Bush renews attempts to capture Osama bin Laden

Andrew McLemore
Raw Story
Sunday, June 15, 2008

In a last ditch effort to capture Osama bin Laden before leaving office, President Bush has enlisted the help of British special forces, the Times Online reported Saturday.

The article cited “defense and intelligence sources in London and Washington” as having confirmed the information.

“If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source.

Britain’s Special Boat Service and Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in US operations to capture bin Laden in northern Pakistan, the Times Online reported.

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But the little reliable information about bin Laden means locating him would be, at best, difficult, according to an NBC analysis released Friday.

“We don’t have a clue where he is or even may be,” a Western military analyst said in the article. “We have had NO credible intelligence on OBL since 2001. All the rest is rumor and rubbish either whipped up by the media or churned out in the power corridors of western capitals.”

Osama bin Laden purportedly released a statement in mid-May that called for the liberation of Palestine and coincided with the 60th anniversary of Israel, the Associated Press reported.

Although the message’s authenticity could not be verified, the voice resembled the one in past messages from the terrorist leader.

During a New Jersey town meeting Friday, Republican Senator and presidential hopeful John McCain told an audience of nearly 2,000 that he vowed to capture Osama bin Laden, the Asbury Park Press reported Saturday.

“I will get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice,” McCain promised in answer to a question from a Navy veteran from Yardley, Pa.

President Bush will arrive in Britain Sunday for the last stop of his Europe tour, which aimed to gather international support against Iran’s uranium enrichment program, Reuters reported Saturday.

“Much of my discussions on this trip have been dominated by this subject because our allies understand that a nuclear-armed Iran is incredibly destabilizing, and they understand that it would be a major blow to world peace,” Bush said on Saturday.

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