Is OBL in Pakistan? — Depends on Who You Talk to
EmailThere has been no trace of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, according to the governor of the Northwest Frontier Province there. "It’s incredible, all this effort to find him, and five years on we haven’t a trace," said Ali Mohammad Jan Orukzai. But U.S. intelligence disagrees. Former CIA station chief in Pakistan, Robert Grenier, among others does believe that bin Laden is in Pakistan, likely between the Khyber Pass and Chitral. "It’s an area in which the Pakistani government has very little penetration," Grenier said. "By and large, it is a fairly favorable area within which to hide." The Pakistani governor was speaking to foreign journalists at a dinner in his Peshawar residence. In an earlier press conference, he said accusations that Pakistan isn’t doing enough to stem cross-border incursions by Taliban and al Qaeda into Afghanistan were "causing a bit of irritation." Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. He called on the Afghan army and NATO to deploy more troops on the border as well. "We are going to set up a three kilometer buffer, do night patrols and fencing," he said. "You also bring your troops to the border, and we’ll seal it." While Pakistan has 80,000 troops stationed on the Afghan border, a peace deal in September with the tribal areas has led to an increase in across-the-border attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan. "The number of attacks doubled, the number of suicide bombings quadrupled, and the Taliban got close enough to the major regional city of Kandahar in the south that there was really a danger of a serious political crisis," according to Barnett Rubin at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. Yesterday President Bush announced more than 3,000 more troops and $11 billion would go into a spring offensive to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Taliban leader in the troubled Waziristan has reportedly said he didn’t really mean it when he threatened to unleash suicide attacks on Pakistan to avenge a January air strike on one of his suspected terror training camps in South Waziristan. Orukzai also told journalists that Baitullah Meshud met this week with tribal elders to try and resolve his bloody dispute with the government. There have been two suicide attacks in the Pakistani capital since Meshud vowed rvenge. "He denied he had anything to do with those attacks," said Orukzai. "He told them he was just in a very bad mood when he said that."
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Here is a key statement in the article: “a peace deal in September with the tribal areas has led to an increase in across-the-border attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan.” Duh. Its almost a certainty bin Laden (if still alive) is in Pakistan’s NW province, he has sympathy there and no threat from the Pakistani military. Pakistan is making the Afghan war impossible to win by giving the Taliban and insurgents a place to continuously go and regroup/train and build and maintain support. Pakistan is just as much the problem.
Posted by: Bob | February 16, 2007, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
The US demanded that Afghanistan stop harboring terrorists and their training grounds. They refused so America went in and cleaned house. We know Al-Quada and Taliban are training and being supported in Pakistan but for some unknown reason we have a double standard. Clean out Pakistan now!!
Posted by: Don Lester | February 19, 2007, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
Maybe they should consult a Ouija board.
Posted by: Amy | February 19, 2007, 2:25 pm 2:25 pm
Before the next attack on U.S. soil, we need a draft. We need 1 MILLION troops in Afghanistan and another 1 MILLION in Iraq. It might sound crazy, but it is exactly what we need. Everyone is afraid of telling it like it is. If this truly is a war, lets start fighting it to win.
Someone needs to tell our buddy Musharaff that Pakistan will help us eliminate the tribal lands as a threat to world peace or step aside and let us do the job.
Once we have 2 MILLION troops in the subject theatres and after we have destroyed all threats, we should turn to the mullocracy in Tehran and provide them with 30 days to end their nuclear ambitions or suffer the same fate as those who oppose us in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. If they refuse, then we should send a small squad of Delta force folks in their to assassinate the leadership – - one by one. Our 2 MILLION troops on the borders of Iran should assure that no one from the leadership slips through.
Posted by: jim jones | February 19, 2007, 2:38 pm 2:38 pm
My god Jim. It sounds as if you want to win a war.
How politically-incorrect of you. You are in some dire need of sensitivity training.
Posted by: SUV.Driving.Lib | February 19, 2007, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
I know this guy, he will be granted for academy awards. He help media to get million dollar. Wow, thanks to Osama Bin Laden, the best actor in this century
Posted by: amerikangawur | February 21, 2007, 12:14 am 12:14 am
I’m really surprised how dumbed down and clueless the press and public have been over this issue the last couple years.
