Osama bin-Laden Dead....Again? (UPDATED)

 

Cross Posted @ NewsBusters

This may be the best present to Israel today for Rosh Ha-Shanah....The Day Of Judgment....How appropriate...

Could this possibly be true? Was it something I said yesterday.....

Via WND I find in the early hours of this morning that a French daily newspaper L'Est Republicain has published that the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden died within days of contracting typhoid fever in Pakistan.

"According to a commonly reliable source, the Saudi police believe that Osama Bin Laden has died," said a Sept. 21 confidential note transmitted by the Directorate-General of External Services.

According to the note to be published by the L'Est Republicain, the Saudi police "would try to obtain more details, in particular the location of the burial site, and then announce the news officially." The DGSE specified in the note that no "jihadist Internet site has for the moment been made aware of the death of Osama bin Laden."

According to the note, "the head of al-Qaida may have fallen victim to a strong case of typhoid fever while in Pakistan, on August 23, 2006," and may have died within a matter of days.

Developing....

So far the only blogger on this story is Ace, followed later by Dan Riehl, Patterico's Pontifications and Mary Katherine Ham, who has the most extensive round-up and updates.

UPDATE: Reuters UK has picked up on it this morning, still nothing in the MSM or on the News channels

The report, which was stamped with a "confidential defence" label and the initials of the French secret service, said Saudi Arabia first heard the information on September 4 and that it was waiting for more details before making an official announcement.

If the world waits for the Saudis to announce news, we may be sitting here watching paint dry for a very long time....However "if anyone was in the picture" as a Saudi diplomat said, "I doubt it would be Saudi Intelligence".

UPDATE II: Via one of my readers @ NewsBusters, Sport Politics, from Paris Reuters

France's Defence Ministry said on Saturday a secret service report saying al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died could not be confirmed but said it would launch an inquiry into the leak of secret documents.

"The Defence Minister has asked that an inquiry be carried out to determine the origin of the leak that can be punished by criminal charges."

Whilst France is checking reports, U.S. cannot confirm. In the meantime al-Qaeda is flexing its newly appointed muscle. (h/t Mary Katherine Ham linked above)

Are we to believe that Pakistan is the last to know?

UPDATE III: Time reports:

Fugitive Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, believed to be on the run in rugged terrain in the Afghan-Pakistani border region since the September 11 attacks five years ago, has become seriously ill and may have already died, a Saudi source tells TIME, echoing earlier reports in the French media.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Saudi officials have received multiple credible reports over the last several weeks that Bin Laden has been suffering from a water-borne illness. The source believes that there is a "high probability" that Bin Laden has already died from the disease, but stressed that Saudi officials have thus far received no concrete evidence of Bin Laden's death.

"This is not a rumor," says the source. "He is very ill. He got a water-related sickness and it could be terminal. There are a lot of serious facts about things that have actually happened. There is a lot to it. But we don't have any concrete information to say that he is dead."[...]

L'est Republicain, based in Metz in eastern France covering the Lorraine region, says the French secret services considered the DGSE report reliable enough to transmit it last Thursday to the highest levels of the French government, specifically to French President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie. Alliot-Marie has reportedly demanded an investigation into the leak of the DGSE report to L'Est Republicain.

Others blogging now: Captain's Quarters, Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Powerline, LGF, Michelle Malkin, Stop The ACLU, Blue Crab Boulevard, Dr Sanity, Wizbang, The Moderate Voice, Liberty & Justice,  Pajamas Media, JustOneMinute, OxBlog, Scrapple Face, No Pasaran, The Jawa Report, MVRWC, The Political Pitbull, Blue Star Chronicles, A Blog For All, KP Cubed, Right Truth, The Median Sib, Old War Dogs

UPDATE IV: September 24th, CNN has more:

A Saudi intelligence official, however, told CNN on Saturday that the al Qaeda leader is suffering from a waterborne illness. There have been credible reports that the most wanted man in the world is ill, but there is no intelligence indicating he is dead, the source said.[...]

Bin Laden's brother-in-law, Jamal Khalifa, who was the al Qaeda leader's best friend when they were university students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, told CNN that he has heard no report of bin Laden's death. The Saudi-based businessman has been married to bin Laden's sister, Shaikha, since 1986.

Khaled Batarfi, a managing editor at the Saudi newspaper Al Madina and who was close friends with bin Laden when they were teenagers, said he remains in touch with bin Laden's immediate family in Jeddah. Family members said Saturday they had heard nothing to confirm the report, Batarfi told CNN.

