GAO: Bush Still Has No Strategy For Dealing With Bin Laden

[babylonsister]

GAO: Bush lacks strategy to wipe out bin Laden sanctuary
By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008


WASHINGTON — The Bush administration doesn't have a comprehensive strategy for eliminating Osama bin Laden's sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal region and preventing the region from being used for launching terrorist attacks on the United States, the investigative arm of Congress said Thursday.

President Bush and his senior lieutenants frequently claim that eradicating the threat that bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network poses to United States and its allies is their top national-security priority.

But in a scathing report, the Government Accountability Office said there was no plan that "includes all elements of national power — diplomatic, military, intelligence, development assistance, economic and law enforcement support — called for by the various national-security strategies and Congress."

Al Qaida established its sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal region when bin Laden and his followers fled Afghanistan after the 2001 U.S.-led intervention.

"No comprehensive strategy for meeting U.S. national-security goals" in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas has been developed even though the administration's counter-terrorism policy, congressional legislation and the mission of the National Counter-Terrorism Center mandate such an approach, the report says.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/jonathan_landay/story/34030.html

[Vincardog]

1. Would anyone NOT surprised by the fact that jr and Darth have no plan to eliminate their Boogie Man

please k&R this thread?

[glowing]

2. he's dead.. what's to do?

[TomInTib]

5. Shhhhh......

No, he is hiding, and we are just waiting for the right time to Bring Him to Justice.

Even if he is on ice.

[sakabatou]

3. Well, no shit

[madokie]

4. But they damn sure knew how to loot the treasury

[OhioChick]

6. .....

Osama who?

[CJCRANE]

7. But Bush wears a flag pin

so it's ok.

[SpiralHawk]

8. Commander AWOL's intimate Saudi cronies love this Miserable Republicon Failure

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. Why would he have one? In Bin Laden he has his very own Emmanuel Goldstein.

[ProgressiveFool]

10. Much in the same way as the Pakistanis themselves, Bushco doesn't want Bin Laden gone

He is their meal-ticket, their eternal justification for anything they want. The Pakistanis know that if Bin Laden is gone, they won't get all the money and support from the US anymore. Likewise, Bushco knows that if we get the "closure" of a Bin Laden death or trial, the never-ending War on Terror will be no more.

[alfredo]

11. bush has a strategy, goad bin laden into attacking us so he can declare

martial law. The shock doctrine.

[Bozita]

12. Here's the GAO's own summary -- notice the frequent use of "no comprehensive plans"

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-08-622

Summary
Combating Terrorism: The United States Lacks Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas

GAO-08-622 April 17, 2008

Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 32 pages)

Since 2002, destroying the terrorist threat and closing the terrorist safe haven have been key national security goals. The United States has provided Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror, more than $10.5 billion for military, economic, and development activities. Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border Afghanistan, are vast unpoliced regions attractive to extremists and terrorists seeking a safe haven. GAO was asked to assess (1) the progress in meeting these national security goals for Pakistan's FATA, and (2) the status of U.S. efforts to develop a comprehensive plan for the FATA. To address these objectives, GAO compared national security goals against assessments conducted by U.S. agencies and reviewed available plans.

The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan's FATA. Since 2002, the United States relied principally on the Pakistan military to address U.S. national security goals. Of the approximately $5.8 billion the United States provided for efforts in the FATA and border region from 2002 through 2007, about 96 percent reimbursed Pakistan for military operations there. According to the Department of State, Pakistan deployed 120,000 military and paramilitary forces in the FATA and helped kill and capture hundreds of suspected al Qaeda operatives; these efforts cost the lives of approximately 1,400 members of Pakistan's security forces. However, GAO found broad agreement, as documented in the National Intelligence Estimate, State, and embassy documents, as well as Defense officials in Pakistan, that al Qaeda had regenerated its ability to attack the United States and had succeeded in establishing a safe haven in Pakistan's FATA. No comprehensive plan for meeting U.S. national security goals in the FATA has been developed, as stipulated by the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (2003), called for by an independent commission (2004), and mandated by congressional legislation (2007). Furthermore, Congress created the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) in 2004 specifically to develop comprehensive plans to combat terrorism. However, neither the National Security Council (NSC), NCTC, nor other executive branch departments have developed a comprehensive plan that includes all elements of national power--diplomatic, military, intelligence, development assistance, economic, and law enforcement support--called for by the various national security strategies and Congress. As a result, since 2002, the U.S. embassy in Pakistan has had no Washington-supported, comprehensive plan to combat terrorism and close the terrorist safe haven in the FATA. In 2006, the embassy, in conjunction with Defense, State, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and in cooperation with the government of Pakistan, began an effort to focus more attention on other key elements of national power, such as development assistance and public diplomacy, to address U.S. goals in the FATA. However, this does not yet constitute a comprehensive plan.

Subject Terms

Combating terrorism
Counterterrorism
Defense capabilities
Embassies
Federal intelligence agencies
Foreign financial assistance
Foreign governments
Foreign military assistance
Homeland security
Interagency relations
International cooperation
International organizations
International relations
Military intelligence
National defense operations
Program evaluation
Program management
Public diplomacy
Security investigations
Security policies
Security threats
Strategic planning
Terrorism
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Pakistan)
Pakistan