I seen this "rumor" on the Internet. Fact or more bs? You be the judge.
Bin Laden's exact location is known, says 9-11 panelist
By Jim Mohr
Staff Writer
CLAREMONT -- The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, John Lehman, a member of the 9-11 commission, said Thursday.
Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who asserted that the al-Qaida leader was alive and operating in the western part of Pakistan.
Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan Mountains of the Baluchistan region, Lehman told The San Bernardino Sun after delivering a keynote speech on terrorism at Pitzer College in Claremont.
In the exclusive interview, Lehman noted, "There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now."
"We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now," he said. Asked how bin Laden was surviving, Lehman said he was getting money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.
Department of Defense spokeswoman Capt. Ronnie Merritt confirmed that the U.S. military believes bin Laden is in Pakistan. However, she would not comment on Lehman's remarks, except to say that he normally didn't speak about these issues, and that she was surprised he had.
Lehman, former secretary of the Navy under President Reagan, was one of the 10 members of the bipartisan commission that examined the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1...484165,00.html
And here is another story for your viewing pleasure.
Osama hiding in South Waziristan: 9/11 panellist
* Says getting him would imperil Musharraf
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The Pentagon believes Osama Bin Laden is hiding in a mountainous region in South Waziristan near Balochistan, but it can’t get to him right now, according to a member of the 9/11 Commission.
Commissioner John Lehman told Jim Mohr of the San Berdino County Sun that the Al Qaeda chief was alive and living in South Waziristan. “There is an American presence in the area, but we can’t just send in troops. If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now,” Mr Lehman said.
When pressed on why the United States couldn’t send troops into the region, Mr Lehman said the region was filled with militants who did not recognise the legitimacy of President General Pervez Musharraf.
“That is a region filled with Taliban and Al Qaeda members,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s security services were filled with “many who agree with Bin Laden’s beliefs and would aid him if US Special Forces entered the region”.
“Musharraf already has had three assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go in. We’ll get (Bin Laden) eventually, just not now.”
Asked how Mr Bin Laden was surviving, Mr Lehman said he was getting money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.
“He is not a wealthy man,” Mr Lehman said. “We ran that information into the ground and discovered he only receives about $1 million a year from his family’s fortune. The rest of what he gets comes from radical sympathisers.”
A Department of Defence spokeswoman confirmed that the United States military believes Mr Bin Laden is in Pakistan.
However, she would not comment on Mr Lehman’s remarks.
Mr Lehman is one of the 10 members of the commission that wrote the ‘The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States’.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...10-2004_pg7_10