SPEAKING
FREELY The capture of bin Laden
By Todd W John
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Reports regarding the recent capture of al-Qaeda terrorist
mastermind Osama bin Laden are becoming more and more frequent and seemingly
more detailed. Since the New Year, various news sources, governments and
intelligence services have been releasing accounts of bin Laden's capture. Could it be that
there is good reason to believe the fleeting but increasingly detailed accounts?
Osama
bin Laden has been captured in Pakistan, according to a report picked up from
Iranian radio by the British Broadcasting Corp's global monitoring service, as reported by
AFX London. No further details were available. Meanwhile, other reports say bin
Laden is being held by United States forces at an undisclosed location,
according to knowledgeable sources.
Some analysts were taken aback in January when high-ranking
US military commanders such as spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan Hilferty began
announcing, without reservation, that they would capture Osama bin Laden soon:
"within months", he told the San Francisco Gate. Hilferty confidently described
the military dragnet being undertaken in tribal areas of Pakistan and
eastern Afghanistan, but Pakistan denied that any foreign troops were
operating or would be allowed to operate in the country, in a move to steady
domestic opposition to such activities. They may have been right; maybe no
foreign troops were in the country - anymore.
Information about intelligence operations and covert military actions is
almost never released to the public, and leaks are dealt with harshly,
making the detailed summaries of missions to "flush out" Osama bin Laden by
military commanders - often offering maps and naming specific place names -
even more questionable. Wouldn't such information about ongoing and upcoming
operations compromise them?
Many seize upon these simple and inane questions to spark the debate that the
US has already captured bin Laden and is now waiting for a politically
opportune time to announce that he is in custody. But of course these ideas,
put forth by conspiracy theorists, rogue nations and unaccountable intelligence
agents, are absurd, and the US administration denies them as such. The US
administration, along with the military and intelligence community, could not,
and certainly would not, ever seek to hijack a military and national security
issue for political gains - right?
In our media-hungry age of information technology we will likely - as soon as
the commanders tell us - be treated to the obligatory pictures and video
showing the capture of the terrorist leader. Bin Laden will be seen being
triumphantly ripped from his cave by US troops. News organizations will stream
a constant flow of short 15-second clips of a disheveled and despondent
bin Laden, Saddam Hussin style; or maybe it will be as exciting as the nail-bitingly
intense video of Private Jessica Lynch being rescued - we can only hope. The
confirmation will be there, "We got him!" Americans and the world will know
that they got him, that the Bush administration kept its promise, because the
video shows it. Pictures and video do not lie, and the US government certainly
could not and would not manipulate operational video, photos or details for
political gain.
People
need to remain patient during this key political season as US and coalition
forces struggle with renewed daily violence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans
must support the troops and the commander-in-chief, knowing that the work
for security and to capture the evildoers that are behind September 11, 2001,
continues. Americans should feel assured by the leadership, such as
Lieutenant-General David Barno, who predicted the US would capture Osama bin
Laden "this year".
So they tell us, and so we should believe. Why shouldn't we? Either way the
forces of good win. This is the one point that the conspiracy theorists and US
leadership do agree upon; that Osama bin Laden will be captured this year.
This should and definitely will be celebrated. The Bush administration led us
to victory, successfully defeating the terrorists. "Mission accomplished",
indeed. The brave troops of the US will once again prove that they are able and
ready. Fox's Bill O'Reilly will spin feverishly in his anchor's chair as he
gushes praise upon the administration and demands that his guests pledge their
allegiance and patriotism. Geraldo Rivera will get so excited during his live
coverage of the capture that he'll pee himself. Maybe the administration will
even drop the threat level from elevated orange to guarded green for a day or
two. A grand time for America and the allies of peace and justice.
The costs will have been heavy but necessary, Americans will be reminded.
Thousands lost in a horrible terrorist attack where the administration or
intelligence community may have failed to identify an imminent threat. Hundreds
of US service men and women lost in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with
thousands of civilians. Wars that currently take daily tolls on coalition
soldiers in countries now teetering on the brink of collapse, rife with
terrorists and warlords. All necessary, costly steps to better guarantee US
security from Osama bin Laden.
The problem seems to be that some feel a well-timed capture of one evildoer
will only serve to benefit another evildoer's power grab - that of US President
George W Bush.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say.
Please click hereif you are interested in
contributing.
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Mar 5, 2004
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