McCain: History To Blame For Why US Can't Find Osama bin Laden

Michael Smerconish pressed John McCain today about why we still haven't caught Osama bin Laden. McCain's answer: "They are ruled by about, as my understanding, 13 tribal entities and nobody has ever governed them. There is a reason why it hasn't been governed since Alexander the Great." Listen to the audio here and read the full excerpt below:

Senator McCain - "Pakistan is a sovereign nation and we have to have the cooperation of Pakistan to have these operations succeed. If you alienate Pakistan and it turns into an anti-American government, then you will have a much greater difficulties. Do they do what we want them to do? No. Have they been helpful to us? Yes. [Has] Musharraf been a friend of ours? He has been. I wish there were better relations between Karzai and Musharraf. I wish a lot of things were different in this world. But if you think -- you and I just have an honest disagreement -- if you think we can just get tough on Pakistan and they will do what we want them to do."

Michael Smerconish - "No, look I am just a guy in your party who is unbelievably frustrated with the current administration because they haven't gotten it done and we are paying a fortune. .... From the outside looking in, it looks like we are paying off people who weren't doing squat to get the job done."

McCain - "We have had some success working with the Pakistanis in a low visible fashion. Should they be more helpful? Of couse they shoud be. Should the Saudis be more helpful? Should the Jordanians be more helpful? Should the Egyptians? We are giving billions of dollars a year to the Egytians, as you know, and they should be more helpful. Should the Mexicans be more helpful? Everybody should be more helpful."

Smerconish - "But senator, respectfully, this is where those guys are hiding. They are not in hiding in Egypt. They are not in Mexico City. Everybody says they are in northern Waziristan. It just pains me, it really pains me."

McCain - "It pains me and I have committed and I have promised that I will get Osama bin Laden when I am president of the United States. But the next time you can go on the Internet and you can look at the countryside and there is a reason why it hasn't been governed since Alexander the Great. They are ruled by about, as my understanding, 13 tribal entities and nobody has ever governed them."

Comments

[JohnTalbutt]

There are many people in whose interest it is for people to believe that Osama Bin Laden is dead.. Among them are the Saudis, George Bush and, if he is alive and no evidence indicates otherwise, Osama Bin Laden

[TheOneironaut]

Im sorry! I may be wrong! I may get blasted for this but Im gonna say what I feel! They cant find Bin Laden because he's already dead!! I believed the man died peacefully in a cave somewhere a few years ago!! Does anyone else but me remember when he was really sick and was carrying oxygen around with him?! NOW..he's as viral as he ever was! I dont buy it!! The man is dead!! His appearances now are too choreographed and aligned with our politcal climate! Anyone else notice that he only "makes a tape" during election seasons? Get a list of his tape appearances I bet you will see a trend!

[JohnTalbutt]

It is possible and there is a rumor in the Mid East, perhaps spread by the Saudis, that he is dead,
But to be able to announce his death would have been such a boon to the Bush administration, that one has to believe they would before losing both houses in 2006, if they could.

On the other hand, I do agree that the idea of a man with kidney disease, with many billionaire relatives and friends living in the most closed and secretive society on earth, would remain living in a cave, rather than slipping back home at least from time to time, doesn't make sense.

[glaze]

Anybody got the number for Ghostbusters? If so, please forward to McClueless. THEN we'll get OBL!

[dykalg]

So McCain wants all these countries "to be helpful". History, recent history, tells us that they were ALL helpful. They gave freely of their wisdom, their insight, their 2+ thousand year racial memory, their enlightened self interest and their mature world view. They all said that an invasion of Afganistan and an attack on Iraq would be counter-productive. They said that in view of the unresolved injustice of "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" an attack on Islamic people would be a two-edged sword; the Taliban group may be removed from governing Afganistan, and Saddam and the Baathists may be similarly removed in Iraq, BUT the consequences would be uniting the many faceted Islamic world against American influence and power. It is in this ocean of silent and not so silent sympathy created by American stupidity and hubris that is the hiding place of Bin Ladin. Five years later, thousands of deaths later, numerous crimes later and billions of dollars later the name, the person, the concept of Osama Bin Laden and his hiding place become a ludicrously inappropriate subject of discussion.

Many many leaders were "helpful" but their counsel fell on the deaf ears of people like McCain .

[dawlishgal]

Well said. Do you suppose somebody told McCain to mention Alexander the Great? Twice?

