Rumsfeld Doubts Bin Laden in Full Command
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer2 hours, 31 minutes ago
It appears unlikely that Osama bin Laden, if still alive, is in full command of the al-Qaida terrorist network, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says.
Rumsfeld said the U.S. government does not know bin Laden's whereabouts but it's a "reasonable assumption" that the Saudi exile is in the remote area along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Rumsfeld flew to Pakistan on Tuesday for an unannounced visit to the areas hardest hit by the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed an estimated 87,000 people, forced at least 3 million from their homes and triggered the deployment of hundreds of U.S. troops to provide medical, logistical and other assistance.
Vice President Dick Cheney also visited Pakistan this week.
In an interview aboard an Air Force C-32 flight from Washington, Rumsfeld said he does not know where bin Laden is, or even whether he's still alive. But a good guess is that he's hiding along the border.
"It's a reasonable assumption, if you don't know where he is, but if you want to guess, he has in the past operated in those areas," Rumsfeld said.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rumsfeld;_ylt=A86.I1HlH6lD.HwBLzGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--Who wants to wager that Rummy is provoking an Osama Christmas video appearance just in time to turn Bush's poll numbers around?
I'm in.
These people will stoop so low and stop at nothing to get their way.