If a satellite can read a license plate.....

[Chopper]

How come we can't find osama bin laden?

[WyrreJ]

Seriously? Because there are a gazillion license plate's worth of space to look at.

Only half jokingly - because we already did and he's in a detention center somewhere and they haul him out to make a video every 6 months or so when the sheeple need reminding why they need the government.

[HOT_WASABI_JUNKIE]

How come we can't find osama bin laden?


Because we are not looking..........

[BritVX]

Not sure if it was reported in the states but over here a few months ago there was a report that French special forces in Afganistan were within a couple of hundred yards of Osama twice and asked the American commander for permission to shoot but it was denied both times. Obviously you never know how true this is but it was a reputable news papaer not a tabloid.

[MrCrowley]

LOLOLOL is all I have to say on that matter.

On a lighter note- being from the UK you may or may not remember this. A long time ago when cameras were first being used in the UK for speeding tickets, a gentleman was mailed a ticket with a picture of him speeding somewhere with a fine to be paid and mailed back to the police. ;eeko; He took a picture of the money, and mailed the picture of the money back to them. :D They, in return, took a picture of handcuffs and mailed it back to the gentleman. :_cop: At this point the joke was up, and he paid the fine. :jump:

[tomdietrying]

Why are we looking for Osama Bin Laden? Everyone knows it was Sadamm Hussain who took out the World Trade Towers.

Why else do we have 20,000 soldiers in Afganistan and 160,000 soldiers in Iraq?

Peace.
Tom

[Chopper]

Because we are not looking..........
Give the man a Cupie doll!! Imagine what happens when we announce his capture/death. I'd love to come thru here in a thousand years, and see if this is the creation of the next messiah. Gotta admit, Islam has some momentum going. The Rome vs. Jesus analogies are endless. The twenty first century is a lot of things....boring it ain't.

[MrCrowley]

Maybe its just the long hair, beard, robe, and sandals that makes someone seem like a messiah after a thousand years. If thats the case, with all the musicians and hippies here in Athens, my soul is going to surely be saved. lololol

[WormGod]

How come we can't find osama bin laden?

Because Osama doesnt have a license plate bolted to him. :p

[MrCrowley]

I say we make Osama a US citizen, embellish him with a winning lottery ticket, AND LET THE I.R.S. TRACK HIM DOWN. Two weeks max! :bwgy:

Maybe he hasn't been captured because he donated money to the GOP, or owns a ranch somewhere close to whacko, TX? :_confused

[Dare2Dream]

Gotta admit, Islam has some momentum going. The Rome vs. Jesus analogies are endless. The twenty first century is a lot of things....boring it ain't.
Naa man, OBL, his lunatic followers and their savage acts don't help Islam in any way, in fact, most of his victims, both directly and indirectly are Muslims. He is a blemish on Islam with his perverted beliefs that are completely contrary to the faith he claims to belong to.

[Chopper]

O.B.L. is indeed a blight on modern Islam, unfortunately, Islam is growing the most quickly, in the least modern places...among the least educated humans. If I remember correctly, his original issue was non Muslims on "sacred" sand. He's in a position to become either venerated, or vilified...we'll see how it plays out. I'm no lover of any religion, and this one is particularly distastefull with the convert or die ethic.

[spaceCADETzoom]

Not sure if it was reported in the states but over here a few months ago there was a report that French special forces in Afganistan were within a couple of hundred yards of Osama twice and asked the American commander for permission to shoot but it was denied both times. Obviously you never know how true this is but it was a reputable news paper not a tabloid.

If true, that's more a comment on bureaucracy than a sign of Americans not wanting to get him. I'm a combat arms Soldier...not a mere trigger puller, but a commissioned officer, even... You practically need a lawyer present to let my joes fire. You're looking at a VERY big deal if you're talking about firing main gun rounds downrange. I'm not griping. It's the nature of the beast. Can't have it both ways.

Oh, and re: us not looking. Your tinfoil hat is on too tight. I thought this thread was a joke thread. BUt if you're honestly asking why sats can't find OBL but can read plates....why don't you ask why satellites can't find YOUR plates at any given moment. Uh...maybe because the world is...big? Unless you think the govt has an army of topographic analysts combing every square inch of the planet with magic satellites....turning over each rock...

