The US has tried to kill Qaadafi, would like to get Saddam, and took days after an invasion to find Noiriega.

There's a line in an old popular song about a guy looking for a date on Saturday night. "If I can meet 'em I can get 'em, but as yet I haven't met 'em."

"this is a precision weapon. That's the whole point. If we were just interested in killing people we would just nuke them from a submarine somewhere in the Indian Ocean."

Well, it seems to be a platform. Our "precision" weapons seem to have been more precise in the description than the practice. If one is going to use them in close quarters, they really should be as precise as advertised. And it doesn't matter what part of the system breaks down, when they go wild they go wild.

I have to admit the OBL tapes are an interesting issue. He may well be dead, but someone would know it. You raise a ponderable point. If he is dead, is it worth $25 million to keep the US guessing, or should they find a way to turn in the body for a reward? Does anyone over there really trust the US to pay the reward? I doubt it.

The videos are puzzling. I really wish I knew the reasoning behind them. Clearly there should be a reason for releasing them.

If it's to demonstrate OBL is alive, and he is, they should show more. Do a crummy job of that. Can't be the reason, as they suggest the opposite.

If it's to demonstrate he's alive and he's really dead, well, they don't demonstrate he's alive. But, they would be the best they could do. As you suggest, a very real possibility. And, counterproductive, as they suggest the best they can do is not good.

Or maybe it's just to raise hell. Someone might have some home videos and be releasing them in bits and pieces just for the attention. Might be selling them to al Jazeera. They do all right at that, I suppose, but there's no message, at least for a casual American viewer. If I had to bet I'd bet on this.

My guess is that OBL himself, if he's alive, is in no mood to attract attention to himself, wouldn't be dribbling out stale videos. It wouldn't surprise me that no one would turn him in. I think it's a bit as if the US had offered a $25 million reward in WWII for the Emperor of Japan. How could anyone turn him in even if they wanted to?

Arf