Despite the fervent denials, journalist Laid Sammari, who wrote the article, said in a telephone interview that he was confident the classified document was authentic. His article states that Saudi secret service agents on September 4 received reports of bin Laden's death.

Saudi officials plan to make an official announcement after they confirm the burial site for the al Qaeda leader, Sammari said.

Comments

[nofate]

I will believe it when the intel guys say they have seen the DNA proof. Other than that, what does it matter, anyway? Bin Laden was as much a legend as a leader. He got things going, but he was not the first, and his supposed death will not make him the last of the islamofascist legacy spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood,Sayyid Qutb and his brother, and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
This is being confirmed right now in Somalia where Douglas Farah writes:
The situation is going from bad to worse in Somalia, as the Islamist leaders become more and more like the Taliban and less and less the moderates they pretended to be. A population beaten down by years of abuse and civil war welcomes the initial stability and removal of armed groups. Then the hammer comes down. Nuns are assassinated. Theaters closed, radios censored, dress codes imposed.

More good news. Pakistan too seems to be in danger of being lost, thanks to a legacy of the writings and workings of Maulana Mawdudi and his followers along with the continuing association of al-Qaeda and the Taliban:
Internationally, Waziristan will serve as a training base for al Qaeda operatives of all stripes, as well as jihadists who want to attack their home countries. The 9/11 Commission Report notes that catastrophic terror attacks require sanctuaries that provide "time, space, and ability to perform competent planning and staff work." Al Qaeda has gained a new sanctuary in Waziristan. If true, then al-Qaeda now has two new bases of operations, making it that much harder to deal with them and putting our guys in Afghanistan in a new, increased, state of danger. The addition of a "state", even if it is just Somalia, to it's credit puts al-Qaeda back in the running with Iran, which has obviously been the shia state for years.

Bin Laden may be dead, but it doesn't change a thing. The democrats will claim" it's an election ploy, fighting the "terrorists" (I'm beginning to hate that inaccurate word) just creates more "terrorists" (even though the Muslim Brotherhood, Qutb, Mawdudi, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Yasser Arafat, and Khomeini have all been preaching jihad for political purposes years before Bush came on the scene), and Bush still lied about WMD (even though Bill Clinton's new hero, Richard Clark, and a lot of others in his administration were on board with the concept until Bush did do something about it).

[Darrell]

I thought he was dead for years, too. The videos released in the last several years were all old, dated. Poor quality audio tapes are hard to analyze, and don't produce conclusive proof of the speaker. Note that the CIA always mentions "speech patterns similar to known Bin Laden exemplars."

I'm sure there has been a "debate" at the CIA between those who favor pronouncing OBL dead, and those not wanting to make him an official martyr. Or give Bush credit for the "kill" on his watch. That will not change. Let me be the first to say "Would Allah take a great 'hero' like OBL with a lowly disease like typhoid--a death fitting for the common beggar? Deny him the forgiveness of all sins that comes with the shedding of the first drop of blood in battle?" I hope that stirs the pot for all involved... Newsflash: Left-wing of CIA says fighting terror creates MORE terrorists! Dems agree and say that report puts "final nail in Bush's coffin." Pravda...er...the MSM reports all and concurs! Pathetic trick worth of the old Soviet Union. Are you proud of yourself, Dems? I bet fighting Hitler "created" more Nazis, too. Yeah, dead Nazis. The Dali Lama said something on the order of "If you kill Bin Laden, a dozen more will take his place." I say if you don't a THOUSAND more will take his place. Al Qaeda has thrown thousands of their seasoned, trained 'veterans' against coalition troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and saw them turned to KIAs. Trained not only in fighting, but covert operations in the West--including maintaining cover. They are replaced with trainees filled with uncontrollable rage and poor skills, including language/cultural skills. I'll take that every day.

[epaminondas]

This is witness protection program version 3.2
He is alive.

So what?

NATANZ, NATANZ, NATANZ ....QOM,QOM,QOM ...MAHDI, MAHDI, MAHDI ...U235, U235, U235

[rich]

Typhoid Fever

Clinical Features: Typhoid fever has an insidious onset characterized by fever, headache, constipation, malaise, chills, and myalgia with few clinical features that reliably distinguish it from a variety of other infectious diseases. Diarrhea is uncommon, and vomiting is not usually severe. Confusion, delirium, intestinal perforation, and death may occur in severe cases. The etiologic agent may be recovered from the bloodstream or bone marrow, and occasionally from the stool or urine.

Etiologic Agent: Salmonella serogroup Typhi.

