[villalobos]

'The leaders, who will give a joint news conference at about 12:30 p.m. (1030 GMT), will be asked about a report that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.

The regional newspaper L'Est Republicain quoted a secret French intelligence report as saying Saudi Arabia's secret service was convinced bin Laden died on August 23. It said Chirac had been informed but his aides declined to comment.

The French Defense Ministry said on Saturday the report could not be confirmed and it would launch an inquiry into the leak.'

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe...eut/index.html

[marden]

Originally Posted by villalobos

'The leaders, who will give a joint news conference at about 12:30 p.m. (1030 GMT), will be asked about a report that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.

The regional newspaper L'Est Republicain quoted a secret French intelligence report as saying Saudi Arabia's secret service was convinced bin Laden died on August 23. It said Chirac had been informed but his aides declined to comment.

The French Defense Ministry said on Saturday the report could not be confirmed and it would launch an inquiry into the leak.'

CNN.com - Energy focus for European trio - Sep 23, 2006

Wow! I hope it is true.

That would mean terrorism would come to an end!

[analogika]

Originally Posted by marden

That would mean terrorism would come to an end!

[marden]

Osama bin Laden is dead: French paper
(DPA)

23 September 2006

PARIS - Saudi intelligence services have determined that terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in August, the French regional daily L’Est Republicain reported on its website on Saturday.

The newspaper said it based its information on a document classified ‘defence secret’ originating in the French DGSE intelligence services. According to the story, the DGSE informed President Jacques Chirac of the Saudi report on Thursday.

The DGSE document, printed with the report, reads in part, ‘According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi intelligence services are said to have acquired the information that Osama bin Laden is dead. The information gleaned by the Saudis indicates that the head of Al Qaeda was a victim of a very strong attack of thyphoid... in Pakistan on August 23, 2006.’

The document goes on to say that bin Laden’s geographical isolation rendered all medical assistance impossible.

Khaleej Times Online - Osama bin Laden is dead: French paper

Pakistan given no info to back report bin Laden dead
Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:48 PM GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has received no information from any foreign government that would corroborate a French newspaper report on Saturday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan, a senior government official said.

"No government has shared any such information with us so far, which is the normal thing to do under such circumstances," the official, who has close knowledge of intelligence matters, told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

A senior official in Pakistan's Interior Ministry also said: "We have no information about Osama's death."

The daily L'Est Republicain reported that, according to a French secret service report, Saudi Arabia was convinced that bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan in late August.

High-ranking diplomats in the Pakistani capital also doubted the French regional newspaper's report.

The French government has said it could not confirm the report and would investigate the intelligence leak.

The al Qaeda leader fled to Pakistan after U.S.-backed forces drove his Taliban hosts from power in late 2001, following al Qaeda's September 11 attacks on Washington and New York, but his pursuers soon lost track of him.

While U.S. and Pakistani officials have regularly said since that they believe bin Laden has been hiding somewhere on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, intelligence officials have also said that the trail went cold some time ago.

There have been no intelligence "hits" on bin Laden, either through tip-offs or electronic surveillance, for at least two years, Pakistani security officials said earlier this month.

The last videotaped message released by bin Laden was in late 2004, but several low-quality audio tapes were issued earlier this year.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held a joint news conference with President George Bush in Washington on Friday in which the two leaders said their countries were continuing to cooperate closely in the hunt for bin Laden.

The two men also sought to paper over a disagreement prompted by Bush's statement to CNN on Wednesday that he would order troops into Pakistan if he had firm intelligence on bin Laden.

Musharraf, facing anti-U.S. sentiment at home, had said Pakistan would want to handle such a situation itself.

A senior Taliban official, whose fighters are allied to the remnants of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, also poured cold water on the French newspaper story.

"Taliban have no information about the death of Osama. It's only baseless propaganda against mujahideen (Muslim holy warriors)," Mullah Obaidullah told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/new...N-20060923.XML

[analogika]

It really doesn't matter, any more than it really mattered to the Commonwealth and the UK when Queen Mum died.