During the run-up to the 2004 presidential elections, the whitehouse had blackops, special forces, and all clandestine operations focused directly on the much ballyhooed “impenetrable” tribal area between Afghanistan and Pakistan with the knowledge that Bin Laden’s discovery would seal victory for The Shrub who’s major liability was the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Bin Laden has continued releasing videos looking healthy and happy, a far cry from the visibly fatigued and sickly figure that appeared in videos discovered after the Afghan war in 2002.
He wasn’t in that ‘impenetrable’ tribal area then, and he’s OBVIOUSLY not there now. When is the American press going to WAKE UP and explore this truism.
He’s very obviously being protected in an Arab country with a dominantly Sunni population (ruling out Iran) with him most likely being in Saudi Arabia.
I have yet to see one major American news organization even have an op-ed piece exploring the reality that he’s obviously not anywhere near where everyone is convinced he is.
Posted by: David Jeffries | February 21, 2007, 6:47 am 6:47 am
These comments did make me think of one aspect here – if Pakistan can’t or won’t hold its tribal regions accountable, why do we respect Pakistan’s sovereignty over those regions? The right of being respected as a sovereign government entails the accountability for what goes on in your borders. If you refuse to deal with an international threat within your borders, then the targets of that threat have every right to cross your borders and deal with it. You can’t have it both ways…
Posted by: dave | February 21, 2007, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
Dave
I agree you make a good point. The Taliban were taken out for harboring al-Qaeda and letting them plan attacks there that threatened the int’l community. They would still be in power there today if not for doing so. But dealing with Pakistan is completely different. If terrorists were to kill Musharaff and rogue elements took control of that gov’t they would have ready access to use or give terrorists nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Bob | February 21, 2007, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
That’s true – the Taliban could be squashed militarily and there weren’t too many wildcards about what would fill the void, who would come to their aid (nobody), etc.
What I don’t understand well enough is this reverence within Pakistan for the right of these tribal regions to continue as they are today. Musharaff faces political homicide (probably physical also) if he cracks down on them, but why? It seems like since 9/11, emotions in mainstream Pakistan have swayed towards finding peace with India and joining the legitimate international community (black market nuke sales aside…), but to me, that’s in conflict with allowing this autonomous, tribal region exist outside the law and commonly accepted notions of justice. What’s the upside of this equation for the rest of Pakistan? If there’s something really great or sacred or special that these regions add to Pakistan, they need a new PR firm…
Posted by: dave | February 21, 2007, 3:37 pm 3:37 pm
These tribal regions have representatives in Pakistan’s govt, so they create a lot of sympathy within. There are over 3M people living in these areas, so it is a hornets nest, even though its a small pct. of their population. They are a very independent group in this region, and were friendly to their gov’t until the Taliban were taken out, no surprise. In my opinion, if Musharaff can’t/won’t try to clean up this area then he needs to let the US conduct airstrikes in this region.
Posted by: Bob | February 22, 2007, 9:03 am 9:03 am
Yes, Osama is in the Pakistan area and has been. The reason no one sees him or knows the exact location is because he travels constantly, sometimes never the same place twice. He has spent time in Wazisistan area, some months ago quite a bit of time in that area, recently little time spent. When he knows intelligence knows or suspects he is in an area he doesn’t go back. His own intelligence support is very clever and very tuned in to ours. Maybe one step ahead.
Posted by: Tagon555 | February 22, 2007, 11:54 am 11:54 am
It was startling to me that Ayman al-Zawahiri, in his message released 12 February 2007 calls for the Muslims to pledge their allegiance to Mullah Omar, without a single reference Bin Laden. That he reveres Mullah Omar as “Commander of the Faithful” is not surprising –
but a similar statement in the message of 20 December 2006 is accompanied by a reference to “our commander, Sheikh Osama Bin Laden.” That this deference is now missing strongly suggests that the report of OBL’s death by typhoid sometime after December 20 may in fact be accurate.
Posted by: Steven | February 23, 2007, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
bin Laden was last seen on a pony on a texas ranch. HA Ha
Posted by: bgr | February 25, 2007, 8:27 am 8:27 am
Bin Laden was last seen heading towards Parachinar in the Kurram Agency on the Pak-Afghan border after the fall of Tora Bora in late 2001.
Just to the south is Waziristan, no farther than New York City is to Newark, New Jersey.
He has no reason to move from the foothills surrounding Parachinar. He’s welcome there and well protected, no doubt.
Posted by: Zar | February 27, 2007, 12:42 am 12:42 am
Iran. He’s in Iran. Stop w/this.
Posted by: Keedo | February 28, 2007, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm