Bush made Osama deal with Musharraf (Aug 2003)

[RedSock]

Dust him off for the October Surprise?

**********

Bush made Osama deal with Musharraf
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2003 06:49:05 PM

LONDON: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has struck a deal with the US not to capture Osama Bin Laden, fearing this could lead to unrest in Pakistan, according to a special investigation by The Guardian.

The paper reported Saturday that Bin Laden was being protected by three elaborate security rings manned by tribesmen stretching 192 kms in diameter in northern Pakistan.

The paper's information is based on comments made by Mansoor Ijaz, an American of Pakistan origin who, the paper said, knows al-Qaeda better than most people and had close contacts in Pakistan's intelligence agencies.

Ijaz believed an agreement was reached between Musharraf and US authorities shortly after Bin Laden's flight from his stronghold Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001. ... The Americans, according to Ijaz, accepted the argument, not least because of the shift in focus to the impending war in Iraq.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=144096

[blondeatlast]

1. Times of India is just a bit more believable than WWN.

Old story, largely discredited.

My husband subscribes to several Indian newspapers and weeklies (he's an Indian national) and TOI is not among them. Simply put, they are too easy to discredit.

I hate Bush, but htere is no way in hell Musharaf is that stupid, what with Al-Qaeda's boot on his neck and all; believe me, you can see the treads.

Edit: Ijaaz knows Al-Qaeda about as well as I do.

[indepat]

3. Is this not essentially the story Seymour Hersh reported much earlier ?

[Aidoneus]

8. Not too familiar with TOI's downsides, but Mr. Ijaaz is a tool

besides that, Busharraf is in no position to make such deals.. he has enough trouble waking up in the morning.

What is it about TOI? Only familiar with Milli Gazette & Rediff and a couple others, and superficially at that..

[Minstrel Boy]

2. "'There he goes,' the soldier said."

Thanks for posting this. I'd read it in August - I think Asia Times had the story, too - but lost the link. The facts fit the bizarre events on the ground in Afghanistan in late 2001.

This, for instance, from The Fayetteville Observer, Aug 2, 2002:

A Special Forces soldier says that troops had Osama bin Laden pinpointed in Afghanistan in November, but leaders took too long to decide to go after him and he slipped away.

Military officials have discounted the story.

The soldier, who said he was on the ground at Tora Bora when bin Laden was located, agreed to talk about the incident on condition that his name not be used.

...

According to the soldier who believes bin Laden could have been captured, teams from the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell, Ky. -- working alongside members of the Central Intelligence Agency -- believe they had the location of the terrorist leader on Nov. 28.

...

But a Special Forces team captain on the ground would not give approval to go after bin Laden because there was no specific mission order to do so, the soldier said.

While the Army was deciding what to do, Special Forces soldiers saw two Russian-made helicopters fly into the area where bin Laden was believed to be, load up passengers and fly toward Pakistan.

"I said, 'There he goes,'" the soldier said.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story-archive.php?Template=terrorism&Story=37935

[cal04]

4. Guardian had almost the same story that day

this article is a little more detailed


Experts who have been following the attempts of the Pakistanis and the US to find the al-Qaida leader have suggested that:

· The Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, struck a deal with the US not to seize Bin Laden after the Afghan war for fear of inciting trouble in his own country;

· The al-Qaida leader is being protected by a three elaborate security rings which stretch 120 miles in diameter; and

· The Pakistani special forces looking for him are no closer than they were a year ago.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1028044,00.html

[RedSock]

5. thanks for the guardian link

It was a Guardian story to begin with.

[newyawker99]

7. Hi cal04!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[supercrash]

6. Not again...

Mansoor now works for Fox News and is the same hack that tried to broker the Osama from Sudan deal

Nothing but disinformation