When will Barack Obama give up the Bin Laden ghost hunt?

[celeb_2006]

When Will Obama Give Up the Bin Laden Ghost Hunt? - Yahoo! News

In a talk to the Atlantic Council this week CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said Osama bin Laden is alive. I'll take his word for it. But bin Laden's strange disappearance makes one wonder what exactly happened to him. The last relatively reliable bin Laden sighting was in late 2001. A video that he appears in last year shows him with a dyed beard. More than a few Pakistani intelligence operatives who knew bin Laden scoff at the idea he would ever dye his beard. They think the tape was manipulated from old footage, and that bin Laden is in fact dead. But then again, they would have an interest in making us believe bin Laden is dead, since it would relieve American pressure to find him by any means necessary, including going into Pakistani territory.


And what about all the other audiotapes bin Laden has put out since 9/11? Experts will tell you that off-the shelf digital editing software could manipulate old bin Laden voice recordings to make it sound as if he were discussing current events. Finally, there's the mystery why bin Laden didn't pop up during the election. You would think a narcissistic mass murderer who believes he has a place in history would find it impossible to pass up an opportunity to give his opinion at such a momentous time, at least dropping off a DVD at the al Jazeera office in Islamabad. (Read "Barack Obama on Homeland Security")


I asked a half dozen of my former CIA colleagues who have been on bin Laden's trail since 9/11. What surprised me was that none would say for certain whether he is alive or dead. Half assumed he is dead, the other half assumed he is alive. I suppose a lot of their timidity has to do with the still open wounds about the CIA's missing an event like Saddam's destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It would be so much easier to miss the death of a single man.


The important point of Hayden's Atlantic talk Thursday was that Muslims have turned against bin Laden, realizing that his campaign against the West has ended up killing more Muslims than it has Islam's enemies. Al-Qaeda may be picking up adherents in North Africa and Yemen, preparing its return, but it certainly is no longer in a position to destabilize Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country.

And, although Hayden didn't say it, there is no good evidence bin Laden is capable of mounting a large-scale attack. He failed to pull off an October surprise, as many in the FBI and CIA had feared he would.

Despite all this, whether bin Laden is alive or dead is actually pretty irrelevant. Obama has no real choice but to revitalize the search for him, if only for political considerations. If al-Qaeda were to attack in the United States the first months of his term, Obama would end up for the rest of it explaining why he wasn't more vigilant.


But what if bin Laden really is dead, buried under a hundred tons of rock at Tora Bora or so weakened that he might as well be dead? Indefinitely crashing around Afghanistan and Pakistan's wild, mountainous tribal region on a ghost hunt cannot serve our interests. The longer we leave troops in Afghanistan the worse the civil war there will become. One day Obama will need to give up the hunt - declare bin Laden either dead or irrelevant. He has more important enemies to deal with, from Iran to Russia.

[kingcap72]

But it's not just about Bin Laden. Obama said it himself on 60 Minutes that it's about going after Al-Queda. If Bin Laden's dead, great, but Al-Queda is still just as much of a threat as Russia or Iran.

[Grimmlok]

suppose a lot of their timidity has to do with the still open wounds about the CIA's missing an event like Saddam's destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Oh for gods sake, he never had any. All they found were rusting tanks and missiles from the 80's.

[travelbug]

You think John McCain will share with Obama how to get Bin Laden? You know, since he knows how to get him? He's kept it a secret for years and years waiting until he was elected, but since that ain't gonna happen, do you think McCain will share the secret?

[MontanaMama]

I hate articles like this ...all this says is I'm throwing out there that Bin Laden might already be dead so I can look back and say I raised the idea that he might be dead. Frankly, it's wanky.

I am not at all a religious person or scholar, but I thougt dying for the Muslim faith meant a great reward and to die at the hands of an enemy would mean instant martyrdom. I doubt that being turned into the biggest martyr for the cause would be hidden or ignored by Al-Queda. It's a tenet of the fundamentalist faith (I think).

[WesCAdle]

You think John McCain will share with Obama how to get Bin Laden? You know, since he knows how to get him? He's kept it a secret for years and years waiting until he was elected, but since that ain't gonna happen, do you think McCain will share the secret?

HA HA HA, just like his town-hall searches for Mr Puddlez, LOL! I thought that was what Cheney has been doing the last six months - knocking on caves on the Pakistan border.

[mamaste]

Oh for gods sake, he never had any. All they found were rusting tanks and missiles from the 80's.

He had WMDs at one point. The U.S. gov't. either sold or gave them to the Iraqi gov't. That's how the weapons inspectors knew what to look for. In any case, I believe he's referring to a period around the time the UN instituted sanctions against Iraq. Saddam Hussein insisted he had no WMDs and there was no need for inspectors to look for any. But he had been getting rid of the evidence and the CIA missed it. Or something like that. In any case, the weapons inspectors destroyed what they found prior to the war. There were no WMDs at that point since SH and the UN inspectors had gotten rid of them over the 10-15 years prior to 2002/2003.

Anyway... I've suspected for a long time that Bin Laden is dead. He doesn't seem to be the AQ leader. He doesn't seem to be involved in any of the terrorist plots or attacks by AQ since 2001. I did hear a rumor years ago that the CIA knew he was dead, but kept it a secret to keep funding their various wars against the Middle East. Knowing the CIA's history, that's not a far fetched idea. They will do whatever it takes to keep fighting their enemies.

[Valley Doll]

bin Laden used to release monthly videotapes like he was some rapper. He hasn't done that in years, so I'm guessing he's dead or deathly ill. But Al-Queda is still a threat and must be addressed.

[ymeman]

2 possibilities, he's either one dead sum bitch or the Bin Ladens cut a deal with their good friends the Bushes and he is holed up in lockdown wherever it is they keep Cheney. The deal would have been the U.S. allows him to get medical treatment so long as he disappears forever. Jesus Christ he could be walking around Hollywood right now after having made several trips to Dr. 90210. He could be Jocelyn Wildenstein.

[bychance]

But it's not just about Bin Laden. Obama said it himself on 60 Minutes that it's about going after Al-Queda. If Bin Laden's dead, great, but Al-Queda is still just as much of a threat as Russia or Iran.

Exactly