BIN LADEN FOUND!!!

[zaj]

The October Suprise is here.

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/44654.php

Bin Laden is located, says 9/11 panelist
Pakistani allies keeping him safe
By Jim Mohr
© SAN BERNARDINO SUN

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission, said Thursday.

Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said the al-Qaida leader was alive and operating in the western part of Pakistan.

Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan region, Lehman told the San Bernardino Sun after delivering a keynote speech on terrorism at Pitzer College in Claremont.

<snip>

Department of Defense spokeswoman Capt. Ronnie Merritt confirmed the U.S. military believes bin Laden is in Pakistan. However, she would not comment on Lehman's remarks, except to say that he normally didn't speak about these issues, and she was surprised he had.

Lehman, secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, was one of the 10 members of the bipartisan commission that examined the terrorists attacks on the United States.


The following are quotes from his speech:

"There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members,"

"Look, Musharraf already has had three assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go in.

"We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now."

"He is not a wealthy man, we ran that information into the ground, and discovered he only receives about $1 million a year from his family's fortune. The rest of what he gets comes from radical sympathizers."

[demnan]

1. Only a million doesn't make you wealthy?

In what universe? :shrug:

[serryjw]

7. I wonder how much the mortgage on his CAVE is?

Afghanistan is prime location.

[Union Thug]

Well, in the Bush universe, I suppose it's chump change.

For me, it's an absolute fortune.

[goodboy]

22. It's estimated that the 911 attacks cost about $600,000 to pull off...nt

[shelley806]

26. The Bush Universe-HIs "base" the have mores

[aden_nak]

2. Uhhh. . .

"There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

Has he been to Iraq lately?

[rkc3]

13. He meant two Vietnams running simultaneously.

[KansDem]

14. Which "Vietnam" is he referring to...? "Old" or "New?"

Is he referring to "Old Vietnam" of 30 years ago, or "New Vietnam" that started in Iraq last year?
:shrug:

[CAcyclist]

39. Their priorities are going to get us killed

Billions for a massacre in Iraq, not one thin dime for Bin Laden

Millions to protect us from anthrax, only a few thin dimes to protect us from influenza, measles, mumps, diptheria and rubella.

Billions for the likes of Ken Lay and Dick Cheney, one or two thin dimes for Joe Public

Millions for homeland security protection on the open praries and frozen tundra, a quarter here and there for our big cities

[AnIndependentTexan]

Yet they were so intent on starting a Vietnam in Iraq

[swag]

Sounds like the sort of noise I used to read on debka.com every day.

[RummyTheDummy]

3. Listen, our intelligence community couldn't find me if I wanted to hide

I sure as hell don't think they could find Bin Laden unless he turned himself in.

[Booster]

35. They can't even find the person who outed Valeria Plame

and that person is in the same Goddamn building they're in. This smells of a trick. Go on the campaign trail and say "we've got him cornered, but I need another 4 years to get him". I hate this bunch.

[donco6]

4. I'd hardly call that "found". eom

[951]

5. "South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan region"

...yeah

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. He lives at 234 Baluchistan Road, South Waziristan, phone # is.........

1-555-bushsucks.

[donco6]

34. (snort)

that's a good one.

[htuttle]

6. "If we sent troops in, we could have another Vietnam..."

Oh, gosh. We wouldn't want to get into another Vietnam would we? Especially when we're ALREADY stuck in another Vietnam...

[Sparkly]

15. Precisely -- and it makes NO sense!

Of *course* if we know where a group of Taliban and Al Qaeda are, particularly if Bin Laden is there too, we can, should, and must go in there with full force and/or pressure Pakistan.

This just makes NO sense!!!

[sandnsea]

8. "Can't get him"

Could it be because we've lost all world support and have no troops because of Iraq?

[BUSHOUT]

9. Pakistan says Osama bin Laden not in mountains

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/10/21/2003207784

[Roland99]

Yeah...right. They know where he is as much as my left nut does.

Just more from the Maytag campaign.



Spin

Spin

Spin

 

[Supersedeas]

10. comparing the hunt for Bin Laden to 'another Vietnam' that we can't afford

very strange language

[AnIndependentTexan]

11. Key line from that article to pay attention to DU'ers

Asked how bin Laden was surviving, Lehman said he was getting money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.

[henslee]

12. I was really expecting this to be a crank headline w/ a funny pic.

As it is, it still is a bit of a stretch to say, he is found.

[Nicholas_J]

16. Pretty much why Kerry was right and Bush was wrong

When he left off chasing Bin Laden in Afghanistan and allowed him to cross that border into Pakistan. Thiis is one of the most conservative muslim areas in the world, incliding Saudi Arabia, with bin Laden being considered the savior of Islam, he could have been captured in Afghanistan, but never in the terrirory he is now in. Even an assasination could send the tribes wild and a massive army of them either attacking Musharafs control in western Pakistan and perhaps lead to a large insurgency in eastern Afghanistan which would make the insurgency in Iraq pale by comparison.

