This Happened a while back but...

[dajyde]

Who thinks that Osama Bin Laden suffered and is still suffering from a life threatening illness? Do you think it was just a political number played to boost Bush's war rating?

[waltky]

Almost caught him in `04...

US 'nearly snared bin Laden in 2004'
August 27, 2007 - US forces in Afghanistan came so close to discovering Osama bin Laden in the winter of 2004-05 that his supporters were on the verge of killing him to prevent his capture,it was reported overnight.

Bin Laden's entourage, ordered to kill the al-Qaeda chief and themselves to avoid capture, were about to take the drastic action using a special code word when nearby US troops moved off in a different direction, Newsweek said in its latest issue. "If there's a 99 per cent risk of the sheikh (bin Laden) being captured, he told his men that they should all die and martyr him as well," Newsweek quoted Egyptian al-Qaeda operative Sheikh Said as telling Taliban official Omar Farooqi.

The near-miss by US forces occurred on the lawless border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the magazine reported. In its cover story on the six-year-old search for bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Newsweek also said the intense US search for him has made little progress in several years.

"There hasn't been a serious lead on Osama bin Laden since early 2002," Bruce Reidel, a retired CIA South Asia expert, told the magazine. "What we're doing now is shooting in the dark in outer space. The chances of hitting anything are zero," said an unidentified intelligence official.

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[waltky]

Fearless W keepin' him inna White House basement till August...

Years after 9/11 Osama bin Laden still at large
Monday 10th March, 2008 : Six-and-a-half years after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, the man blamed for them is still at large.

Osama bin Laden was fingered within hours of the attacks, and within days was being referred to as “the prime suspect.” Without any proof ever being put forward he then became “the mastermind,” and “the perpetrator.” President Bush repeatedly said he would be "smoked out of caves," and brought to justice. He never was.

An examination of statements by President Bush in particular, and other Bush administration officials, demonstrate a vagueness about the proof of bin Laden’s involvement, but even more so how the initial vows to hunt down and bring to justice those that carried out the 9/11 atrocities, faded.

Within days of September 11, administration officials were backing away from the importance of capturing bin Laden, insisting the then-proposed War on Terror was “not about one man.” Intermixed with this rhetoric was the odd, lair-like remark of Bush, who said he wanted bin Laden “Dead or Alive.” There was conjecture as to whether Bush’s preference was for bin Laden to be found dead. Vice President Cheney at the time volunteered that was his preference. Regardless, all these years later, bin Laden is very much alive, and on the loose.

More Years after 9/11 Osama bin Laden still at large

[waltky]

Pak not bein' too co-operative...

Pakistan says US not hunting bin Laden on its turf
Sat Jul 12, `08 - Pakistan's top diplomat said Saturday there are no U.S. or other foreign military personnel on the hunt for Osama bin Laden in his nation, and none will be allowed in to search for the al-Qaida leader.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his nation's new government has ruled out such military operations, covert or otherwise, to catch militants. "Our government's policy is that our troops, paramilitary forces and our regular forces are deployed in sufficient numbers. They are capable of taking action there. And any foreign intrusion would be counterproductive," he said Saturday. "People will not accept it. Questions of sovereignty come in."

The United States has grown increasingly frustrated as al-Qaida, the Taliban and other militants thrive in Pakistan's remote areas and in neighboring Afghanistan, and has offered U.S. troops to strike at terror networks. Critics in Washington also have expressed frustration with the new Pakistani government's pursuit of peace deals in the region. Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere along the rugged and lawless Afghan-Pakistan border region.

Pakistan's newly elected civilian government is negotiating with tribal elders to secure peace with militants along the Afghan border in hopes of curbing a surge in violence. It is a step back from the heavy-handed tactics pursued by the previous government led by supporters of President Pervez Musharraf. Tension between the U.S. and Pakistan have been high after Pakistan said U.S. aircraft killed 11 of its soldiers at a border post in June. U.S. officials have said coalition aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants.

More Pakistan says US not hunting bin Laden on its turf - Yahoo! News

[waltky]

Fearless W goin' after Osama wherever he may be...

U.S. Troops Reportedly Strike In Pakistan
Sept. 3, 2008 - Rare Use Of Ground Forces Stokes Pakistani Ire, May Indicate Important Target

Pakistan's top security officials on Wednesday were searching for clues that a "moderately important terrorist target" may have been hit when U.S. and/or NATO forces attacked three houses in a remote part of the country's border region with Afghanistan. As many as 15 people were killed in the early morning strike Wednesday. The operation took place near the village of Angor Adda in Pakistan's South Waziristan region - a notorious sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants. Eyewitnesses said the strike involved helicopter gunships.

