At the time of Tora Bora the Indian and Chinese press reported that OBL and Sheik Omar had been shot by a guard and that at least one of them was dead. After that Omar eventually turned up but OBL never did. All his communications were received by the USG the same way. At first they were belittled then it was allowed as how they could be authentic. They were never actually verified. Bush needed OBL to stay "alive" to maintain congressional and MSM support for keeping the troops in A'stan. the Kenyan had his own reasons and then needed a "heroic effort" for his upcoming election so he "killed" OBL.
bttt