It will take a miracle for the freedom forces to find him as Muslims in the region especially the Pakistanis are harbouring him.

The Osamas of Islam are everywhere. He (was) but one of thousands outspoken (and wealthy) influential Muslim.

The US needed a personal target because it is hard to attack an invisible enemy - an "ideology" that is indoctrinated in over a billion people around the world.

It will make no difference if they get him today. Just look at Iraq post Saddam (a pseudo-Muslim leader). Islam is like a vampire which grows on the blood of its mujahiddins.

Muslims will be Muslims as long as they are enslaved to this barbaric political religion. They need to break free from the shackles of the dark ages seven-centuty Islam and learn to live in the 21st century like the rest of civilization.

Miracles do happen!

Coach, if we really were dealing with the billion militants you describe, we'd be in trouble.
For those of us who are capable of separating extremists from muslims, and don't have an extreme christian viewpoint clouding our judgment, the situation is a little more sanguine.

Not altogether rosy, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but feel that those who pretend there is a simple monolithic enemy aren't appreciating the complexity of the situation.

For starters, Bin Laden is indeed a figurehead.
The idea that he is sitting in some central command bunker beaming out messages to terror cells is ridiculous. I've been of the view that he holds the purse strings for other operations that fit his anti-western rhetoric. As for organising them, that's a different matter.

I would say that until recently, muslim anger has generally been directed at other muslim nations, or Israel.

Iraq's top enemy was Iran, with Israel following. The Kuwaitis are in the same boat as the Saudi royals.
The Saudi royal family was mostly concerned with maintaining their power base, and the Saudi people were probably one of the richest recruiting grounds for Al Qaeda. This is where the financiers of the Al-Qaeda movement hail from - including Bin Laden.
The Taliban were more worried about northern alliance rebels operating in their country, while Egypt was a reasonably moderate nation. Pretty much all of them hated Israel.
Saddam was reviled by Al-Qaeda largely because Iraq was not a nation with sharia law.

Now the balance of power has been altered. Iraq is no longer a threat to Iran, so Iran is growing bold. This is going to have a profound effect on the politics of the region.
I can already see the US making threatening overtures toward Iran, no doubt some of Iran's interference is legitimate, though by and large I think they're being prepared as an excuse for failure in Iraq.

Nevertheless, the Iraq debacle has not warmed attitudes toward the West, and has reinforced the notion that Israel and the US form a militant bloc in the middle east.

Turnleftthenright,
Right on hate to say it but I agree almost totally with you on this one.
Iran will be next, 2-3 yrs would be a guess. And if the good ol US of A dont get em the Saudis or Israel will, having a nuclear armed Iran in the Persian Gulf is not an option.
I believe we will see the advent of a new weapons system to deal with thier little nuclear facilities to minimise civilian casualties.
Scary stuff, not going help at the bowser.

Possible roots of the popularity of radical Islamist ideology:

a) the failure of the economies of Middle Eastern countries

-- one result being unemployed, educated young men;

b) Jimmy Carter's mishandling of the Shah of Iran (and his people) with the result that the Shah fell, the Ayatollah took power, radicals such as bin Laden took heart; Carter seemed to be concerned with brokering a personal economic deal, or so the rumors attest;

c) l7th cen. to 2lst cen. racism of many caucasians in contact with
minority populations of the world

d) funding of Islamists through false-front charities, activities
of transnational criminal organizations, the poppy fields of
Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein etc.

e) failure of the Clinton administration to respond with immediate
and adequate force to the bombing of the Cole, and the first
bombing of the Twin Towers (the response was solely
prosecutorial, rather than via the Defense & State Departments)....

In short, no country REALLY gives a damn about the futures of the young men who will become candidates for jihad, before they become candidates. What happens to gang members when they are allowed to think their gangs are the only true source of "family" -- false family ties...? They continue in their violence, and their loyalty to a criminal organization.