Rumors Swirl About Bin Laden's Health

CBS News: Arab Diplomats Discuss Reports Of Bin Laden's Death

(CBS)  Osama bin Laden's health has deteriorated in the past year, forcing him to curtail his movements, according to Arab diplomats in Pakistan who routinely track reports of his movements.

A senior source with an intelligence service friendly to the United States told CBS News that Saudi Intelligence has collected what it considers to be "very credible information" that bin Laden has been very seriously ill, and that the Saudi services are now suggesting, though not confirming, that they "have a pretty high certainty" that he is dead.

The source added that if he has died as a result of typhoid fever, which comes from exposure to contaminated water and food, it would confirm reports that he has been hiding in a remote area, under very harsh conditions with limited access to medical care.

While Pakistani officials and diplomats stationed in the country on Saturday did not confirm a report in a French regional newspaper that claimed the world's most wanted terrorist had died of typhoid earlier this month, some spoke of reports in the past year suggesting that bin Laden's health had rapidly deteriorated, prompting speculation over his remaining life expectancy.

Time Magazine also reported that bin Laden "has become seriously ill and may have already died" from a "water-borne illness."

But U.S. sources are skeptical of the reports. A senior White house official tells CBS News White House correspondent Jim Axelrod, "I wouldn't hold your breath."

When asked at the Saudi Day reception in Washington about reports that Bin Laden had died, the Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Turki al-Faisal said, "Don't believe everything you hear on the news ... Osama Bin Laden is alive and well."

French President Jacques Chirac said, "The information is in no way whatsoever confirmed and therefore I have no comment on it."

"You should never say 'never,' but the source of the intelligence is not a very good one – Saudi intelligence can sometimes be an oxymoron," Michael Scheuer, who ran the CIA's bin Laden unit, said on the Saturday Early Show. "It almost sounds like between the French and the Saudis are trying to goad bin Laden into saying something to prove he is still alive."

Sources in the region near the Afghan-Pakistan border tell CBS News analyst Jere Van Dyk that if bin Laden were dead the West would never know it. They want to preserve the idea that Osama is alive because he is a mythical figure, as much as anything else.

One Arab diplomat who spoke to CBS News on the condition that his identity would not be revealed said there were fewer reports in 2006 of bin Laden's possible sightings around the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"In the past, sometimes with a delay of two to three days, you would
see reports which suggested he may be on the move somewhere, there have been fewer such reports this year," he said. "Does this mean, he is acutely ill, dying or has in fact died? There is no credible answer to that question. Unless there is a body, how can anyone say for sure that bin Laden is dead?"

The same diplomat said, bin Laden has had a history of illnesses that were first reported while the Taliban regime still ruled Afghanistan in 2000. One such report seen by the diplomat a year before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, reported that bin Laden had to be hospitalized briefly in Kabul before he was brought to Pakistan for medical treatment, then believed to be a kidney-related ailment.

"If it is true that bin Laden had to have dialysis for his kidneys then — which is six years ago — his health must be far worse now. Especially the conditions that he lived in, being on the run from U.S. forces must also take its toll on him. I wouldn't be surprised if he is dead. Nobody is immortal," concluded the diplomat.

[ozonmojo]

Even id dead,UBL must be living it up with his 26.5 virgins.

[tpeks40]

I hope all his virgins are men and they're using him as a pin cushion.

[dargay]

Please only write a story if you have even a shred of evidence.

[doctorgraz]

It is a shame that he could not have lived long enough to be hunted down and captured and executed. By the way, the many virgins he will meet are all Catholic Nuns..........they took the vow of chastity.

[peaceforusa]

"(AP) President Bush said Wednesday he would order military action inside Pakistan if intelligence indicated Osama bin Laden or other top terror leaders were hiding there".

Seems funny when pressure is put on Pakistan for possibly hiding this terrorist that they come up with this story. I think this is exactly what it is...a lie!

[jimjoyce68-2009]

It seems too good to be true. We can only hope the low life, worthless peice of *** is dead and burning in HELL!

