Article

2006-07-06 Home Front: WoT

CIA shuts unit dedicated to tracking down bin Laden

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Seafarious 2006-07-06 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Great PR! OBL don't mean nuthin I tell ya, not unless he wants to give up humping the goats in the cave with the Dr.

Posted by Captain America 2006-07-06 00:42|| 2006-07-06 00:42|| Front Page Top

#2 Or the CIA can't do jack as long as he holes up with Perv and it's time to stop throwing good money after bad.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-07-06 07:28|| 2006-07-06 07:28|| Front Page Top

#3 According to this article, this unit has tracked him for 10 years. If they haven't found him yet, a shutdown is past due.

Posted by Mike N. 2006-07-06 08:23|| 2006-07-06 08:23|| Front Page Top

#4 I'd also note the timing...the NY Slimes "sells" this story some 6-9 MONTHS after the fact? It's the drive to defeat Bush (at least in their minds) in November.

Posted by BA 2006-07-06 09:18|| 2006-07-06 09:18|| Front Page Top

#5 Ten years? By 1955 Simon Wiesenthal was just getting into his stride. He missed Muller and Mengele, but he rounded up over a thousand over Nazis. Think we might have the wrong agency looking.

Posted by Besoeker 2006-07-06 09:33|| 2006-07-06 09:33|| Front Page Top

#6 I think part of the untold story is that DoD is basically taking over the function. They've been organizing and implementing their own group since Congress was wise enough to give tactical autonomy to the uniform services. IIRC, some of the talk after 9/11 was that SOCOM had a plan and program to get the man, but were shut out by the Clinton White House staff [Sandy 'the papers are in my socks' Berger].

Posted by Ebbavitle Omomotle4723 2006-07-06 09:52|| 2006-07-06 09:52|| Front Page Top

#7 Interesting take on this from James S. Robbins at The Corner for National Review, from Tuesday

OBL & CIA
So CIA analysts concluded that Osama bin Laden wanted George Bush to win the 2004 election, and this is why he released a video tape just days before the election? If true, this is just more evidence that the spy agency needs a thorough cleaning.

There is no doubt that had Bush been defeated in 2004 it would have been seen as a resounding repudiation of his war leadership, and a humiliation of the United States, which are principal objectives being sought by Al Qaeda.

The convoluted theory that somehow a Bush victory would sustain bin Laden's leadership against a Zarqawi challenge is simply nonsense. Yet, it apparently had a great deal of traction in the Agency. One might more straightforwardly conclude that a Bush victory would be viewed as a defeat in Al Qaeda and might explain why bin Laden went silent for a whole year.

There is no doubt that bin Laden helped the President win re-election, but that does not mean he intended to the enemy have consistently shown they have a poor understanding of our society and what is important to us. In his video Osama said it didn't matter who won, but he spent much of his time blaming the President for all the world's troubles. We really should take it at face value.

Analysts who warp this into a pro-Bush strategic move are working at about the same level as Zarqawi's wife saying OBL sold him out to the Americans.

It is no wonder we have not been able to apprehend bin Laden with folks like that on the case. And now word comes that the Agency is disbanding the dedicated bin Laden team? Under the circumstances that sounds like a very good move.

Posted by Sherry 2006-07-06 11:06|| 2006-07-06 11:06|| Front Page Top

#8 Has anyone here considered that this is a misinfomation campaign??? I wonder....

Posted by peggy 2006-07-06 22:51|| 2006-07-06 22:51|| Front Page Top

#9 yep, looks like a great way to get OBL to crawl out from his cave. I am sure OBL now has a personal subscription after all the help NYT has been for him, and what a better place to put some info to get him to come out into the open.

Posted by Gromosh Elminegum5705 2006-07-06 23:15|| 2006-07-06 23:15|| Front Page Top

23:45 Captain America
23:43 BA
23:34 BA
23:30 xbalanke
23:29 BA
23:28 DMFD
23:27 BA
23:16 DarthVader
23:15 Gromosh Elminegum5705
23:10 BA
23:09 DarthVader
23:07 BA
23:01 DarthVader
23:00 BA
22:56 DarthVader
22:54 Jesing Ebbease3087
22:51 peggy
22:46 peggy
22:44 SteveS
22:39 Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)
22:39 Threremp Sholutle2252
22:37 Threremp Sholutle2252
22:36 Frank G
22:36 RD