They seek him here, they seek him there (Interesting article)

[kentuck]

Read this entire article if you get the chance...Very informative as to what Bush is doing to try and catch Osama bin Laden
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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=547641

<snip>
Despite the US's huge intelligence-gathering network and diplomatic clout - and even a $25m reward on his head - there's not been a single sighting of Osama bin Laden since 2001. Justin Huggler reports from Peshawar on the search for the world's most wanted man
04 August 2004


Somewhere, a man huddles in the shadows, speaking into a tape recorder, bringing his latest message to the outside world. His face is instantly recognisable. There is a $25m price tag on his head, and just a snippet of information on his whereabouts could make a man rich for life. He is the most wanted man in the world, but for more than three years, nobody has been able to find a trace of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.

With Washington and New York this week on orange alert, and the US releasing what it claims is the most detailed evidence yet of an al-Qa'ida plot to strike inside its borders, the focus is suddenly back on the hunt for Bin Laden. Al-Qa'ida allies are being blamed for the loathsome beheadings of foreigners that have become almost a grisly routine in Iraq. And with a US national election looming and President George Bush doing badly in the polls, the White House is said to be desperate to capture their man in time for November.

But the trail appears to be remarkably cold. Unless something is being hidden from the public - and it would have to be remarkably well hidden - there has not been a single confirmed sighting of Bin Laden since he fled the US bombing of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in late 2001. Nor, according to Pakistani sources, has there been any intercepts of satellite phones call by him, or any e-mails. Drones fly constantly over the Afghan-Pakistan border monitoring all movements. They have failed to detect detected anything. He has disappeared from the US's electronic surveillance network, the most sophisticated the world has even known. The last heard of him was a tape recording in April in which he offered Europe a ceasefire if it stopped co-operating with the US.

..much more

[madfloridian]

1. Last two paragraphs are interesting.

SNIP...."And now it seems that al-Qa'ida is declaring war on Pakistan, with last week's attempted assassination of the prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz, in a suicide bombing that a group claiming to be affiliated to al-Qa'ida said it carried out. Are the hunted becoming the hunter? Shortly before his death, Nek Mohammed threatened attacks inside Pakistani cities. President Musharraf has accused al-Qa'ida of being behind two of the recent assassination attempts against him, and Dr Zawahiri called for his killing in his own recent tape recording.

And all the while the world's most wanted man remains silent, hidden. The only thing for sure is that if he has been killed or captured, we'll hear of it well in time for November's elections. But don't bet on it yet."

[dweller]

2. interesting....very.

"Pakistan got some 200 mentions in the September 11 commission's report - more than Iran and Iraq combined."

hmm.
dp

[gauguin57]

3. When will you all learn: OBL is in the White House basement!

He's hooked up to a dialysis machine down there, and has been for a coupla years now. In late October, he'll be brought up by elevator, dragged over to the Capitol, and "captured" right on the steps -- as he's, presumably, trying to attack the place.

[ThePhilosopher04]

4. Wouldn't it be some shit if he were hanging out in Crawford, TX!!!! nm

nm

[dbt]

5. Kick for The Kinks!

"His clothes are loud, but never square."

:evilgrin:
dbt

[DrBB]

6. Musharaf doesn't want him found

Musharaff benefits in all kinds of ways from the alliance of convenience with the US. At this point he's quite dependent on it in fact. And the GWOT in general, and the hunt for OBL/al Qu'aida in particular are the only reason he has our support. To really smash alQ/OBL is to eliminate the reason for the alliance. And the US's reputation for follow-through on promises about how we'll continue to support you--yeah sure, don't worry about it--after your usefulness to us has ended is, how shall I put this, not untarnished. A fact rather abundantly obvious to any neighbor of Afghanistan.

So doling out the occasional "major" arrest is okay, but I think there are strong motivations for NOT capturing OBL himself or truly decimating his organization. Talking about doing it, of course, is something else.

on edit: And I too applaud the nice Ray Davies allusion. Greatest rock songwriter who ever lived! Well, top two or three anyway.