[dolfus-2009]

What kind of "news" is this. I new before I read this article that he was either dead or alive

[ronniehm]

How many virgins do you get for typhoid?

[peaceforusa]

Hey dolfus;

That was brilliant! Gave me a really good laugh. Nice to see someone that can find humor in all this.

I seriously believe our government and the media think the American people walk around with stupid written across their forehead...do they honestly think when the pres says on Thursday that we will invade Pakistan to get this creep and on Saturday the media reports that Bin Laden is dead...that we wouldn't put 2+2 together... Go Figure!!!

[hollit-2009]

Osama is hiding in israel, this explain why US stupid military led by its stupid president can't catch him after 5 YEARS OF HUGE MANHUNT in wrong soil of afghan . the question is will Mr.BUSH-IT BOMB ISRAEL ????

[cantshutup]

doesn't matter if obl is dead or alive, bush still can't fix the mess he made

[hollit-2009]

there are sighting of Osama dine with Bush's family in white house !

[alphaa10-2009]

Osama bin Laden's primary objective, post-911, was to remove the vulnerability of al Qaeda from any fixed base of operations. Mobility served the mujahedin well in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and it is working well enough in Iraq, Syria and across North Africa in open armed conflict with established states.

The dispersal of al Qaeda around the world is now fairly complete, with sub-cells in both friendly and unfriendly countries, despite the best efforts of local intelligence services.

Whether bin Laden lives or dies is no longer nearly as important as it once was. Had bin Laden been captured or killed immediately after he was cornered in SE Afghanistan, it might have made a difference. But US forces did not arrive in time to make the kill, however, due to Bush preoccupation with Iraq, and the opportunity was lost forever.

We may not see much of bin Laden anymore, but we can be sure his lieutenants will continue to taunt the West with various epistles of hate and warnings of doom.

[jaxonstl007]

I love the Libs take on all of this. Well our "stupid" president has kept us safe for 5 years, while Clinton was ignoring the threats, and getting serviced in the Oval Office! Thank God for Bush, since he forced a low-life like Bin Laden to have to hide like an animal [no offense to God's creatures] until he finally died like the swine he refuses to eat!

The US isn't perfect, but you can live FREE, at least as long as we can keep the Dems from giving the country to Kofi Annan, et al.

And though I agree with one of the comments that Bin Laden has been marginalized over the past years, it doesn't hurt to let them know that we will continue to hunt you down.

And if that terrorist, murderer is perhaps still alive, then it won't take long for him to make another "Rambo" video, showing him firing a rifle into the mountains. But he won't live FREE!

[nothappyatall]

Jaxon said; "Well our "stupid" president has kept us safe for 5 years,"

LOL, you can't be serious, he has not made us safe, these people have been laying low and planning their NEXT attack and can attack us any time they choose to- under their terms.
Bush has made us LESS safe by antagonizing these people and making things worse, we now have MORE enemies than ever. Every one of the 14,000 prisoners of war we have around the world in various prisons without charges are NEW enemies happy to extract revenge.
Bush MURDERED 2900 more people and tens of thousands of civilians with an illegal unjustified war the commision recently SAID was unjustified as Iraq had NO wmd's and had NO connections to 9/11
We are now half a TRILLION bucks in the hole thanks to BUSH

[shutupmurtha]

I wish (if he is dead) that he had died after being scalped, boiled, tortured, humiliated, burned, and thrown in a sewage tank. That is something I hope liberals and conservatives can agree on.

[nothappyatall]

Go read this and see how "safe" BUSH made us;

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/site/modules/news/article.php?storyid=589

QUOTE:
Urgent news from Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan:
Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima, a major attack on the U. S.
Muslims living in the United States should leave the country without further warning.

The al Qaeda operatives who will launch this attack are awaiting final orders. They remain in place in cities throughout the country. Many are masquerading as Christians and have adopted Christian names.

Americans will not win this war, which they have started against Muslims. Americans are the biggest supporters of the biggest terrorist in the world, which is Israel. You have witnessed the brutality of the Israelis in the recent 34-day war against Lebanese civilians. 9/11 was a revenge of Palestinian children, killed by the US-made weapons, supplied to Israel. The next attack on America would be a revenge of Lebanese children killed by US-made cluster bombs.

