Taliban Leader: Osama bin Laden Alive, Tried to Kill Cheney

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 05:58:36 PM EST
Tags: Osama bin Laden, Dick Cheney (all tags)

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Al-Jazeera broadcast part of an interview today (remainder to be broadcast tomorrow) with a Taliban leader who says Osama bin Laden is alive and was behind the attack on Bagram Air Force Base when Cheney visited in February. 14 (or 23) people died in the attack. Cheney was reportedly Osama's target.

Dadullah said Bin Laden planned and supervised the "suicide" operation which targeted Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, in Bargam air force base during his visit to Afghanistan in February. Dadullah said: "Thank God, he is alive, we get updated information about it. Thank God, he plans the operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

"You may remember the martyr operation inside the Bagram base which targeted a senior US official ... that operation was a result of his wise planning. "He planned that operation in details and guided us through it. The operation was a success."

The White House responds that it has not seen any intelligence to back up the claim.

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Taliban Leader: Osama bin Laden Alive, Tried to Kill Cheney | 23 comments (23 topical)

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I'm dubious about this one (5.00 / 2) (#1)
by scribe on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 06:22:03 PM EST

as it would play really well to those susceptible to AQ propaganda and recruiting to belief Osama's still on this earth (and not in it) to be told he was behind the Bagram bombing. Moreover, it plays right into the hands of those in the US Administration who want to further intensify the Wah on Terrah, by giving them propaganda to show they need more fighting, now and forever. As is pretty well accepted by now, the harder we fight those we designate terrists, the more thoroughly the US recruits for AQ and those like AQ.

Stuff like the charges against the commander at Camp Cropper (the US prison in Iraq) being charged with a plethora of crimes (sadly, the link - just today it was up - has scrolled off) can't hurt AQ's recruiting, either.

If Osama wants to get us to believe he's alive, let's see him holding up the newspaper, or some other such proof of his continued existence.

(I'm still of the school that says Rove has (or had) him in a cargo container on Kwajelin, where they can put him in front of cameras whenever they need a quick scare fix for the public....)

huh? (1.00 / 1) (#16)
by Deconstructionist on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 09:47:16 AM EST

You don't think the time when Rove would have surmised a "quick fix" would help has come and passed-- several times?

Personally, I believe the GOP has Lincoln stashed away (he was not really assassinated and the Republicans have been keeping it a secret that it perfected cryogenics during the Civil War) and will trot himn out if it becomes clear Giuliani, romney and McCain have no chance in 08.

I'm also curious as to how the arrest at Trotter helps AQ recruiting.


: Deconstructionist (1.00 / 2) (#18)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 10:36:20 AM EST

Off Topic
Last night you left with a serious inaccurate charge. I invite you to return to that thread and reciew.
Thanks

Scribe (1.00 / 2) (#20)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 10:40:12 AM EST

And we never went to the moon...

;-)


Nah (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Jen M on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 06:49:54 PM EST

He's relaxing on a beach somewhere

: Kwajelin is all beach - (none / 0) (#15)
by scribe on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 07:08:16 AM EST

it's an atoll in the Central Pacific, technically not US territory, but as good as* - it's the target which they test-launch ballistic missles at and where the anti-missile radar the admin is planning to send to the Czech Republic is currently located.
* Maybe better than, given it's not leased from a foreign government like Gitmo but it's surely under the total control of the US military.

Why would he want to kill Cheney (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Edger on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 07:46:04 PM EST

After Cheney and Bush had the escape route guarded so he could get out of Afghanistan?

btw (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by Edger on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 08:03:32 PM EST

It's long film. Don't forget that Bill Moyers - "Buying The War" is on PBS tonight too.


: Excellent Show!!!!! (5.00 / 2) (#9)
by Freewill on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 10:48:41 PM EST

I heard more about this PBS Bill Moyers show by flipping across Faux Noise channel to get to the History Channel. When ever Faux starts yelling and screaming about something, especially something that PBS is airing I had to stop and listen. Faux Noise station sure does get upset and start name calling every time they feel that they can be outed. I think that is what they call a "Pre-emptive strike" against anything Roger and Rupert didn't mastermind.
That was an awesome documentary that really summed up our whole media complicity.

