Posted on 09/23/2006 7:10:58 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
Analysis: Is bin Laden truly dead?
By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI International Editor
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Osama bin Laden is dead. At least according to Saudi intelligence sources cited by a French newspaper, which in turn claims to have obtained a document leaked to them by French counter-intelligence services.
The news of the death of al-Qaida's chief was reported in the Saturday edition of l'Est Republicain, a respected regional daily. The French paper cites a memo they claim was obtained from the French counter-espionage agency, the Direction Générale des Services Extérieurs, or the DGSE.
Bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist is believed to have died last August as a result of typhoid fever while he was in a remote part of Pakistan, according to the French newspaper.
The report of bin Laden's death was however not confirmed by official sources in either Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.
But a Saudi intelligence source told United Press International: "We are not saying he is dead, but there is a lot of truth in the report." The Saudi source, who spoke on condition that his name not be revealed, confirmed the existence of a Saudi intelligence report relating to the health of bin Laden. And according to that Saudi Arabian intelligence document, it states, "bin Laden was very ill these past few weeks."
The Saudi source told UPI the French intelligence report must have concluded that Saudi authorities believes bin Laden to be dead.
"There is no way we can prove that bin Laden is dead until we can see the body," the Saudi intelligence source told UPI. But, he stressed, "A good portion of what is in the report is true."
For the moment, the source went on to say, "We do not confirm bin Laden's death. "We don't know."
Making the report all the more credible was the choice by those in French counter-intelligence of where to leak the Saudi report, the regional L'Est Republicain, rather than one of the larger Paris-based dailies.
"There is a history with that paper," the Saudi source told UPI. The newspaper is known to have had intelligence reports leaked to it in the past. "They are very reliable," said the Saudi official.
The information purporting the death of the world's most sought after terrorist is based on what the newspaper calls "a usually reliable source," stating that Saudi intelligence sources "are convinced" of bin Laden's death.
The French intelligence report goes on to say, still according to the French daily, that bin Laden died in Pakistan on August 23 after suffering "from a severe bout of typhoid fever," and a bacterial infection provoked a paralysis of his lower body.
The Saudi intelligence report states that bin Laden's geographic isolation "rendered all medical assistance impossible. Indeed, U.S. intelligence sources have long believed bin Laden was hiding in remote parts of Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, areas where sophisticated medical help would be difficult to obtain.
The news of bin Laden's death reached the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Sept. 4. If confirmed, that, in part, might explain the complete absence of Osama bin Laden from making any appearances on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon just outside Washington, DC.
Instead, a videotape by bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was released to television news networks.
The French daily reports that the internal and confidential memo from the DGSE reporting the death of "the enemy number one" of the United States and of the West, was handed over to the Presidency of the French republic on Sept. 21.
Trust the French????? yeah right.
I refuse to believe this until Dan Rather and CBS review the documents for authenticity.
I don't believe it will/would mean much on destroying violent Islamic fanatics. The Dems have always placed way too much emphasis on Usuma Bin Laden. Why? Do they expect there to be a substantial downtick in terrorism? Not likely, I believe, even though he does/did bring a susbtantial funding network to bear.
But BTTT anyway.
They should check with Generalissimo Francisco Franco. He would know...
So what? Even if he is dead and buried, the dufus Dems (Pelosi, Reid, Dean, the usual suspects) will still complain that "we still have not captured Bin Laden yet."
I would love to see some confirmation, though, just so I could see the Ds squirm. Like when they were complaining about jobs a few years ago and high gas prices a month ago. What idiots.
Until his body turns up I remain unconvinced (though the thought of Bin-Butthole suffering from Typhoid Fever brings a smile to my face).
So perhaps this COULD have been bin Ladin's funeral last month.
So the important question is: Why did the USA let these POS all live?
Who made the decision to let them go on to murder more Americans?
Why is there NEVER accountability at the top?
Why are traitors in the US gov't NEVER taken out or held accountable?
Spell check can be your enemy, too, but in this case you expressed a wonderful play on words: what have the kooks at DU cooked up about Osama?
Heh.
Dead sounds good to me.
It would be funnier if he died of a case of Violent Diarreah.
BS. Few of things it could be.
The US SOF are too close and the Terrorist are trying to throw them off the trail.
Bin Laden finally figured out the best way to help his cause it to play dead. His American allies, the Democrat party think he is dead, they can claim we don't need to fight the war anymore.
The story is a pure PR plant hoping to influence the American elections.
Simple disinformation to keep the situation confused.
What it is NOT likely to be is true. Bin Laden dying of Typhoid is highly unlikely. Given his experience and educational background it is highly unlikely he would not take the simple basic sanitary steps necessary to avoid Typhoid.
Yes, that dead body is worth $25,000,000 last I heard. He's still out there.
That "funeral" which we should have turned into a crater in the ground. It was a memorial service for Bin Laden, IMO.
Well, this certainly is the credible and reliable statement that he is dead. It's not much, but I suspect even now we are trying to confirm or deny. I do find it intresting in this report that there were reports that he was seriously ill for weeks before the reported death. Typhoid will not kill you overnight.
So we shall wait and see.
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