"Bin laden manhunt" dubious story, not a scoop.Video here.

[tocqueville]

The video can be seen in French on Dailymotion or other sites

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5txsa_javais-ben-laden-dans-mon-viseur-m_news
http://desourcesure.com/guerreterrorisme/2007/02/ben_laden_est_il_immortel.php

notice : the pictures are not "documentary" of the claimed events, they only illustrate
interviews and claims.

rips of the DVD can be found on the net
http://www.mininova.org/tor/1569831
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- A documentary about the movie and the moviemakers was shown in december 2006, but fell rapidly into oblivion.
- There isn't any "heated debate" about that story in France and never has been (Cole is wrong about that).
But the story has been widely reported, yes, which made French authorities to issue a statement.
- Eric de la Varenne (not "lavarène"), the French journalist, has been widely criticized for innacurate reporting
regarding the death of the ambushed French Marines in Afghanistan.
- French troops don't need US authorization to shoot at somebody, when operating.

I am surprised that Cole buys into that story. What's probable is that French special forces closed on him 2004 but were unable to shoot at him or to arrest him, if one goes back to Gen. Bentegeat's original reactions. Remember that at that time Chirac was President and the relations with the US very tense. If the French had had a real possibility to kill Ben Laden in combat or to arrest him, they had done it.

I don't mean that "it didn't happen" the way it's described at all, but I urge for more caution before presenting that story as facts.