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How close did bin Laden hunter get?
Last June an American construction worker was picked up in Pakistan on a one-man mission to capture Osama bin Laden.
Gary Faulkner was armed with a dagger, some biblical literature, a pistol, night-vision goggles and a sword, news reports said.
What's more, the man was even on dialysis, CNN reported at the time. And yet somehow he managed to end up in Chitral, a mountainous district in the northern tip of the country.
Chitral  was as logical a place as any to hunt for the most wanted terrorist in the world. News reports in the years since the 9/11 attacks had put bin Laden in fortress-like environs along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Chitral fit the bill. It was connected to the rest of the country by a strip of land so treacherous that it is often closed because of weather conditions.
On Sunday night, Americans received news that bin Laden was killed in his compound in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
How far off was Faulkner, whose across-the-world trek still remains shrouded in mystery?
Chitral to Abbottabad is roughly about 300 miles, according to Google Maps technology, indicating about a "7-hour" drive. Â Yeah right. To put the distance in perspective, according to Google, the two places are about the same distance as Atlanta, Georgia, to the Florida Panhandle.
Of course, much of the Pakistan route is undriveable because of foothills and mountains. The area is also said to be inhabited by fiercely independent tribes.
While Faulkner has talked to CNN in depth much of the details about his trip remain secret. What we do know is that he wants some of the $25 million reward money that was offered for bin Laden's kill or capture.
"I scared the squirrel out of his hole, he popped his head up and he got capped," Faulkner told ABC News this week, referring to bin Laden's death. "[U.S. officials] were handed this opportunity on a platter from myself," he was quoted as saying.
Faulkner also told ABC that assertions that bin Laden had been holed up in his compound in Abbottabad for more than half a decade were not true.
"He hadn't been living there for no damn six years," he told ABC. "I absolutely flushed him out."
Should Faulkner get a portion of the reward?
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On Twitter
@cnnbrk on Twitter
Oh I get it Gary – but you are a little late – April Fools day was over a month ago.
Keep flushing.
No, there is a "no complete idiots" clause in the reward specification. Sort of like the "void where prohibited" clause in a contest.
All of you are a bunch of f*@kin Mummies!! Say goodbye to the Bad Guy!
He reminds me of my goofy brother little Guy Guy, he thinks like this nut job. Guy Guy thought he was the one who talked people into tearing down the Berlin Wall, catching terrorists, and about 6 other major events he helped. By the way he also thinks he has some reward comming?/# wacked!
Is this guy related to Donald Trump?
Gary is a moron and so are most of the posters in this thread.
Gary, you'll get nothing and like it!!!
It is disgusting that CNN runs stupid stories like this. What does this idiot have to do with anything, much less news? He isn't credible at all, why would we listen to him? Thanks, CNN, for lowering the journalistic bar a little further.
You go rubber. I agree 100%
Duck,
You are absolutely right. This is tabloid journalism, something CNN has unfortunately been slowly slipping into for some time now.
Is Faux News really any better?
Guys don't believe this, I was the one who flushed him out...
I voted for Obama.
Therefore, some of that reward money belongs to me!
HEY, HEY , HEY..!! Get in line !!! 😛
Gary ...the bounty hunter!! Man...you are a loser...
The only thing flushed is any reputation this silly man may have had left.
I once saw a dude who looked like Osama AT Sixflags in California...Can i have some of that 25 million?
We don't reward failures or failed attempts. Nice try though!
Gary stands about as much a chance at getting any of that $25M as Osama did getting out of that compound alive...we still have a lot of nut cases roaming around.