Bin Laden sidelined by manhunt

Bill Gertz:

Osama bin Laden and his top deputy remain at large, but the Bush administration's top counterterrorism coordinator says the international manhunt has limited their effectiveness.
Retired Vice Adm. John Scott Redd, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told The Washington Times that al Qaeda's "central" leader bin Laden and No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri have been forced to limit their communications and public exposure after U.S. troops "drained the swamp" of terrorists in Afghanistan in 2001.
"To say the obvious, if you want to go hide somewhere in a very difficult area of the world where you have some friends and some support, you can do a pretty good job if you don't communicate and if you basically stay out of the limelight," Adm. Redd said.
He noted that abortion-clinic bomber Eric Rudolph hid from authorities for five years until his capture in 2003 -- "and that was in the United States."
Adm. Redd said the capture of both bin Laden and al-Zawahri is "clearly important from the standpoint of symbolism."
"We're clearly still putting the pressure on the al Qaeda central leadership, and what you're seeing is the result of that," Adm. Redd said, noting that bin Laden was absent from public view all of last year and issued a statement earlier this year.
"Zawahri is a little more communicative, but just like every time you stick your head up, you're putting yourself in more danger," he said of the Egyptian-born terrorist.

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Living on the run has its inconviences. As Willy Nelson sang, it can also make your breath as hard as kerosene. As long as these guys are on the run they are losing. They can occassionally strut and fret in front of a video camera or a tape recorder but they can't call a press briefing or for that matter even make a phone call. This loss of command and control makes coordination like that used for the 9-11 attacks more than difficult, so they have been limited to sending out a few fighters to die with back pack bombs or planting booby traps, yet no one is calling for their resignation.