This is clearly an evil man, but one has to slightly admire his
resourcefulness.  In fact, I was reading an article, where a reporter
described two encounters with him during the Soviet/Afghan war.  The reporter
claims that Osama was always in the thick of things.  He claimed that the
first time they met at one of the Arab Mujaheddin camps, a tall looking Arab
man (Osama) in a camouflage outfit and AK 47 stepped up to him, and in
passable English,  accused him of being a Kaffir and threatened to kill him
if he was ever seen in the area again.

According to the reporter, he, along with a few mujaheddin commanders paid
another visit.  This time the Soviets were bombing a mountain ridge close to
where Osama and his men were camped.  This time Osama apparently flew into a
rage and this time, promised to carry out his promise of killing the
reporter.  This time only the intervention of the Mujaheddin commanders saved
the reporter's life

lf Osama was in the Tora Bora area during the bombing, he is truly not only a
terrorist, but a true military man too.

Report: U.S. Thinks bin Laden Alive on Afghan Border

Reuters

NEW YORK (Feb. 24) - Osama bin Laden survived U.S. bombing raids on Tora Bora
and other mountainous Afghan regions and probably remains hidden in the
remote terrain straddling Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, the New York
Times reported on Sunday, citing senior Bush administration officials.

The Times reported that unidentified senior administration officials said
they have new indications that the Saudi-born extremist blamed by the United
States for the Sept. 11 attacks remains at large in the border area. The
evidence casts doubt on earlier theories that bin Laden had been killed in
the war, died of kidney disease or fled to Iran or Yemen.

The officials cited by the newspaper said the fresh assessment of bin Laden's
whereabouts is based on information gained within the past month. A senior
administration official said the new evidence was ''very fragile'' and
refused to provide further details.

But the Times quoted the official as saying: ''We are quite certain he is
alive and we think he is somewhere between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It may
be that he moves back and forth between the two.''

The newspaper said other officials said the area where bin Laden might be
hiding was in southeastern Afghanistan and adjacent tribal areas of the
Pakistani provinces of the Northwest Frontier and Baluchistan that have been
strongholds of Islamic militancy and deeply suspicious of outside
interference.

The Times said the Bush administration is not claiming to have bin Laden
cornered. It quoted on official as saying capturing or killing Mr. bin Laden
appeared to be ''a long-term proposition.''

Defense officials cited by the newspaper said none of the recent information
has been specific enough to mount new attacks on suspected hide-outs like the
bombardment of Tora Bora in November and December, and around the city of
Khost farther south in January.

A senior official told the Times that a review of the U.S. military action in
Afghanistan has concluded that ''we've probably gotten about a third of the
core leadership'' of bin Laden's al Qaeda guerrilla group. The White House
now defines the scope of that leadership as betw

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