Noonan has lost her touch. She's clearly out of the loop, and is stuck in some kind of thinking that bin Laden is important. There is no evidence that he is in charge of anything, or that al-Qaeda has much influence anywhere anymore. It was all over the media that al-Qaeda is abandoning Iraq because, in spite of the car bombs, they can't stop anything; the Iraqi government is formed, and is moving forward.
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.