[yakkiebah]

Originally Posted by marden

That would mean terrorism would come to an end!

A big blow to al-Qaeda and reason to celebrate? Absolutely. But it's not the end of terrorism. Considering his constant hiding and his illness(if true) i don't think he was much in control of his organization for quite some time. Besides i'm sure you're aware of all the other islamist ****faces hopping around on this planet. The ideology that lies behind it needs to die first before we see an end to this.

Anyway i think we need to see the body first.

No body, no party.

[Millennium]

Well, it would have been nice if we could actually have caught him and brought him to a fair trial. On the other hand, typhoid is a nastier way to die than any modern method of execution, so I guess I couldn't really be too disappointed.

[Zeeb]

I hope the reports are true but wasn't there a rumor shortly after 9/11 that he was dead? It persisted for months before a new video popped up.

[ink]

Originally Posted by Millennium

Well, it would have been nice if we could actually have caught him and brought him to a fair trial. On the other hand, typhoid is a nastier way to die than any modern method of execution, so I guess I couldn't really be too disappointed.

Yeah, you could say that:

Typhoid fever (or enteric fever) is an illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. Common worldwide, it is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person.[1] The bacteria then multiply in the blood stream of the infected person and are absorbed into the digestive tract and eliminated with the waste.

Typhoid fever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Must be all those elaborate cave systems with modern plumbing that he's been hanging out in.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by analogika

It really doesn't matter, any more than it really mattered to the Commonwealth and the UK when Queen Mum died.

I agree with this and might add that he may as well have been dead for the past 4 years. It really will make no difference at all as he's been rendered pretty much worthless anyhow.

[itai195]

Originally Posted by analogika

It really doesn't matter, any more than it really mattered to the Commonwealth and the UK when Queen Mum died.

I think it matters at least that we won't have been able to bring him to justice. But as to the effect on terrorism in general, I agree with you.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Coming from the French and Saudis I say they are hiding him because they love him.

[Spliffdaddy]

I don't trust the French.

[ghporter]

I think it would be good for him to die of typhoid. It's a disease associated with dirt, bad hygene, and animalistic living. It is NOT something a good Muslim would be happy about having, let alone dying from. And it certainly wouldn't get ol' Osama his virgins!

But I'm really, REALLY skeptical about it.

[Kevin]

I'd have rather see him live and have a change of heart and see the error in his ways.

[idjeff]

Com'on Kevin...search your heart a little deeper......

[marden]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I think it would be good for him to die of typhoid. It's a disease associated with dirt, bad hygene, and animalistic living. It is NOT something a good Muslim would be happy about having, let alone dying from. And it certainly wouldn't get ol' Osama his virgins!

But I'm really, REALLY skeptical about it.

OT:

Glenn ----- "You knew it didn't cost the earth, but for what it's worth, you made me feel a millionaire."

I guess you give good gratitude.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

I don't trust the French.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

I don't trust the French.

You owe them your independence, and the Statue of Liberty.

Just a thought.

[pooka]

Originally Posted by analogika

You owe them your independence, and the Statue of Liberty.

So you admit the French have a history of supporting terrorist?

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by pooka

So you admit the French have a history of supporting terrorist?

American Revolutionaries = The Original Terorrists

Except they were our terrorists, and that makes all the difference, doesn't it?

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

American Revolutionaries = The Original Terorrists

Except they were our terrorists, and that makes all the difference, doesn't it?

One: you give us too much credit. The guerilla tactics used by the American revolutionaries had been in use for hundreds if not thousands of years. They've never been considered particularly honorable, but in any case, there is a difference between dishonor and terrorism.

[Macrobat]

Best part is, Allah took the bastage out - no martyrdom for Mrs. Bin Laden's little bundle of joy.

[besson3c]

goose!

[besson3c]

I think Sperel just killed this thread.

[Spliffdaddy]

*checks thread for a pulse*


Doesn't look good, besson3c.