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| Terror Networks |
| Speculation continues over Binny |
| 2005-12-20 |
| He has not issued any public statement all year. Speculation has grown over his influence, health and even possible death. Where is the Western world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden? The Al-Qaeda leader's period of silence is the longest since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, offering no clues to the whereabouts or fate of a man who this year appears to have quietly slipped off the radar. Bin Laden has not been heard of since a December 27, 2004 audiotape in which he anointed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted man, as Al-Qaeda's leader in the war-torn country. Just before, on December 16, 2004, a video surfaced where he also called on his fighters to strike Gulf oil supplies and warned Saudi leaders they risked a popular uprising. Since then -- silence. Regular interventions by Al-Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, seen as the ideological brains of the network, has only served to feed feverish speculation on what has happened to bin Laden. Zawahiri claimed in an videotape released in September that bin Laden was still alive and leading "jihad" or holy war against the West. "Al-Qaeda for holy war is still, thanks to God, a base for jihad. Its prince Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, still leads the jihad," said Zawahiri. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said recently he did not know whether bin Laden was dead or alive, adding that he would not like to speculate over his fate. The commander of US troops in Afghanistan, General Karl Eikenberry, has insisted that bin Laden was still considered alive, and that US forces continue their hunt for him. Seemingly more candid was CIA director Porter Goss, who recently told ABC news channel that bin Laden's hideout was known and implied that the CIA knew more than it could reveal. The total eclipse of bin Laden also gave rise to various speculation on Islamist websites, with some admirers of the terror chief already contemplating that he might be dead. "Bin Laden, tracked by the intelligence services who are on his heels, is hiding somewhere along the mountain frontiers between Pakistan and Afghanistan," opined one blogger. Another claimed that "Abu Abdullah (bin Laden) has deliberately decided to stop all communications to avoid being located by gigantic US surveillance devices." "O my beloved. I know that you are mortal. No body can oppose the will of God. But the thought of seeing you taken captive fills me with fear," said another in a "letter of affection" addressed online to bin Laden, following a rumour claiming that Al-Qaeda chief had perished in the October 8 earthquake which ravaged Pakistan. But the editor of the Islamabad-based "Mediawatch", Yaqoub McLintock, who is also an expert on Al-Qaeda, appeared confident as to bin Laden's safety. "I think he is alive and well. Admittedly, bin Laden is not in great health, but he is not at the point of death. All that we hear about his fate is nothing but media speculation. His death would certainly be announced by Al-Qaeda, in conformity with Sharia (Islamic law)," he told AFP. He also claimed that bin Laden avoids making any appearance "as a safety measure, knowing that he is being traced by intelligence services." Abdul Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, agreed. "Bin Laden has said it all and has nothing to add," he said. "The man could well be preparing a large-scale operation in the United States," added Atwan, the first Arab journalist to interview bin Laden, who has a 25-million-dollar bounty on his head. "Dead or not? This is not the question," said Yasser Sirri, the director of the London-based Islamic Observatory. "Admittedly, bin Laden is a strategic symbol, but Al-Qaeda is now a decentralized multi-national jihadist (movement) capable of generating thousands of bin Laden," he said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #10 Doing a one up on Woody Allen's Sleeper by making thousands of fearless leaders? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-12-20 19:49 |
| #9 But not mean ones, Zen. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-12-20 16:06 |
| #8 "... to avoid being located by gigantic US surveillance devices." I prefer to substitute "located" with "reamed" and replace "surveillance devices" with "interrogators." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-12-20 16:03 |
| #7 Thousands of Bin Ladens? Ok,, so is AQ the money behind the Korean human Klone Kapers? Doing a one up on Woody Allen's Sleeper by making thousands of fearless leaders? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-12-20 14:27 |
| #6 Alaska Paul: He'll never visit the Great Alaskan Bush Co. Thats my bet mate. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-20 11:49 |
| #5 I think that the beetles are finishing polishing up his bones. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-12-20 11:47 |
| #4 "Al-Qaeda for holy war is still, thanks to God, a base for jihad. Its prince Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, still leads the jihad," said Zawahiri. Usually when someone is alive and well and in command you don't have to make a press release about it. It's like the guy who has to tell you how honest he is. You know you're gonna get the shaft. |
| Posted by: Intrinsicpilot 2005-12-20 10:03 |
| #3 Osama quit being maggot food a while back I have concluded. No tapes or videos = dead or good as dead. |
| Posted by: Mahou Sensei Negi-bozu 2005-12-20 04:54 |
| #2 "Admittedly, bin Laden is a strategic symbol, but Al-Qaeda is now a decentralized multi-national jihadist (movement) capable of generating thousands of bin Laden," he said. Thousands of Bin Ladens? I doubt it. Most are uglier, broke, and unknown. |
| Posted by: Phagum Unaiter4928 2005-12-20 04:33 |
| #1 He's dead Margaret. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-20 01:08 |