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A FORMER NAVY SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden and wrote a bestselling book about the raid is now the subject of a widening federal criminal investigation into whether he used his position as an elite commando for personal profit while on active duty, according to two people familiar with the case. Matthew Bissonnette, the former SEAL and author of No Easy Day, a firsthand account of the 2011 bin Laden operation, had already been under investigation by both the Justice Department and the Navy for revealing classified information. The two people familiar with the probe said the current investigation,...

Washington: Two officials of the US intelligence agency CIA have claimed that Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was on death bed as he suffered from a terminal kidney disease, and may live only for a few months. The intelligence agency also managed to get the names of some of the medications Bin Laden was taking. One of the two CIA officials familiar with the report that came out six-nine months ago, quoted it as saying, “Based on his current pharmaceutical intake we would expect that he has no more than 6-18 months to live and impending kidney failure.” Pakistan...

So he's back, I suppose; Osama bin Laden. And boy, do we need him for many reasons, not the least being that he helps us draw some interesting comparisons. Many have pointed out the similarity between bin Laden's comments and those of certain members of the Democratic left, but there's more to it than mere words. They have a commonality as regards methodology as well. While it's true that the words of the head of al Qaeda read like a socialist manifesto -- dire warnings regarding global warming, the evils of corporate interests and the dreary invocation of the Vietnam...

THE STRATFOR WEEKLY 07 January 2004 Bin Laden Tape: Honesty and Gloom Summary The release of a new tape by Osama bin Laden is always an important event. The most recent one is particularly important because of the tone it takes. It is far from resigned, but it is a gloomy analysis of al Qaeda's situation, focusing on the failure of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states to resist the United States. Al Qaeda has a great deal to be gloomy about. Events were very much moving in its favor since the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But December was a...

Bin Laden's son 'in charge of al-Qaida since October' A Saudi newspaper is claiming Osama bin Laden's eldest son has taken over command of al-Qaida. The daily Asharq Al-Awsat is basing its report on "sources close to al-Qaida" on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area. The paper says Saad bin Laden has led the organisation since the offensive against al-Qaida bases in Afghanistan began in October. The paper says the revelation "substantiates the theory that bin Laden was killed or seriously wounded" during the campaign. It says bin Laden's second son, Mohammad, 20, had previously been expected to succeed him. Story filed:...