An October surprise: Can the U.S. get Bin Laden by election day?

With barely seven weeks to go until election day, and four months left in office, the Bush administration has launched a three-phase plan intended "to strike at Osama bin Laden and top Al Qaeda leadership," NPR is reporting tonight.

President Bush has approved a plan that has brought a "surge" of CIA personnel from around the world into the fight along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, in an 11th-hour effort "to hammer Al Qaeda before the November election," the radio network says, quoting "two government officials."

Throughout the week, news organizations have been reporting on different elements of the stepped-up campaign.

The Los Angeles Times reported today that the United States was deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems as part of its escalating offensive against extremist targets in Pakistan.

The effort along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border raises this question: Why wasn't it started earlier?

And, as important, what does the election — and Bush's nearing departure from the White House — have to do with the timing?

Update at 11 a.m. PDT Sept. 15: Since posting the article, NPR has removed the reference to a strike being conducted before election day. Instead, it says: "The plan represents an 11th-hour effort to hammer Al Qaeda until the Bush administration leaves office, two government officials told NPR."

-- James Gerstenzang

File Photo: Associated Press

Comments

[captainkona]

What part of Bin Laden is Dead do you not understand?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg

[Joe]

So, they've been ignoring Osama for the past few years so they could use him to win an election? Disgusting!

[Mark]

Talk about 7 years late and 3 Trillion $ short...

Is he "Duddly Do-right" bubbling his way towards capturing the villain at the last second or something?

Join Representative Kucinich and McDermott.
Impeach Bush Now!

http://kucinich.us/.

It's not a waste of time,
Set the record straight for future presidents that they must follow the constitution as according to their oath.

[jason.quiggle]

No.

[Rose]

Why didn't Bush try this earlier? Because if he had captured bin Laden and destroyed Al Qaeda earlier, he would have had no rationale for extending the Iraqi war. Bush has murdered thousands of our brave soldiers on this stupid diversion from the real perpetrators of 9/11. He should have been hounded out of office long ago. Now he wants to help his successor get into office to continue his lunacy. Wake up people.

[Mim]

Don't insult the readers by that caption. If Bush wanted Bin Laden, the United States would have him by this date. Now, he knows that a possibility exists, that a new Democratic President would move into the White House, and has already stated, that he wants Laden. Don't forget that the only planes flying after 9/11 was the fast exodus of the Laden Families back to their homeland from the US. The United States has advanced technology, satelites, complete knowledge of the areas of Afganstain. After all, we trained Laden, and placed him in the caves in Afganstain to fight the Russians. The royal families of rich oil fields will never allow Laden to return to the US, unless we shot him first.

[jason creek]

This SOB has had S E V E N Y E A R S to do this. Doing it now is unforgivable. 4000 soldiers later, 7000 grieving families later, 4 trillion dollars later? Time for a renewal.

[Warren]

GWB wants to get him b4 he leaves office.

[C Nelson]

As for your dark suspicions and doubts about motives in this alleged new effort to capture Osama Bin Laden, I can only say "who cares?". I wish them luck!

[Matt]

It's like McCain said before he was running for president. "Everything with this White House is spin..."

We had him. We didn't get him. Blame Bush.

[Tom]

Hey why didn't you mention that Musharaf was gone? Do you think that might have something to do with the change in tactics?

[gerald berke]

Bush? Again? After 7 years? Bin Laden?
Well, we elected him twice, impeached him 0 and didn't even repudiate him.
Hard to be offended at our own selection, twice.
More likely a reason to pursue the bad guys into Pakistan.

[Johnny]

If we elect John McBush again we deserve what we get and what happens to us!!!!!!!

[gary]

hope we get him. as for the iraq war it was fought for oil. this is not a bad war. all wars have been fought for economic reasons, even the revolutionary war. always has and always will be. so that is all i have to say. grow up if our oil is taken away the American public would riot in the streets and the media would crucify any president be he jackass or elephant.

[Paul Stewart]

The idea is to change to topic in the election - away from McCain. He is still hiding behind Palin's skirt, at least I hope its behind. And he needs some other cover because soon she will be fully exposed.

Bin Laden should have been caught years ago. Bush did not have the balls to do it, nor the brains. Instead, he needed something more muscular to do, like invading Iraq, and sabre rattling with Iran and North Korea.

Now, he can't bear the thought that a new Democratic President will get him, probably fairly quickly. So, like his last ditch, last minute Israeli - Palestinian peace bid, which is doomed to fail, he is making a last minute, last ditch, or perhaps last cave attempt to find the man who hit America.

