Posted on 05/06/2002 5:04:44 PM PDT by blam
Hunt for bin Laden body returns to Tora Bora By Kim Sengupta in Bagram, Afghanistan 07 May 2002 Canadian and American forces are searching through the caves of Tora Bora to discover whether Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenants were killed there during the fierce battle in December.
Operation Torii, being conducted amid great secrecy, is searching through hundreds of caves in an effort to find evidence that could be linked to the al-Qa'ida leader's remains.
Officials have refused to disclose the area where their forces have been deployed, saying only it was in an intelligence-gathering mission in the high terrain of eastern Afghanistan.
According to diplomatic sources, the soldiers from 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and US airborne troops had been following up information that Mr bin Laden and senior members of al-Qa'ida were in the area at the time of the battle and might not have managed to escape, as has been assumed until now. Finding evidence that Mr bin Laden has been killed would enable Washington to declare that Operation Enduring Freedom has been successfully concluded.
Sources also claim that an intensive search of the cave complex at Tora Bora was delayed until now because finding any evidence that the al-Qa'ida leader had died would have hindered the task of justifying the war to the American public.
The feeling among senior figures in Washington was that public opinion would have turned against the war if body bags continued to come back to America after it had been proved the chief target in the Afghan war had been eliminated.
The Canadian contingent arrived in Tora Bora from Bagram. They are working alongside the Rokkasan troops of the US 101st Airborne. Investigations by US and Allied forces failed to verify repeated reports that Mr bin Laden had survived the war and had found refuge in Pakistan.
However, Operation Torii has yet to find any evidence so far that the has perished in Tora Bora. According to American defence sources, Torii is the name for the arched doorway of a Shinto temple, and derives from the Rokkasan groups time in Japan.
Canadian Lieutenant Luc Charron said the mission was going "extremely well," with forces exploring caves and tunnel networks
* Newsweek magazine reported yesterday that US-Allied commanders have received credible reports that Mr bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan with one of his top lieutenants. The reports say he has trimmed his beard and is healthy.
I noticed that. Time to start 'winding' it down, huh?
So why am I reading this?
This reminds me of those teen movies where someone criticises someone and the camera moves a couple of inches and the offended party remarks, "I'm standing right here!".
Yup. ...and I still have a bet on who we will attack next.
I wonder if they dug up more info from their travels in Pak?
I always thought he looked gay.
actually, i kind of hope you're right. i was doing some digging
and came across this... interesting...
Osama bin Laden is Already Dead (In Depth Opinion Piece) various sources | 11-28-01 | HighWheeler
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