Posted on 09/23/2006 12:04:41 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
A French newspaper, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006, leaked an intelligence report that says Saudi agents believe Osama bin Laden is dead. (AP)
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Osama bin Laden's health has deteriorated in the past year, forcing him to curtail his movements, according to Arab diplomats in Pakistan who routinely track reports of his movements.
A senior source with an intelligence service friendly to the United States told CBS News that Saudi Intelligence has collected what it considers to be "very credible information" that bin Laden has been very seriously ill, and that the Saudi services are now suggesting, though not confirming, that they "have a pretty high certainty" that he is dead.
The source added that if he has died as a result of typhoid fever, which comes from exposure to contaminated water and food, it would confirm reports that he has been hiding in a remote area, under very harsh conditions with limited access to medical care.
While Pakistani officials and diplomats stationed in the country on Saturday did not confirm a report in a French regional newspaper that claimed the world's most wanted terrorist had died of typhoid earlier this month, some spoke of reports in the past year suggesting that bin Laden's health had rapidly deteriorated, prompting speculation over his remaining life expectancy.
Time Magazine also reported that bin Laden "has become seriously ill and may have already died" from a "water-borne illness."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
OBL's spirit goes marching on although his body wouldn't be mouldering in the cold, dry, dessicating, rocky soil of Afghanistani Tora Bora.
I believe in short threads linked via keywords....
We don't have to put him through a trial which would rile up the cult he leads.
He doesn't die a martyr.
It screws up his organization.
It probably dries up his organizations financing.
We don't think his son can take over the organization at all though we hear he can handle a tune in a somewhat flamboyant fashion.
Musharraf said he's dead, and that is as good as we will get. They won't ever find his bones.
Wasn't the last OBL video released right before the 2004 election?
It not surprising that this rumor originated with the Saudis and the French, both of whom were probably familiar with OSB's general wherabouts for years.
I believe he wants people to believe it for 1-2 years so he can live quietly in his hole somewhere and plot beneath the radar.
Then, he believes that when he attacks it would devastate the West and infuse the Mid-East with energy.
Won't work.
oh...
I'm suspecting that Osama wants to pack it in, so he'll fake his death and go get a new identity.
Hey, without his beard, he could be the guy at Dunkin Donuts down the road from me
You Are Probably RIGHT!
You mean there is such a thing as dead-dead? I have a hard time with someone dying two times.
Does that include Farmall Qutbs? I have a friend who loves Farmall Qutbs and I sure hope he's not a terrorist.
I think that was bin Laden's role all along. He was the link between al Q and the Muslim money people, the Golden Chain. He grew up a member of the billionaire bin Laden clan, and had access and contacts in that strata of the Islamic elite. He could give the money people confidence that the money would be used well. Meanwhile, Zawahiri was the operational commander.
MMMMMM, re-fried beans. (Homer voice)
Bring out the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
OBL's son, whatever his name is, is in Iran and was appointed head of Alqaida in 2002. He is the contact for funding.
drinking from rivers full of sewage and floating bodies ain't real good for you.
Helps the working lurkers to find the news...
Can't wait to see his telethons on Al Jezeera :-)
Or, it could mean we know he's dead, and that's why the special squad that was chasing him has been disbanded.
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