bin Laden: Alive and well and living in...
For awhile there, I thought I was the only one to notice that when Osama bin Laden appeared October 29 in his most recent videotaped message of ill will towards the West that he was not crouched in a cave somewhere looking like death warmed over.
We have continued to hear right up to quite recently that Osama is on the run, that several times in the past months friendly forces have been hot on his trail (sometimes missing him by mere hours) and that it is only a matter of time before he is caught. According to the November 19 Washington Post, quoting a senior American commander: "Pakistan's military has been so effective in pressuring al Qaeda leaders hiding in the tribal region of western Pakistan that Osama bin Laden and his top deputies are no longer able to direct terrorist operations...'They are living in the remotest areas of the world without any communications -- other than courier -- with the outside world or their people and unable to orchestrate or provide command and control over a terrorist network,' said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of the Central Command."
Boy, did Osama prove him wrong.
bin Laden didn't seem to be cowering in a corner in what many think was his first new message in three years. In fact, he appeared healthy, without fatigues, in a professionally lit studio - behind a podium no less. The segment was clearly shot with a professional camera using, most likely, a professional videographer (gone was the past look and feel of a bad Blair Witch sequel).
In a piece in the November 25 Washington Post, writer Craig Whitlock noted that bin Laden "...wore a white turban and gold-colored robe as he stood behind a lectern and spoke softly to the camera, looking more like an elected official than the most wanted terrorist in the world."
Despite what the likes of Lt. Gen. Lance Smith say, with access to a facility such as the one he used, and dressing in the manner in which he dressed, it's clear that Osama has access to anything he wants or needs, and can contact anyone he wishes, anytime, anywhere. He didn't look or talk like a man worried about being caught any minute. In fact, he looked like a man ready to direct the next terrorist attack against a Western target.
It's time that our leaders tell us the truth about bin Laden, and stop with the "any day" bull they have been feeding us the last three years or so. They aren't doing anyone any favours, not the least of which are themselves.
R.G. McGillivray
http://www.rgmcgillivray.com/pages/1/index.htm
We have continued to hear right up to quite recently that Osama is on the run, that several times in the past months friendly forces have been hot on his trail (sometimes missing him by mere hours) and that it is only a matter of time before he is caught. According to the November 19 Washington Post, quoting a senior American commander: "Pakistan's military has been so effective in pressuring al Qaeda leaders hiding in the tribal region of western Pakistan that Osama bin Laden and his top deputies are no longer able to direct terrorist operations...'They are living in the remotest areas of the world without any communications -- other than courier -- with the outside world or their people and unable to orchestrate or provide command and control over a terrorist network,' said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of the Central Command."
Boy, did Osama prove him wrong.
bin Laden didn't seem to be cowering in a corner in what many think was his first new message in three years. In fact, he appeared healthy, without fatigues, in a professionally lit studio - behind a podium no less. The segment was clearly shot with a professional camera using, most likely, a professional videographer (gone was the past look and feel of a bad Blair Witch sequel).
In a piece in the November 25 Washington Post, writer Craig Whitlock noted that bin Laden "...wore a white turban and gold-colored robe as he stood behind a lectern and spoke softly to the camera, looking more like an elected official than the most wanted terrorist in the world."
Despite what the likes of Lt. Gen. Lance Smith say, with access to a facility such as the one he used, and dressing in the manner in which he dressed, it's clear that Osama has access to anything he wants or needs, and can contact anyone he wishes, anytime, anywhere. He didn't look or talk like a man worried about being caught any minute. In fact, he looked like a man ready to direct the next terrorist attack against a Western target.
It's time that our leaders tell us the truth about bin Laden, and stop with the "any day" bull they have been feeding us the last three years or so. They aren't doing anyone any favours, not the least of which are themselves.
R.G. McGillivray
http://www.rgmcgillivray.com/pages/1/index.htm
posted by RG McGillivray at 4:34 p.m.
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