It is a reminder for everyone too, that America is not safe, so you need another muscular President who views the world as a place to practice the Bush Doctrine - shoot first, ask questions later; no, better yet, don't ask questions and shoot anyone that asks you questions. And hide the truth, and hide the bodies.

McCain is smart, he knows how to hide too. The question is, are the American people smart? Or are they sufficiently dumbed down, ill informed and mis informed to accept a Republican dictatorship for generations to come? We will soon see.....

[ian]

The difference is the instability in Pakistan. Prior to this month, the US government was trying to work with the Government of Pakistan and understood that any incursion into Pakistan could destabilize Musharaff's government. Musharaff left office this month. There is political turmoil in Islamabad and little is being done about violence in Afghanistan eminating from Pakistan's border regions.

In any case, I don't see how capturing Bin Laden before November would help McCain. He would not get credit for the capture. If anything, it might help Obama by (falsely) suggesting that the threat of terrorism has diminished.

[Dude]

During the early 1900s, Poncho Villa was trying to overthrow the Mexican government, and he had help from the sympathetic Americans who supplied money & training. At some point, we (the Americans) decided backing Poncho was poor foreign policy, and we cut him loose. Poncho of course was mad, and crossed into US territory to shoot up an American town to show his displeasure. We in turn launched the "punitive expedition," ... and went into Mexico to hunt him down.
This was a grand military affair, with the army using airplanes for the first time! But in the end, we never did get Poncho. Poncho was killed by one of his own generals.
It all sounds so familiar ... I think I see a lesson here.

[Frank]

Why not negotiate a trade? We give Al Qaeda George Bush, and they give us Bin Laden.

I think most of America would support such a trade.

[The Mantari]

Get out your shovel, because that's the only way you'll be able to dig him up before the elections.

His name lives on only as a political tool to conjure up an image of a scary arab who wants to kill frightened Americans. He's more politcally useful 'whereabouts unknown' than confirmed dead.

[guy]

It would be the most cynical thing if they somehow magically captured of killed Bin Laden now, within weeks of the election. This would convince me beyond any shadow of a doubt that we have the most corrupt, evil, murderous regime in place right now. It has been a train wreck for the last eight years, and something like this would be the cherry on the cake. Bunch of low life sub-human pieces of scum.

[Thomas J Mattingly]

OSAMA BIN DEAD? -- October Surprise: “Osama - Operation SHOCK & THAW”?

Since Osama Bin Laden has been DEAD for a long time (before, during, or shortly after Tora Bora), and since one name for the U.S. bombing, invasion & occupation of Iraq was "Operation Shock & Awe," should BushCo's 'October Surprise' operation to 'capture' Osama be called "Operation SHOCK & THAW"?

Although the U.S. could NOT have bombed, invaded & occupied Iraq in 2003 without a supposedly-LIVE Saddam Hussein, the U.S. also could NOT afford to let the real Saddam stand trial & talk to the 'unembedded,' independent, international media about how the Brits & Yanks had installed & maintained Saddam in power in Iraq (even AFTER Gulf War I).

Solution: See "The Great Sham Saddam Scam" (a phrase coined by yours truly) at http://breakfornews.com/wag/saddamplicity.htm. Both Saddam's wife and the Iraqi people knew & claimed that the U.S. 'captured' a 'Sham Saddam' in the so-called 'Spider Hole.'

Since the 'embedded' U.S. media did not report this info, only the American people were 'Double'-crossed (in a 'Sham Saddam Scam' sort of way). Many if not most others knew the truth.

Although Osama Bin Dead, we may soon have a new 'October Surprise.' Will BushCo, McCain & Obama be honest enough to call it, "Osama - Operation SHOCK & THAW"?

[Russel Pike]

It has been seven years since 9/11, three trillion dollars down the drain, invasion of wrong place Iraq, 6000 American soldiers dead, 40000 injured, doled out $15 Billions to the Pakistanis....still we haven't eliminated Bin Laden. We could have got Bin Laden during the invasion of Afghanistan but we let Pakistani intelligence move him to Pakistan and use him as a pawn in a double game with us! I had read many reports that showed that the Pakistanis were playing a game with us and were never serious about catching Bin Laden or eliminating Al Quaeda or the Taliban. It took Bush seven years to understand this!

[Chris]

An exercise in stupidity is what this will turn out to be. Many civilians will be killed further eroding relations with the region while energizing insurgents and creating new suicide bombers. All for the glory of eliminating one man. Bad idea, but we've learned to expect bad ideas from the little mind of the "W".

[D]

It might help if you were to point out that these types of rumors are spread before every major US election (especially in 2004), before national holidays, Sept 11 etc. They were not true before why should they be true now?

[cjm]

i am sure obama, if elected, will be as effective in getting bin laden as carter was in releasing our embassy personnel.