Who leaked... (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by Freewill on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 11:08:09 PM EST

I'm a bit tired and don't have the time to investigate this but, and I might be wrong, but wasn't Cheney's trip a surprise visit?

If it was a surprise stop over, then:

Dadullah said Bin Laden planned and supervised the "suicide" operation which targeted Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, in Bargam air force base during his visit to Afghanistan in February.

Does this mean that Bin Laden's Intelligence Agency is better and more factual with information than the U.S.'s own Intelligence gathering agencies?

Who leaked? Could it have been all those Liberal Democrats in the White House who hate America and G.W. Bush and only want to embolden the terrorists? I bet it was one of those nasty freedom hating liberals who was in charge of setting up all Administration and White House staff travel plans. * end snarky faux style reporting *

Sorry, I did have time to do some research. This from a NPR story about the visit

The vice president's trip to Afghanistan follows a visit to neighboring Pakistan. Neither stop was on Cheney's official public schedule. The visits reflect growing concern in Washington about the resurgence of the Taliban and al-Qaida, whose presence has increased in the remote tribal regions of Pakistan.

Things that make you go Hmmmmm?
(btw, my lips are permanently numb because every time any Repub talking head, Faux Noise Propagandist, Frightwing AM talking head, or Administration member speaks it sounds as if I'm humming. No, it's not humming it's me going Hmmmm, and that repeated, doubt filled sound does vibrate my lips to the point of being numb)

: It just dawned on me. Ponder this... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by Freewill on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 11:33:31 PM EST

If Bin Laden was in Afghanistan to plan and supervise a "suicide" operation at a U.S. Military base...
If Bin Laden isn't in the unreachable regions of the scary Pakistan northern territory where all those freedom hating terrorists are held up in hiding...
Why the f** was he allowed to even get that close to a U.S. Military Base? What the f** is he still alive?
Damn, now not only my lips but it has spread to my upper lip and nose that numb, tingly sensation. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

That's a good lesson in Afghan geography. (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by walt on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 12:53:15 AM EST

Osama bin Laden, or anyone, could get on a horse in Wyzgiristan or Baluchistan & ride North to Kabul (near Bagram) or even to the Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, or Tajikstan border & never once meet any military personnel or police officers. With a small amount of money & some barter goods, the trip would be a pleasant, though long, ride through some of the most incredible terrain on Earth.

In fact, he could probably catch a taxicab in Kandahar or Khowst & get to Kabul in less than a day--and encounter no hindrances.

It seems that many folks have an odd notion as to the population density of Afghanistan.

Walt... (none / 0) (#14)
by Freewill on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 01:34:17 AM EST

He supervised and planned the attack on a U.S. Military base! That in my book is pretty damn close to a U.S. Military base which is hosting the 2nd in Command. I truly believe, regardless of how he traveled there, once a suicide attack was launched on A U.S. MILITARY BASE WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT AND ALL OF HIS SECURITY PRESENT that the entire surrounding area would be scouring with U.S. Military Personnel.

Just a hunch!

But visions of ol' Bin ridding off on a camel into the sunset, after supervising a suicide attack on a U.S. Military Base who is hosting the Vice President, just doesn't hold much credibility with me.


Believe what you will. (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by walt on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 12:49:52 PM EST

Bagram is not a secure facility

Updated: 3:23 p.m. PT July 11, 2005
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Four suspected Arab terrorists broke out of a U.S. military detention facility in Afghanistan on Monday, fleeing through barbed wire stockades in the first escape from the compound since the American military took over the former Soviet airbase.

Bagram is in a wide, dusty plain at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains, and much of the area around the base remains mined from Afghanistan's civil war and Soviet occupation. The base itself is surrounded by a series of barbed wire fences and is intensely guarded by U.S. troops. The main entrance is a series of checkpoints and all visitors are checked several times by U.S. military guards.

As I wrote, bin Laden could've ridden into Kabul in a taxicab & left in limousine without any interference from military or police personnel.


