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© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
at least put up a link.
France probes report of bin Laden's death
Unconfirmed report says Saudi convinced terror chief died in Pakistan
INTERACTIVE
Updated: 40 minutes ago
PARIS - The French defense ministry on Saturday called for an internal investigation of the leak of an intelligence do ent that raises the possibility that Osama bin Laden may have died of typhoid in Pakistan a month ago but said the report of the death remained unverified.
“The information defused this morning by the l’Est Republicain newspaper concerning the possible death of Osama bin Laden cannot be confirmed,” a Defense Ministry statement said.
The daily newspaper for the Lorraine region in eastern France printed what it described as a confidential do ent from the French foreign intelligence service DGSE citing an uncorroborated report from Saudi secret services that the leader of the al-Qaida terror network had died.
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The contents of the do ent, dated Sept. 21, or Thursday, were not confirmed by French or other intelligence sources. However, the DGSE transmitted the note to President Jacques Chirac and other officials, the newspaper said.
Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie “has demanded an investigation be carried out of this leak,” a ministry statement said, adding that transmission of the confidential do ent could risk punishment.
Do ent exists but cannot be confirmed
Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau, clarifying the statement, said that the DGSE do ent exists but that its contents — that bin Laden is allegedly dead — cannot be confirmed.
The DGSE, or Direction Generale des Services Exterieurs, indicated that its information came from a single source.
“According to a reliable source, Saudi security services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead,” said the intelligence report.
There have been periodic reports of bin Laden’s illness or death in recent years but none has been proven accurate.
Saudi Arabia reportedly pursuing details
According to this do ent, Saudi security services were pursuing further details, notably the place of his burial.
“The chief of al-Qaida was a victim of a severe typhoid crisis while in Pakistan on August 23, 2006,” the do ent says. His geographic isolation meant that medical assistance was impossible, the French report said, adding that his lower limbs were allegedly paralyzed. On Sept. 4, Saudi security services had their first information on bin Laden’s alleged death, the unconfirmed do ent reported.
In Pakistan, a senior official of that country’s top spy agency, the ISI or Directorate of Inter-Service Intelligence, said he had no information to confirm bin Laden’s whereabouts or that he might be dead. The official said he believed the report could be fabricated. The official was not authorized to speak publicly on the topic and spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. Embassy officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan also said they could not confirm the French report.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
at least put up a link.
September 23, 2006
Experts: Bin Laden Death Might Explain U.N. Sulfur Smell
by Scott Ott
(2006-09-23) — United Nations authorities are probing a possible link between reports that al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden died recently and the peculiar sulfur smell which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he detected while speaking to the U.N. General Assembly this week.
Mr. Chavez attributed the aroma to the recent appearance at the podium of “the devil,” a term of endearment for U.S. President George Bush, but chemical experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it now seems more likely that “someone split wide open recently, permitting the noxious fumes to escape.”
A French publication, L’Est Republicain, today quoted a leaked secret service memo dated September 21 which indicated that Saudi sources believe Mr. Bin Laden died in Pakistan on August 23 of typhoid fever.
An unnamed journalism expert said the fact that the Bin Laden death report was leaked should provide sufficient evidence of its reliability, but the involvement of France and Saudi Arabia make it “a slam dunk.”
As the rumor that Usama Bin Laden is dead spread worldwide, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began gearing up to provide massive disaster relief in the so-called ‘blue states’ where FEMA expects members of the Democrat party will be hardest hit.
Good enough for an October surprise.
Its...the...French.
If they had good intel, they wouldn't have been steamrolled TWICE by the Germans.
Well, actually they were just steamrolled once by the GermansIts...the...French.
If they had good intel, they wouldn't have been steamrolled TWICE by the Germans.
Wow. What timing. Gas is down a dollar a gallon from a month ago and Bin Laden is magically now deceased. Times are GRRRRREEEEEEEEAAAAATT!!
Heh, don't forget the time or two where Germans were steamrolled by the French.
(yes the germans got their hats handed to them a few times by the French, look it up.)
Ok, that was funny. Good political satire.
Bin Laden dead of typhoid.
Man that Bush guy really lived up to his promise to bring him in dead or alive.
It wasn't good intel, special forces ops, jor allies cooperating with us that got him, it was bad drinking water.
If true, this would be the best ending. He doesn't get to be a martyr to the cause, going out with a gun in his hand, he just pooped himself to death. HA!
Bin Laden dead of typhoid.
Man that Bush guy really lived up to his promise to bring him in dead or alive.
But, RG, if he kicked, he never got a chance to follow up 9/11 - he was marginialized and isolated the rest of his days.
True that.
If any of this is true; why was Osama bin Laden isolated and even in a position to contract typhoid?
Because this administration was pursuing him relentlessly and he had to resort to cowering in dank caves and taking whatever he could to try and survive without being detected and terminated.
I'd say that he died of typhoid is a direct result of President Bush's determination and relentless pursuit.
But, that's all only if he's dead or if he actually died of Typhoid in August and hasn't already been dead for awhile.
That is worth mentioning. He IS dead because he was forced into sheltering in a part of the world with little medical infrastructure and poor drinking water.
Crediting Bush with this is a bit spurious though. ANY administration would have done the same, and arguably could have done more.
Although if the strategy was to marginalize him by precisely doing nothing and letting him die of natural causes, THAT would have been a brilliant one. Anybody really see Bush coming up with that one? Me neither.
From what I have heard, Osama's kidneys were failing him for a while before this. If he isn't really dead, that will be what gets him sooner or later.
If we wanted to play "six degrees of bin Laden", I will betcha I could link YOU with Osama...
Disclaimer: the following is a fallacious strawman argument that has nothing to do with anything other than having fun with conspiracy theorists.
Elvis and Osama bin Laden: Never seen together. Coincidence? I think not.
Zero credibility, ABC News traces back the Osama dead rumor...
The Story Behind the OBL Death Story
ABC NewsThe now-denied reports that Osama bin Laden was dead grew out of a rumor passed at an embassy party in Islamabad by a Saudi diplomat attaché, according to intelligence sources in France and Pakistan.
The sources say Saudi Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad, Abdullah Zahani, told a French defense attaché of the rumors. The French attaché reportedly felt duty bound to pass on the rumors, in a cable sent with the lowest possible classification normally used to pass on media reports.
A French newspaper apparently obtained the cable and the report on Saturday touched off an international, day-long media panic over bin Laden’s possible demise.
French and Pakistani officials say the Saudis are spending millions of dollars to obtain information in Pakistan from local clerics, journalists, politicians and militants who either have or claim to have contacts in the Al Qaeda community in Pakistan.
Oh great, he's dead.
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