CIA officers look for Osama in Pakistan (Dawn)

[DoYouEverWonder]

WASHINGTON, Feb 25: There are CIA paramilitary officers and other US personnel in Pakistan dedicated to look for Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, says a congressional report.

The Congressional Research Service, which advises Congress and writes policy briefs for US lawmakers, says in a recent report that some of these agents are based in Pakistan as "civilian contractors."

The report points out that both Osama bin Laden and Al Zawahiri escaped the December 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan and, "according to most assessments, fled into Pakistan, where they have continued to elude capture by Pakistani forces and agents."

The report notes that a March 2004 Pakistan forces' offensive against suspected terrorist hideouts in the South Waziristan region, failed to find these two or other major Al Qaeda figures.

In December 2004, the report says, President Pervez Musharraf also acknowledged that the "trail has gone cold," a characterization generally backed by US observers. Although Osama and Zawahiri remain at large, US officials say that much progress has been made against Al Qaeda, but that more remains to be done.


http://www.dawn.com/2005/02/26/top10.htm

[lovuian]

1. Is that from their Hotel room or from a restaurant!! Oh PLEASE!!!

Like where is waldo where is OSAMA!!!

[leftofcool]

12. Usama last seen..................

at the IHOP Pakistan

Left of Cool

[merwin]

2. Well, I reckon we'll hunt down those varmin if it's the last thing we do!

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. And when we find them

we will give them a free helicopter ride to wherever they want to go.

[merwin]

4. Well, we can't expect to actually CATCH them. We'd have noone to chase!

[MsMagnificent]

5. Get outta town! OMG, Pakistan?!

of all places? Who woulda thought?!

/sarcasm

[KDLarsen]

8. Sounds like the wrong country was hammered in 2001..

.. I wonder what made * & his cronies target Afghanistan instead of Pakistan. It couldn't have anything to do with, say, nuclear weapons, oil in afghanistan & a puppet dictator on the throne?

[MsMagnificent]

11. Personally I see it as a Bully mentality

This administration goes after the weaker countries -- ones they KNOW they can easily beat, but as for the ones that may actually do us some serious damage or have their own powerful allies (and even though they are the worst sinners!) they're left completely alone.

Exactly what schoolyard bullies do -- pick on the weak exclusively.

[izzie]

6. I am not worried about this guy as every few days since 911

I have heard that a 'top man' in this group has been picked up. There can not be any more out there. Right?

[Disturbed]

7. If you were Usama would you ...

hide out in Pakistan?

I have read that the CIA believe that Usama and a few top of his leaders went to Indonesia. The bounty Dead or Alive is $25 Mill or was that raised recently? There is no evidence that Usama was directly involved with 911 Attack and he has said that he was not.

[KDLarsen]

9. The problem is..

... even if you cut off the head, the body is still able to function independently. The AQ cells may already have recieved their orders/specific targets & thus they don't really require anyone above them - apart from logistics & financial support, which can be waivered at any point.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. Yeah, they are from CIA Human Resources Department... they need

him to sign some 401k paperwork.