Hunt for Bin Laden Heats Up
Timmerman also breaks the story on another intelligence failure worthy of a congressional investigation. The UCR learned in late 2006 that bin Laden was leaving his safe house near Tehran to go falcon hunting in northern Iran, where hundreds of thousands of acres of land had been closed off, even to regular Arab sheikh customers. U.S. intelligence, according to Timmerman, also had intercepted communications inside Iran confirming that someone of great importance was about to move from Tehran to Zahedan, where the hunting would take place.
UCR put together a team, which included former special forces operatives, to snatch bin Laden. They were threatened with arrest by FBI officials for violating the Neutrality Act and were forced to back off. The government itself didn’t act on the information after concluding it wasn’t “actionable.”
The New York Daily News, meanwhile, is reporting that the U.S. is “zeroing in” on the Chitral region of northwestern Pakistan, home to the Hindu Kush Mountains, as having been bin Laden’s location since 2006. Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna claims that captured al-Qaeda operatives have also identified this location, which has a rapidly growing presence of radical Islam. The government is also looking at the town of Karam near Chitral.
Chitral was also suspected of being bin Laden’s location based on an analysis of the trees seen in a 2003 videotape of bin Laden. The time it takes for bin Laden to produce and distribute audiotapes in response to major world events is said to match with this location as well.
The third location current reports focus on is Parachinar, Pakistan. A team of scientists from UCLA finished a ground-breaking scientific study that concluded that bin Laden is hiding in one of three walled compounds at this location, making it the most specific allegation to date. As impressive as the study is, using scientific terms that make me feel like I’m my mother trying to fit in at a rap concert, Iran is not mentioned once. It does not appear that the accounts described in my previous report were considered in the study. However, it is worth mentioning that Gary Berntsen, the commander of the CIA unit hunting bin Laden in Afghanistan after 9/11, has said that bin Laden is believed to have fled to this location on December 16, 2001.
Perhaps bin Laden travels between two or more of these locations, or perhaps he’s not at any of them, but the tantalizing evidence leads one to conclude that the search for bin Laden is not as futile as it seems, and it doesn’t seem the government is doing everything possible to get him. Timmerman’s story of the FBI warning the UCR team against a snatch operation in Iran, and, furthermore, the government not acting on the information provided by UCR, is proof that we cannot place hopes in the government’s competency and stated desire to do anything to get him.
Furthermore, with the UCLA study’s identification of the three compounds in Parachinar as bin Laden’s likeliest hiding places, there can be no excuse for why these locations have not been raided by the U.S. or Pakistani authorities. The most convenient location for the government is Chitral, which is perhaps why it seems government officials are most inclined to identify it as bin Laden’s refuge, given its nearly impenetrable terrain.
No matter what the case is, a clear trend is seen of non-governmental organizations and journalists developing some of the best sources and most compelling locations for bin Laden. It’s becoming quite possible that the world’s most wanted man will not be caught due to a carefully managed effort by the government, but by the diligent work of those outside of government.
Come on now. Accidentally met bin Laden in 2004? This is a guy with a multi-million dollar bounty on his head. I don’t think anyone is “unintentionally” meeting him.
Why can’t the new American president just summon him from afar.
Maybe Osama would come out of hiding if Obama bowed to him! After all, isn’t that what those of that particular religious stripe want from us all?
I can’t get over Mr Parrot being so solicitous for the welfare of falcons. A bit like Mr Mouse looking after cats, or Mr Rabbit caring for foxes.
Too late for April fools though…
Sorry to be frivolous.
Mush.
have they looked in the whitehouse? He may be running our economic and foreign policy
PUT JOHN KERRY ON OSAMA’S TRAIL
Right after he is done solving the Somali pirates problem.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/somali-pirates-beware-john-f.html
If you really think that Bin Laden is still alive, I’ve got a bridge to sell your gullible behind.
For chrissakes, he was hiding in a cave on a dialysis machine in 2001!
Do you really think that’s a long-term survival scenario??
I noticed that the reference to the Tajik / Iran border in the first paragraph in the second page has been removed, along with my comment mentioning that Tajikistan doesn’t border Iran. Turkmenistan does. You could have just hat-tipped me instead of deleting my comment. Is PJM or Kos?
Minor point but it goes to credibility: Falcons aren’t “hunted for sport” anywhere. Falconry is the use of birds of prey to hunt other critters, and it’s accepted and legal here in the states.
It makes one wonder what else was “misunderstood” …
(1) Why hasn’t this been handled? Didn’t Obama say that he was going to catch this evil doer quickly? It took God only seven days to create the heavens and earth; why has it taken Lord Obama so long?
(2) The answere may be that Obama/Osama are really the same person! Yes, has anyone actually seen them in the same room together? Oh, sure, they both claim to see each other at family gatherings in Kenya or at events at the mosque, but can anyone prove that they are not one in the same?
