NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
By Zachary Roth
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...ly-in-pakistan

Osama bin Laden is living comfortably in northwest Pakistan, protected by local tribespeople and some members of the country's intelligence service, a NATO official has told CNN. The news undercuts the U.S. government's depiction of the al-Qaida leader as on the run, one terror expert tells The Upshot.

U.S. intelligence officials have long believed that bin Laden is living in the remote tribal region of northwest Pakistan. But at times, the government has also claimed that the al-Qaida leader has had to move frequently from one safehouse to another, impairing his ability to plot attacks.

The NATO official's comments undermine that claim, Michael Scheuer, a former special adviser to the chief of the CIA's bin Laden unit, told The Upshot. "It exposes the lie that Bush and Obama have been telling us since 9/11, that he was running from rock to rock and cave to cave," Scheuer said.

"Nobody in al-Qaida is living in a cave," said the unnamed official.

Scheuer, who has been an outspoken critic of the U.S. approach to fighting al-Qaida, said it's unlikely that the comments reflect any valuable new piece of information. "If this were genuine intel, they would not go public with it," he said. "They would try to kill him." Instead, he said, the NATO official's goal is probably to put pressure on Pakistan to move its army into North Waziristan as part of the fight against the Taliban -- something NATO has been urging the Pakistani government to do for weeks now.

Brian Katulis, a national security expert at the Center for American Progress, also downplayed the comments. "There's always been a sharp focus on how do we close the chapter by capturing or killing bin Laden," Catulis told The Upshot. "I don't know that [the NATO official's comments] are based on anything new or real."

Earlier this month, Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed optimism that bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would eventually be caught. But according to Scheuer, the evidence that bin Laden is living in relative comfort and stability cuts against that expectation. "We're just facing reality at last," Scheuer said. "Bin Laden lives among people who: a) regard him as an Islamic hero; and b) whose tribal mores require them to protect a guest with their own lives."

Scheuer continued: "Despite what our leaders are saying, a guy who's not moving around is not vulnerable to attack."

Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, denied to CNN that bin Laden and al-Zawahiri are in Pakistan.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

here's why i don't believe that...
if they actually knew where he was , then why haven't they already done something about it instead of leaking it to the media , which would do nothing but give OBL a heads up and a head start . that would be equivalent to the DEA going to the press and telling where there next drug bust is going to go down.

i wouldn't be suprised if they were using it as an excuse to invade pakistan next. isreal l doesn't like the idea of an islamic country possessing nukes and since this country seems to cater to isreal / zionist i don't think its to far fetched.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

You ask why? It's like giving the taliban the day and time we're gong to withdraw. :rolleyes:

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

Why would we want to capture Bin Laden? You guys talk as if that was ever part of the plan.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

such a downy clowny. yes, that was the initial part of the plan. i would surmise, it is still a priority of sorts. as he is more of a figurehead, and not an integral planner of al-qaeda's actions, he has become less of said priority. dealing with pakistan is a huge issue. no easy solution.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

If we had wanted him, we could have had him before invading Afghanistan. We didn't want him. We wanted a war, and we got it. Some of the accounts I read from Tora Bora suggest that capturing him was not only not a priority, but that he is more important to the bigwigs at large than in custody.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

Your delusional if you believe that. Whats the best way for the savior to get himself re-elected? The capture of obl is an awful big feather he could put in his cap.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

"bu..bu..bu..obama."

and to think we found sadaam in a tiny spider hole, on a nondescript farm, in the middle of BFE iraq, within 6 months with no problem whatsoever. :noidea:

and comparing lil' ol' obama and his tiny $300K/year job to the real "bigwigs" who actually run things and drove these wars is funny.

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

Hmmm....So I guess Commander and Chief is just that, a title with no pull. :noidea:

Re: NATO official: Bin Laden living comfortably in Pakistan
 

You've gotta admit Mach....it's pretty suspicious that they haven't been able to find the guy in 9 years. Take that back...it's been longer than that...they've been looking for him since the Clinton administration (1998). At some point you just have to throw your hands up and say "seriously?"

It's getting harder and harder to believe that our government/military is actually doing something to find him. I know that idea chaps a lot of peoples asses, but at some point you've got to look at the logical side of it and not the "bury your head in the sand" side of it.