The biggest mistake George BUsh made was (from the safety of American standpoint) was to drop the ball on bin Laden and to turn over the hunt to Afghan Warlords, who simply would take our money, and make it look like they were hunting bin Laden, but they would absolutely never turn him in. That should have been obvious from the number of times they allowed Mullah Omar to escape, giving him a few days to negotiate peace and get his army to agree and blah blah. THey never intended to turn in bin Laden. And Bush never intended for him to be captured. THe real fact is that with bin Laden captured, Bush has no campaign at all. He needs the king of terrorism to be free to hold onto his office. THe captuure of bin Laden would lead to a Bush catastrophe as soon as the media forgot it.

[bloom]

18. It's all about favorable regimes.

Terrorism in the US - OUR safety - has nothing to do with it.

Here we are bombing civilians in Iraq when we could be bombing Al Queda in Pakistan. But THAT would upset the apple cart. They could end up with a regime unfavorable to the oil interests.

[fob]

19. HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE FOR A MINUTE.

"There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

So JohnKerry was right, they're pussying out and gonna OUTSOURCE the job AGAIN?

"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members,"

So they are calling OUR armed forces PUSSIES?

"Look, Musharraf already has had three assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go in.

So bush* is giving a foreign country VETO over OUR forces?

"We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now."

October surprise, just not YET?

"He is not a wealthy man, we ran that information into the ground, and discovered he only receives about $1 million a year from his family's fortune. The rest of what he gets comes from radical sympathizers."

So why did it take you until LAST WEEK to freeze Zarqawi's funds?


UN-FUCKING-REAL.

bush*s foreign policy isn't yeehaw, it's WHIPTIDDY DOO!!!

[mzmolly]

21. "I'm just not that concerned about him"

~ GW Booosh.

[arewenotdemo]

29. Alice in Wonderland scenario

They know whereTHE MAN that brought us 9/11 is, but.....they can't get him for fear of what his fellow travelers might do.

Totally, totally unreal (if true).

That crap about Waziristan (sp?) being an autonomous region where the Pakistan military fears to tread always fried my grits. If it's NOT PART OF PAKISTAN then they shouldn't give a fuck if we send in 10 divisions!

I really, really believe that Bush never intended to catch bin Laden.

[Bad Thoughts]

20. This looks like a job for DIPLOMACY MAN

I am not worried. If this story turns out to be true (where else is it rumored that OBL is hiding?) then the bottom line is that Kerry can be a better argument for capturing him with a virtual war, using intelligence, special ops and diplomacy. Bush cannot argue for an invasion of Pakistan, a supposed ally.

Advantage: KERRY

[rndmprsn]

23. i thought he was in western china?

they don't know...late election pandering.

[demokatgurrl]

24. I guess it will take about 10 days to find him. n/t

[Clinton Crusader]

25. Boy, he gets around for someone on the run! He was JUST in CHINA!

There were reports all over he was in China and has fostered some deal with the Chinese. Now back in Pakistan. One wonders how he flies around without being noticed. Wonder if the dialysis machine trips the alrams?

/sarcasm
:kick:

[Javaman]

27. This is nothing new, read the book...

Pakistan: under the shadow of Islam. It's been out about 2 years now.

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. What are we, dumb or something?

"There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."

Going after a particular person in a known place is a matter of one big operation. Not a war. Vietnam was a war, with no exit strategy, no plan for victory. 20,000 US troops (NOT warlord troops) could get him. Operationally, there is no force that can stand before us.

Remember, in Vietnam we won all the battles. Even the disastrous ones, like Tet, we did more damage to them, killed more of them, and achieved our objectives. We just couldn't fight a never-ending guerrilla war.

Getting OBL would be a single operation. In, out, and gone. Unlike Vietnam, we wouldn't be going in, killing, watching their ranks replenish themselves from the millions of locals, then killing some more.

This guy, making a Vietnam comparison, either doesn't know what he's talking about or is deliberately making excuses for not doing what we all know we can, and should, do.

Besides, don't I remember that several months ago Musharraf launched a massive operation in just this region, to root out Taliban and foreign fighters? They fled across the border where we had NO troops waiting.

I don't think it is incompetence. I think they need this war, for their own political purposes. If they win it, they lose.

[ClassWarrior]

30. IT'S ABOUT FUCKIN' TIME.

Say it with me, folks. It's about time. After 3 years.

24.

[The Magistrate]

31. Lehman Is A Puling Puppy

Bin Laden is nowhere near where this reactionary pin-head imagines him to be.

The idea Bin Laden is in the "Tribal Areas" is carefully nurtured by Musharref because it gains him material U.S. assistance in prosecuting a decades long objective of the Pakistani state, namely extending its authority effectively into those tribal areas that have for generations successfully resisted its central rule.