[nothappyatall]

Bin Laden: Dead Or Alive?

WHo cares, we ALL die eventually, he is nothing, when he died there's 500 more nuts just like him ready to jump in and take his place, so his death will not change anything. The next one to fill his shoes could be WORSE.

[sttrickalous]

Bush certainly deserves some criticism (Mostly for not having a better exit strategy with time-frames before going into Iraq).

The following deserves some reflection by all Americans:

To All Who Should Be Concerned:

Consider the background of some key events in the 90's which led us to our current "battlefield."

What good explations can ever be given for not "eliminating" OBL much sooner?
FACT: We knew he was involved with the USS COLE and the bombings of our embassy in Kenya (overt acts of war). We knew he had cells operating in Somalia and Clinton high-tailed it out of there as soon as he "inherited" a situation he found distasteful. Do any of us need to be reminded of the events depicted in "Black Hawk Down" and the humiliation of our soldiers being dragged dead and naked in Somali streets under Clinton's "military leadership." What was the consequence suffered by those Somali warlords? Oh, that's right, Clinton gave them control over an oppressed population.

How many years did Clinton put up with Sadaam's flagrant disregard for the UN resolutions and Saddam's "death to America" rhetoric (remember the tough guy photo ops with rifle and swords in hand)?

[brdman1980]

I subscribed to this website for one reason and one reason alone. To comment on this particular situation. Here's the bottom line. Sure, maybe everyone doesn't like Bush, but you know what? Insulting him and our military isn't going to make it any better. If you live in America, you need to support the troops we have because they are the reason you have the right to type on these little blogs in the first place. If we were in other countries, and you wrote about our stupid president and stupid military, you would be tracked down and imprisoned if not murdered. Here's the thing. This has been said many times, and it will be said many times more, and I'll add one to the list. You don't like this country? Get the hell out. We don't need you if you don't want to be here. Let's see your list of complaints when you go live in a third world country. Complain all you want, but do it from another country. God Bless America, God Bless Our Troops, and damnit, God Bless our President.

[shutupmurtha]

It is strange how liberals want to lead the world superpower, but all they seem to do is call people names like a bunch of little children. They all get together and make a big name calling fest. They say things like, We hate BUSH, We hate republicans, Bush lied people died! They have a bumper sticker mentality to politics that seems to appeal to a very select crowd, which is obviously the minority in this country, but a large crowd nonetheless. They assert alternatives on issues after republicans do the research on what they determine as the course of action that will help this country achieve it's objectives. The dems simply take the other side of the issue. They also speak out on issues like the women%u2019s right to kill her child/fetus(fetus slaughter), loosening restrictions on terrorists, and abolishing the death penalty for murderers, and they seem to believe the real threats in this country is not islamonazi terrorism, but Wal-Mart, Christianity, and global warming. Another thing that is interesting is the rise of conspiracy theories in the liberal crowd. I suspect this is do to the lack of hard solid evidence that would justify the intense HATRED of our president to the degree which the they have shown, so they have make up things to accuse the president. Now I am undoubtedly the new target for the name-calling on this site, let it rain.

[sttrickalous]

Letter to my Liberal American brother/sister,

Continued from above:

How difficult does anyone think it would be for a known mass murder to use his country's oil wealth in addition to his personal multi-billion dollar fortune(he HAD much more money than the Bush family has) to develop and obtain cladestine nuclear or biological weapons (from cash strapped former Soviet Republics with whom he was "cozy" with) to carry out his will? If you don't know, ask Kofi Annan's son who was implicated in oil for food scandals.

Wake up my liberal fellow Americans and realize that the 3rd world Islamo-fascist extremists hate you even more than they hate us conservatives (because you favor legalized abortion) and perceive you has having NO morality whatsoever.

