03-05-2011, 13:57
Wikipedia
Earlier death reports
December 2001: Quoting an unnamed Taliban official, the Pakistan Observer reported that bin Laden died of untreated lung complications and was buried in an unmarked grave in Tora Bora on December 15.[134] This report was picked up by Fox News in the U.S. on December 26.[135] Also on December 26, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd carried a short obituary by a "prominent official" of the Afghan Taliban, who was supposedly present at the funeral, stating bin Laden had been buried on or around December 13:[136]
"[Osama bin Laden] suffered serious complications and died a natural, quiet death. He was buried in Tora Bora, a funeral attended by 30 Al Qaeda fighters, close members of his family and friends from the Taliban. By the Wahhabi tradition, no mark was left on the grave"
A videotape was released on December 27 showing a gaunt, unwell bin Laden, prompting an unnamed White House aide to comment that it could have been made shortly before his death.[134] On CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta commented that bin Laden's left arm never moved during the video, suggesting a recent stroke and possibly a symptom of kidney failure.[137] According to Pakistani President Musharraf, bin Laden required two dialysis machines, which also suggested kidney failure.[138] "I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a... kidney patient," Musharraf said.[138] If bin Laden suffered kidney failure, he would have required a sterile environment, electricity, and continuous attention by a team of specialists, Gupta said.[137] In April 2002, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated, "We have heard neither hide nor hair of him since, oh, about December in terms of anything hard."[139] FBI Counterterrorism chief Dale Watson and President Karzai of Afghanistan also expressed the opinion that bin Laden probably died at this time.[140][141]
July 2002: FBI counterterrorism chief Dale Watson states that bin Laden "is probably not with us anymore but I have no evidence to support that."[142][143]
October 2002: Hamid Karzai stated that "I would come to believe that [bin Laden] probably is dead."[144]
November 2005: Senator Harry Reid stated that "I heard today that he may have died in the earthquake that they had in Pakistan, seriously."[145][146]
Late 2005: CIA disbands "Bin Laden Issue Station", codenamed "Alec Station", the CIA's bin Laden tracking unit, 1996–2005.[147]
September 2006: On September 23, 2006, the French newspaper L'Est Républicain quoted a report from the French secret service (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure, DGSE) stating that Osama bin Laden had died in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, after contracting a case of typhoid fever that paralyzed his lower limbs.[148] According to the newspaper, Saudi security services first heard of bin Laden's supposed death on September 4, 2006.[149][150][151] The supposed death was reported by the Saudi Arabian secret service to its government, which reported it to the French secret service. The French defense minister Michèle Alliot-Marie expressed her regret that the report had been published while French President Jacques Chirac declared that bin Laden's death had not been confirmed.[152] American authorities also could not confirm reports of bin Laden's death,[153] with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying only, "No comment, and no knowledge."[154] Later, CNN's Nic Robertson said that he had received confirmation from an anonymous Saudi source that the Saudi intelligence community has known for a while that bin Laden has a water-borne illness, but that he had heard no reports that it was specifically typhoid or that he had died.[155]
November 2007: In an interview with political interviewer David Frost taken on November 2, 2007, the Pakistani politician and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto claimed that bin Laden had been murdered by Omar Sheikh. During her answer to a question pertaining to the identities of those who had previously attempted her own assassination, Bhutto named Sheikh as a possible suspect while referring to him as "the man who murdered Osama bin Laden." Despite the significance of such a statement, neither Bhutto nor Frost attempted to clarify it during the remainder of the interview.[156] Omar Chatriwala, a journalist for Al Jazeera English, claimed that he chose not to pursue the story at the time because he believed Bhutto misspoke, meaning to say Sheikh murdered Daniel Pearl and not Osama bin Laden.[citation needed] The BBC drew criticism when it rebroadcast the Frost/Bhutto interview on its website, but edited out Bhutto's statement regarding bin Laden. Later the BBC apologized and replaced the edited version with the complete interview.[157] In October 2007, Bhutto stated in an interview that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting bin Laden.[158]
2008: Robert Baer, former CIA operative stated that "Of course he’s dead" and questioned the relevancy of bin Laden.[159][142]
April 2009: During an interview with The Telegraph, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari raised the prospect that bin Laden could be dead after he said that intelligence officials could find "no trace" of the al Qaeda chief. Zardari's predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, similarly suggested that bin Laden could be dead. Additionally, Pakistan's intelligence agencies also believed bin Laden possibly to be dead.[160]
March 2009: Angelo M. Codevilla, a professor on international relations at Boston University stated that "All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama bin Laden."
May 2009: In Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?, it was argued that bin Laden had died of kidney failure.
