Official: US capture of bin Laden close
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA - Sep 4, 2004
Allies closer to capturing bin Laden - report
Ireland Online, Ireland - Sep 4, 2004
Bin Laden 'will be caught' - US official
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia - Sep 4, 2004
US: Bin Laden within our grasp
News24 (subscription), South Africa - Sep 4, 2004
Bin Laden could be arrested at any time, says US official
Daily Times, Pakistan - Sep 3, 2004
Those are just samples. One of the articles I found said:
Bin Laden and his top associate are believed to be hiding some place along the long and rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, although there appears to be no solid intelligence on their exact whereabouts.These headlines and this story, in general seem awfully conveniently placed. King George just had his big bounce in the polls after his convention. Following that, Kerry finally grew enough of a spine to start railing on the fact that neither Bush nore Cheney spent any time in Vietnam. Suddenly, the press is overtaken by this story about how Osama is close to being arrested. Hey, that's pretty funny considering the headline from a September 7, 2004 Reuters article:
Pakistan: U.S. Official's Osama Claim Was 'Political'
Here's a quick excerpt from that article:
Pakistan Tuesday dismissed a claim by a U.S. counter-terrorism official that the United States and its allies were closing in on the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani media Sunday quoted Cofer Black, State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, as saying that the United States and its allies have put the al Qaeda leader on the defensive, increasing chances of his capture soon.
But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Black's remarks were a "political statement."
"We don't have any information about that," Ahmed told Reuters by telephone from Saudi Arabia where he is accompanying Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on an official visit.
Black's comments came just a few days after President Bush, who is standing for re-election in November, said that three-quarters of known al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed.
I think I smell the fowl stench of flop sweat from one Karl Rove staining these pro-Osama-capture headlines. Especially considering the timing of this "story" right on the heels of Kerry FINALLY attacking Bush and Cheney on their weaknesses.
From Reuters:
Pakistan: U.S. Official's Osama Claim Was 'Political'
Tue Sep 7, 2004 08:05 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan Tuesday dismissed a claim by a U.S. counter-terrorism official that the United States and its allies were closing in on the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani media Sunday quoted Cofer Black, State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, as saying that the United States and its allies have put the al Qaeda leader on the defensive, increasing chances of his capture soon.
But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Black's remarks were a "political statement."
"We don't have any information about that," Ahmed told Reuters by telephone from Saudi Arabia where he is accompanying Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on an official visit.
Black's comments came just a few days after President Bush, who is standing for re-election in November, said that three-quarters of known al Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed.
"If he (bin Laden) has a watch, he should be looking at it because the clock is ticking. He will be caught," Black told private Geo Television.
"Programs are in place and what I tell people (is), I would be surprised but not necessarily shocked if we wake up tomorrow and he had been caught along with all his lieutenants."
Pakistan -- a key ally of the United States since al Qaeda's attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 -- has made a series of breakthroughs against al Qaeda since July. More than 70 suspected militants, including senior al Qaeda operatives, have been arrested, raising hopes that security forces are zeroing in on bin Laden or his deputy al-Zawahri.
Pakistani officials play down such hopes, saying the pair's whereabouts is still a mystery, although it is often said they are probably holed up in the mountainous region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
© Reuters 2004
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