Free Republic

Osama bin Laden, the founder, and leader of terrorism conglomerate al-Qaeda, who was responsible for the deadly and devastating Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil, never was hiding in Afghanistan or its damp caves, according to explosive revelations in a new book from intelligence insiders and highly secret government documents. Thousands of Americans died that day and many more in the wretched aftermath. Instead, incredibly, bin Laden was whisked to a safe house in Iran following the deadly attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York, the Pentagon and the downing of a commercial jet in western Pennsylvania...

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder says Osama bin Laden (oh-SAH'-muh bin LAH'-din) will never face trial in the United States because he will not be captured alive. Holder sternly rejected criticism from Republican lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee, who contend it is too dangerous to put terror suspects on trial in federal civilian courts.

Killing Osama may be a top priority for President Obama, but it's almost Mission Impossible - like it was for his predecessor - if the terror leader is holed up high in Pakistan's snowy peaks, experts say. "The new people are going to face the same problems," warned a top adviser to President Bush. The U.S. has been secretly training for years, however, in case the CIA scores that rarest prize: Bin Laden's home address. But they already know his neighborhood. It's been a challenge, however, gaining intel on the region. Bin Laden hunters have had to turn to Lonely...

The Dubai-based satellite TV channel Al Arabiya is reporting that Osama Bin Laden has been “located” by US intelligence in the Kararakoram – a mountain range that spans the borders of Pakistan, the Kashmir and China (K2 is one of its peaks). There was a high-level meeting last week in Doha including General Petraeus, the recently-nominated Commander of US Central Command, and it is reasonable to speculate that – if there is truth to the report – it flows from this piece of intelligence. Whether the latest rumours about the tracking down of OBL have foundation will quickly become apparent....

Associated Press - 11:53 AM ET CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Osama bin Laden is accusing the pope of helping in a "new crusade" against Islam. In his latest audio message, bin Laden says Pope Benedict played a "large, lengthy role" in an effort against Islam that included cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that were published in Europe. Bin Laden warned of a "severe" reaction to the cartoons, though he didn't mention a specific action. The cartoons have been seen by Muslims as insulting. And the pope raised widespread anger in 2006 with a speech in which he cited a medieval...

The recent firestorm over former President Bill Clinton's culpability for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was fueled on Tuesday when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice contrasted President Bush's efforts to pursue al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden with Clinton's efforts. Clinton has strongly denied various suggestions that his administration missed key opportunities to kill bin Laden and left the Bush administration without a comprehensive anti-terrorism strategy. However, Bush -- whom Clinton says did nothing about al-Qaeda for the first eight months of his presidency -- has the bigger image problem with Americans on the issue. According to a recent Gallup Panel...

As a Ph.D. Islamologist and Arabist I really hate to say this, but I'll say it anyway: 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam. The war on terror is as phony as the latest Osama bin Laden tape. It's a tough thing to admit because I know on which side my bread is buttered and dropping Islam from the 9/11 equation is dropping my slice of bread butter-side-down. The myth that 9/11 had something to do with Muslims has poured millions, if not billions, into Arabic and Islamic studies. I finished my Ph.D. last year, so all I have to...

How long are we going to tolerate senators and congressmen who divulge our most closely-held secrets to the public in search of cheap political gain? We have laws that make those leaks serious federal crimes. We're spending enormous resources on finding out who leaked Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent to the press. Leaks that are vastly more important -- and which should be pursued with no less determination and resources -- are regularly ignored because the culprits are sitting members of Congress. These leakers should be thrown out of office and prosecuted. It's been about two years...