A video grab from an undated footage from the Internet shows Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden making statements from an unknown location. [Agencies]
Tell me this is a surprise. I want to hear from the Republicans that this is a surprise. Come on, say it. Say that no one in their right mind would ever conceive of the al Qaeda boss being in Pakistan, harbored by Musharraf. Go ahead. Say it.
CIA chief says bin Laden in Pakistan (click title to entry - thank you)
* Sources in Pakistan providing info on al Qaeda targets
* Says al Qaeda still most serious security threat to U.S.
(Updates with more quotes, details)
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Thursday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint operations with Pakistani forces will find him.
Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters: "The last information we had, that's still the case."
Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has issued audio and videotapes over the years demonstrating that he is still alive.
Finding bin Laden is "one of our major priorities," Panetta said. "One of our hopes is that the Pakistanis move in militarily, combined with our operations, we may be able to have a better chance" to find the al Qaeda leader, he said.
Panetta said al Qaeda "remains the most serious security threat" to the United States and its leaders, particularly in Pakistan, continue to plot against America.
There are "a number of people" on the ground in Pakistan providing intelligence on al Qaeda targets to the United States, he said....
The people of Pakistan back their government. They feel safer today than ever before. They WANT to be out from under the Taliban. I wonder why, huh? I wonder.
Pakistan public opinion turning against Taliban (click here)
By PAUL ALEXANDER
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 11, 2009; 7:24 PM
ISLAMABAD -- The footage was chilling - a woman crying out in pain, held face-down on the ground, as a man with a long beard flogged her in front of a crowd.
It could be the video that changed Pakistan.
That two-minute clip, purportedly shot in the Swat Valley where the Taliban held sway until a recent military offensive, has come to represent the militants and their extreme form of Islam. The footage is increasingly seen here as a turning point - perhaps even more persuasive than all the bombings, beheadings and other violence, most recently Tuesday's suicide attack on a luxury hotel....
The Taliban are human rights offenders. Civilians are never supposed to be a 'target' in any conflict. The brave Pakistani refugees needs our loyalty and endorsement. They must continue to feel safer and better cared for as they have provided 'in roads' to a government and ally to reclaim their country. Kindly, write your Congress persons and demand the Pakistani people continue to be supported in their refugee status. Thank you.
Bombing Challenges Aid to Pakistan Refugees (click here)
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and SALMAN MASOOD
Published: June 10, 2009
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — One casualty of the bombing that killed as many as 18 people at a luxury hotel here Tuesday night may be the effort to aid Pakistan’s surging population of refugees, who have been displaced by the military campaign against the Taliban.
Around 30 United Nations staff members were at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Tuesday when the bomber hit it, a United Nations spokesman said, and two were among the dead. More than 50 people were wounded in the attack....
