10-Month bin Laden Mystery: Dead or Alive?

The New York Times ^ | 09/30/2002 | JOHN F. BURNS

[terilyn]

Win one for the Gipper! God Bless You Reagan, We Will Never Forget Your Great Service and Leadership - We here on FR will carry on your great work with diligence. Thanks for the Memories and Inspiration!

Donate here by secure server

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

[Scott from the Left Coast]

"If Osama is dead, somebody has to prove it, and they haven't. And if he's alive, he won't stay out of sight forever.

He's dead. Thus, he will stay out of sight forever.

Were he alive, he wouldn't have stayed out of sight this long.

[PhiKapMom]

Very well put and I agree!

[pfflier]

Those who want us to think that Bin Laden is alive should put up or shut up.

He has never passed up a photo op in the past and has been noticeably absent since December..

The most recent videos of him could be easily engineered using rudimentary editing equipment.

He is worth more to the terrorists in "limbo status" because he is our "boogyman". We are spending our resources trying to prove he is dead rather than preventing more like him from living...

[OldEagle]

I imagine the CIA has the tape transmitted from their exploding drone. They know if they got him.

[breakem]

Osama bin Ladead

[Dog Gone]

Nice feature piece, but the dude is dead. If he was lucky, it was a direct bomb strike, but I think the more likely scenario is that he died, trapped in a cave without medical care. A slow painful death.

Awwwwww.

[A Citizen Reporter]

"Mr. bin Laden"

The NYT's editors insist on referring to "Mr. bin Laden" when they know this man is responsible for the slaughter of 3000 of their fellow citizens?

Do any New Yorkers still subscribe to the New York Times?

[Senator Pardek]

A slow painful death.

I'm 99.9% sure he's a goner. The only wildcard is if he's holding out to make a televised appearance after the next big terror attack on the U.S. This scenario is highly unlikely at this point. His patience is only outdone by his perverse megalomania.

I'm thinking the cave thing, too. There's a good chance he found a pocket of air, where he slowly realized "those Western Devils are the real deal - they will not stop until Al-Queda is castrated! What have I done? I could be living large with my $$$ on the French Riviera! And Allah was created in the mind of a a manic-depressive pedophile named Mohammed! No......" [SLUMP]

[JZoback]

I'm almost sure I saw him working at the corner convenience store.

He cut off his beard, took the diaper off his head and went by the name "Bob" Patel

He sold me a slurpie

All kidding aside, he is DEAD as Hillary's libido

[dpwiener]

He is worth more to the terrorists in "limbo status" because he is our "boogyman". We are spending our resources trying to prove he is dead rather than preventing more like him from living...

On the contrary, this is the best case scenario from the U.S. government's point of view. No one knows for sure that he is dead, so any "dead-man switch" plans that Al Qaeda might have developed remain in limbo. The lack of evidence allows the U.S. to continue to hunt for him, and in the process capture other Al Qaeda leaders, without the opponents of the War on Terrorism being able to claim that the war is over because we've already eliminated the ringleader. It also makes it more difficult for other individuals to openly claim the mantle of Al Qaeda leadership, since that would be an admission that he is dead. And meanwhile Bin Laden just slowly fades away from everyone's consciousness...

[InvisibleChurch]

bin laden is a non-issue----if he is alive, his network has been damaged beyond repair...it's easier to not find a dead man than keep his location secret if he is still alive surrounded by his groupies...maybe he did that jim morrison think and clocked out to northern afrika

[Cicero]

Another question that dogs the manhunt is how much Mr. bin Laden, as an individual, matters.

Well, as a mass murderer and enemy of the United States, it's important to kill him for what he did as well as what he might do in the future.

I think he's dead. But the New York Times is perfectly capable of exploiting his death OR his escape in their vicious campaign to undermine the war. So it's best to leave the matter in doubt. Burns tries his best in this article to criticize Bush's war effort, but he doesn't have enough to work with to do a successful smear job.

[Dialup Llama]

On the contrary, this is the best case scenario from the U.S. government's point of view. No one knows for sure that he is dead, so any "dead-man switch" plans that Al Qaeda might have developed remain in limbo. The lack of evidence allows the U.S. to continue to hunt for him, and in the process capture other Al Qaeda leaders, without the opponents of the War on Terrorism being able to claim that the war is over because we've already eliminated the ringleader. It also makes it more difficult for other individuals to openly claim the mantle of Al Qaeda leadership, since that would be an admission that he is dead. And meanwhile Bin Laden just slowly fades away from everyone's consciousness...

I like how when bin Laden becomes 'too alive,' the US sends a mid ranking intel person out to say, "He's probably dead." Never making him absolutely dead, but placing enough doubt out there that OBL will have to make a personal appearance to prove otherwise.

[MoodyBlu]

"Mr. bin Laden" The NYT's editors insist on referring to "Mr. bin Laden" when they know this man is responsible for the slaughter of 3000 of their fellow citizens?

I noticed the same thing and was repulsed by the "Mr." each time I read it. The liberals just will not give up hating this country!

MoodyBlu

[Imperialist]

I can't stand the NY times paper, no.

[Barnacle]

I believe Osama is still alive. When he dies, his followers are to stop fighting and perform religious rituals to elevate him to higher levels in Islamic heaven.

His followers will continue to carry out his will for as long as he is alive and that is why it is so important that we get him.

[ChadGore]

Personally, I rather enjoy playing the "where's osama" game reminding our "arab friends" that he his being harbored, suckled, and cared for by his ismalic militant brothers.

[The Great Satan]

Bin Laden is almost certainly dead. Even if he's alive, he's out of the loop, which means he's no threat. He doesn't have magic powers -- basically, he was a just recruitment and PR guy. If he's not doing recruitment and PR, he's irrelevant. Bye-bye, Binnie.