Incidence: 400 cases per year in the United States, mostly among travelers. An estimated 16 million cases of typhoid fever and 600,000 deaths occur worldwide.

Sequelae: Without therapy, the illness may last for 3 to 4 weeks and death rates range between 12% and 30%.

Transmission: Contaminated drinking water or food. Large epidemics are most often related to fecal contamination of water supplies or street vended foods. A chronic carrier state--excretion of the organism for more than 1 year--occurs in approximately 5% of infected persons.

Risk Groups: Risk is very low in U.S.; higher among international travelers (i.e., 812 per 1 million travelers to India), and highest among persons living in poverty in the developing world.

Surveillance: All reported cases are laboratory-confirmed in states or at CDC.

Trends: Modest decrease in cases since 1994, possibly related to newly licensed vaccines marketed to international travelers.

Challenges: Increasing resistance to available antimicrobial agents, including fluoroquinolones, may foretell dramatic increases in case-fatality rates. Epidemics and high endemic disease rates have occurred in the Central Asian Republics, the Indian subcontinent, and across Asia and the Pacific Islands. Growing evidence of previously unrecognized disease in children <5 years.

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/artic/typhoid_fever_dbmd.htm

[Jeremayakovka]

Good point, Francis, to lead off the thread. Yes, word of caution: if he's dead, it means he got away a hero to hundreds of millions....

[mac Brachman]

Alexandra:

Thanks for another great post. I was going to join up with Gang of One and gang up on you, nitpickingly, about the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur but you addressed this yourself. I can only agree with GoO that we often need scholarly and sympathetic non-co-religionists to reeducate us about these things, and, like him, I'm humbled. Shalom/Shanah Tovah to Alexandra, GoO, and all. Mac Brachman

[Alexandra]

Gang,

Thank you, and same to you and your family. I am sorry if I got carried away, but it's just any old excuse to tell you a good story really...Lol

[Sonar]

Wonderful news, but curious.

An event in Pakistan, knowledge of it passed to Saudi Intelligence (how? or by whom?), from Saudi Intelligence to French Intelligence (do they have a relationship? was it a leak? The French service is translated as "Secret Service" in one release, but as an "External Security" acronym elsewhere), then from French Intelligence to French Press (again, released or leaked?).

I don't assert anything deceitful, just that there's much to be learned of these agencies' relationships with each other.

[Ernesto Ribeiro]

Fingers crossed, brothers. Let’s pray. God be with us.

May the devil have gone, the evil defeated, the hell destroyed.

Amem…

[Gang of One]

Alexandra,

You know more about my religion than do I. I am humbled.
May you and your loved ones be inscribed in the Book of Life this 5767.

[Alexandra]

Hi Gang of One,

Rosh Ha-Shanah has a fourfold meaning - It is the Jewish New Year, the Day of Judgement, the Day of Remembrance, and the Day of Shofar Blowing.

Jews worldwide examine their past deeds and ask for forgiveness for their sins today, the Day of Judgment. On Rosh Hashanah our own misdeeds are examined. On Yom Kippur, the good deeds that we do are examined.

What is the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Well they seem a bit alike in that they are days of judgment, even though we do different things on different days. For example, on Rosh Hashanah we blow the shofar and eat a festive meal dipping an apple in honey, and on Yom Kippur, of course we don't eat, and we don't blow the shofar. But they are both considered days of judgment- What is the difference between them?

The difference can best be illustrated with a story of a Jew who lived in Russia during the cruel years of Stalin. The lack of available food and money caused him go to the illegal black market and sell his warm winter coat. Unfortunately the secret police caught him and arrested him. Brought in front of the judge, the judge said to him "Dealing in the illegal black market is a serious crime against the Soviet State and therefore I am sentencing you to twenty years of hard work in Siberia."

Hearing the harsh sentence, the Jew broke down crying, "Your Honor," he pleaded, "Please, I served in the Red Army and was decorated for valor and bravery. I was wounded in combat and yet saved my comrades from death at the hands of the enemy. For this I was given a special medal. I have been a member of the Communist Party for the past twenty-five years and received a letter from Chairman Lenin, honoring my efforts in behalf of the Communist Party. I haven't been paid for three months at the factory where I work, and my wife is ill and we had to have something to eat. Please forgive me for my transgression. You see my good record. Please give me a lighter sentence," the Jew sobbed.

The Judge was unimpressed. He leaned over and said, "My dear comrade, I see that it is true all of the fine things that you have done for the Soviet State, but, know, today we are not looking to see what you did right, we are looking at what you did wrong! The sentence is not changed!"

