A trump card?

[Big Red 11]

I wonder...

We all know that the administration pulled Saddam's sentencing out in the last few days to try and turn the election. Obviously they had the power to have him sentenced for a while now, but decided to wait. Could this be the same with Osama? Is it possible that he has been captured and the administration is simply waiting to play this ultimate trump card just before the 08 election?

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Big Red 11

I wonder...

We all know that the administration pulled Saddam's sentencing out in the last few days to try and turn the election. Obviously they had the power to have him sentenced for a while now, but decided to wait. Could this be the same with Osama? Is it possible that he has been captured and the administration is simply waiting to play this ultimate trump card just before the 08 election?

With this current administration.....you never know..

[DansDarkSide]

Didnt the get Saddam right before the last election?

[waltky]

Fearless W in hot pursuit...

President Bush sanctions new search for Osama bin-Laden
Sunday 15th June, 2008 - US President George Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House.

Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London have confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the 9/11 attacks. Delta, the US army special operations unit, and the British SBS are undertaking the main operations in Pakistan against Bin Laden. The Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in the US-led operations to capture Bin Laden in the wild frontier region of northern Pakistan.

It is for the first time that the SBS have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis. The hunt was sanctioned by the Pakistani Government, according to a UK special forces source. It involves the use of Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with Hellfire missiles that can be used to take out specific terrorist targets. The US rarely acknowledges the use of Predator and Reaper drones, but the most recent known strike was on a suspected al-Qaeda safe house in the Pakistani province of North Waziristan earlier in June. Villagers said the house was empty.

Intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden is sketchy, but some analysts believe he is in the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan. He has evaded capture for nearly seven years. A Pentagon source said US forces were rolling up Al-Qaeda's network in Pakistan in the hope of pushing Bin Laden towards the Afghan border, where the US military and bombers with guided missiles were lying in wait.

President Bush sanctions new search for Osama bin-Laden

[waltky]

The Fearless One hot on Osama's trail...

US mulls military forays into Pakistan
9 Aug 2008, WASHINGTON: Top Bush administration officials are urging the president to direct US troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan on foot as part of a proposed radical shift in its regional counterterrorism strategy.

Senior intelligence and military aides want President Bush to give American soldiers greater flexibility to operate against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters who cross the border from Pakistan's lawless tribal border area to conduct attacks inside Afghanistan, officials say. The plan could include sending US special forces teams, temporarily assigned to the CIA, into the tribal areas to hit high-value targets, according to an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the plan.

Such a move would be controversial, in part because of Pakistani opposition to US incursions into its territory, and the proposal is not universally supported in Washington. It comes amid growing political instability in Pakistan and concerns that the elements of Pakistan's security forces are collaborating with extremists. Senior members of Bush's national security team met last week at the White House to discuss the recommendations and are now weighing how to proceed, the officials said.

The top agenda item at the meeting of the so-called deputies committee - usually the No. 2 officials at the departments of defence, and state, plus the intelligence agencies and the National Security Council - was to "review and potentially revise cross-border strategy," a US official told AP. Officials closer to the front lines in Afghanistan also are pushing for a newly aggressive stance. The rules currently limiting US incursions into Pakistan when in hot pursuit of enemy fighters would not be stretched under the plan.

Source