7. Pastor of Muppets wrote:
If you really think that Bin Laden is still alive, I’ve got a bridge to sell your gullible behind.
Peter writes: And you believe those myths? Talk about gullible! the whole Bin Laden on dialysis myth was debunked YEARS ago!
“…myths include the widespread belief that bin Laden requires dialysis treatment…”
http://spectator.org/archives/2006/02/09/dialysis-analysis
I think there is a legitimate argument that Osama may have passed…for one thing he hasn’t updated his myspace page in a while.
But seriously, as a person Bin Laden is just one person. Killing or capturing would be a great PR win, but the point of the GWOT is to deny terrorists funding, training and safe havens so they will be unable to make any attacks.
Stopping an attack at the operational phase is important too, but its much safer and effective to prevent them earlier.
“Claims of the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden seem to be as common as sightings of David Duchovny at porn shops.”
OUCH. Fox Mulder must’ve run into a couple of aliens there.
“Hunting falcons for sport” means they are used to strike and kill small game and other birds, not that you run around shooting falcons. The reason it’s a conservation issue is that many trainers take the eggs right from the nest so babies will impress on them, not their parents, and be a million times more trainable — and sometimes trainers have to kill the mothers to take the eggs. It causes serious problems, especially in already-endangered species.
I personally find this very, very believable; it has long been known that Bin Laden is a falconry fanatic, as are many other Saudis. I hope the feds begin taking these allegations seriously — and I hope that the next person with an extragovernmental chance to take out Bin Laden does it, and collects the damn reward. THAT will be money well spent indeed.
I hope Osama is worm meat. This cretin, evil, piece of filth behind 9/11 better damned well be dead if his slimy, curry reeking carcass knows what is good for him.
That is all.
I’ve been arguing for two years (at least) that UBL is in Iran: http://www.mahdiwatch.org/2007.06.01_arch.html
16. Tim Furnish:I’ve been arguing for two years (at least) that UBL is in Iran
Possible but unlikely. Iran has little to gain for sheltering Bin Laden. If the Iranian Gov. knew about him they’d likely have him record propaganda regularly.
The Sunni-Shiia problem doesn’t help Osama in Iran either.
Peter the Bubblehead writes: “And you believe those myths? Talk about gullible! the whole Bin Laden on dialysis myth was debunked YEARS ago!
“…myths include the widespread belief that bin Laden requires dialysis treatment…”
http://spectator.org/archives/2006/02/09/dialysis-analysis
Sorry, but a single article from the Spectator is simply not enough proof of your claim.
Plus the US military thinks that they injured Osama with a MOAB near the Pakistani border.
e,
Ah, but methinks you’re falling prey to conventional wisdom on the Sunni-Shi`i discord issue. As I’ve also argued in a number of venues (most notably “The Importance of being Mahdist,” “The Weekly Standard,” Sep. 8, 2008), Iran is making an ecumenical bid for leadership of the entire ummah, not just the Shi`i side of the house–why else support the likes of Hamas, as well as various Sunni groups and organizations in West (and other parts of) Africa?
18. Pastor of Muppets:
Stick to your guns! Don’t ever let evidence get in the way of facts!
If you are looking for Bin-Laden, I’m sure I saw him at least three times in a Culver City, CA store. Anyone who is interested in the reward should go to Culver City and kill as many loo-a-likes as possible. Who knows, you might get the right one.
Sissy Boy Bin Laden is going to die of old age in the rabbit hole he is hiding in unless his gutless Muslim yellow ass comes out. I have a pet rabbit, and she has more courage than that prick. God Bless America!
What a laugh! Osama bin hiding is at a CIA safe house in Miami (Dade county). The last cross checked ( comm intercepts, many eyewitness accounts) location for him was at Kabul Airport. After that all you have are either comm Id’s or eyewitness accounts, both of which can be faked. It is possible to semi-fake a dual linkage IF you have a impostor that can fool eyewitnesses working off a photo.
Digital recorders are good enough to allow him to make a recording that can be played over a cell phone that can fool the tech guys. Remember, when it comes to commercial technology, the terrorists generally have better tech then the good guys. It is only in the cutting edge military stuff that we have an advantage.
The theory I favor is that Bin Laden ALWAYS has another exit. Just like Saddam and any other reasonably intelligent person being pursued by a nation as powerful as the USA.
So when he was almost trapped in Jubal, he called in a favor, or blackmailed somebody at the CIA to bail him out. I would guess blackmail. About half of the money spent in Afghanistan throwing out the Soviets vanished. How many CIA agents ended that op with a fatter bank account somewhere that Uncle Sam can’t get a quick peek at?
