Bin Laden remains out of grasp

[CShine]

Remember Osama bin Laden? He's the man held most responsible for 9/11, one of the most despised and feared men in the world. But The Chicago Tribune reports that officials in Afghanistan say Mr. bin Laden has little reason to fear the same fate as Saddam Hussein any time soon. Bin Laden remains as "elusive as ever" and there is no reason to believe that US forces are any closer to capturing him reports the Tribune. "If they catch him, it will be by accident," said Gen. Hilaluddin Hilal, Afghanistan's deputy interior minister in charge of security.

The Herald Sun of Australia reports that there is one key reason why it will be much harder to find bin Laden, even if he now becomes the main focus of their efforts. The US had military control over the region where Hussein was hiding and were able to search almost anywhere at will. But they have very little access to the border mountains where fierce local tribes may be protecting bin Laden. Also, The New York Times reports, he travels with a small group of intensely loyal followers. All efforts to infiltrate the group, or convince someone close to him to betray him for the $25 million in reward money, appear to have failed. The Times also reports that some terrorism experts also say that the US has "forgotten" about the hunt for bin Laden.

"It seems to me they are back at square one," said Peter Bergen, a terrorism expert and author of "Holy War, Inc.," on the rise of Al Qaeda. "My impression is that they are not devoting a lot of resources to it. It seems to be forgotten. Maybe the capture of Saddam will lead them to become interested in it again."

Unlike the recently captured Hussein, there are no doubts about bin Laden's involvement with planning new operations. News24 of South Africa reports one of the Turkish men charged in connection with the recent wave of bombings in Istanbul that killed dozens of people told a judge that Bin Laden personally gave the order for the attacks to be carried out. The Australian reports that two Turkish men met bin Laden in Afghanistan on an unspecified date to receive orders for the Istanbul attacks. Hurriyet, a Turkish daily, says the sites bin Laden choose had to be changed because they were to difficult to attack. The eventual targets for the bombings were two Jewish synagogues, the British consulate and the Turkish headquarters of London-based banking giant HSBC.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1216/dailyUpdate.html?s=entt

[Bhaisahab]

1. check back in oct

bin laden will be caught in late-summer or early winter of 2004. just in time to swing the vote pinhead's way.
sigh. no justice....

[Cush]

2. ABC talked about him tonight

One expert said the only way to get Osama is to spot movement in the Pakistan mountains via satellites, then launch a massive air/missile strike.

He said that Osama is probably being protected by the local mountain tribes, and that the US is not allowed in the spots where he & other Al Qeada/Taliban members might be having meetings, etc.

Basically, the odds are stacked against us.

On Edit: ABC basically said what this article does