Earlier death reports
December 2001: Quoting an unnamed Taliban official, the Pakistan Observer reported that bin Laden died of untreated lung complications and was buried in an unmarked grave in Tora Bora on December 15.[134] This report was picked up by Fox News in the U.S. on December 26.[135] Also on December 26, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd carried a short obituary by a "prominent official" of the Afghan Taliban, who was supposedly present at the funeral, stating bin Laden had been buried on or around December 13:[136]
"[Osama bin Laden] suffered serious complications and died a natural, quiet death. He was buried in Tora Bora, a funeral attended by 30 Al Qaeda fighters, close members of his family and friends from the Taliban. By the Wahhabi tradition, no mark was left on the grave"
A videotape was released on December 27 showing a gaunt, unwell bin Laden, prompting an unnamed White House aide to comment that it could have been made shortly before his death.[134] On CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta commented that bin Laden's left arm never moved during the video, suggesting a recent stroke and possibly a symptom of kidney failure.[137] According to Pakistani President Musharraf, bin Laden required two dialysis machines, which also suggested kidney failure.[138] "I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a... kidney patient," Musharraf said.[138] If bin Laden suffered kidney failure, he would have required a sterile environment, electricity, and continuous attention by a team of specialists, Gupta said.[137] In April 2002, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated, "We have heard neither hide nor hair of him since, oh, about December in terms of anything hard."[139] FBI Counterterrorism chief Dale Watson and President Karzai of Afghanistan also expressed the opinion that bin Laden probably died at this time.[140][141]
July 2002: FBI counterterrorism chief Dale Watson states that bin Laden "is probably not with us anymore but I have no evidence to support that."[142][143]
October 2002: Hamid Karzai stated that "I would come to believe that [bin Laden] probably is dead."[144]
November 2005: Senator Harry Reid stated that "I heard today that he may have died in the earthquake that they had in Pakistan, seriously."[145][146]
Late 2005: CIA disbands "Bin Laden Issue Station", codenamed "Alec Station", the CIA's bin Laden tracking unit, 1996–2005.[147]
September 2006: On September 23, 2006, the French newspaper L'Est Républicain quoted a report from the French secret service (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure, DGSE) stating that Osama bin Laden had died in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, after contracting a case of typhoid fever that paralyzed his lower limbs.[148] According to the newspaper, Saudi security services first heard of bin Laden's supposed death on September 4, 2006.[149][150][151] The supposed death was reported by the Saudi Arabian secret service to its government, which reported it to the French secret service. The French defense minister Michèle Alliot-Marie expressed her regret that the report had been published while French President Jacques Chirac declared that bin Laden's death had not been confirmed.[152] American authorities also could not confirm reports of bin Laden's death,[153] with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying only, "No comment, and no knowledge."[154] Later, CNN's Nic Robertson said that he had received confirmation from an anonymous Saudi source that the Saudi intelligence community has known for a while that bin Laden has a water-borne illness, but that he had heard no reports that it was specifically typhoid or that he had died.[155]
November 2007: In an interview with political interviewer David Frost taken on November 2, 2007, the Pakistani politician and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto claimed that bin Laden had been murdered by Omar Sheikh. During her answer to a question pertaining to the identities of those who had previously attempted her own assassination, Bhutto named Sheikh as a possible suspect while referring to him as "the man who murdered Osama bin Laden." Despite the significance of such a statement, neither Bhutto nor Frost attempted to clarify it during the remainder of the interview.[156] Omar Chatriwala, a journalist for Al Jazeera English, claimed that he chose not to pursue the story at the time because he believed Bhutto misspoke, meaning to say Sheikh murdered Daniel Pearl and not Osama bin Laden.[citation needed] The BBC drew criticism when it rebroadcast the Frost/Bhutto interview on its website, but edited out Bhutto's statement regarding bin Laden. Later the BBC apologized and replaced the edited version with the complete interview.[157] In October 2007, Bhutto stated in an interview that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting bin Laden.[158]
2008: Robert Baer, former CIA operative stated that "Of course he’s dead" and questioned the relevancy of bin Laden.[159][142]
April 2009: During an interview with The Telegraph, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari raised the prospect that bin Laden could be dead after he said that intelligence officials could find "no trace" of the al Qaeda chief. Zardari's predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, similarly suggested that bin Laden could be dead. Additionally, Pakistan's intelligence agencies also believed bin Laden possibly to be dead.[160]
March 2009: Angelo M. Codevilla, a professor on international relations at Boston University stated that "All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama bin Laden."
May 2009: In Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?, it was argued that bin Laden had died of kidney failure.
There's no stoppin' what can't be stopped, no killin' what can't be killed. You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'...