One thing conservatives and liberals certainly have in common is that these enemies want the same for both of us: namely, they think the only good American is a dead one. Let's unite and clean these vermin off of face of the earth since they no longer appreciate what education and "financial aid" (already given in the form of untold billions) and their oil sales can do for their respective countries. LET'S buy alternative based fueled vehicles for starters!!!!! Just say NO to OIL (let's get behind the auto-makers who are making it feasible to do so).

Your Conservative American brother ;-)

[sttrickalous]

Just say no to oil

Bush certainly deserves some criticism (Mostly for not having a better exit strategy with time-frames before going into Iraq).

The following deserves some reflection by all Americans:

To All Who Should Be Concerned:

Consider the background of some key events in the 90's which led us to our current "battlefield."

What good explations can ever be given for not "eliminating" OBL much sooner?
FACT: We knew he was involved with the USS COLE and the bombings of our embassy in Kenya (overt acts of war). We knew he had cells operating in Somalia and Clinton high-tailed it out of there as soon as he "inherited" a situation he found distasteful. Do any of us need to be reminded of the events depicted in "Black Hawk Down" and the humiliation of our soldiers being dragged dead and naked in Somali streets under Clinton's "military leadership." What was the consequence suffered by those Somali warlords? Oh, that's right, Clinton gave them control over an oppressed population.

How many years did Clinton put up with Sadaam's flagrant disregard for the UN resolutions and Saddam's "death to America" rhetoric (remember the tough guy photo ops with rifle and swords in hand)?

[orlandomary]

WHAT DID THEY KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT,
THAT BIN LADEN WAS DEAD

Do not be fooled. Osama Bin Laden died three years ago in Pakistan from kidney failure. MORE
FULL TEXT
http://cloakanddagger.de/CLOAKANDDAGGER.DE_TOM%20HENEGHAN/cloakanddagger.de_IEAR%20Sept23.htm

(BUSHFRAUD DIVERSION)
Yesterday%u2019s story leaked by U.S. Media that Bush threatened to bomb Pakistan after 9-11 is a diversion from the real story.
The real story is that Musharraf, Pakistani President, knows that Bin Laden is dead and knows where he is buried. And knows that the bogeyman has gone to his maker aka kidney failure, Jan. 2002. MORE
FULL TEXT
http://cloakanddagger.de/CLOAKANDDAGGER.DE_TOM%20HENEGHAN/cloakanddagger.de_IEAR%20Sept22.htm
- - -
"Al Qaeda is nothing more than an extension of the operatus linked to U.S. intelligence that was allowed, by script, to remove itself as a rogue break away entity of the U.S. government; allowed to de-compartmentalize from oversight, and was run instead by Gary Best rogue black ops specialists for scripted activity outside of the U.S. government, with its funding being orchestrated through the Pakistani secret police, an entity of the U.S. government itself." Thomas Heneghan, heroic American Patriot, International Intelligence Expert, Federal Whistleblower
- - -
IF you are not yet aware, be apprised that International Intelligence Expert, Tom Heneghan, has hundreds of highly credible sources inside American and European Intelligence Agencies and INTERPOL

[sttrickalous]

Nester1,

Do you even think of what you say before you write? Consider what you say below: "Every one of the 14,000 prisoners of war we (Americans) have around the world in various prisons without charges are NEW enemies happy to extract revenge."

They were not NEW enemies. You must be able to understand that "prisoners of war" clearly indicates they were already our enemies actively fighting us when put them in prison. Their hatred and status as enemies for US certainly preceded their imprisonment." Please think before you blog as difficult as that may be. Or have liberals totally given up reasonable argumentation? Hate is what leads us to irrationality. Is that where you're coming from?

[shutupmurtha]

And why debate how safe we are? We are clearly safer than before 9/11 on airplanes (air Marshals and security), but the fact is Al Queada is determined to strike this country again to bring praise to Allah and fulfill the mandaites of his prophet Muhamoud who comanded that they kill the infidels. Some Muslims interpret this differently, but the people that want to kill us clearly do it for the objectives I mentioned. Debating wether we are safer would mean that we needed an absolute standard to judge how safe we were before and an absolute standard to judge how safe we are now. If we judge it by the awareness of the government and people we are definitely more aware of the threat than before, and clearly this administration has reacted with a much stronger force than those before him, whether or not you agree with the reaction is debatable, but he did react stronger. We are definitely still at risk as long as our borders are not secure because that is where officials think the next attack will come from.

