| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| U.S. military ’sure’ of catching bin Laden this year |
| 2004-01-29 |
| EFL The U.S. military is "sure" it will catch Osama bin Laden this year, a spokesman said Thursday, but he declined to comment on where the al-Qaida leader may be hiding. Bin Laden is widely believed to be holed up somewhere along the mountainous Pakistani-Afghan border with former Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Following last month’s capture of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, American commanders in Afghanistan have expressed new optimism they will eventually find bin Laden. Spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty said the military now believed it could seize him within months. "We have a variety of intelligence and we’re sure we’re going to catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar this year," Hilferty said. "We’ve learned lessons from Iraq and we’re getting improved intelligence from the Afghan people." Hilferty declined to comment on where exactly bin Laden or Mullah Omar might be hiding, but his optimism coincides with comments from U.S. officials in Washington that the military is planning a spring offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts. American forces are pinning hopes for better intelligence from locals on new security teams setting up in provincial capitals across a swath of troubled southern and eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. The security teams are supposed to open the way for millions of dollars in U.S. development aid and allow the Afghan government to regain control over lawless areas largely populated by ethnic Pashtuns, from which the Taliban drew their main support. |
| Posted by:Yosemite Sam |
| #12 I love it when a plan comes together. -Hannibal Smith |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-1-29 10:46:22 PM |
| #11 Surely since OBL is nothing but a CIA-MOSSAD-Big Oil-Carlyle Group-Freemason undercover agent, we know the exact day and time he will be 'captured'. All brought to you courtesy of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy™. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2004-1-29 10:42:02 PM |
| #10 Arab DNA is notoriusly runny Must be the Islamic Microbes attacking the IDF issued DNA slide. |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-1-29 9:56:50 PM |
| #9 Perhaps they have a new stain for the slide. Arab DNA is notoriusly runny. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-29 8:06:16 PM |
| #8 And risk Belgium being over-run with Jihadi's Rafeal? We wouldn't do that. Wait, yes we would. I be this has something to do with Perv allowing us to go after the Jihadi's on his side of the border. |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-1-29 7:06:53 PM |
| #7 Is it too early to demand that OBL be tried by an international tribunal, preferably in Belgium??? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-1-29 6:10:48 PM |
| #6 There's been a lot of speculation from both sides that the capture of OBL might be or should be timed to coincide with the election cycle to boost GWB's chances of reelection. But doesn't it seem possible that this could against him? I mean, with Ol' Pube-Face in custody it could be argued (not by me) that the threat to the US had mostly passed, and that domestic issues should be given priority. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-1-29 5:53:31 PM |
| #5 Either there's more to this (is this an election year?...heh heh) ot that was a career-limiting move, making such a brash announcement. Regardless, for the Democratic "pucker factor" it was a thoroughly delicious move |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-1-29 5:38:09 PM |
| #4 I predict the time between capturing Bin Laden, and the liberals declaring that Bush is an incompetent idiot - and the war against terror STILL a failure (and a quagmire!) - will be around 5 seconds... I can hear them already: "Bin Laden was never a threat, and capturing him means nothing! Bush is the REAL terrorist!" It would be funny if they weren't so pathetically predictable. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2004-1-29 5:37:43 PM |
| #3 Well...maybe the Pakis will let us follow the jihadis from across the Afghan border... |
| Posted by: seafarious 2004-1-29 5:32:17 PM |
| #2 how can they possibly be SURE 1. Could Albright be right and they already have him in custody? 2. Could they already have proof hes dead?? (finally got those DNA samples back from the lab?) 3. They know EXACTLY where he is and have just been bargaining with Musharaff about who goes in, when, how to deal with the local Pashtuns, etc while Perv does his thing with the locals |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-1-29 5:28:53 PM |
| #1 excellent news,hope they get him,i reackon they could have him by say 7 months time, |
| Posted by: Jon Shep U.K 2004-1-29 5:12:18 PM |