The helpless Jew was taken away to Siberia, where he was given backbreaking hard work to do and inhuman conditions in which to live. After several years, the camp warden called him and informed him that he was being taken back to appear in front of the judge for re-sentencing. The Jew trembled to hear that he was to be taken in front of the heartless judge who gave him such a harsh sentence.

"We have re-examined your record, and we see that you were a war hero, that you were wounded in defense of the Motherland, that you saved many of your comrades and that you were recognized by the State for your achievements. You were awarded several Medals.

"We see that Chairman Lenin and Chairman Stalin personally wrote you letters commending you for your efforts in behalf of the Communist Party of which you have been a member for the past twenty five years.

"We have seen that the factory in which you worked did not pay you for the last three months and that your wife was very ill. We understand that you were forced due to the harsh circumstances to sell your coat in the black market in order for you and your wife to remain alive.

"In view of this, the court has commuted your sentence. You are now a free man."

The Jew couldn't believe his ears! His eyes began to fill with tears and he cried like a baby! "Your honor," he spoke, "all this was known to the court at the time of my sentencing! I spent several years in Siberia in freezing cold weather, doing backbreaking work. Why didn't the court recognize my contribution then?"

The judge, leaned over and spoke to the man. Then we weren't interested in what you did right; we were interested in what you did wrong. Today we are looking at what you did right."

This is the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we fast, thereby increasing our merit on the final day of judgment and become spiritual people, no longer desiring physical gratifications.

Click here for more Jewish wisdom.

[gringoman]

Not long ago, on the continent of Asia, I happened to see most of a 2-hour CNN docu-special on Osama Bin Laden. It was hosted by Christiane Annanpour, yet more interesting than I expected, with lots of interviews, both archival and current, with those who have met, known and/or studied OBL (including film of someone I know--and who a friend knows very, very well) in a cave interviewing Osama bin Laden.)

Toward the very end it revealed a spectacular kicker. But maybe this was just my reaction, since a friend I emailed in CONUS indicated little reaction back in the (United Sedated?) States of America. What I'm referring to is the end of the CNN special where they point out that OBL, for the next strike against the US, now has "religious permission" to kill 10 million Americans. Terror experts, of course, contend that these Islamos, which includes OBL, do what they say they are going to do. The Islamos are also on record as saying that the "next strike" will deal a terrifying blow to the U.S., and the strike after that will bring it to its knees as a world power. This 2-hour presentation made an added impression, since liberals and their media are not known as the "fear mongers" in GWOT, very reluctant to show Islmaic atrocities or even replays of planes crashing into the Twin Towers. It's Team Bush that is said to be hyping the danger, for political gain, and "making them angry at us."

Fast forward to the latest "news" of OBL's demise: I'll believe it when there's proof that typhoid managed to do what 8 years of President Bubba and 6 years of President Georgie Bush could not do.

More importantly: If, despite being extremely unlikely, "proof" is produced, will Americans and their bureaucracies swallow it in post-OBL euphoria? Will they take it as another delicious sedative? Will a world without OBL mean a world with no "next strike"?

[Gang of One]

Good morning Alexandra and friends.

This may be the best present to Israel today for Rosh Ha-Shanah....The Day Of Judgment

Rosh HaShanah is the New Year, the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippur. I would imagine you were referencing the two, as they come one week after the other.
Heard so many reports over the years about the death of OBL, that by now, as Fausta asserts, only DNA will be sufficient proof.

[Fausta]

I've thought he probably was dust already, but what will convince me is DNA.

[North by Northwest]

Wow - first off, well done, Alexandra for spotting this nugget.

Will it change much in the Middle East? Probably not. But could it have an impact on the elections in a few weeks, you betcha!

Tony Snow could use this one for plenty of gain, if handled properly. Information is key; give the public as much detailed information as possible surrounding the circumstances of OBL' death. Not gloating -- after all we didn't catch him outright -- but information which lead to his demise, most likely expedited by being hunted and isolated for so many years now.

Needless to say, the Administration must stay stumm until absolute proof confirms the story.

[Francis W. Porretto]

The interesting question about bin Laden's death is this: will it change anything?

Bin Laden might be thought of as a pioneer in Islamic terrorism: the first significant innovator in its organization and direction since Yasser Arafat went kinda-sorta-legit. More than that, Islamists view him as a successful innovator -- and success tends to breed imitators.

I'm not well informed about how many private Islamic fortunes there are in the world, outside of the Saudi royal family, but if there are any significant number, the odds are decent that one of them will attempt to rise into bin Laden's place as the new mastermind of the global Islamist jihad.

We must watch closely.