The following UK Times report, “Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders president Bush,” will surely cause some discussion on the tube and the Internet tomorrow. The report opens as follows:
“President George W. Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House. Defense and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. “If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source. Bush arrives in Britain today on the final leg of his eight-day farewell tour of Europe. He will have tea with the Queen and dinner with Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah before holding a private meeting with Brown at No 10 tomorrow and flying on to Northern Ireland. The Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in the US-led operations to capture Bin Laden in the wild frontier region of northern Pakistan. It is the first time they have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis.
The hunt was “completely sanctioned” by the Pakistani government, according to a UK special forces source.
It involves the use of Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with Hellfire missiles that can be used to take out specific terrorist targets. One US intelligence source compared the “growing number of clandestine reconnaissance missions” inside Pakistan with those conducted in Laos and Cambodia at the height of the Vietnam war.”
To read the entire report simply go to this link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4138791.ece
What is so sad is that, according to Gary Berntsen, we had a shot at getting him prior to 9-11. Gary Bernsten was “the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forces around Kabul, and the drive toward Tora Bora, he led dozens of CIA and Special Operations Forces, (and) raised 2,000 Afghan fighters to aid in the hunt for Bin Laden.”
We interviewed Gary in March of 2006 on The Cutting Edge a talk show where he shared his 20 years in the CIA for which he received both the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Star.
To learn more of his exploits, with numerous pages heavily redacted by CIA censors, let me suggest reading his book entitled Jawbreaker or watch our one hour interview.
www.cuttingedge-atalkshow.com That “cost and commercial free” interview can be found by scrolling down the archives of our home page.
In “Jawbreaker” Gary states “the biggest and most important failure of CENTCOM leadership came at Tora Bora when they turned down my request for a battalion of U.S. Rangers to block Bin Laden’s escape.”
Notes:
1. Mike Scheuer’s deputy sent Gary to Afghanistan in March of 2000 on a Mission to hunt down Bin Laden, 18 months before 9-11.
2. The timeframe of this Tora Bora request was December 2001.
3. General Tommy Franks was the CENTCOM commander in May of 2002.
4. Gary was forced to file a lawsuit against his employer to release his (Jawbreaker) manuscript. In his author notes he writes: “When a federal judge ordered the Agency to release the manuscript in late August, they told me I had to redact over 40 pages of material…” A powerful book and interview on acts of terrorism against the USA and his involvement in multiple actions.
larry, is this a real story of a fake,joke, pretend story ive become so used to on the orange juice?
What is Bin Laden doing to that goat? Is that a real picture?
Cook, part of Osama’s plan for world domination is conspiring with the Chivas for the overthrow of Willowick.
Jose. Unless the UK Times is a figment of someone’s imagination, the story is real.
“If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source.
Well, if Bush wanted to capture his ‘buddy’ Bin Laden, he would have already. As far as Hussein, killing him in Gulf War 1 would have been far more efficient in terms of ‘making the world a safer place.’
Thanks a lot LBJ and Jimmy Carter! I really don’t understand why we have a ban on assassinations of foreign leaders. When one plays chess, isn’t it the object of the game to capture the king? If a foreign leader necessitates a war, why is it supposedly unethical to take him out, but global destruction and massive loss of military and civilian life, well, that’s just hunkey dorey?
The front line in chess is made up of ‘pawns.’ At least that part parallels real life.
SMS
Sarah.
I do like your bottom line.
Cook: Same thing Pulido’s done to Santa Ana.
Another, that’s baad.
So this either means that an incredible coincidence has occurred wherein our technology and the British lack of political consequence have conspired to rid the world of bin Ladin in time for Christmas or the November Elections whichever comes first.
OR
We’ve held bin Laden in virtual prision in Northern Pakistan strapped to a dialisis machine waiting for W to say the word for the last six years while we ravaged Iraq and set the stage for Iran.
Bravo! Either way, well done!