Osama on the brain

Rumors and media reports have been swirling over the the past month or so that Osama Bin Laden is either on the brink of being captured or already is in the custody of US/Pakistan forces. All of this news has emerged in such a quick, linear, succesional manner that it seems -- dare I say -- scripted.

Here are some of the more significant developments since late January:

Jan. 29 - A "spring offensive" to mop up Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants in Afghanistan is announced by the United States, to be conducted with the aid of Pakistan.

Jan. 29 - A US military spokesman, Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, says he is "sure" OBL will be captured this year.

Feb. 6 - Donald Rumsfeld clarifies Hilferty's statement to mean that the US will capture Bin Laden "one day."

Feb. 20 - The White House issues a denial of reports out of Pakistan suggesting Bin Laden has been captured.

Feb. 21 - A London tabloid reports that Bin Laden is "cornered" in Pakistan, but Pakistani sources deny the story.

Feb. 23 - The Bush administration signs new directives to step up military activities by Task Force 121 in the search for Bin Laden along the Afghan-Pak border, according to the Washington Times.

Feb. 25 - The US military invokes the tired phrase that "time is running out" for Osama.

Feb. 28 - Iranian radio reports that OBL is in custody, which the Pentagon denies.

Feb. 29 - In an article striking for its optimism, the NY Times confirms that Task Force 121 has been dispatched to the mountainous regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan in an "intensified effort" to ferret out Bin Laden.

This flurry of news could belie a psy-ops campaign being conducted to prepare the public for a capture, something to show that the Bush administration is hard at work hunting down "evil-doers," or the confluence of events and a renewed momentum in the media for stories of this ilk.

Caution and prudence suggest the latter is most likely, although I would definitely not rule out the former two explanations.