Mystery Americans on the trail of bin Laden?(bin Laden sighting)

NYT ^ | 05/15/06 | Carlotta Gall

[TigerLikesRooster]

Mystery Americans on the trail of bin Laden?

By Carlotta Gall The New York Times

MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006

CHITRAL, Pakistan This quiet mountain resort, better known for its polo games and mountain treks, has become the latest site of interest in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, much to the outrage and bemusement of its inhabitants.

Chitral is the remotest northwestern territory in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, stretching along the Afghan border to the high mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs, following the Wakhan Corridor, the long finger of Afghanistan that reaches to the Chinese border.

The territory is home to rare falcons and the snow leopard and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months of the year.

It is here, in the largest town, also called Chitral, that four Americans from the U.S. Embassy rented a house last autumn, apparently preparing for a long stay, according to Siraj ul-Mulk, a member of the traditional ruling family here and the owner of the Hindu Kush Heights Hotel overlooking the valley where the four stayed.

But the house remained unoccupied until two weeks ago, when an American arrived with two carloads of furniture and equipment, provoking a local politician to object in Parliament and lead a street protest against the presence of what he termed an American "secret agency."

The American left three days before the demonstration took place, police officials said.

[Waco]

Any doubts about Elvis now??

[Dog]

Cindy this is in the northern reaches of Pakistan....in the Hindu Kush mountains. Lots of hidden vallys to hide in....an area with several escape routes..(Afghanistan,China,and several of the Stans...)

[Cindy]

Thank you Dog for the info.

[momincombatboots]

With that bounty on his head, I would think more cold steel Americans would be hunting him. Whatta perfect trophy piece. I think he is dead or being detained otherwise some well- funded merc would have taken him out.

[Beckwith]

Pssttt! Al Qaeda,

Keep changing those cell phones. The NSA is listening.

Oh, and tell Osama that they're looking for him in Chitral.

Pinch send his best, your friends at The Times

[expatguy]

bttt -

[Straight Vermonter]

[reagan_fanatic]

LOL!

[Cheburashka]

Once again, I wonder why they publish stuff like this, telling the world what we're doing.
---
Because they want George Bush to fail at whatever he tries to do?
If America is harmed, well you #$%^& elected him, so you deserve to be harmed.

[Dick Vomer]

ah Chaman in the springtime.... what beautiful memories...the rocks....and the boulders....and the valleys filled with smaller rocks laying gently on bigger rocks.....covering caves....

I love that place....reminds me of a ........ sack of gravel.

[Cindy]

"...a sack of gravel."

Smiling...

[Cindy]

"Whatta perfect trophy piece."

Yep.

[CollegeRepublican]

They have no place coming to Chitral, nor would we allow them to stay there," he said. "We are not against foreigners, but the presence of such elements will destroy the peaceful atmosphere of Chitral Valley."

Comments like this one make me think that the CIA might be on to something in the area. However our agents need to be more low key in their moving in to a new area so as not to raise such suspicions.