Itar-Tass - Bin Laden may be hiding in mountain bunker near Qandahar

Itar-Tass | September 18, 2001 | Rafael Bikbayev

[HAL9000]

CAIRO (Itar-Tass) - International terrorist Osama bin Laden may be hiding in an underground mountain bunker near the Afghan city of Qandahar, which was designed to his order by German engineers in 1998, the Saudi Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday with reference to trustworthy sources in Afghanistan.

The bin Laden bunker consists of a ramified system of interlinked passages and gallaries, the lowest one of which runs at a depth of 47 metres. The corridors, built at different levels, are provided with electric escalators. The catacombs are equipped with an automatic life-support system, including powerful electric generators, which allows eighty people to hold out in the shelter for approximately six months.

According to some sources, bin Laden had paid several tens of millions of U.S. dollars for the construction of this bunker, which has an effective system of forced ventilation.

(c) 1996-2001 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved.

[HAL9000]

This report - if accurate - sounds very similar to Saddam Hussein's bunker.

[the BIRD]

Great! Fill it with concrete.

[Paraclete]

If bin Laden is in this bunker, he's a dead duck.

[RetiredArmy]

No problem. A few well placed 1,000 pound bombs will make this crater even deeper with rubble.

[financeprof]

Inquiring minds want to know--can GBU28s take such a bunker out, or will it require a nuke?

PS. Thanks so much German engineers. I guess y'all had some time on your hands after building Sadaam's insecticide/chemwar facilities.

[savedbygrace]

OK, fine. If this is true, then the U. S. certainly has the capability of blocking all electronic signals leaving the "bunker." This effectively isolates him and his homies for six months or so 'til they pop up for some fresh air. Gotcha.

But I doubt ALL news reports right now.

[SLB]

I would recommend using methane to fill the passages, then watch the mountain just vanish. It would require some logistics to accomplish, but should not be too difficult to do. I wonder if the seismographs that pick up earthquakes would record it?

[In The Defense of Liberty]

Hmmm.. lemmie see..

The Germans housed many of the terrorists.

The German trading desks are where much of bin Laden's financial dealings were done.

The flight school in Florida was run, I believe, by a German immigrant.

The Germans built bin Laden's bunker hideout for him.

The Germans don't want to commit to helping us with our quest to end terrorism.

Just a few random thoughts..... Oh, well, nevermind.

[HAL9000]

I seem to recall reading that we possess weapons that are capable of reaching those bunkers.

While Osama bin Laden exhorts his fellow terrorists to commit suicide attacks - the coward will be hiding out in his multi-million dollar bunker.

[martin gibson]

The bin Laden bunker consists of a ramified system of interlinked passages and gallaries, the lowest one of which runs at a depth of 47 metres. The corridors, built at different levels, are provided with electric escalators. The catacombs are equipped with an automatic life-support system, including powerful electric generators, which allows eighty people to hold out in the shelter for approximately six months.

Dude...! Dr. Evil had one just like this in 'The Spy Who Shagged Me'.

So how come these worthless third-worlders are either starving in the street, or hangin' in the deluxe, custom model 'Fortress of Solitude'?

[Trombone]

which has an effective system of forced ventilation. Seems to be the weak point. What about clogging it?

[steveegg]

How nice that the Germans are going back to their old ways.</sarcasm>

[HAL9000]

Please close your tags. If you don't it messes up the subsequent replies.

[In The Defense of Liberty]

My apologies.. thought I had! Thanks for fixing it.

[Dog Gone]

Excellent. Let's go visit our German friends and find out exactly where this bunker is and what size of bomb is necessary to vaporize it.

[steveegg]

If conventional GBU-28's don't work, guess it's time to see if the nuke-armed version (yes, we do have those) works.

[Gumption County]

Time to resume underground nuclear testing...

[doug from upland]

Let's see the plans and determine how to take it out.

[mbynack]

We don't need to DROP bombs. We can land combat engineers and carefully plant enough shaped charges to close up the vents and doors and make this a big tomb.

[blackdog]

An air-drop of several tons of hog entrails followed by enough blast power to seal him in his pig filled tomb would be sweet. Round up all his world-wide buddies, and force them to clean up hog slaughter house kill floors with a spoon and a straw, each day for the rest of their long lives.

Conventional justice will not work in the militant Islamic world. Any sentence ranging from death to prison, only makes them martyrs and furthers their cause.