[Durango]

Why would they?

McCain met Alexander didn't he?

[Durango]

That is kind of the way I remember it.

Lots of people gave sound advice, which was ignored.

And then the folks talking sense were ridiculed and insulted.

It is hard to remember after the past 7 years of incompetent stupidity. But the vast majority of people in the world were on our side after 9/11.

[StillAmused]

Take notice -- not a single effin' mention by McSurge of the hard right turn into Iraq (which he'd have us occupy ad infinitum). Whooosh... right over his head.

As a 'righty', Smerconish is uncharacteristically likeable enough, but he really dropped the ball in this exchange... or, maybe, he, too, was just whistling past the graveyard.

[jimmy2001]

well no one can argue with him on the historical reference... seeing as how he lived through most of it

[tukatz]

The problem is not what he doesn't know, it's what he continues to be unable to learn.

[gevan]

I love it when my friend McCaint interviews himself like that. He must think he's the most interesting subject he's ever had the pleasure to grill like that.

[aristippe]

McCain, "Don't Know much about history, Don't Know much about biology. . ."

[Mykal]

Finding Osama Bin Laden is easy if you know where to dig.

Before she was murdered, Benazir Bhutto said Omar Sheikh killed Osama Bin Laden. She stated this on David Frost’s program “Frost Over The World” (02 Nov 07).

Watch one of the many videos on YouTube and other outlets:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg

[FreeThinkn1]

I found that to be interesting when it came out shortly after her assassination. I also found it to be interesting that not peep about it appeared on the MSM.

[mcole]

its almost like she was killed for saying it, or does anyone else think its weird that she gives that interview, next thing she;s dead.....anyone?

honestly i have very sinister ideas about who is behind "bin laden" appearances of late..it just seems too too well timed...

dnt be suprised if we see another video of "bin laden" saying........oh let me not say it.

[brendanm]

Well, if it's on the internets then we know it's true.

That's why I can't vote for Obama, the secret Muslim homosexual terrorist drug addict who hates the flag, baseball, and apple pie.

[continental]

And flag pins.

[TheOneironaut]

I didnt even know about this video but Ive always had that guy feeling! Mainly because his tapes and appearances are too aligned with our election seasons! The question is now if he IS dead..who is behind his appearances now?

[JohnTalbutt]

Didn't you know he would do that so that he could continue the symbiotic relationship with the NeoCons?

[JohnTalbutt]

Many fugitives plant rumors of their death. Just consider the hedge fund operator who faked his suicide last week. One would think that if Bhutto had anything more than a rumor she would have made a more definitive disclosure than a remark made to David Frost.

[Mykal]

Sir David Frost should have pursued Bhutto’s claim. Unfortunately, he didn’t. That doesn't make it any less of a difinitive disclosure to Sir David Frost.

You haven’t and won’t hear it in our U.S. corporate media because it is to bush’s advantage for Osama Bin Laden to remain alive.

Another threat by Bin Laden can help McCain in the general election and help bush with warrentless wiretapping.

[polaris12]

They can't find Bin Laden because he's dead. See the YouTube video of Benazir Bhutto just before she was assassinated. Bin Laden is a phantasm, a pre-record ghost, wheeled out from time to time by the CIA to scare the American public.

[GolfingDevil05]

"I will follow Osama bin Laden to the Gates of Hell... unless they're in Afghanistan."

[ErnestineBass]

"...nobody has ever governed them."

McPander finally got something right..

[RaraAvis17]

This is why we haven't got O sama B in L aden...We don't understand the scope of the mission. It's strange, but while B ush is talking about Bin Laden he actually sounds like he's describing himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o

[egal]

Or, you know, maybe because when the Military Intelligence community almost had him and warned Bush that starting a war would destroy their leads, demolish the usefulness of their information, send more recruits to Osama, destabilize the region, and send Osama into hiding so deep they would likely never get him, Bush started the war anyway.

The mission scope was understood, terrorist networks requiring a lot of back-tracking to find out who all is involved and their connections and leaders, but it was predicted to be virtually impossible to succeed in capturing Osama--let alone taking down his terrorists--if war started, and Bush sent away everyone who said as much. And then started the self-defeating war.

[Meggie]

He needs to be held to this position for the rest of the campaign. loud and clear, every time the issue comes up. he's saying he will not attempt to get bin laden! amazing.