Posted on 11/14/2002 8:46:03 AM PST by finnman69
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate's top Democrat said Thursday that the failure of U.S. authorities to capture Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) raises questions about "whether or not we are winning the war on terror."
Sen. Tom Daschle's remarks came as intelligence analysts concluded that a new audiotape almost certainly contained bin Laden's voice and is proof that he is alive.
"We can't find bin Laden, we haven't made real progress" in finding key elements of al-Qaida," the South Dakotan said. "They continue to be as great a threat today as they were one and a half years ago. So by what measure can we claim to be successful so far?"
President Bush (news - web sites) bristled Wednesday when asked if bin Laden, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks, should have been captured sooner by U.S. and coalition forces. "We're making great progress in the war on terror. Slowly, but surely, we are dismantling the terrorist network," he said.
Daschle, meeting with reporters, said authorities should do a better job of finding where bin Laden's message came from.
"It seems he has the ability to move at will," Daschle said. "It's been a long time. 9-11 was more than year ago, and we have yet to find him."
A technical analysis of the tape was still under way Thursday, and officials said they still think that it was bin Laden's voice but they have not confirmed that.
Lawmakers and the Bush administration are worried that the new tape is a signal that more terror strikes are imminent.
"He's alive. We have to work on that assumption, and we are," said a senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity Wednesday.
Other U.S. officials were more conservative, saying they believe it probably came from bin Laden. They left open the possibility, however slight, that it is a hoax.
But all said they were treating the tape as a real message from al-Qaida's missing leader, even as the CIA (news - web sites) and National Security Agency conducted a technical analysis of the tape aimed at further authenticating it.
"They can't get to 100 percent certainty, but they're sure," the official said. The official, who participated in a high-level briefing by CIA and NSA officials, said analysts were trying to determine whether bin Laden placed cryptic messages in the recording to order followers into action.
Homeland security director Tom Ridge, during an appearance before a State Department gathering Thursday, referred to "bin Laden's remarks over the past 24 to 48 hours." It was an offhanded remark, and it was not clear whether he was speaking on the basis of information not yet made public.
Bush said he was taking the taped message "very seriously."
"Whoever put the tape out has put the world on notice yet again that we're at war," the president said Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
The tape appears to be the first confirmation in a year that bin Laden is alive.
The speaker on the tape sounds undeterred by the loss of bin Laden's home in what was Taliban-ruled Afghanistan (news - web sites) or by the death and capture of several of his closest lieutenants.
Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said special attention is being paid to "what might be signaled" on the tape, while FBI (news - web sites) Director Robert Mueller said the existence of the tape "does and should put us on greater alert."
"There may be individuals in the United States we do not know about who could commit attacks," Mueller said.
Counterterrorism officials have said that if bin Laden is alive, they believe he is probably in a remote, mountainous area of Pakistan along the country's border with Afghanistan. American officials have never confirmed rumors that bin Laden was wounded or suffering some kind of kidney ailment.
Hitler: Hitlery.
Stalin: Hillary
Mao: Hillary
Castro: Hillary
Pol Pot: Hillary
Again, evil does not CARE about silly, flimsy, things like the will of the American people.
Power is all that is desired and force will be used to achieve it.
That's why this is a spiritual battle (in addition to a "political" one) and prayer and fasting and the Word of God are our weapons! More need to learn these weapons and how to use them. We need strongly them in the battles ahead. Never ever assume that evil will "give up" and roll over. It can't....by its nature. But the Bible talks about a time when "let evil waxes more evil" - and this is a clear example of that very event taking place.
Let evil wax more evil.....not let evil waxes more....sheesh.
It's the "What did he know and when did he know it" ploy taken to the next level. President Bush is a rabid right wingnut, and the DEMOCRATS will save us from the EEEVEEL administration 'cause THEY'RE the "MODERATES".
When we defeat them by stubborn, focused rebuttal with FACT, they'll probably move on to the "he's a ONE WORLDER" thingy...that tactic worked real well to allow the REAL one worlder to take over the Oval Office and begin systematically handing this country's sovereignity to the UN, bit by bit. The left is turning up the heat...get ready for another protracted fight, folks.
They're gearing up for '04.
Huh? If OBL is alive and actually made this tape, the fact that it was audio only and probably recorded over the internet indiactates that he cannot move at will and is hiding someplace with no access to video equipment. Ofr he is so sick they don't want to show a picture of him. Or of course the who thing may be a fake.
Uhh... Tom... don't we now control Afganistan...and haven't all the terroist camps in Afganistan there been closed...and didn't we take out several top AQ terrorists, one recently with a predator drone...oh, and aren't there a few hundred prisoners in Cuba that were not there pre 9/11? This is just a few off the top of my head. no doubt there are more.
Tom's life time American Conservative Rating: 13
Record in 2001: 8
Yes.
"Slowly, but surely, we are dismantling the terrorist network."
No.
Two words: Open Borders.
Homeland Security is meaningless without border control.
It was great! He had a little trouble picking just the right dirge-type, sorrowful music, and settled on one that was perfect! I forget who was the performer, but it sure fit the Death of the DemocRAT Party!
g
I have known them to do so.
Give the jackass a call and let him know what you think of his attack on our military.
The dems have a fax system that with, one push of the button, transmit the same "talking point" to all the major media at one time.
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