bin laden dead?

[king kong]

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Defence Ministry said on Saturday it could not confirm a newspaper report quoting French secret services as saying al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died but would launch an inquiry into the leak of secret papers.

The Defence Ministry issued the statement after the French regional newspaper L'Est Republicain said Saudi Arabia was convinced bin Laden had died of typhoid

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in Pakistan last month.
"The information published this morning in the L'Est Republicain newspaper relating to the supposed death of Osama bin Laden cannot be confirmed," the Defence Ministry said.

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

A U.S. intelligence official told Reuters the report should be treated with caution and a senior Pakistan government official said Islamabad had not received any information from any foreign government that would corroborate the story.

The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry spokesman was not available for comment and a Western diplomat in Riyadh said the diplomatic community had no such information.

"If anyone was in the picture, I doubt it would be Saudi intelligence. Even if Saudi Arabia had information, they'd pass it on to the United States, not France. It doesn't ring true," the diplomat said.

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The French newspaper printed what it said was a copy of the report dated September 21 and said it was passed on to President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on the same day.

"According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead," the document said.

"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al Qaeda was a victim while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, of a very serious case of typhoid which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."

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.

The U.S. intelligence official, who declined to be named, said bin Laden had long been rumoured to be suffering from kidney ailments and is reported to have received dialysis.

"We have believed him to be in declining health for some time and there have been other rumours of his demise."

He said bin Laden had "minimal operational involvement at this time" in al Qaeda.

Saudi-born bin Laden was based in Afghanistan until the Taliban government there was overthrown by U.S.-backed forces in 2001. Since then, U.S. and Pakistani officials have regularly said they believe he is hiding somewhere on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

His last videotaped message released was in late 2004, but several low quality audio tapes have been released this year.

Senior U.S. intelligence figures have said bin Laden remains a significant inspirational figure but his death or capture could have a substantial impact in the war on terrorism.

They note, however, that the death of al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in June, has failed to lead to any letup in the violence there.

(Additional reporting by Islamabad bureau, Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Hammond in Riyadh)

[Teaman]

does it matter if hes dead or not? I doubt it unfortunately,

I'm sure there will be others, and tbh, I dont think he was that importnat, just the money and the face behind things rather than the orgnaisation.
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There is no point in ranting about someone stupid because there is nothing u can do about it. There is no cure for stupid.
Someone stupid does not realise they r stupid.stupidity is indistinguishable from malice U just have to accept that some people are thick as p1gsh1t and work around them.

[Itchy]

if he was dead and we kept quiet about it we'd have boogie man which the gov would exploit to be used as propaganda and justification to put intheir totalitarian ideals.

Anybody hear of Emmanuel Goldstein? , almost certainly dead in the time of Winston Smith , but exploited none the less.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[pwntifex]

[king kong]

Don't beleive that if Bin Laden was dead it would have any adverse effect on the Al Quieda operations and idealism, but loosing their spiritual leader could cause a certain amount of in fighting within Al Quieda, Persnally I wish he had killed during the carpet bombing phase or taken out by special forces and not natural causes, just as a message to say that 'we will get you all!'