|| -----Original Message-----
|| From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
|| [mailto:owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com]On Behalf Of Thomas Seay
|| > It's also a fact that this is not the first time the
|| > CIA had a chance to
|| > arrest or kill him. Sudan wanted to hand him over in
|| > 1996, the CIA refused.
||
|| I did not know about that. Any thoughts on why the
|| CIA refused?
||
|| Thanks,
||
|| Thomas
Here's what the Village Voice (http://www.villagevoice.com/) article says: --------------------------------------------------------------- Nevertheless, one U.S. intelligence source in the region called the lost opportunity a disgrace. "We kidnap minor drug czars and bring them back in burlap bags. Somebody didn't want this to happen." He added that the State Department may have blocked Bin Laden's arrest to placate a part of the Saudi Arabian government that supported Bin Laden. (Much of Bin Laden's funding and some of his followers, including suicide bombers, come from Saudi Arabia, which was one of only three countries to recognize the Taliban. That changed after September 11. By then, the Saudis had fired their longtime intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, reportedly for his support of Bin Laden.)
Forgoing the opportunity to arrest Bin Laden was "not the most brilliant maneuver we've ever made," notes another former intelligence chief familiar with the story. "But everything looks good in hindsight."
Another American involved in the secret negotiations says the U.S. could have used Khartoum's offer to keep an eye on Bin Laden, but that the efforts were blocked by another arm of the federal government. "I've never seen a brick wall like that before. Somebody let this slip up," the intelligence chief says. "We could have dismantled his operations and put a cage on top. It was not a matter of arresting Bin Laden but of access to information. That's the story, and that's what could have prevented September 11. I knew it would come back to haunt us." --------------------------------------------------------------- A lot of speculation and spin. What I conclude from it all is that terrorists, Saudis, and the CIA are all on very intimate terms.
Hakki