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| Now wouldn't that be a turn up for the books? |
paraclete |
09/23/06 |
and it couldn't do the Replublicans any harm in the election either
French investigate report of bin Laden's 'death'
September 23, 2006 - 8:25PM
Latest related coverage
* Pakistani officials doubt Osama death report
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 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 US intelligence official said 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.
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 US 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 US-backed forces in 2001. Since then, US 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 US 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.
Reuters |
Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 09/25/06 1:28 pm:
OMG, you are not one of those idiots who believes that OBL is the one calling the shots, and that if OBL disappears so does the war, are you?
Islamofascism predates OBL, and it will live long after OBL is dead. OBL is a symptom of the war, not the cause. He is the mastermind behind 9-11, but this is a war that we (the USA) have been involved in since the 1960s. We just were ignoring it, saying that it could never happen here. Once it DID happen here, we FINALLY woke up and started fighting. But to say that OBL is the reason for the war is to ignore the past 40-50 years of aggression by Islamofascists against the West.
Bush has not ever used OBL as his "target" in starting the war. His target has ALWAYS been Islamofascist terrorists... of which OBL is one prominent member of many. OBL is the most well-known to most Americans, but he is not the only one, and Bush has never said he was. In fact, Bush has been saying for years that whether OBL lives or dies has no real strategic or tactical bearing on the overall war against terror or its fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But as usual, you haven't been listening to what Bush has been saying. You've simply been hearing what you want to hear, whether Bush really said it or not.
Elliot Clarification/Follow-up by paraclete on 09/26/06 12:27 am:
elliot, the last time I checked I wasn't an IDIOT, niether do I believe that OBL has been a benign influence. All he has to do is say I think we should... and he has a hundred fanatics falling over themselves to see who can be the first to martyr themselves. That Al Qaeda hasn't been more successfull might suggest OBL has been sick and off his game lately.
OBL is a symptom of US foriegn policy, just another "freedom fighter" who became an embarrisment to the US. IF the US was led by intelligent people instead of cashed up business men it would stop funding lost causes in the name of "democracy".
I don't listen to what Bush says, and there is a reason, most of it is unintelligible, and I have a short attention span
Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 09/26/06 11:52 am:
I didn't think yu were an idiot... that is why I was shocked by your comment.
>>>OBL is a symptom of US foriegn policy, just another "freedom fighter" who became an embarrisment to the US.<<<
No, OBL is a symptom if the USSR's foreign policies. It was their invasion of Afghanistan that created OBL as a terrorist cum freedom fighter. And while the USA supported him in his activities during the Afghan war against the USSR, they left him alone afterward. We weren't in Afghanistan. OBL's issue with the USA is that we stayed in Saudi Arabia after the first Gulf War... at the behest of and with the permission of the Saudi government, I might add. So whatever happened in Afghanistan to create OBL as a terrorist leader had NOTHING to do with us, but rather with the Commies, and OBL's reasons for hating the USA have nothing to do with Afghanistan. So to say that because we supported OBL in Afghanistan we are the reason that he exists as an enemy of the USA is a bit of a stretch, historically speaking.
>>>I don't listen to what Bush says, and there is a reason, most of it is unintelligible, and I have a short attention span<<<
You should try listening. It helps to know what your opponent says before trying to refute it, rather than making up stuff that he didn't actually say.
Elliot
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