Hunting Osama Bin Laden

Men sift through rubbble from a building destroyed by a U.S. air strike in Pakistan. The U.S. has stepped up incursions into Pakistan in an effort to root out al-Qaeda leaders hiding in the country.

In Hunt For Bin Laden, A New Approach -- Washington Post

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Frustrated by repeated dead ends in the search for Osama bin Laden, U.S. and Pakistani officials said they are questioning long-held assumptions about their strategy and are shifting tactics to intensify the use of the unmanned but lethal Predator drone spy plane in the mountains of western Pakistan.

The number of Hellfire missile attacks by Predators in Pakistan has more than tripled, with 11 strikes reported by Pakistani officials this year, compared with three in 2007. The attacks are part of a renewed effort to cripple al-Qaeda's central command that began early last year and has picked up speed as President Bush's term in office winds down, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials involved in the operations.

There has been no confirmed trace of bin Laden since he narrowly escaped from the CIA and the U.S. military after the battle near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001, according to U.S., Pakistani and European officials. They said they are now concentrating on a short list of other al-Qaeda leaders who have been sighted more recently, in hopes that their footprints could lead to bin Laden.

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More News On the Hunt For Osama Bin LAden

Report: US increasing use of spy drones in hunt for bin Laden -- Monster And Critics
Decapitation in Afghanistan -- Strategy Page
US using anti-insurgency tactics of Iraq in Fata -- Dawn Internet
U.S. steps up hunt for bin Laden -- National Post
American Raids Penetrating Pakistan -- New York Sun
Seven years later, bin Laden lives -- AJC

My Comment: The reason why we have not caught Bin Laden is simple .... there is a lack of human intelligence and resources on the ground. Reliance on Predator UAV's to track and kill Al Qaeda leaders are effective .... but only to a point.

What is needed are assets on the ground and allies in the area. But as long as many people in the tribal areas regard the U.S. as the enemy, and air strikes on civilians will not change this perception, Bin Laden is safe as long as he stays away from predator flight paths.