bin dead
bin laid to rest
bin missing for five years
Dead or alive, OBL represents five years of failure on the part of the Bush administration to hunt down the man behind the 9/11 attacks.
Five years, and all the America has to show for Bush's failure is an illegal war and a desperate attempt to justify his torture policy.
Sept. 23, 2006, 10:31PM
Officials skeptical of bin Laden report
By ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
PARIS — A leaked French intelligence document raises the possibility Osama bin Laden died of typhoid, but President Jacques Chirac said Saturday the report was "in no way whatsoever confirmed" and officials from Kabul to Washington expressed skepticism about its accuracy.
Snip...
Saudi Arabia's U.S. embassy said it had no evidence to support reports that Osama bin Laden is dead. "Information that has been reported otherwise is purely speculative and cannot be independently verified," the embassy said in a statement on its Web site.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had "no comment and no knowledge" about the report, while presidential spokesman Blair Jones said the White House could not confirm the report's accuracy. But two U.S. intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said U.S. agencies had no information to suggest bin Laden was dead or dying.
One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the report came from an unverified, unconfirmed source. If bin Laden were dead or dying, U.S. officials would expect to see telltale indicators that they are not seeing, the official said. The official did not explain what those indicators are, but such an event would probably trigger increased discussion among known extremists.
A senior official in Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said he was very skeptical of the document, noting past false reports of the death of bin Laden. He would not let his name be used because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
more...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4209958.html