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Out of hiding in the high Hindu Kush, Osama bin Laden bid farewell to George Bush as he leaves office and bid welcome to his successor Barack Obama, referred to not by name but as "the elected leader and heir." CBS had David Martin cover bin Laden's 22-minute audio message from the Pentagon while ABC assigned Brian Ross to it in New York. Ross found bin Laden "short of breath" on the tape "suggesting a possible health problem"--or it could have been the altitude. Whereas bin Laden forecast a "long war with a stubborn opponent" for the United States while it is "drowning in the economic crisis," Ross noted that his "repeated references" were to the military incursion into the Gaza Strip by Israel, against which he called for jihad. CBS' Martin noted that it had been eight months since bin Laden last released a message and that the Pentagon's commandos have "not had a good shot at him since he was cornered in the Tora Bora Mountains" more than seven years ago.
CBS led its newscast with those portions from Katie Couric's so-called Exclusive interview with Obama that concerned bin Laden. Obama's priority was to "capture or kill" the fugitive. Failing that, he would be satisfied by keeping him on the run and weakening his infrastructure. "If we have so tightened the noose that he is in a cave somewhere and cannot even communicate with his operatives, then we will meet our goal."
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