Weblog

Friday July 28, 2006

Is Bin Laden Dead?

With the release of a statement from Al Qaeda, calling for members to take up arms against Israel, you've got to wonder, why wasn't it Osama Bin Laden on screen making this call?

Another conspiracy theorist has speculated that he was killed in December 2001. In a CNN story, back in 2002, officials from Washington made comments that neither committed them to stating he was alive or dead. In another CNN brief, Bin Laden's health is called into question. In a CBS story, the an FBI counterterrorism cheif calls into question his continued survival. Rumsfeld, when interviewed, has mentioned that he hasn't been seen since December 2001.

2002 was a busy year with the BBC reporting that the authenticity of 'Bin Laden tapes' was being called into question. Of course there are many more stories on the tapes being fake, but I'm trying to limit coverage to the more reputable news sources, and not those that report on aliens invading every other day.

Another page that discusses this topic in detail claims to have a copy of an Egyptian press release from December 2001, on this.

If he has been dead, since 12/2001, what sort of tripe has the American government been wheeling before the rest of the world with claims of "Bin Laden tapes" since then?

But to return to where this blog entry began, if Bin Laden were alive then I believe he'd be the one making the call to arms against Israel, not some lower down chief. I wonder what excuses the US government will come up with to convince us that Bin Laden is still alive?

What do you think - is he dead or alive?