Iraq) will be a big lift to our side and have a much larger negative effect on our enemies then most suspect.

55 posted on 05/07/2006 3:57:04 PM PDT by SevenMinusOne
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To: oceanview
"a very difficult area to operate in with ground troops - OBL knew that all along, that's why all the OBL and the AQ leadership went there to hide after 9-11."

Do you think Dday was a walk in the park? War is hell, my problem is we seem to be fine with a steady low intensity war that is constantly killing small numbers instead of a high intensity conflict that solves the issue once and for all.
56 posted on 05/07/2006 3:57:46 PM PDT by RHINO369
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To: Gaffer

Both of you are wrong about OBL.

The terror organizations are not set up in the same way that western hierarchical organizations are structured. (Sorry but big word must be used here.)

Terrorists are organized in loose informal units called "cells" and there really is no central head cell like say, an IBM or a General Motors. Our Administration is totally aware of this and are not killing themselves trying to "get the head man" because there is no head man.

When you start to analyze that many nation states are funding and supplying all manner of terrorist activities you may start to realize the enormous task that lays before us.

Terrorism is literally everywhere around the planet. OBL ,though charismatic, is not crucial at all...his capture or killing will have no impact whatsoever to the world-wide terror picture.

Rest easy in the knowledge that your President and his staffs know all of this and really have from the start. It's the Media Numb Skulls who have made OBL the "Holy Grail that Is'nt".

At least you are not alone in your lack of knowledge.
You, Peggy Noonan and lots of other nice folks don't know your butts from third base about terrorism.


57 posted on 05/07/2006 4:01:13 PM PDT by CBart95
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To: RHINO369

we don't have that kind of enemy in this war - large formations of organized troops that you can conduct those kind of operations against. this is like conducting war against well armed Crips and Bloods streetgangs.

how many soldiers do you want to lose conducting full scale operations in the Pakistan tribal region? would that even work, we can't even find Zarqawi in iraq, and we have 140,000 troops there.


58 posted on 05/07/2006 4:04:17 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: CBart95
OBL ,though charismatic, is not crucial at all...his capture or killing will have no impact whatsoever to the world-wide terror picture. """"

OBL killed thousands on 9-11, including the people on Flight 93. He must be caught and executed. I believe in punishing murderers, especially mass murderers. If we don't put a priority on doing that, with Osama, it sends a bad message to the world, and it deprives the 9-11 families of the justice they are owed.

59 posted on 05/07/2006 4:05:37 PM PDT by churchillbuff
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To: oceanview
he's not dead.

Under tons of rubble? That's not possible.

60 posted on 05/07/2006 4:05:44 PM PDT by taxesareforever (Never forget Matt Maupin)
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