http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/23/terror/main2035760.shtml

Quote :

"The daily newspaper for the Lorraine region in eastern France printed what it described as a confidential document from the French foreign intelligence service DGSE citing an uncorroborated report from Saudi secret services that the leader of the al Qaeda terror network had died. Intelligence sources tell CBS News that the document is an accurate reflection of what the Saudi intelligence agents believe. The contents of the document, dated Sept. 21, or Thursday, were not confirmed by French or other intelligence sources. However, the DGSE transmitted the note to President Jacques Chirac and other officials, the newspaper said. Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie "has demanded an investigation be carried out of this leak," a ministry statement said, adding that transmission of the confidential document could risk punishment. Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau, clarifying the statement, said that the DGSE document exists but that its contents that bin Laden is allegedly dead — cannot be confirmed. The DGSE, or Direction Generale des Services Exterieurs, indicated that its information came from a single source. "According to a reliable source, Saudi security services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead," said the intelligence report. The Saudis say they have credible information, but without a body, it will be impossible to confirm, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar. There have been periodic reports of bin Laden's illness or death in recent years, but none has been proven accurate. According to this document, Saudi security services were pursuing further details, notably the place of his burial. "The chief of al Qaeda was a victim of a severe typhoid crisis while in Pakistan on August 23, 2006," the document says. His geographic isolation meant that medical assistance was impossible, the French report said, adding that his lower limbs were allegedly paralyzed. On Sept. 4, Saudi security services had their first information on bin Laden's alleged death, the unconfirmed document reported. In Pakistan, a senior official of that country's top spy agency, the ISI or Directorate of Inter-Service Intelligence, said he had no information to confirm bin Laden's whereabouts or that he might be dead. The official said he believed the report could be fabricated. The official was not authorized to speak publicly on the topic and spoke on condition of anonymity. The newspaper that ran the story, l'Est Republicain, is a well-respected regional daily, but the journalist who wrote it, however, is a crime reporter rather than a specialist in intelligence matters, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Cobbe from Paris. U.S. Embassy officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan also said they could not confirm the French report."

Eagerly awaiting pre-election conspiracy theories...

9/23/2006 8:31:54 AM

I really would like more of this corroborated, but let's have a discussion of how this might affect things.

If bin Laden is dead of natural causes, does that help any particualr party in the opinion polls? How does it affect terrorism in general and al Queda specifically? Is it better that he died naturally than in a fiery bombing for the US, because it is less likely to spur recruitment?

Even if he is alive, it'd be nice to hear some opinions on this.

9/23/2006 9:35:36 AM

to be fair, he's in such isolation because we are after him (partly).

9/23/2006 9:37:34 AM

lol, We killed him!

9/23/2006 9:47:39 AM

if he died of natural causes it might be more advantageous for us--no retaliatory attacks for capturing or killing him.

however, i don't know how well he's run shit since 2001. it was my impression that knocking him out would have little effect on the whole structure of al-qaeda.

9/23/2006 10:15:12 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html

9/23/2006 10:23:29 AM

actually, this all just came from rumors that if you play "back in the ussr" backwards, you can hear paul mccartney say "osama is dead, i buried osama".

9/23/2006 1:01:43 PM

treetwista is sitting there, right now, figuring out the best way to troll this thread

9/23/2006 1:35:34 PM

at this point, does it really matter?

9/23/2006 1:58:15 PM

Quote :

"treetwista is sitting there, right now, figuring out the best way to troll this thread"

what do you think you just did??

9/23/2006 2:06:30 PM

he pointed out the obvious

9/23/2006 2:30:27 PM

^^gave a valid reason why i hadn't posted in soap box in 20 days?

(and the last post before that was pointing out a flaw in TT's trolling of the "popular vote" thread)

9/23/2006 2:45:51 PM

bush killed him with global warming

9/23/2006 3:10:12 PM

too bad al gore cloned him

9/23/2006 5:45:16 PM

holy shit it's woodfoot

9/23/2006 7:16:34 PM

yeah i never understood why he quit all the sudden

9/23/2006 7:21:42 PM

"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!!!

9/23/2006 10:09:19 PM

Quote :

"Eagerly awaiting pre-election conspiracy theories... "

Haha. IT had been a while since Bush mentioned Bin Laden. Soon after he did, this news happened to come up.

9/24/2006 12:09:39 AM

9/24/2006 12:41:34 AM

Wow, almost every one of you managed to troll a decent thread into nothingness. Thanks so much.

Let me try to go back to the last serious post and see if I can get this thing back up again

Quote :

"however, i don't know how well he's run shit since 2001. it was my impression that knocking him out would have little effect on the whole structure of al-qaeda. "

I'm mixed on this. I think you're technically right that the structure of al-qaeda won't be disrupted here, but I do think that Osama is a charistmatic leader that is highly capable of getting people hyped up about terrorism. Thus, with him gone, their recruiting will largely depend on his successor. Him dying of natural causes won't spur recruits the way that a bomb attack would have, so I think this is better for the United States as a whole.

9/24/2006 1:10:15 PM

Natural Causes
Our Spin: Less heroic death, less of a martyr, so this will mean less new recruits
Their Spin: You can fight the enemy to an old age, it’s not certain death to fight them, he was never defeated by the enemy, we need more recruits!

Bomb/Gun shot wound/Battle death
Our Spin: We got em! & we could get anyone else who joins up, so this will mean less recruits.
Their Spin: Look how evil the enemy is, he was a martyr, we need more recruits!



I’m not trying to make a sophist argument; I’m just saying I’m not sure how a natural causes death would play out.

[Edited on September 24, 2006 at 1:29 PM. Reason : .]

9/24/2006 1:28:32 PM

Maybe he died from being unable to afford prescription drugs

9/24/2006 2:03:49 PM

It's true.

http://typhoidobl.ytmnd.com/

9/24/2006 5:15:04 PM

Quote :

"I’m not trying to make a sophist argument; I’m just saying I’m not sure how a natural causes death would play out. "

I see what you're saying here and you make a valid point. People's perceptions will vary regardless of how he dies.

9/24/2006 6:14:22 PM

Woodfoot had sex with bin Ladin

9/25/2006 12:16:00 PM

Quote :

"Maybe he died from being unable to afford prescription drugs"

Ha, or maybe he couldn't afford the gas to get from the cave to the hospital.

Supplanter,

That was my initial take as well. I don't think his death will really make much of a difference. It's just too easy to spin it the direction you want to spin it.

[Edited on September 25, 2006 at 12:17 PM. Reason : -]

9/25/2006 12:16:23 PM

him being dead could possibly result in al qaeda losing focus and vision...

which would benefit everyone...

9/25/2006 12:30:21 PM

he's dead

so does that mean we can stop this silly war

9/25/2006 12:31:48 PM

speculation per coast to coast am:

could this be an ingenious plot to create apprehension in the terrorist world, thus flushing bin laden into the open to quell their worries?

i think thats going a little too far, but i think we will definately hear something from him in the next couple of weeks.

9/26/2006 1:13:56 AM