Bin Laden's haunt is somewhere north and east of Malakand i the Upper Swat valley, on the border between Pakistan the portion of Kashnir it occuppies. This is the original heartland of anti-Western jihad in the region during the nineteenth century. The principal business of Al Queda in Afghanistan was training militants for the Kashmiri struggle, and in that area, these continue to operate and dominate the scene, with the assistance and cover of the dominant elements of the Pakistani "special servive" bureau. It is a particularly congenial terrain for Bin Laden, and it is here he resides....

"Can't nobody here play this game?"

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[AIJ Alom]

32. So why exactly did we invade Iraq ? When the WMD and Binny are both in

Pakistan ?

Care to answer that one PNAC ?

[steve2470]

33. this is almost old news..

for months I have been reading the same sort of thing, and the same sort of rationale for not going in, which does make sense. So, everyone chill, no real surprise here.

[JohnnyCougar]

36. It's Bush's fault he isn't captured

If we weren't in Iraq, we could capture Bin Laden!! Now we can't, and the wolves will continue to hunt us!!!

[Jacobin]

37. "We have him, its just that we don't have him"

I call Bullshit on this one.

[PerfectSage]

38. In 2008 if Dubya gets relected:

Dubya: "Uh, gosh, I don't think I ever said we'll get Bin Laden eventually, that's kinda one of those uh, eggs-aggerayshuns."

B/C No Mo’ Years :party::toast:

[Strawman]

40. Bush just held an NSC meeting

To ask whether he could draw one diagonal line through the Osama playing card now or a full letter X. He's very confused by this report.

[SemperEadem]

41. believing he's in Pakistan and knowing without a doubt that he's there

are two completely different things.

[evilqueen]

42. OBL

Heroin Trade Fuels Bin Ladens Terror Network
(...) "Yoseff Bodansky, author of a 1999 biography of bin Laden and director of the congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, said the terrorist kingpin takes a 15 percent cut of the drug trade money in exchange for protecting smugglers and laundering their profits.

"The Afghans are selling 7 to 8 billion dollars of drugs in the West a year," Bodansky said. "Bin Laden oversees the export of drugs from Afghanistan. His people are involved in growing the crops, processing and shipping. When Americans buy drugs, they fund the jihad (September 28, 2001 10:25 p.m. EDT)."

Senate Democratic Policy Committee
Taliban resurgent
"Flush with income from the drug trade (which previously the Taliban seems to have avoided and actively combated), the Taliban can now outspend and outman not just the weak central government in Kabul, but even the U.S. forces: In areas around the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban is reportedly paying their fighters as much as $70 a week, going up to $120 a week for fighters who attack American forces. The United States is reportedly paying its local warlord allies $60 a week. Not surprisingly, the Taliban now claims to hold large portions of several southern and southeastern provinces." (World Report 2004)
Opium production skyrocketing.
After decreasing dramatically under the Taliban regime, Afghanistan now produces nearly 3/4 of the world's opium. CIC found that "opium production, processing, and trafficking have surged, with revenues equaling roughly half of the legal economy of Afghanistan." It is estimated that 1.7 million people, or 7 percent of the total population now grow poppies. In its 2003 Opium Survey of Afghanistan, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that opium cultivation is spreading to new areas, and that farmers are growing opium-producing poppies in 28 of Afghanistan's 32 provinces. And the future does not look brighter: UNODC reports that 69 percent of Afghani farmers in poppy-producing regions expect to increase their poppy cultivation in 2004, while only 4 percent plan to decrease it. (Farmers' Intentions Survey, February 2004)

April 10, 2004, NYTimes
Afghan Route to Prosperity: Grow Poppies
By AMY WALDMAN
"Across Afghanistan, opium cultivation is surging, defying all efforts of the Afghan government and international officials to stop it. Officials are predicting that land under poppy cultivation will rise by 30 percent or more this year, possibly yielding a record crop. Last year the country produced almost 4,000 tons — three-fourths of the world's opium — in 28 of its 32 provinces. The trade generated $1 billion for farmers and $1.3 billion for traffickers, according to the United Nations, more than half of Afghanistan's national income."

Google Search on This Topic

As you can see, OBL skims 15% for his terrorism efforts from the heroin and opium trafficking via his network of drug contacts. Thinking OBL is only making $1 million/year and relying on that for his income is both stupid and naive. I'm sure he's also aware that his "family income" could be cut off whenever the Saudis get around to it, so he's not relying on it.

As long as there is a black market for drugs, there will be income for subversive groups (including the CIA, let's not kid ourselves). How do you kill a black market? You make whatever they're selling legal, world-wide.

15% of 1.3 billion = $195,000,000.00 PER YEAR
As production increases, so does Bin Laden's profit.