U.S. Focusing on Democracy, Not Bin Laden

[Khephra]

KABUL, Afghanistan -- For a time, the U.S. military in Afghanistan was talking as if it would smoke Osama bin Laden out of a cave on the rocky Pakistan border within months, perhaps even ahead of President Bush's re-election.

Now, American commanders say protecting the country's fragile new democracy, reviving its economy and keeping Taliban militants on the run are the priorities, though tracking the cold trail of bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders remains the focus of intelligence efforts.

Spies, informers, electronic listening devices and surveillance from the air all belong to the U.S. arsenal. However, American officials acknowledge that videotapes featuring a sprightly looking bin Laden -- released days before the Nov. 2 election in the United States -- and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, have yielded no clues to their whereabouts, even though one was delivered to a TV channel in Islamabad.

"They're pretty sterile in terms of intelligence value," Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, the operational commander of U.S. forces here, told The Associated Press.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-tracking-bin-laden,0,40741.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[Ardee]

1. Plan 2

Cant get the SOB, so they say we never really wanted him anyway
,so there.......Am I the only one who is pessimistic about our abilities to export instant democracy?

[Anakin Skywalker]

3. No You are Not.

There is no such thing as instant democracy. The rightwing is so horribly optimistic. But of course, everything is faith-based as far as they are concerned. They ignore reality-based HISTORY and other lessons that we humans have learned on Earth.

[kainah]

6. the religious right can't lose

They are optimistic because, if *'s "wave of democracy" does, in fact, sweep the Middle East, well then that's good. And, if the wave doesn't develop and the whole region falls into civil war and chaos, then Armageddon has arrived and they'll all be sitting with Jesus soon. It's very chilling to realize that what the sane world defines as failure is, to them, divine success.

[Anakin Skywalker]

9. Ah. Good Point.

I forgot about their fetish with Armageddon while commenting earlier. But yeah it is a win-win for the religious right in this particular case.

[rodeodance]

2. the siren call of the WH has been democracy/freedom for a Long time

[hatrack]

4. IOW, "We don't know WHERE the hell hs is!!"

:shrug:

[VegasWolf]

5. Hatrack, you read my mind. Esp coming on the heels of

Pakistan giving up the search last week. But,
don't you think there might be some small problem
in letting the mastermind run unchecked :).

[illflem]

7. Can't get him cuz he's living in Crawford

Got a job as junior's bicycling coach

[damntexdem]

8. Since the Bushistas are not focusing on democracy in the U.S.,

rather on destroying it, does that mean they're focusing on OBL here? ;-)