About that Osama

Just chillin' in my crib in Waziristan

A Disastrous Disconnect
by georgia10
Wed Sep 20, 2006 at 07:22:43 PM PDT

CNN:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Bush said Wednesday he would order U.S. forces to go after Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan if he received good intelligence on the fugitive al Qaeda leader's location.

"Absolutely," Bush said.

The president made the comments Wednesday in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. (Watch Bush state his position on Iran and the war on terror -- 18:06)

Although Pakistan has said it won't allow U.S. troops to operate within its territory, "we would take the action necessary to bring him to justice."

But Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, told reporters Wednesday at the United Nations that his government would oppose any U.S. action in its territory.

"We wouldn't like to allow that at all. We will do it ourselves," he said.

First, let's talk about the tragic hypocrisy of Bush promising action on bin Laden even though he has a proven track record of inaction and deliberate indifference towards the world's most wanted terrorist.

Second, let's talk about Pakistan. That "ally" that has struck a deal with the Taliban, that "ally" who was caught on tape admitting that if bin Laden was caught, he wouldn't be taken into custody as long as he was a "peaceful citizen." For all the talk of Pakistan's "cooperation" in the War on Terror, if bin Laden is located in Pakistan, are we going to have another Tora Bora on our hands? Because outsourcing the job worked so well last time...

Next, let's talk about coordination. Does anyone else find it incredibly disturbing that five years into the bin Laden manhunt, the United States and Pakistan obviously have yet to reach a consensus on how exactly to pursue the guy?

They aren't only not on the same page, they aren't even reading the same book when it comes to contingency planning.

I wonder what George Bush and Perez Musharaff will talk about when they meet this week. You know, besides selling Pakistan our F-16s, and helping them develop nuclear technology, all while our great "ally" in the war on terror seals its borders to us and jeopardizes the capture of the most wanted man alive.

If this were a competent president, the who, what, when and where of bin Laden's capture would be the central topic of discussion.

But, alas, as evidenced by five years of failure, "competency" and "foresight" are two concepts that are entirely foreign to this administration.

And their troops shoot at US patrols who cross over the border, because they hate Americans. But if Bush let that figleaf drop, he'd be lucky not to lose a hundred seats in the House.