Intelligence sources contradict myth of 'Osama's cave'
 White House homeland security adviser Frances Townsend hit the Sunday political talk circuit to dismiss the new video from Osama Bin Laden as an essentially empty threat, planned in the seclusion of a cave--but journalist James Gordon Meek tells RAW STORY that his intelligence sources say the popular image of a cornered, cave-bound Bin Laden is a myth.
In a story by Meek posted early Sunday on the website of the New York Daily News--hours before Townsend made the talk show rounds--a dozen experts agreed that the top terror leader is more likely to be living in the relative comfort of a "cozy compound" than huddled in a mountainside cave network.
"A lot of people in the intelligence community have -- no surprise -- a very different view of the enemy and the battleground than the White House does, once again," said Meek in a Monday email interview.
In his piece for the Daily News, Meek had cited a former Pakistan-based CIA station chief, Robert Grenier, who told him that Bin Laden was "probably not living in a cave," but rather "living in a fairly comfortable, though Spartan, compound somewhere in northern Pakistan."
"More than a dozen career counterterrorism sources painted essentially the same picture about how [Bin Laden] lives day to day," Meek confirmed to RAW STORY.
Frances Townsend, however, in an appearance on Fox News Sunday, portrayed a weakened, faltering Bin Laden scratching out a harsh fugitive existence. "This is about the best he can do," she said. This is a man on the run from a cave who is virtually impotent other than these tapes."
Asked why the White House would employ the use of a cave image, even as intelligence officials deny its accuracy, Meek points to history.
"Go back to World War II and look at how we belittled our Japanese and German enemies to harden the national resolve for the fight," Meek said, calling the language "hyperbole" that was "as old as war itself."
"So who should we believe? This is the same White House that said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Meek said. "If you believed that, then you might buy it that [Bin Laden] is living in a cave and too 'impotent' to plan attacks on America."
Contrasting the White House characterizations, Meek suggests that Bin Laden videos are actually an indicator of organizational strength.
"As the Daily News first reported over a year ago, the record tempo of Al Qaeda messaging from its top leadership is a major factor in assessing that they are anything but impotent when it comes to operational planning and communications," he said. "This was backed up by the recent [National Intelligence Estimate]."
In his Sunday article, Meek noted that since the Fall of 2006, President Bush and Vice President Cheney had not made public references to caves in connection to Bin Laden's whereabouts--a tack may have changed, as evidenced by Townsend's comments on Sunday.
Townsend also seemed to downplay the threat posed by the Bin Laden tape.
"Capturing and killing Bin Laden is the number one priority, but it's not our only priority. We also have to be mindful of current ongoing threats against this country," she told CNN. On Fox, Townsend said "We take it seriously, but this tape appears to be nothing more than threats. It's propaganda on their part."
Monday morning, following reports that a second Al Qaeda tape would be released, even normally friendly Fox News commentators questioned Townsend's remarks. One Fox anchor wondered aloud whether it was wise for the White House to "taunt" Bin Laden.
As to the Bush administration's charges that Bin Laden remains confined to a cave, Meek says it's possible--just unlikely.
"Of course [Bin Laden]could be hiding in a cave. He built very impressive cave fortifications in Tora Bora many years before the 9/11 attacks. But that's beside the point," Meek said.
"In almost a decade of covering terrorism, this is the first time that I can remember so many intel people agreeing on one thing," he continued. "The only disagreement among them was about which region in northwestern Pakistan [he] actually is hiding in and which Pakistani leaders are protecting him.
"That's extraordinary," said Meek.
The following video clips are from Fox's Fox News Sunday, CNN's Late Edition and ABC's This Week. All clips were broadcast on September 9.
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