South Waziristan and the adjoining North Waziristan regions are known to harbor fighters who routinely cross the border into Afghanistan to attack U.S. and other Western troops then return to the relative security of Pakistani soil. Wednesday's attack was unusual in that it involved Western ground forces, a Pakistani security official told CBS News on condition of anonymity. Previous attacks on the Pakistani side of the border are believed to have been carried out primarily by CIA pilotless drones armed with hellfire missiles.

The reported use of ground troops prompted speculation that the attack was aimed at an important terrorist target, but also enraged local residents and authorities, who have long insisted that Western forces must not enter Pakistani territory. "I don't know if there were any top targets. But there could well be moderately important terrorist targets," the security official told CBS. "If there was deployment of grounds troops, which involved a greater risk than sending in a pilotless drone, that suggests the attackers were probably looking for a specific terrorist target."

More U.S. Troops Reportedly Strike In Pakistan, Rare Use Of Ground Forces Stokes Pakistani Ire, May Indicate Important Target - CBS News

[waltky]

Osama's a slippery cuss ain't he?...

7 Years Later, No Closer To Bin Laden
Sept. 11, 2008 : Al Qaeda Leader Proves Adept At Evading U.S. Tactics, Which Are Causing New Problems

Seven years after Sept. 11, 2001, in spite of President Bush's vows, the mastermind of the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil, Osama bin Laden, is still at large and leading a resurgent al Qaeda. Since that day, al Qaeda has struck in Madrid, London, Bali, and Casablanca, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar. The group has claimed more than a dozen terror attacks around the world and many hundreds more in Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving thousands of dead and wounded. "These attacks are stark reminders that the threat of terrorism is real and still a danger to the entire world," said Maj. Gen. Robert Cone, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan.

Thursday morning at Camp Eggers, near Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers closest to the hunt for bin Laden remembered the people killed seven years ago in Washington and New York. The last time the U.S. knew for certain bin Laden's whereabouts, he was leading the battle at Tora Bora. He slipped away, into the mountains along the border shared by Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conventional wisdom is that that is where he remains - probably in Pakistan, but the trail is very cold.

"He's a good survivalist, a skilled survivalist," explains Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service. "He reads about what the U.S. methods are and he's obviously working very hard to defeat those methods. He's using personal messengers. He's not on a cell phone." U.S. tactics have shifted, now the American military is using Predator drones to spy from the air, focusing on the tribal area in northwestern Pakistan. Hellfire missile attacks, launched from Predators, have more than tripled against targets inside Pakistan - a renewed effort to break al Qaeda's central command and deny them shelter with their Taliban allies across the border in Afghanistan.

The New York times reports this morning that after months of internal debate, President Bush has secretly approved orders that for the first time, permit U.S. Special Forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of Pakistan's government. A commando operation in Pakistan last week is reported to have involved more than two dozen Navy SEALs, who spent hours on the ground. Pakistan's government says the raid resulted in many civilian deaths. What is for certain, the attack has angered a government that is sensitive about its sovereignty.

7 Years Later, No Closer To Bin Laden, Al Qaeda Leader Proves Adept At Evading U.S. Tactics, Which Are Causing New Problems - CBS News

[waltky]

Fearless W got his Pakistani posse huntin' Osama down...

US starts training Pak security forces to fight Taliban, al Qaeda
Oct 26 : US special forces have started training a Pakistani paramilitary unit how to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda, hoping to strengthen a key front-line force as violence surges on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border.

The start of the programme has not been officially announced, but Pakistan Army officers confirmed on Saturday that 32 Americans were training 116 senior personnel of the Frontier Corps in the restive region. The officials said the course included classroom and field sessions, and the mission would last for around six months.

"We need this training to use modern equipment and weapons," said Frontier Corps Commander Major General Tariq Khan. The US training programme is reportedly smaller than originally proposed, and was delayed, apparently reflecting misgivings in Pakistan over allowing US troops on its territory. A US defence official said the trainers were US special operations forces who arrived in Pakistan last week.

Meanwhile, the media quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar as saying that that the Pakistani officers were being trained in Warsak, contrary to reports pointing to the Tarbela area. He said the government had opted for the programme because Pakistani troops are not trained in guerrilla warfare.

US starts training Pak security forces to fight Taliban, al Qaeda

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Pakistan troops take terrorists in border town
Sunday 26th October, 2008 - Officials in Pakistan say troops have clashed with Taliban militants in separate clashes.

The clashes in Bajaur, in a troubled tribal region on the border with Afghanistan, came a day after the military announced it had recaptured an al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold in the area.

In one incident, insurgents attacked a security post on the outskirts of Bajaur's main town of Khar.

Pakistani troops retaliated, killing six Taliban. Three more fighters were killed when troops attacked a suspected militant base in Charmang district.

Pakistan troops take terrorists in border town