Tracking down Osama bin Laden has proven tougher than getting to Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi because the top al-Qaida leader does almost nothing to call attention
to himself and is protected by a ring of far more faithful followers,
intelligence experts said Thursday.
The mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks avoids using satellite phones and the
Internet. He is likely holed up along the Pakistani-Afghan border in rugged,
remote terrain, protected by loyal tribesmen.
Al-Zarqawi was killed Wednesday just 30 miles from the Iraqi capital. In late
April, he was featured in a videotape firing a machine gun in the desert and
talking to insurgents.
"Osama bin Laden is a far more difficult leader of al-Qaida to be caught as
compared to al-Zarqawi," said Talat Masood, a retired Pakistan army general.
"Firstly, bin Laden is not involved in day-to-day operations and we believe that
he enjoys the support of much more loyal people."
Al-Zarqawi had a $25 million bounty on his head, the same amount offered by
the United States for information leading to bin Laden.
Henry Crumpton, the U.S. ambassador in charge of counterterrorism, last month
called parts of Pakistan's border region a "safe haven" for militants. He said
bin Laden was more likely to be hiding there than in Afghanistan.
According to a senior Pakistani security official, bin Laden avoids using the
Internet or satellite phones.
Bin Laden "has seen the fate of those who used satellite phones. He has seen
that many such people were arrested by us, and they included some close
associates of the al-Qaida chief," the official said. He spoke on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job.
The official said Pakistani forces, in cooperation with U.S.-led coalition
troops in Afghanistan, were working to get closer to bin Laden, but "so far we
don't have any clue on his whereabouts."
The Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi, said he hopes
al-Zarqawi's death will kick start the hunt for bin Laden. "The hunt for Osama
continues," he said.
More than 20,000 U.S.-led coalition soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan
pursuing Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. Pakistan has 80,000 soldiers in its
Waziristan tribal region, the area regarded as the most likely hiding place for
bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.
The two leaders are now fairly disconnected from al-Qaida's activities, said
a senior Western diplomat in Islamabad, who agreed to discuss the matter only if
not quoted by name because of the sensitive topic.
"They've been able to escape detection as they aren't communicating and
aren't effectively involved in al-Qaida operations. It makes it very hard to run
them down, but moves them significantly from an operational role to a symbolic
one," he said.
"It doesn't make any sense to talk of getting closer to them. One day they
will be killed or captured, and it will happen like that," the diplomat said,
snapping his fingers.