This is coming from a staunch liberal who, ironic in light of profession (or rather BECAUSE OF), is seriously distrustful of government.

[WyrreJ]

II'm no lover of any religion, and this one is particularly distastefull with the convert or die ethic.Where did you get that idea from? That's like saying Christianity has a kill all abortion doctors ethic.

[Dare2Dream]

I'm no lover of any religion, and this one is particularly distastefull with the convert or die ethic.
That is not true, just like it would be wrong to generalize anti-semitism to Christianity based on pogoms, the spanish inquisition, or the many other such excesses.

Judging a religion by the worst of it's adherents and fringe groups who distort the fundamental teachings of the faith and then to generalize such conclusions to the religion itself is not a fair judgement.

[thedutchguy]

This is what osama looks like from a satelite......................

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/c/G/osama_targetview.jpg

[Chopper]

Now....draw me a picture of Muhammad. Put him in a dildo hat.......I dare you :p

[BritVX]

If true, that's more a comment on bureaucracy than a sign of Americans not wanting to get him. I'm a combat arms Soldier...not a mere trigger puller, but a commissioned officer, even... You practically need a lawyer present to let my joes fire. You're looking at a VERY big deal if you're talking about firing main gun rounds downrange. I'm not griping. It's the nature of the beast. Can't have it both ways.

I'm not sure about bureaucracy as not wanting to create a marter, I think alive he's a very powerful person but dead he'd be the biggest thing in the Muslim world. I think someone said in another thread the Muslim equivalent of Jesus. A rock and a hard place really.

[Dare2Dream]

^ The biggest failure was to let him get away when he was stuck in Tora Bora, al-Qaida was decimated and widely hated at that time, and the US had much more support worldwide. At that time, it was a complete failure at the highest levels not to send in troops instead of relying upon the untrained thugs of the Northern Alliance.

Unfortunately, now the US is considered an occupier in Iraq and Afghanistan and the resulting anti-Americanism has given al-Qaida extremist a new lease of life with a new rallying cry.

[spaceCADETzoom]

I'm not sure about bureaucracy as not wanting to create a marter, I think alive he's a very powerful person but dead he'd be the biggest thing in the Muslim world. I think someone said in another thread the Muslim equivalent of Jesus. A rock and a hard place really.

You put too much "big picture" decision making in the hands of boots on the ground. It just doesn't happen that way. Big picture for us revolves around "winning hearts and minds"...if that. Even here, that's the realm of field grades and up. Company grade Officers and senior NCOs are tied by reining in joes for the "big picture" of stabilization of the immediate neighborhood--"hearts and minds" stuff that is closer to a cop-on-the-beat of a 19th century city block. THe big picture you're talking about is politician-level stuff. And even there, I am skeptical anyone's thinking about that. There's a fine line between conspiracy theory and policy analysis based on conjecture.

End of the day, supposing we took the story to be true, and there were huge big picture decision making process in play (i'm VERY skeptical of both), the decision of making a martyr versus catching the most wanted man on the planet is a weighted one. No policy hack (even one in this administration) would possibly pass up the chance to "get him".

My bureaucracy comment was that there are a lot of chiefs (as opposed to indians) when a high profile target like OBL shows up. Add a million-fold bureaucratic mess that springs up when talking about international forces intermingling as per your yet-to-be-cited anecdote... The amount of decision makers in that process is simply staggering. It wouldn't be a question of whether or not anyone wanted OBL--every single link in that chain does--but by the time that chain is pulled by the handler...that dog is gone. Targets like Saddam are caught by initiative at the ground level...

[BritVX]

Hey Space,

Thanks for giving me a more detailed explanation of your comment I now see the point you were making and it's more than likely true but don't get me wrong, I wasn't suggesting conspiracy just the fact that the idea of martyrdom might might have been a consideration in the decision making process. I'm not big on conspiracy theories,always too easy to create and almost impossible to dispel.