The Importance of Capturing Osama bin Laden

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

By Uma Pemmaraju, Fox News

April 19, 2006

Transcript

Uma: In an interview, Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to the U.S. is saying capturing bin Laden should be a top priority for the U.S. To that end he says that his country may even be willing to contribute troops to this pursuit. Joining us now, with some thoughts on all this, former 9/11 Commissioner and former Indiana congressman, Tim Roemer. Welcome, nice to have you here.

Tim Roemer: Thanks Uma.

Uma: Let’s talk for a moment about Saudi Arabia’s spokesperson now, saying that he believes that the United States hasn’t done enough to make bin Laden a top priority and that he believes his country may actually provide some troops to help in the pursuit.

Tim Roemer: Well, my first thought would be that you’ve seen Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri release over 30 tapes since 9/11, that’s probably more release tapes than the rock group, U2 has done in the last four to five years. They are sill effectively communicating with cells, maybe in Madrid, possibly in London. Certainly there is probably a connection between Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, directing the attacks in Saudi Arabia in the oil fields just in the last two months. So I don’t think that we are doing enough. Some of that could come from Saudi Arabia trying to do more in their own country to make sure that people are not coming out of Saudi Arabia through Damascus and Syria into Iraq and attacking us there. And some of it might even come from NATO troops coming into Afghanistan and helping so that more special operations troops by the U.S. can go on the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Uma: I found it interesting that the Saudi ambassador is saying that bin Laden’s speeches, as you’ve been pointing out, remind him of mythic figures, like Robin Hood or Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, someone who comes across as invincible and strikes a chord with people who are looking at him in a way that he defies capture.

Tim Roemer: Well he certainly is a strong symbolic symbol at this point, providing maybe some tactical or strategic direction to the group; certainly motivation and ideology to cells across the world. I think the administration has to look at this less in pre-9/11 terms and more in post-9/11 terms. It’s not just nation states and that need to be attacked. This administration now is looking at Iran. We need to make sure that we are looking at the cells. Al-Qaeda now morphing around the world like mercury on a mirror; going less from the swamp kind of analogy in Afghanistan, more to cesspools in different parts of the world. Going into places like Africa or Southeast Asia, and those are problems.

Uma: No they are big problems indeed, and as you point out talking about the concern over all the cells that are developing. If you capture bin Laden is it though more of a symbolic capture as opposed to striking a chord at the heart of al-Qaeda because there are so many cells around the world?

Tim Roemer: I think both. I think you strike at the heart of al-Qaeda. I think that you go at their ideology; I think you go at one of their strategic leaders. I think it’s very important to eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, capture bin Laden. His bodyguards said a couple of weeks ago, that he has now instructed his bodyguards to kill him so that you cannot capture him alive and that the United States would be able to then put him in front the TV cameras like they did Saddam Hussein and humiliate him in some ways by looking into his throat and checking his hair and so forth. But it’s very important for us to capture him. The Saudis can’t just point their finger at the United States to do more. They need to do more in their own country for reforms; educational reforms, political reforms. They need to work with the Pakistanis to allow us to have our special operations troops do more in country and outside country and we need to help President Karzai in Afghanistan, be less the mayor of Kabul and more a president of the country on military, economic, and political terms.

Uma: Alright Tim Roemer, always a pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for your insights.

Tim Roemer: Uma thank you good to be here.

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