So the Russians flew him out on a military transport. That plane was picked up and tracked by the AWACS controlling the air battle. It was noticed because the Russians were not exactly welcomed in Afghanistan. That was the ONLY Russian aircraft to enter ‘gani airspace during the bombing phase of the ‘gani campaign. Shortly after the plane lifted off, Osama vanished. He showed up later on comm intercepts, as one of his faithful minions started using his cell and the digital recorder to lay a false trail. Meanwhile, bin Laden got new papers in Moscow and hopped a jet to Miami.
Where better to hide then your enemies back yard? Where is the last place the US will look for him? Stick one of those bennie thangies on his head and he is just another tall skinny Jew. So you stash him someplace where there are a lot of tall skinny Jews and go have a cold one. Plus, running a terrorist or resistance cell of any sort only requires one way communications. Osama can get messages out because NSA is looking for messages coming in and Congress won’t let them look for messages going out. Instructions sent out by phone or e-mail and acknowledgments done by internet post on a web site.
Where is the evidence that Osama has medical problems? Walk the cat back and see when those rumors started. After 9-11.
No, he has been playing the CIA, and every other US intelligence service. The man is as healthy as any normal man in his 50′s that doesn’t drink smoke, eats a healthy diet and gets plenty of exercise.
One thing anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows is that he isn’t where the CIA thinks he is. If he was, they would have caught him. QED.
I don’t buy the Iranian scenario. Not because of the shia-sunni thang, but because Sudan put cuffs on him and offered him up to Clinton for some weapons (F-16′s was what I heard, but I really thought that was a rumor). Obama…. whoopsie, OSAMA, isn’t the sort of lad that steps on the same dog turd again. What would the Mad Dog Mullahs want in return for Osama? Osama doesn’t want to find out. I think the sightings are of his son, who IS in Iran. No secret about that, since he isn’t hiding. I think an uncle is taking care of him. Remember the Laden family construction firm is the Halliburton of the Muslim world and has many projects in Iran.
We will never catch him. The only way to catch him is to out think him, and there is nobody at the CIA capable of doing that.
I believe that Obama knows where Bin Laden is. I also believe that George Bush has known where Bin Laden is nearly continuously for the last 5 years. Every since Bush changed his tune and said that, “It would be great to catch Bin Laden, but the focus of the WOT is to disable Al Queda, and if we find Bin Laden in the process, then that would be nice.” I believe that the US compromised the Al Queda communications network a long time ago, and that if they capture Bin Laden, Al Queda will know that they have. The USA may just believe that Bin Laden is much more useful to us alive rather than captured or dead.
So, relating to the article and in my view, it is quite possible that there have been sightings of this towel headed monster, but you won’t get the government to confirm or deny any of it. So, obviously I disagree with you, typos_R_us and with all you others, who think that Obama should have produced Osama by now.
One more thing, I did not quote George Bush, I only recounted my best memory of that quote. Best I can do without spending a lot of time researching the exact quote. Sorry.
Bin Laden has joined the Elvis club. UFO’s anyone?
“The search zeros in on three locations.”
Let’s see: His head. His chest…
NSA only intercepts electromagnetic communications. AL Qeada knows this. That means ANY intercept needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Maybe two. If your enemy knows you are listening to him, won’t he use that to his advantage?
Back in the 9th century, a Byzantine General ‘arranged’ for a forged letter from an enemy general’s top aide to fall into the enemy general’s hands. Naturally the enemy general was suspicious, but he thought maybe it was a plot by those sneaky Greeks ( which is what the Muslims of that day called the Eastern Roman Empire). So the Byzantine general sent out a cavalry raid and burned a bunch of farms, skipping the farm of the Muslim General’s aide. The aide was executed shortly there after.
In low level conflicts, very few things are what they seem to be. Especially in the Middle East.
When wars are fought with deceit and stealth, NEVER believe your senses.
Remember, the CIA, DIA, DoD, DOS, etc. are all bureaucracies. So while the guy at this desk ( bureau) might not know where anything is, the guy 4 desks over might just be signing off on the utility bill for Osama’s hideout. President Bush DID not know where Osama was hiding. That doesn’t mean someone at the CIA didn’t know. Or somebody at State. State and the CIA stabbed President Bush in the back several times. It got so bad he ‘killed’ the CIA in bureaucratic terms. The CIA now reports to Homeland Security, which also controls their budget. In bureaucratic terms, the CIA was decapitated.
No matter what you want to call the war Islam is waging against the West, it will mostly be a war in the shadows. Their advantage in a shadow war is a great as the West’s advantage in any other type of warfare. Our only hope is that shadow wars are seldom conclusive. Decades of terrorism practiced by Saddam were undone by 21 days of mechanized warfare.
Folks, I’m sure I saw Bin Laden at the Culver City Mall at least six more times. Its not too late. You can grab your gun and shoot him dead for that huge reward. So what if you happen to plug a few look-a-likes. Its worth a few accidental shootings to get the right guy. Colateral damage.