West, Saudi Arabia unable to confirm bin Laden death

[NVMojo]

(who leaked this document anyways? was this supposed to be part of the October Surprise?)

September 24, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had no evidence Osama bin Laden had died, shedding further doubt on a secret document leaked in France that said Saudi secret services believed he had died last month.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that as far as he knew the al Qaeda leader was still alive.

"To my knowledge Osama bin Laden is not dead," he said on LCI Television. But he added he had not seen a French secret service report, printed by a newspaper, which said Saudi Arabia was convinced bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.


France, the United States and Britain all said earlier they were unable to confirm the report in French regional daily L'Est Republicain, which quoted the DGSE foreign intelligence service.

more...

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyid=2006-09-24T171129Z_01_L23793153_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-BINLADEN.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-R1-MostViewed-1

[Joanne98]

1. I'm beginning to think he is dead! By the way the WH is acting.

[lildreamer316]

2. Of course they can't.

Don't believe a word of it.

[951-Riverside]

3. I think he's very much alive like his fellow thespian Al Zarqawi n/t

[IndianaGreen]

4. I think this story has "legs" and that Bin Laden is probably dead

Remember the bin Laden video that was released on 9-11 this year? It was a 5 year old video of OBL meeting with some of the hijackers. And then there is this in today's Sunday Guardian:

Spy chiefs to probe 'Osama is dead' claim

Antony Barnett in London, Paul Harris in Washington, Javier Espinoza and Jo Revill
Sunday September 24, 2006
The Observer

Intrigue last night surrounded a leaked French intelligence report that Osama bin Laden had died of typhoid. The news spread rapidly around the globe, prompting a flurry of investigations by officials in Paris, Washington, London and Islamabad.

The report surfaced in a regional French newspaper which had obtained the leaked report claiming Saudi Arabian sources were 'convinced' the terror chief had been killed in August.

It prompted a flurry of official statements. After a remarkable day of rumour and counter-rumour, it appears the answer is that no one really knows. French President Jacques Chirac told reporters bin Laden's death '... has not been confirmed in any way whatsoever.' While a US intelligence official said: 'It's quite possible there was some talk of this, but in terms of being able to confirm this, that I can't do.'

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We continue to have no reason to believe that he is dead.' Downing Street refused to comment on the reports. Privately, senior Whitehall sources said they had no evidence that the claims were true.

French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie ordered an official investigation into how the French newspaper L'Est Republicain got hold of a classified spy report. That dossier, which the paper printed, said Saudi intelligence believed Bin Laden had died in Pakistan on 23 August 2006. 'According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi security services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead'. It said the typhoid had led to a partial paralysis of Bin Laden's internal organs while he was in Pakistan and unable to get to medical care.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1879905,00.html

[HuffleClaw]

5. considering how fast they 'confirm' 'bin laden' tapes...

this sudden denial sure has a certain hint of desperation to it. i think that now, no matter what sort of bin laden stunt rove had up his sleeve will, it will fall flat.

[IndianaGreen]

6. French intelligence document on OBL's death is authentic (The Independent)

The document itself is authentic, the question is why would French intelligence write the document in the first place if OBL is not dead?

Bin Laden dead from typhoid, says rumour sweeping globe
By Raymond Whitaker
Published: 24 September 2006

A claim that Osama bin Laden, the elusive al-Qa'ida leader, may have died of typhoid in Pakistan last month touched off a storm of speculation around the world yesterday, followed by a stream of denials.

President Jacques Chirac of France, where the report originated, said it was "in no way whatsoever confirmed", and officials from Washington to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, said there was no information to back it.

The French regional newspaper l'Est Republicain yesterday printed what was later confirmed as an authentic document from France's DGSE intelligence service. This said "according to a usually reliable source, Saudi security services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead".

The chief of al-Qa'ida "was a victim of a severe typhoid crisis while in Pakistan on 23 August, 2006", it added. His geographical isolation meant that medical assistance was impossible, and his lower limbs were said to have paralysed. The Saudis were said to be seeking further information, including the place of Bin Laden's burial.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1726058.ece

[bhikkhu]

7. It could be true, but it is hardly the first time

Osama has "died" in the media. The other previous accounts of his death were no less reliable, but for some reason this account is "sweeping the globe", where others have escaped notice. Zarqawi comes to mind - how many times did he die?

[IndianaGreen]

8. The report is based on an authenticated French intelligence document

The reason it has not been confirmed, and this is the language being used by the West, is because they don't know where OBL's body is buried. They will only confirm when they find OBL's grave and are able to make a positive DNA match. This may never happen!

The French intelligence report is based on a solid human intelligence source.

France's DGSE intelligence service has more credibility than our CIA, and if they say OBL is dead, he is dead.

[Dover]

9. And I suppose the bin Laden family doesn't know either....uh huh.

The phantom "enemy".

[bluestateguy]

10. Well, this story is falling apart

Team Bush doesn't want bin Laden to pass this way--by natural causes--for it would deprive them of their big masturbatory circle jerk to Osama's head on a platter after having been heroically killed by American troops (i.e. Bush). But if osama dies from some illness, I guess they can't really have that celebration, can they?