SHOW: WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH PETER JENNINGS (06:30 PM ET) - ABC December 16, 2003
A CLOSER LOOK THE OTHER MANHUNT
PETER JENNINGS, ABC NEWS (Off Camera) So, we're going to take "A Closer Look" tonight at the search for Osama bin Laden. He was a wanted man before the war in Iraq. And today, President Bush said he'll also be found.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES Bin Laden's on the run. I mean, he's, as I like to say, certainly not leading any parades these days. And you know, he's probably in a hole somewhere, hiding from justice. We'll get him.
PETER JENNINGS (Off Camera) As best we can tell, the US has never known precisely where bin Laden has been. Here's ABC's Brian Ross.
BRIAN ROSS, ABC NEWS (Voice Over) The most recent American intelligence puts Osama bin Laden somewhere in or near these mountains, in the Pakistani province of Waziristan. It's a rugged terrain, seen in these rare ABC News pictures made earlier this year. The land and the tribes are so hostile that a former official in Waziristan says it makes the search for Saddam Hussein seem easy.
PROFESSOR AKBAR AHMED, ISLAMIC STUDIES, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Osama, if he's there, would be there as a guest. And the code of the people there is that if a guest is living with them, they will protect him with their lives.
BRIAN ROSS (Voice Over) US forces are just a few miles away, across the boarder in Afghanistan. But they are not allowed by Pakistan to operate here. Not able to go into the marketplaces, where money handlers and merchants might provide clues to lead to Osama bin Laden.
DICK CLARKE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIAL We have to work through the Pakistanis. And there are vast areas of the country that are hostile to Pakistani forces. So, it means that it's very, very difficult to do the kind of controlled search that we did in Iraq.
BRIAN ROSS (Voice Over) US satellites and Predator aircraft constantly cover the area, looking for vehicle caravans or unusual activity in certain Waziristan villages. Satellite analysts say the coming winter months mean more cloud cover, blocking the view, but also, certain opportunities.
TIM BROWN, IMAGERY ANALYST, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG You'll be able to see fresh tracks in the snow. You'll be able to see how often a particular area's been, has been, or whether it's been recently visited.
BRIAN ROSS (Voice Over) US officials say they believe they've narrowed bin Laden's whereabouts to a 40-square-mile area, but that it won't mean much without the kind of real-time human intelligence that led to the capture of Hussein.
DICK CLARKE We're still nowhere near being able to develop a methodology for getting bin Laden. I think the chances of getting bin Laden are actually pretty remote.
BRIAN ROSS (Off Camera) Given the difficulties and the restrictions on US troops, officials say the most likely scenario to get bin Laden would involve a sighting of him by air or satellite, followed by a massive missile strike. But, Peter, that is mostly wishful thinking.
PETER JENNINGS (Off Camera) Many thanks, Brian. Brian Ross on Osama bin Laden.
© Copyright 2003, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
