US warned Pak to capture Osama: Report (Get OBL before Nov. 2)

[Whoa_Nelly]

US warned Pak to capture Osama: Report
Islamabad | July 11, 2004 3:12:32 PM IST

The US had warned Pakistan to intensify its efforts to capture Al-Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden and his key associates Ayman Al Zawahri and Mullah Omar, The Nation quoted a report in American journal 'The New Republic'.

According to the paper, Washington's pressure on Islamabad was being increased to enable the US President George Bush "to revive his sagging popularity before the November Presidential elections".

<snip>
Pakistani security officials had been told to produce these high-value targets before the US presidential elections as the Bush Administration have a date in mind to announce this achievement.

(a little) more...
http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=42729&cat=Asia

[Cocoa]

1. very little U.S. coverage of this "New Republic" article

but Jay Leno had a joke about it.

[diddlysquat]

2. The coverage I saw on CNN

ridiculed the whole idea that this could be true.

[Toots]

3. Or What?????

Pakistan is going to be on our shit list sooner or later. They must realize that. They are being used strictly for politics and when they are no longer useful we will turn just like a snake. They have Nukes and we are terrified of a terrorist country getting nukes when they already have them. It is possible we are setting them up to use a nuke and allow us then to destroy the whole damn middle east.

[Doosh]

4. it's gonna happen

reports like this worry me, would we survive an Osama bump?

[Cerridwen]

5. I hate to say it, but probably not . . .

I refer back to Carter vs. Reagan when Iranian hostages were held until after the election and the rumors that Reagan's people asked Iran to do so.

Different sides of the same coin.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Osama who?

I think most people realize that even if Osama is captured, it's not going to really change anything.

I doubt W will get much of a bounce. He didn't get much of one with Saddam. Especially, once people started finding out that we didn't really capture Saddam, but that the Kurds handed him over to us.

[havocmom]

7. Maybe Osama will come in when his medical conditions get desperate

and he wants to check into Mayo?

[pinniped]

8. One of the repukes responded by saying the war on terror...

has no time frame or some crap like that.

Sag away a$$hole *.

[daleo]

9. I wonder what would happen to Musharef if they did get OBL

It might not be a good move for him personally. There have already been several close attempts on his life. Bush could end up with Ossama, with a hostile regime in Pakistan as the trade-off. Openly hostile, I mean.

[noonwitch]

15. It depends on who Mushareff would turn OBL over to

He could turn him over to the UN or the International Criminal Court and bypass the US. Bush would be totally unjustified in taking any action were Mushareff to do so, yet Mushareff could possibly fend off a lot of trouble in his own country if he ensured that OBL would be turned over to an entity that does not use the death penalty.

Here's to hoping they turn bin Laden (if he's even alive) over to the French!!! Now that would be an amusing international situation for the Bush administration, because the french would eventually hand him over, but would wait until after the election.

[ewagner]

16. You're right!

My suspicion is that Pakistan Intelligence (ISI?) would actually capture OBL and spirit him into Afghanistan where he could be turned over to American forces. That way:

1: The capture DIDN'T take place in Pakistan
2: Mussaraf can deny he had any part in it.

That's the only way he can prevent a civil war, possible overthrow and (shudder) Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of radicals.

[ze_dscherman]

10. Pushing Pakistan into civil war

Just trying to get OBL (IF he really is there!) would mean a massive intrusion into the autonomous tribal regions. The Pakistani military already tried this and got significant losses. Also, soldiers won't like to be killed when fighting against their own people upon order of the U.S.

Military coup, tribal uprising, Taliban terror attacks, civil war - and nukes at stake.

On edit
Just when I wrote this, another thread on the situation in Pakistan was posted: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x680195

[truthisfreedom]

11. blah blah blah osama blah blah blah blah...

bushco is a pack of crazed lunatics. we need someone at the helm who actually gives a rat's ass about security here... real security. imagine what could have been done with the hundreds of billions of dollars wasted in Iraq. we could have had inspection teams walking around every major city and port, literally hundreds of thousands of people employed full-time, looking for any potential threatening device, checking for weaknesses, studying unusual activities... writing reports on improvements that could be made EVERYWHERE. instead, we have over 10,000 dead people and one captured half-assed, basically harmless villain (i mean basically harmless to us).

and now, just to try to hang on to the presidency so they can keep draining the coffers, bush and his team of thugs are going to try to time the capture of osama? excuse me, but what percentage of the American people are going to be fooled by this?

[cstruthers]

12. The monster we created cannot be stopped

The origin of anti-American terrorism isn't really a mystery and the solutions are exactly rocket science. The thing that I find most puzzling is why do these bozos in Washington keep using the same methods proven not to work. Brutally attacking a sovereign nation without warning the general populace, sounds familiar. Does anyone really believe that the ordinary citizens of Iraq had any cause to believe that they were about to be invaded march one year ago? What must that be like?
Let's just say you're the normal Joe walking down the street in Bagdad. Maybe you're going to work, to visit some friends, or going to get the wife/hubby a birthday present, then all hell breaks loose. Of course the US media called it shock and awe bombing because saying "Today our nation unleashed living hell upon the citizens of a sovereign nation that posed absolutely no threat to the USA." just won't sell commercials on prime time. It would be a pretty scary place to be, not unlike lower Manhattan 9/11/2001.
Fast forward one year and three months. Normal Joe's (hypothetically yourself) family is now almost all dead and some freaks from a different country are telling you that you can't be out in your own neighborhood after dark. These marauders are stealing all your countries money and resources. You might start thinking "Well damn it. I am not going to take this shit anymore." The birth of another anti-American terrorist.
Now imagine how many normal Joe's there are in the middle east who have been screwed by the USA. I'm not sure but I would guess that some of those Joe's are pretty rich and really well educated they may even have some level of military service (generals perhaps.)
Now that the whole scenario is in place. Ask yourself will the capture or killing of Osama Bin Laden (or any high level AL-Queda target) end terrorism? Will it even slow it down?

[Bhaisahab]

13. very good obeservations. welcome to DU cstruthers! n/t

[devinsgram]

14. Does anyone else but me think this guy

is dead and it's being kept a secret.