Osama is safe, says ex-Taliban commander
Date: 15/06/05
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar are safe and healthy, a former Taliban commander said.
Commander Mullah Akhtar Usmani told private Geo TV in an interview at an undisclosed site that he cannot disclose their whereabouts.
"We hear his voice. I can vouch that Mullah Omar is alive and commanding the Taliban," he said of Mullah Omar.
As for bin Laden, the most wanted suspect in connection with the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the former Taliban commander said, "By the grace of God, he is in good health."
Copyright © 2005 Seven Network (Operations) Ltd
Bush Quotes about Bin Laden
For your amusement and future reference, here's what Bush has said about bin Laden at various points in time, depending on how he was trying to spin things:
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI
"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...."
- Bush, in remarks in a Press Availablity with the Press Travel Pool,
The Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on
official White House site
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
"I am truly not that concerned about him."
- G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts,
3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02) |
