It has been know for sometime that OBL (if alive) is hiding out in Pakistan. Certainly al Qaeda's #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri is and Taliban #1 Mullah Mohammad Omar. The most recent National Intelligence Estimate points out that since Pakistan signed the Waziristan Accord, al Qaeda has been getting stronger. And now the Administration is making noises that it is possibly time to clean out the trash can
President Bush's homeland security adviser said yesterday that the United States was prepared to take additional measures, including military force, to curb Al Qaeda's operations in remote regions of Pakistan.
"Job No. 1 is to protect the American people. There are no options off the table," said Fran Townsend, the White House aide, adding, "No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal" to deal with Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden.
Democrats, at least in rhetoric, are on board with such a plan. Prior to the Congressional elections in 2006, one of their promises was to get Osama
Obama wants to get Osama: "...Al Qaeda maintains a safe haven, an intact leadership and the capability to plan further attacks," Obama said in a statement. "It is time to act to correct those mistakes, and the first step is to get out of Iraq, because you can't win a war when you're on the wrong battlefield."
Democrat Jane Harmon: "The key judgments of the NIE on Terrorism released today paint a disturbing picture: a regenerated Al Qaeda, with a safe haven in
Pakistani tribal areas, which is intensifying efforts to put operatives
in the US. I agree with this assessment."
Of course they may vote to take the war to Waziristan by invading Pakistsan, but who knows how long you can depend on them to stay in the fight.
