[Wolfstar]

Even if he is not literally worm food, one can be metaphorically dead. If one is forced to hide in remote regions while being protected by 12th Century human relics, and/or if one is forced to hide in small holes in the ground, that is a form of death comparable to being shut away in a Medieval prison.

On the other than, since 9/11 a release of bin Laden tape has preceded a terrorist attack by only a few weeks. The attempts on Musharraf, the big spike in jihadists "chatter," and now the tape certainly suggest that a large attack somewhere may be imminent.

[Arkinsaw]

Even if he is not literally worm food, one can be metaphorically dead.

True. But Osama doesn't give a flip if we think he is alive or not. All he cares about is that his followers think he is alive. His followers WANT to believe he is alive just as much as some of us WANT to believe he is dead. They don't take much convincing and an audio tape is fine. In fact a forged note would probably be good enough for them.