"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

Even if that were true (and it's laughably wrong)¹ it would be
irrelevant since coastal patrol cutters are not equivalent to guided
missile cruisers or nuclear attack submarines.

I stand corrected. Thanks.

You're welcome.

And yet a 6'5" man with the most wanted face on the planet has
managed to elude America for almost a decade.


False as to facts. Osama ben Laden has not eluded American searchers for
the simple reason that we've not been looking for him! This notion is a
canard promulgated by the critics of the Bush administration. Beginning
the second week in September, 2001, it has NEVER been the avowed policy of
the United States to kill, capture, or bring to justice Osama ben Laden.
You cannot find a single sincere quote from a member of the Bush
administration supporting such a conjecture.

Oh, really? You have a certain weakness for bumper-sticker claims that
don't survive serious examination, don't you.

So that speech Bush made to Congress on Sept. 20, 2001 where he named OBL
and demanded the Taliban turn him and other AQ leaders over to the U.S.,
that doesn't count for exactly what reason?

Or how about Bush's "dead or alive poster" comments on Sept. 17, 2001, is
there some reason that remark should be forgotten?

Or Sec. of State Powell's remarks:

http://articles.cnn.com/2001-09-17/u...tacks?_s=PM:US

"We are after the al Qaeda network," Powell told reporters. "It's not one
individual, it's lots of individuals and it's lots of cells. Osama bin Laden
is the chairman of the holding company and within that holding company are
terrorist cells and organizations in dozens of countries around the world,
any one them capable of committing a terrorist act.

"It's not enough to get one individual, although we'll start with that one
individual."

If Bush wasn't after OBL, what did he mean with these words in Dec. of 2001?

http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archiv.../20011231.html

Q Any information on the whereabouts of bin Laden or Omar? Is there a
new pursuit underway now?

THE PRESIDENT: No. Yes, I mean, the same pursuit: we're going to get him
and it's just a matter of when. You know, you hear all kinds of reports and
all kinds of rumors. You've got people saying he's in a cave, people saying
he's dead, people saying he's in Pakistan. And all I know is that he's
running -- and any time you get a person running, it means you're going to
get him pretty soon.

And same with Mullah Omar. It's just a matter of time, and I'm patient and
so is our military. There is no artificial time lines or, you know,
deadlines. The definition of success is making sure the Taliban is out of
existence, helping rebuild Afghanistan and disrupting this international
terrorist network. And we're doing a darn good job of it, too.

Or this?

http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archiv...0011228-1.html

Q What's your reaction to the bin Laden tape. Are you afraid he's
alluded the manhunt.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, the tape, yes. I didn't watch it all. I saw snippets
of it on TV. You know, it's -- who knows when it was made. Secondly, he is
not escaping us. This is a guy who, three months ago, was in control of a
county. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run.

Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more
than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him
running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's
happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all.

So we don't know whether he's in a cave with the door shut, or a cave with
the door open -- we just don't know. There's all kinds of reports and all
kinds of speculation. But one thing we know is that he's not in charge of
Afghanistan anymore. He's not in charge of the -- he's not the parasite
that invaded the host, the Taliban. We know that for certain. And we also
know that we're on the hunt, and he knows that we're on the hunt. And I
like our position better than his.

.....

Q Would you prefer to see bin Laden captured and questioned about the
attacks and possible future attacks?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, dead or alive is fine with me.

.....

Q There are increasing news reports that bin Laden escaped to Pakistan --

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yeah? Well, sorry to interrupt your question, but if
you'd asked me the question yesterday, you would have said there's
increasing news reports that he's dead, and the day before, that he's hiding
in a cave. In other words, there's increasing speculation about bin Laden.
But what one shouldn't speculate on is if he's alive, he's on the run. And
you don't need to worry about whether or not we're going to get him, because
we are. And it's just a matter of time.