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/site/modules/news/article.php?storyid=598

[shutupmurtha]

sttrickalous, you said:

"Do you even think of what you say before you write? "

If it is a liberal you are speaking to, I would imagine that they have become used to talking with other liberals, therefore i suspect that the other liberals would agree with anything this person said as long as it attacked bush regardless of the validity. It is part of the group Bush bashing that liberals seem to gravitate to. More and more in the liberal circles, truth is becoming a thing of the past, replaced with conspiracy theories, Right-wing hatred, and name calling that is plentiful in their discussions today.

[shutupmurtha]

sttrickalous, you said:

"Do you even think of what you say before you write? "

If it is a liberal you are speaking to, I would imagine that they have become used to talking with other liberals, therefore i suspect that the other liberals would agree with anything this person said as long as it attacked bush regardless of the validity. It is part of the group Bush bashing that liberals seem to gravitate to. More and more in the liberal circles, truth is becoming a thing of the past, replaced with conspiracy theories, Right-wing hatred, and name calling that is plentiful in their discussions today.

[doctorgraz]

Where are you John Wayne ???? Help the USA in its time of need.

[nonpalindrom]

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, Osama Bin Laden's transformation into Tupac Shakur is almost complete. For all we know he may have died years ago and we may be chasing a ghost who only exists on a pile of tapes that some Al Qaeda flunky releases every so often like that stream of posthumous Tupac albums that never seemed to stop.

[postina-2009]

Whatever will the administration do now that they won't be able to trot out their boogey man in times of ever-dipping approval ratings and mid term elections? According to articles from many sources dated July 6 of this year, the CIA has closed their Bin Laden unit--the mission of which was to hunt for OBL. Hmmmmm

[drgoodwin12]

This is a quote from an ABC article on Bi Laden purported death"In fact, a source tells Debat the report is based solely on an informal conversation between a French diplomat and low-level Saudi diplomat at social function in Islamabad. The French diplomat felt obligated to pass on the details of that chat to headquarters in Paris and it is has since caused quite a stir."And if memory serves me correctly did he not just release a audio tape about two weeks ago.It really does not matter if he is alive or dead,Al Queda has become more like a spider web made up from many different spiders.Recruitment in terror organizations is on the rise partly because of Israel bombardment of Lebanon and Palestine,plus our blundering in Iraq and our failure to finish the job in Afghanistan.The terrorist play on the weakness of the human condition and exploit it to recruit more terrorist.We as a country and the civilized world have failed to launch a counter recruitment policy and as long as we fail to do so there will be more Bin Ladens.

[drgoodwin12]

To OrlandoMary at you obvious have your facts wrong,Read "Against ALL Enemies".I do not support the Bush adminstration invasion into Iraq but I sure do not believe your propaganda.If you wish to attack Bush use facts,sound arguments with solutions.I personally want him impeached.

[hsjamsir-2009]

I am not really sure about that info.
However, it will be hot news.
Just wait and see

[afroburner]

Approval ratings are up 5% over last month.

[tomflint69]

Haaa haaaa haaa heee heeee heeeee
I 100% agree with nonpalindrom.
all ppl please read his comments.

[sharncedar]

This is the Bush clowns worst nightmare. By leaving Osama Bin Laden out there, they were able to keep the hype up about the "Islamo-fascists" and keep their ignorant followers confused about the IRaq war that it was somehow related to Osama Bin Laden. If he is dead, what bogeyman to use to justify outrages and freedom here at home, and the endless war and casualites? As body bags come home, how can they pretend it is about anything more than Bush/Cheney's horrible blunder?

We intelligent people often forget how confused Bush's hypotized followers are about whether Iraq is releated to Osam Bin Laden. The one thing the American Fascist Party (neo-Republicans) don't do is overestimate the attention span or knowledge of their constituents.

