Sep 29th, 2004, 08:02 AM
Who says that they actually have to have him captured to be able to produce him in a matter of weeks?
I mean, I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but haven't any of you played the latest Splinter Cell game?
Okay, okay, I know it's only a video game, but it's a very realistic video game that deals with the kinds of operations and issues going on in the world today.
The part that I'm at (which reminds me, I haven't picked up the damn thing since mid-July) details an operation involving a terrorist camp completley surrounded by our troops. The main antagnost (who's sort of a Guevera-type, god I wish I could come up with a photography joke at this hour) walks calmly and coolly around his encampment. He doesn't hide his head, and he doesn't take any extraneous personal security efforts.
Why?
Because he knows the troops have orders not to kill him. He knows that he's far more valuable to the US alive, and that making him a martyr makes him thousands of times more dangerous than a living man. "Bullets can't find me." is the direct quote.
Who's to say that we don't have bin Laden cornered in a cave?
I'd be willing to bet money that we've got him and a bunch of his goons surrounded, 100% blocked off without any way to escape. The troops have orders to sit on the camp. They don't know who's inside, they just know they're not supposed to let anyone come out.
Osama himself? Probably knows that he's surrounded. Very likely scared completely out of his wits that he's going to catch a bullet, so even though he knows we're surrounding him, he's not going to push his head up long enough to try and make an escape attempt.
Someone's biding their time and waiting to capture him.
However, the significance of his capture can be weighed in either direction.
Let's say they do snag him before the election. Kerry could jump into a press conference and say "Hey, wait. Mission accomplished. So who needs this fuckbag signing another Patriot Act?"
As long as he's still at large, Bush can still make the point that we've got work to do.
I don't expect a bearded Afghani to be pulled out of a hole in the desert before November, but it's certainly possible, and I don't think anyone can really hazard a guess as to how the American public would react.
The right wing will blow their horns, celebrate, and Cheney will have a massive coronoary.
The thing is, at this point, we're not looking for the most dangerous man in the world. Al Qaeda isn't even the biggest terrorist threat anymore.
Remember how worn-out and pathetic Saddam looked when we pulled him out of his hole? I'm expecting Osama to be in worse condition. And the Bush camp will still have a massive turgid penis to swing around.
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