On Bin Laden's Trail? -- Nov. 14, 2004
-- A weekly feature on This Week.
Osama bin Laden taunted the United States in a video recording released last month, but it's been three years since bin Laden was spotted in Afghanistan. For December's "National Geographic," journalist Tim McGirk trekked through the world's most rugged terrain and discovered how the world's most wanted man can disappear.
McGirk: "The idea of the journey was to go to the place where bin Laden was last seen and to look at the people in the countryside which would enable a man -- the world's most wanted terrorist -- to vanish completely. You've got about 1,500-mile stretches, some of the worst mountainous areas in the world. And there aren't roads. There are goat tracks, pretty much.
"When we went through the countryside with the American patrols, you suddenly look at the ravines ahead of you and the trees -- and you look at every place as a possible ambush. So it's tough going, and there are a million places for a fugitive like Osama Bin Laden to hide.
"In order to do this story about the Pashtuns, I had to change the way that I looked to try to blend in. I had to grow my beard. I had to wear a turban. When we were traveling with the tribesmen and we came under their protection, we'd stay in the towns in these fortified houses that they all lived in. They protected us, they sheltered us, and basically looked after us. Once when we were traveling -- it was about sunset -- we were wearing our tribal get-ups. And right at that moment, there was an American army patrol of about twelve armored vehicles that came out and they stopped. It very much reminded me of kind of wolves sniffing the wind to see which way they would go hunting that night. And then they just took off into the mountains.
"There was a time when we went to a shrine of a freedom fighter, a Pashtun who fought against the British for thirty years. They used airplanes. They sent in men in Jeeps. They never found the guy. And he died in bed at the age of 81. And I'm wondering whether the same thing might be true with Osama -- that he'll be up there until he dies in his sleep, years and years from now."
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
Stewart: "Let's talk about Ashcroft. After serving President Bush for four glorious, fear-filled years, Ashcroft is taking his zero-for-5,000 terrorism conviction record and going home -- announcing his resignation yesterday with a statement reading in part, 'The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.' What?!?! Alright, done and done. Guess you'll head off to cure cancer now."
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