British Special Forces Join Hunt For Bin Laden In Pakistan

Apparently President Bush is pretty serious about getting bin Laden before Bush hands over the presidency. He has now asked the Brits for help in finding bin Laden - specifically the Special Boat Services and Special Reconnaissance Regiment, both British special forces groups, are now beginning to operate regularly inside of Pakistan.

Here's some of the report here from Australian Broadcast Co.:

US President George W Bush has reportedly enlisted British special forces in a last attempt to hunt down Osama bin Laden before he leaves the White House.
UK newspaper reports say Britain's elite Special Boat Service (SBS) and Special Reconnaissance Regiment have joined US forces operating in secret in the frontier region of northern Pakistan.
The reports say it is the first time the special forces units have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis.
The report came on the same day that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai used his strongest language yet on the delicate issue of cross-border raids into Pakistan.

Now, I have a perspective on this request by President Bush - I guess more of a conjecture on why the President would make this odd request.

It's my feeling that the U.S. now has SIGNIFICANT intel on the general area where bin Laden is hiding. We have seen the almost daily flights of drones into Pakistan and have seen HUGE success in targeting al Qaeda and top Taliban inside of Pakistan. I believe that President Bush is trying to internationalize the capture of bin Laden. I guess one has to realize the paranoia of international politics and if bin Laden is captured and the Brits are involved WITH the Americans, it will show more of a world-united or coalition flavor to it. That's my take on it anyways.

British commandos 'join hunt for bin Laden'

UK newspaper reports say Britain's elite Special Boat Service (SBS) and Special Reconnaissance Regiment have joined US forces operating in secret in the frontier region of northern Pakistan.
The reports say it is the first time the special forces units have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis.
The report came on the same day that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai used his strongest language yet on the delicate issue of cross-border raids into Pakistan.
"Afghanistan has the right of self-defence," he said.
"When they [Taliban militants] cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and to kill Coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same.
"And we will get them, we will defeat them, and we will avenge all that they have done in Afghanistan for the past so many years."
Mr Karzai has often asked Pakistan and international forces to confront militants in Pakistan but has never before threatened to send troops over the border.