Hence why great pains taken to keep OBL alive these 5 years.

[ronniehm]

Well, nothing like proving a theory by stringing together 15 theories that mainly rely on your ability to read minds.

[sfcrdf]

LOL Sounds like a liberal ploy to defuse this as a political hot potato. Seems strange that rumors like this are getting started six weeks before the upcoming election. I expect a lot more rumors and trail ballons in the next six weeks.

[suzanneja]

"We intelligent people..."? Ah, that shows what your mentality really is.

[sfcrdf]

Well SutupMurtha you certainly appear to be right in the middle of all the liberals that I would expect to see here at CBS. I am on your side. If there is any ploy to be had here it is with the liberals as they desperately want Bin Laden out of the mix right now before the November election. Good for you!!

[sfcrdf]

I do hope he IS dead. Maybe then we can focus on some of the other terrorists bent on killing us and we should not forget about the communists like the ones in Cuba and Venzuela who would like to see our country dismantled. All I am saying is that the liberals will want to make political hay out of it because they hate President Bush so much. It is the liberal party in decline and for that I am glad! President Bush has the gumption to stand up and never give in and that is why we are safer. Maybe not safe but safer. Clinton was and is so afraid of his "image" that he tried to lead by consensus - - very dangerous indeed.

[patriotic9]

If we would have got Bin Laden in Tora Bora,we didn't have to waste our time guessing whether he is dead or alive.Why did we send just few thousand troops in Afghanistan where Bin Laden was at that time and sent hundreds of thousands of troops in Iraq which has nothing to do with 9/11.Because according to Radical Christianity,Afghanistan is not the place which has anything to do with second coming of Christ.These Radical christians don't care about US intrest at all but only care about their Radical,backward non sense view which goes against the constitution whcih separates church from state.

[drgoodwin12]

To RonnieMH ,you obviously did not read ShutupMurtha comments or cacth the implied sarcasm in his log on name Shut up Murtha referring to senator Murtha who called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I better slow down and put this in a child language as you obviuosly do not understand ShutupMurtha point about us the United States being safer after 9/11 on airplanes.Is this the part that confused you where he asks if we were safer before 9/11 than we are now.I am a Democrat but not a liberal and ShutupMurtha has at least called for some intelligent dialogue instead of ranting and raving like you do.Still waiting for you to post your transcripts of a 4.0 grade average and your degree.

[pbowie1]

I think he's dead , even though he "resurfaces" every now and again , to prove he was alive you'd think he'd hold up a copy of a recent newspaper or something so we could actually see he's alive.
I'd like to see him killed for what he has done to us and dying of a disease is cop out-personally Id like to see him get his head lopped off like his followers have done to our people.
ps my wife says he's been dead for years but it wouldn't be good for the govt to let us know or thier war would not be sanctioned...

[shameonbush]

I think Bin Laden has been dead for years. I don't think the question should be whether or not he's dead, but why does our government want him to remain a figure still alive? I bet if they found Bin Laden's body, it is thoroughly decomposed. I wonder if they have some of Bin Laden's DNA to compare DNA to in case they find his corpse.

[shameonbush]

Since there is a rumour that Bin Laden is dead, as their was in 2001, then we should be seeing another video of Bin Laden any day now. The Bush regime won't stand for a dead Bin Laden. Oh, the art of computer graphics is amazing isn't it? I wonder if Bin Laden will be wearing the same gold shawl that he has worn for the last 9 years. Amazing how it looks like new all the time, he must have several of the exact same kind in his closet. I'm waiting for the video Mr. Bush, I hope it's more amusing than the last one.

[ronniehm]

No doubt you have a hilarious theory about how George Bush will construct the audio portion of the tape as well. Fooling bin laden's buddies in arabic will be quite a feat, but I heard they did something like that on Star Trek, so it must be possible.

[rd1963-2009]

Death couldn't have come to a better man.

[drgoodwin12]

to RonnieMH my absolute last words to you are,I will not argue with you.It is the equivalent of arguing with someone who listen to way too much Frank Zappa and your thoughts are as weird as Zappa's music.