Posted on 11/28/2001 4:13:44 PM PST by HighWheeler
i vaguely recall rumsfeld early on discussing a war of disinformation. i believed his intention was to tip off the press that this would be a two way street. given this, bush's comments and actions would not be inconsistent with the war tactics. (in fact, i happen to believe that some of the united states/israel banter that went on while the coalition was being put together was planned to mute or at least mitigate arab nation concerns.)
i happen to believe, however, that much of the arab world believed that the taliban and al-qaeda were separate, a fact that is turning out to be false. bush was trying, i think, to show that the two worked hand in hand -- hence the edict to the taliban to turn over usama -- and bush knew they would not.
even if the taliban had turned over usama, bush would have put pressure on the taliban to chase down the rest of his network. without taliban resistance, bombing is not necessary.
the american public will demand some specific evidence that we are succeeding in this war. usama would be a major milestone -- although as you have alluded, there is a risk that the war ends with him. i believe that we would have heard if he were killed. al-jazeera, if nobody else, would have found out and publicized it for the response it would have received.
good thoughts and nice compilation of a lot of data. even though i am skeptical of the conclusions drawn, i highly respect the work you did!
For weeks now, the U.S. has spoken in terms of Osama being alive, yet have stated some unusual things to create enough doubt. If they took out bin Laden early, and still stuck to the Startegies, they would have to take out all witnesses within a huge perimeter to ensure no positive witnesses.
The one who are alive are quiet about it because they don't know for sure, and yet they still want to believe.
N&V:Sounds close to your theory, too, doesn't it?
Saber, over here, over here! Now you can find out and I WON'T have to kill you!
We have been told that Osama understands the U.S. and a lot of the culture. He was a civil engineer, and lived in the relatively upscale Saudi Arabia. His engineering degree purportedly led him to target the WTC. IF he were alive today, he would be the first to realize the potential destruction he could cause (aided and abetted by the liberals and peaceniks in the U.S.) here by surrendering. He would also be creating nightly news for years as the trial dragged on, and acting as the greatest terrorist draft incentive since the Uncle Sam posters of WWII.
Before Bush made his "halt air campaign" speech, I was wondering when Osama would surrender himself. It took about 8 years to convict the two weasels who actually planted the first bombs in the WTC. Imagine what would happen if we had Osama.
If the truth is being supressed, as you and I suspect it is, I'm HAPPY to see it! If we are playing poker with world opinion, we are doing it expertly. Finally a White House that does disinfo right!
I totally agree with your first #6.
Follow along with this bit of twisted logic, the only way that we keep the Taliban and Al Queda forces fighting is for them to be alive. The local Afghanis will turn at the drop of a hat, however Osama's boys will not. Using sat intell and on the ground intell we have followed them around the country. We have observed their troop deployments and using a newly armed N.A. went after them. We used our air power to turn the locals as we did in Desert Storm ie they see us and can't surrender fast enough. We deplete their forces with a minimum of ground action taking place. We've been herding them into a central location making it easier for us to take out the guys that we're really after and pretty much insulating the populace from total warfare (see winning hearts and minds).
After only a couple of weeks we have the terrorists and their handlers in two places, Kunduz and Khandahar. Now we don't have to go into every nook and cranny looking for them. Meanwhile, the peaceniks, the bleeding hearts, and the Arabs can't go off the deep end screaming stop and build any momentum against the war.
You've now managed to put your opposition in a box, and can prosecute the war on your terms with little or no loss of political capital. When the time is right, you strike the fatal blow (we went after Omar yesterday, Osama can't be too far off). Take out the remaining terrorist forces, the remaining Taliban, and finally Osama. Game, set, and match in Afghanistan. Time to aquire the next target.
How would Saturday about 4:30 sound Osama? Just be in your cave and let us worry about the details.
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