Bush press conference

[aurelialuz]

with all due respect ryan, if they had bin laden, how hard would it be for them to have him speak into a tape recorder? and wasn't it convenient that they found "saddam" in such a well-searched area? they don't have to capture bin laden to still have a handle on him. he can say whatever he wants, and the CIA can sit there, the whole time, just wringing their hands with smirks on their faces, waiting for the right moment.

and your post seems to make some distinction between the present administration and the CIA. what's the diff?

alex

[ryan_c]

Well, with regards to the CIA being the ones to hypothetically forge the tape, I just wanted to give credit where credit would be due.

I think that it would be incredibly difficult to get him to speak into a tape recorder. It's not like they have me, where they could be like "If you don't talk, we'll kill you and your family" and I'd be like "What do you want me to say?" bin Laden is perfectly prepared to die, and I would be surprised if they ever catch him alive. My guess is that he'd go out swinging, or at the very least kill himself and deprive Bush of being able to say he was taken alive. It doesn't surprise me that they took Hussein without a fight. He had lots of people looking to sell him out, and he's not nearly as hardcore as bin Laden. Not many people liked Hussein, bin Laden is treated like a hero to a lot of people. And like I said, I don't think there's anyway that the administration would be able to keep his capture/killing under wraps. He's way too high profile.

[aurelialuz]

you present a good point. i think it's far more likely they know exactly where he is and what he's doing and they're just waiting.

alex

[trodden]

just to spout off my fucking opinion, but this has been one the more enjoyable and interesting threads of political nature.

[ryan_c]

you present a good point. i think it's far more likely they know exactly where he is and what he's doing and they're just waiting.

This is something I had not considered, but now that you mention it, it does seem possible.

[Piotr]

That's a tough one. The Hindu Kush range has been a tough nut to crack. Although, the British and the Russians didn't have some AC-130's and some B-52's with laser guided munitions to back them up...

[coniferouspine]

The topic seems to be veering, so if I may be a random yahoo posting his opinion on the internet for a moment here:

My theory is that maybe Bin Laden is not in the mountains, he's in a large house/mansion in a gated luxury community in the suburbs of a big city in Pakistan, like Karachi perhaps. There are maybe five people tops who know he is there, the real owner of the house may not even know specifically that Bin Laden is there (imagine a wealthy Al Qaida supporter who lives abroad volunteering his summer house for use by Al Qaida, not really knowing who it's for), they have groceries delivered from the city, satellite TV, etc. etc. He's not living large, but somebody with that much money and support could live anonymously in a place like that indefinitely, behind walls and shrubs and totally off the radar and right under everybody's noses. My reasons for thinking this is that (a) there is so much Islamic hype surrounding how Bin Laden lives like a tough guy in the mountains, and (b) he would be much better off hiding from the sorta bumbling, not-really-into-the-whole-catching-Bin-Laden-thing Pakistanis than he would be by staying where the Americans and the entire world are looking for him.

[Piotr]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... r16_2.html

Some good quotes:

-"Asked by Woodward how history would judge the war, Bush replied: 'History. We don't know. We'll all be dead.'"

-"Bush agreed, and later referred to the Camp David session with Blair as 'the cojones meeting,' using a colloquial Spanish term for courage."

-"'You know he is the wrong father to appeal to in terms of strength. There is a higher father that I appeal to,' Bush said."

[ryan_c]

The topic seems to be veering, so if I may be a random yahoo posting his opinion on the internet for a moment here:

My theory is that maybe Bin Laden is not in the mountains, he's in a large house/mansion in a gated luxury community in the suburbs of a big city in Pakistan, like Karachi perhaps. There are maybe five people tops who know he is there, the real owner of the house may not even know specifically that Bin Laden is there (imagine a wealthy Al Qaida supporter who lives abroad volunteering his summer house for use by Al Qaida, not really knowing who it's for), they have groceries delivered from the city, satellite TV, etc. etc. He's not living large, but somebody with that much money and support could live anonymously in a place like that indefinitely, behind walls and shrubs and totally off the radar and right under everybody's noses. My reasons for thinking this is that (a) there is so much Islamic hype surrounding how Bin Laden lives like a tough guy in the mountains, and (b) he would be much better off hiding from the sorta bumbling, not-really-into-the-whole-catching-Bin-Laden-thing Pakistanis than he would be by staying where the Americans and the entire world are looking for him.

I think that this is also a possibility.

[foley]

What happened to Truth? We are a "cesspool of warped thinking", but the guy (or gal!) can't even come back and stand up for him (or her) self? That's kind of lame.

Does anyone else wonder why we are so obsessed with countries, when it is becoming painfully clear that the terrorists work outside of governments? Why the hell take down Iraq at all? Why aren't we tracking down Al-Qaeda?

Not only is this administration stupid, but they're also ... uh ... stupid.

[foley]

No, me, no one else gives a rats ass about "attacking states instead of terrorists" issue. Now shut up and stop posting in bold.

[foley]

ps - that last post was really weird. i am not sure what is wrong with me, but I think shutting up might be a good idea.

bold bold bold bold bold bold bold

ok, there. it's out of my system. seriously, I will never post in bold again.

[kcrusher]

ok, there. it's out of my system. seriously, I will never post in bold again.

That's a pretty bold statement - you really think you can back that up?

And bobbydj - you're probably right. I went off on the wrong person. They probably won't even be back to defend themselves.

Yeah, whatever happened to truth and beauty? Why are people so into killing each other?