Bin Laden sets alarm bells ringing

[bemildred]

ISLAMABAD - After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following strong tip-offs that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been criss-crossing the area in the past few weeks for high-profile meetings in militant redoubts.

The US has been on Bin Laden's trail ever since he fled Afghanistan when the US invaded the country in 2001 to oust the Taliban, but the 54-year-old with a US$50 million reward on his head has always remained several steps in front.

Asia Times Online has learned that decision-makers have put a lot of weight on the information on Bin Laden's movements as it has come from multiple intelligence agencies, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. For at least two years, little credible news has emerged of Bin Laden's movements and motives. Now, intelligence officials believe they have top-grade accounts as they come from the inner circles of militant camps.

Officials are said to be "stunned" by the visibility of Bin Laden's movements, and their frequency, in a matter of a few weeks in the outlawed terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most unprecedented reports about him since he evaded the US in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MC25Df01.html

[shraby]

1. Nothing like broadcasting that information to one and all.

[bemildred]

3. Old boogeymen make the best boogeymen. nt

[cliffordu]

2. IN other news Kaiser Soze is still scaring the shit out of the children of criminals.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. but Franco is still dead.

[cliffordu]

9. Well, yeah, but I don't think he knows that yet.

[BobbyBoring]

4. If Bin Ladens alive

I'm fucking Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny wrapped up in one~

[Dokkie]

12. I heard the mountain spring

water is good for your kidneys.

[NorthCarolina]

5. He stays pretty active for a dead guy. nt

[Demeter]

6. I would say: Pretty Fly for a Dead Guy!

Because the binLadin story trumps Weird Al Yankovich without even trying.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Best thing about this kind of reporting? No need to identify ANY sources.

None
Nada
zip
all anonymous, all vague.

[applegrove]

10. Smart to say where you think he is and remind locals of the 50 Million dollar prize.

I'm sure this is in the local papers for any entrepreneurs out there.

[Fearless]

11. Do we leave if he's caught? Oh right, silly me.