Dinah Lord

Where da OBL? Still wanted, dead or alive.

Reading this Daily News piece reminds me of my promise to dance in the streets the minute this SOB's death is confirmed. 

Where's Osama? Try Chitral, once a trekkers' paradise in Pakistan that has been sealed off to outsiders and is now regularly buzzed by American spy drones. The U.S. won't say it officially, but an exhaustive Daily News investigation finds the world's biggest manhunt for the monster who murdered nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 has zeroed in on Chitral's stunning peaks and deep valleys.

Six U.S. and foreign officials confirmed to The News that northwestern Pakistan's impenetrable Hindu Kush mountains - which boast some of the world's tallest climbs - in the Chitral region have been eyed as Bin Laden's hideout since 2006 by Osama hunters aiming for the big kill.

A lengthy review of evidence, including recent Predator fly-bys, Bin Laden's tapes since 9/11 and interviews with three dozen experts on Al Qaeda, Pakistan and special operations, point to these vast mountains as the terror chief's most likely haven.

Captured Al Qaeda leaders have given up as his hideout. "Debriefings of Al Qaeda leaders arrested confirmed this," said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda."

Two senior foreign officials said the nearby town of Kalam also is suspect.

Drones were first spotted spying on Chitral last summer and were seen again as recently as Feb. 2. Chitral is so far from U.S.-run airfields that drone sorties are  limited to just a few hours because of fueling issues.

Moreover, Islamic militancy is taking root in several Chitrali valleys leading to the Afghan border, prompting Pakistan's tourism ministry to decree them off-limits to foreigners, local sources said - reinforcing the suspicion Osama is nearby.

...

The CIA believes a Jan. 14 Bin Laden rant about Gaza was recorded in December - before Israel's incursion and before Chitral was cut off from the rest of Pakistan by heavy snows.

The News has found that only four of his tapes were ever recorded in the harsh winter months from January to March. Most were made in the fall, and no tapes were recorded in winter after 2003 until a year ago.

Experts say this is a new clue which may mean he lives so high up he's snowbound in winter - safer from attack but unable to dispatch couriers on foot with his screeds.

"It does suggest some sort of seasonal limitation," said Arthur Keller, an ex-CIA case officer in Pakistan. "It fits the known facts, including rumors and hints he had long since moved away from Waziristan and was hiding further north in Bajaur or Chitral."

The CIA says Al Qaeda leaders live in "an isolated outpost in northwestern Pakistan."

Chitral "is a natural route from Afghanistan" into the Hindu Kush, observed an ex-operative in "Alec Station," the CIA's Bin Laden unit. The jagged range of shark's teeth peaks have always been a sanctuary for brigands lying low.

"It's closed by snow in winter, has hard to reach high villages and difficult helicopter access, a Sunni Muslim population and no random visitors," said one expert, who needs anonymity to protect Chitrali allies. But, it's "hard to get out of if cornered."

Chitral is 300 miles north of the Waziristan tribal belt U.S. drones have bombed 39 times since June. But last month, Predators were over peaceful Chitral - no missiles have ever been fired there - for the fifth occasion since August.

"Drone Aaya!" blared a Nov. 24 Chitral News headline about a visit by the "dreaded" spy planes. "People were looking [up] with a mix of curiosity and anguish," they reported, adding, "Some said it was looking for Osama."

Pakistan's refusal to issue mountaineering permits to outsiders for three Chitrali valleys is because of militant activity, local sources say.

Some intelligence officials downplay Chitral's importance or argue that Bin Laden is in a teeming Pakistani city similar to ones where his aides were nabbed after 9/11 - even though Al Qaeda leaders moved to the tribal areas years ago, where eight top goons have been assassinated in recent months.

Ex-CIAer Keller disagrees. "Hiding out at altitude in a remote mountain lair could certainly be the trick they're using to stay off our radar," he insisted.

Learn more about Chitral...

Another day, another OBL tape.

And it looks like more of the same OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES...

Arab leaders, West plot against Muslims says bin Laden

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused moderate Arab leaders of plotting with the West against Muslims, in an audio recording aired by Al Jazeera television on Saturday.

"It is clear that some Arab leaders have plotted with the Zionist-crusader coalition against our (Muslim) people," bin Laden said, without naming any of the leaders.

Al Jazeera broadcast excerpts of the recording, in which the speaker's voice sounded like earlier messages from bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden gives "alternative" Christmas Message.

Looks like everybody's getting into the alternative Christmas message act.  Tip of the Santa hat to Citizen Warrior.

US: 5 years of terror forecast...

by the Homeland Security Department.  The report was marked "for official use only" and there is no word how the Associated Press obtained access to it.  (I guess some bureaucratic puke must have leaked it.)

The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press.

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks are considered the most dangerous threats that could be carried out against the U.S. But those threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots, according to the internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013.

The al-Qaida terrorist network continues to focus on U.S. attack targets vulnerable to massive economic losses, casualties and political "turmoil," the assessment said.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction remains "the highest priority at the federal level." Speaking to reporters on Dec. 3, Chertoff explained that more people, such as terrorists, will learn how to make dirty bombs, biological and chemical weapons. "The other side is going to continue to learn more about doing things," he said.

Marked "for official use only," the report does not specify its audience, but the assessments typically go to law enforcement, intelligence officials and the private sector. When determining threats, intelligence officials consider loss of life, economic and psychological consequences.

CIA head says Bin Laden isolated, fighting to survive.

I'm sure you've heard about this already, but I just liked hearing it again and may I say that I pray, pray, pray, that we get this SOB before W leaves office.  Ooh.  I would love to see that happen.  (I also had a dream last night, where W pulled all the troops out of Gitmo, locked it up nice and tight and then called in the bombers.  A bold move to be sure.  Unfortunately, also highly unlikely.)   

U.S. intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden is isolated from al Qaeda and spending much of his energy merely surviving, the head of the CIA said on Thursday.  CIA Director Michael Hayden said hunting down bin Laden remains his agency's priority.

"He is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security," Hayden said in a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

"In fact, he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads," he said.

Good.

source - CNN