http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17835463%5E1702,00.html Expert says Bin Laden could be dead 16jan06 A terrorism expert says he has seen evidence showing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is either seriously ill or dead. Dr Clive Williams, director of terrorism studies at the Australian National University, says documents provided by an Indian colleague suggested bin Laden died of massive organ failure in April last year. "It does seem reasonably convincing based on the evidence that I've been provided with that he's certainly either severely incapacitated or dead at this stage," Dr Williams said. Dr Williams said Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's deputy who was the target of a US air strike in Pakistan last week, has been making all statements on behalf of the terror network for the past year. Dr Williams said proving whether the terrorist leader was still alive might be impossible. "It's hard to prove or disprove these things because there hasn't really been anything that allows you to make a judgment one way or the other," Dr Williams said. "But it does seem strange that Dr Zawahiri has been making all of the statements since then, and nothing's been heard from bin Laden since, I think, the December of the year before." Dr Williams said even if bin Laden was dead, those who upheld the same philosophies would continue to fight for their cause.
I wouldn't shed a tear, but I'd prefer if we could catch up and stick him in Oz to become Shillinger's new playtoy.
Seriously! I hope Dr Williams could be right about Bin Laden being dead! That would be a great step forward regarding the WOT.
I was wondering the same thing. He hasn't made any tapes lately. I wouldn't be surprised if he is dead or so ill that he can't appear
Even if he weren't dead, we should encourage this rumor around the world. This way, if Bin Laden is still alive, he would feel compelled to make more public apperances. And man, when he goes on Carson Daly show, we'll nail him!
It has always been my belief that even if we caught Bin Laden we would not let anyone know. That would just cause more terrorists. To hold him publicly would just give him much publicity, what would we do with him? give him a public try? No, I always figured if caught we just hold him secretly then a few years claim there were rumors he died of natural causes. This way no martyrdom, you might catch a few folks trying to locate him, and little fan fair for him.
That's good news. Unless it's false. again? Have they said he died already? It's like a girl calling you over her house, and she says, mums and daddys not home. And you drive 80 miles per hour there, and she goes, naaah, not yet. (or ever)..
He probably is dead. How hard is it to kill a man on dialysis machine? More than that, do you suspect the MIC does not want this news to get out because people will loose the interest, or what's left of it, they have had since 9/11 and they can no longer go on the conquests with the contracts of astronomical proportions.
for all we know, obl isnt even the main guy, or never was the main guy... maybe he was just the face for alqaeda with someone else running it in the background.
That's somewhat irrelevant. We've known for a while that Bin Laden has slowly lost control over Al Qaeda and probably has a symbolic role at best. We know for sure that he's not the main funding source anymore now that most of his funds have either been frozen or taken back by the Saudi government and Bin Laden family. However, that doesn't change the fact that this would be a huge moral victory and really would be a symbolic blow to Al Qaeda. He still has been great at rallying support and He may still be a leader in name only but that doesn't change the symbolism of this should it be true. If this is indeed correct, then that's awesome.
The article claims this 'expert' has evidence to back up his claims that Bin Laden is dead (which is highly likely given his kidney problems and him looking like a frail old man in his last few tapes), where is this 'evidence'? Or is it mere speculation? Either way, I did think his days were numbered whether we caught him or not, it does seem like Al-Zawahiri has assumed the symbolic leadership of Al-Qaeda, although his charisma is next to nothing when compared to the soft-spoken and poetic Bin Laden (if I could draw a comparison from another great orator in modern times, I would say Bin Laden is the Arab version of MLK or Malcolm X, as far as his command of the language is concerned; it's easy to see how he could've charmed thousands of people to buy into his vision/movement).
It certainly sounds plausible but what I'm wondering if Bin Ladin died wouldn't it be in Al Qaeda's interest to announce a rumor that he died in battle and was martyred?
actually, thats exactly what i was thinking. on an unrelated tangent, when muslim warriors were battling the persian and roman empires in the early years of islam, as soon as a leader or great warrior was killed, there would be an uproar of anger and the tide of the battle would turn towards the muslims side. but on the other hand, many leaders had told their commanders that in the even t of their death, the news must be kept on the Down low, so that the morale of the fighters is not reduced... both techniques worked well for the muslims... anyways... gotta go do the laundry. peace
Bin Laden can go ahead and die; Bush can't get re-elected, so the terrorist world's Willie Horton has outlived his usefulness.
If Bin Laden died in battle, they might feel rather than martyr him, it would make it look like he was defeated. I don't know. I'm just guessing.
No, they would certainly see him as a martyr, a man who not only talked the talk but walked the walk; it would be similar to Sheikh Yassin (the founder of Hamas) getting killed by an Israeli missile. But whether or not he dies in battle for 'the cause', the reason why Bin Laden has that type of charisma and influence is because of his heroism in the battle against the Soviets in Afghanistan, so he's already seen as 'legit' and a true believer in what he says. In that sense, I am not sure whether or not he's 'martyred' is really going to make that much of a difference; his followers already know the sacrifices he made in the past, so that would likely be seen as another 'notch' on his belt (going out in glory, if you will).
