> Doug posted:
>
> Bin Laden cornered in Pakistan's northwest: report
>
> Sat Feb 21, 6:18 PM ET
>
> LONDON (AFP) - US and British special forces have
> cornered Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a
> mountainous area in northwest Pakistan, near the
> Afghanistan border, it was reported.
>
> Quoting "a US intelligence source," the Sunday Express
> newspaper said bin Laden and "up to 50 fanatical
> henchmen" were inside an area 16 kilometres (10 miles)
> wide and deep "north of the town of Khanozai
> and the city of Quetta".
>
> ----------------------------------
>
>
> Okay, let's walk through this for a moment.
>
>
> If the US captures ObL, there'll be a Roman-esque
> spectacle of triumph for a while. All the usual admin
> suspects will deliver heroic speeches, columnists will
> write about the glorious moment and johnny-come-lately
> critics will concede that the admin 'got something
> right' (though some will say 'what took so long?').
>
> The real fun begins after this bacchanal ends.
>
>
>
> Guilt
>
> Everyone assumes ObL is guilty of 'masterminding' 9-11
> - either through direct order or supportive complicity
> - but I don't think we've seen any hard evidence
> to-date. The issue of proving his guilt will surely
> come up and complicate matters.
>
>
>
> Status
>
> The Bush admin has chosen war, both as a course of
> action and as a way of discussing terrorism and the
> proper method to counter it. If a state of war exists
> between ObL's organization and the US, some will argue
> he should be treated as a prisoner of war or a war
> criminal.
>
> But of course, despite the admin's attempt to label
> 'failed states' as 'terrorist havens' or, terror
> states (it's painful to write such a stupid phrase)
> there is no al Qa'ida nation. So, the war against al
> Qa'ida is similar to whatever sort of 'wars' have been
> waged against mafioso, narcotraffickers and earlier
> terrorist groups.
>
> The question of how to label ObL will be dismissed at
> first (in the flush of victory) but will rise to
> prominence as time passes.
>
>
> International Claims
>
> More than Americans died in the collapse of the WTC
> and shockwaves from the event have moved in all
> driections across the globe. The US will claim the
> imperial right to decide ObL's fate but we can expect
> contenders.
>
>
> Imprisonment / Fate
>
> It's likely the admin will continue the policy it's
> established for imprisoning 'terror suspects' -
> hustling them away to 'secure' and sometimes
> undisclosed locations because the danger they pose,
> even without weapons, is supposedly so off-the-scale.
> ObL, re-fashioned within the American mind to be a
> villan of James Bondian proportions, will be treated
> as if he were a cyborg or an alien: extraordinary
> measures will be taken.
>
> As for his fate, nearly everyone will demand death -
> probably publicly broadcast (to facilitate the
> 'healing process'). Anyone objecting to death will be
> labeled a traitor.
>
> The calls for death will be complicated by ObL's
> uncertain status (POW? enemy combatant? capo de tuti
> capo?).
>
>
> Ennui
>
> If ObL is captured, there will be rejoicing in the
> beginning, followed by two realizations; one for the
> administration and its lackeys, another for the
> general populace.
>
> For the admin - how do we sell this endless war to the
> people without a focus point? The cold war was an
> easy sell, the USSR was real and possessed real
> weapons. The 'war against terror' is more difficult;
> without ObL, what is the hook? It fades into a mist
> of general threat. This will be enough for some who
> believe fervently what they're told but for millions
> of others it won't be sufficient.
>
> For the populace - after the champagne flattens, we
> wake up to realize nothing's actually changed; the US
> is still at war with the shadows, the government still
> tells us to 'be vigilant' as the color coded threat
> scale slides up and down and US troops are still in
> Iraq. What has really been accomplished?
>
>
> DRM
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