: I guess that Non-Secured U.S. Base that is hosting (none / 0) (#23)
by Freewill on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 08:05:53 PM EST

the Vice President of the United States of America on a SURPRISE (not announced to the anyone in the world) visit who gets attacked by a plan orcastrated by Bin Laden is the issue that speaks volumes about how this Administration mismanaged every aspect of this war.
Why can't we secure our own Military Base when the V.P. makes a visit?
Why don't we have the troops we need to secure a U.S. military base especially a U.S. base that is hosting the 2nd in Command?
But yet we are told daily that the War on terror is showing signs of success by this very same Administration and its pundits.
In all honesty, I don't believe a thing written in the story posted on this thread. Once again, I truly believe that a fairy tell like this is a propaganda tool to incite fear into the flock. Fairy tails like these fan the flames and make the masses collectively believe we need to live in fear. Once we are all living in fear (thinking with emotions and not with intelligence) it then becomes easier to strip away the basic freedoms we had grown accustomed to.
The story itself is so outrageous that if you look at each sentence, the message screams emotional bating.
Hell, if you remember after this attack on the V.P., Faux Noise was explaining to its listeners that the reason for the sudden stock market fall was do to the failed suicide attack on the V.P. Was that a ploy to pander to the emotional fear, the loss of money by individuals and the possible instability of the entire U.S. Markets? Why all the fear?
If this Administration is so damn tough on fighting Terror, why do they have to practice daily on the American psyche?

Osama is lying..... (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by kdog on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 09:59:04 AM EST

No way he would try to harm his good buddy Dick.

They are supposed to get together for cigars in the vip room of the Kitty Kat Club in Dubai later this year.

kdog (1.00 / 2) (#19)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 10:37:38 AM EST

No, No NOOOOOOO

OBL is gonna meet with Reid and celebrate Reid's decision that the war is lost...

: If Osama met Harry..... (none / 0) (#21)
by kdog on Thu Apr 26, 2007 at 12:38:54 PM EST

The convo would go something like this....
Osama: C'mon Harry, why the long face, you're getting rich too ain't ya?
Harry: Don't worry Osama, I'm only making waves cuz the Republicans are in power, when my guys are back in charge we will keep the war rolling...and the money rolling in.
Osama: Cool dawg...you had me worried there for a second...I should have known.
(Chorus of laughter)

hmm (none / 0) (#3)
by gollo on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 07:38:32 PM EST

both sides want him to be alive; the US and allies so that there is an evil mastermind behind a vast terror organisation which must be defeated, and 'al-queda' so that there is a figurehead behind a vast terror organisation.

If he's alive how is he getting the medical treatment he desperately needs, which surely narrows down his possible location and heightens the possibility of detection?

: This line has always intrigued me. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by walt on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 10:48:51 PM EST

". . . how is he getting the medical treatment he desperately needs, which surely narrows down his possible location. . . ?
Osama bin Laden is a multimillionaire & his kin may be in the Bandar Bu$h Billionaire Boyz Klub.
So he sends a few al Qaeda henchthugs to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, after the financial expert has ordered a brand new dialysis machine from Germany & a 100KW generator from the United Kingdom under the imprimatur of a hospital or clinic in the UAE. The thugs take possession of the goods & ship or barge transport them to Karachi, Pakistan. Load the materiel onto an old British lorry or USA 6-by & head for the hills.
Now, the only task is getting fuel.
They can handle it. Not a problem. Never has been a problem.
Maybe they ordered one in Karachi because what USA genius would even think to track it down? Cheney's intelligence plumbers are all over Central Asia trying to find a clinic or hospital who has a 6' 5" Arab dialysis patient. They'll probably find the Iraqi WMD first.

just pathetic. (none / 0) (#5)
by gollo on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 08:02:54 PM EST

why wait 'till he got to afghanistan anyway? Just send an old man and a gun with a cork stuck in the barrel through the post!

what? (none / 0) (#7)
by orionATL on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 09:39:15 PM EST

"seen no intelligence to back up the claim?"

oh, for cryin' out loud,

since when has "intelligence to back up a claim"

ever

been a white house priority in the bush presidency?

The White House ... (none / 0) (#8)
by Sailor on Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 09:52:59 PM EST

... hasn't seen any intelligence for 7 years.