Re: Obama: "Osama Bin Laden è morto"

Inviato da  m4x il 3/5/2011 9:05:20

December 26, 2001: Bin Laden Allegedly Dies of Lung Problems

The media reports that Osama bin Laden died of lung problems in the mountains of Tora Bora in mid-December.
The report, which quotes a Taliban leader who allegedly attended bin Laden’s funeral, is originally published in the Pakistan Observer, and then picked up by Fox News. According to the Taliban leader, bin Laden was suffering from a serious lung complication and succumbed to the disease. He also claims bin Laden was laid to rest honorably near where he died and his grave was made as per his Wahabi belief. About 30 close associates of bin Laden, including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members, and some “Taliban friends,” attended the funeral. A volley of bullets was also fired to pay final tribute to him. The Taliban leader claims to have seen bin Laden’s face before the burial and says, “he looked pale… but calm, relaxed, and confident.” When asked where bin Laden was buried, the leader says, “I am sure that like other places in Tora Bora, that particular place too must have vanished.” [Fox News, 12/26/2001]

January 18, 2002: Pakistani President Says Bin Laden Probably Dead

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf says that he thinks Osama bin Laden is most likely dead because he has been unable to get treatment for his kidney disease. “I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a… kidney patient,” says Musharraf in an interview with CNN. According to Musharraf, Pakistan knows bin Laden took two dialysis machines into Afghanistan, and, “One was specifically for his own personal use.” Musharraf adds: “I don’t know if he has been getting all that treatment in Afghanistan now. And the photographs that have been shown of him on television show him extremely weak.… I would give the first priority that he is dead and the second priority that he is alive somewhere in Afghanistan.” However, some US officials are skeptical of this. One senior Bush administration official says Musharraf reached a “reasonable conclusion,” but warns it is only a guess. “We don’t have remains or evidence of his death. So it is a decent and reasonable conclusion—a good guess but it is a guess,” says the official. He adds that US intelligence indicates bin Laden needs dialysis every three days and, “it is fairly obvious that that could be an issue when you are running from place to place, and facing the idea of needing to generate electricity in a mountain hideout.” However, another US official contradicts the reports of bin Laden’s health problems, saying there is “no evidence” the suspected terrorist mastermind has ever suffered kidney failure or required kidney dialysis. The official calls such suggestions a “recurrent rumor.” [CNN, 1/18/2002]

July 18, 2002: FBI Official Says Bin Laden ‘Probably’ Dead

FBI Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism Dale Watson says he thinks Osama bin Laden is “probably” dead. According to the BBC, this is “thought to be the first time a senior US law enforcement official has publicly offered an opinion on whether bin Laden… is dead or alive.” “Is [bin Laden] alive or is he dead?” Watson says at a law enforcement conference in Washington, DC. “I am not really sure of the answer.… I personally think he is probably not with us anymore but I have no evidence to support that.” The BBC will add that “Watson’s comments suggest that the FBI, at least, has no firsthand information that confirms bin Laden is still alive.” However, other US officials tell the Associated Press they are surprised by Watson’s remarks, as the US administration’s official position remains that it does not know where bin Laden is, or whether he is still alive. [BBC, 7/18/2002]

October 6, 2002: Afghan President Says Bin Laden ‘Probably’ Dead, Mullah Omar Still Alive

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says that Osama bin Laden is “probably” dead, but former Taliban leader Mullah Omar is alive. Karzai makes the comments in a CNN interview on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan. “I would come to believe that [bin Laden] probably is dead,” Karzai says. “But still, you never know. He might be alive. Five months ago, six months ago, I was thinking that he was alive. The more we don’t hear of him, and the more time passes, there is the likelihood that he probably is either dead or seriously wounded somewhere.” However, Mullah Omar is alive. “We know of that,” he says. “And we have come close to arresting him several times, but he’s been able to escape.” Karzai adds: “I believe he is most of the time inside Afghanistan. He could go, from time to time, toward our borders, but he stays around the Afghan area, sometimes close to the borders.” [CNN, 10/6/2002]

September 23, 2006: Rumors of Bin Laden’s Death Again Precede Tape Release

Osama bin Laden is again rumored to be dead. The rumor is first sparked by the French newspaper L’Est Republicain, which publishes what it describes as a confidential document from the French intelligence service Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure saying that bin Laden died of typhoid on August 23. The report is apparently based on information from Saudi Arabian intelligence. The issue becomes, as Time magazine puts it, “the question of the day,” but the accuracy of the report is questioned by French President Jacques Chirac, Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Turki, CIA Director Michael Hayden, and others, who all tell the media they think bin Laden may still be alive. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, remarks that leaks can be used for manipulation, saying, “When there are leaks… one can say that [they] were done especially.” [Time, 9/23/2006; MSNBC, 9/24/2006]

March 2009: Professor Publishes Article Arguing Bin Laden Is Dead

Angelo Codevilla, a professor of international relations at Boston University, publishes an article entitled “Osama bin Elvis” in the American Spectator arguing that Osama bin Laden is dead. “All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama bin Laden,” writes Codevilla. He cites as evidence apparent differences in the facial features of people said to be bin Laden in video messages, problems with voice analysis—an independent Swiss facility found a recording the US attributed to bin Laden was not actually by him (see November 29, 2002), clear changes in bin Laden’s rhetoric after 9/11, problems with the “confession” video (see Mid-November 2001), and numerous reports of his death. According to Codevilla, if bin Laden’s death were popularly acknowledged, it would have serious policy ramificiations for the US. [American Spectator, 3/2009]

Before December 8, 2009: CIA Officer Who Hunted Bin Laden Says He Is Dead

A CIA officer who hunted Osama bin Laden after 9/11 says that the al-Qaeda leader must be dead, according to former CIA officer and journalist Robert Baer. The officer adds, “No wonder there’s no intelligence on him.” When Baer asks him about the numerous audio and videotapes that appear to have been released by bin Laden over the past few years, the officer says they easily could have been digitally mastered from old recordings. However, he admits that the CIA has no evidence bin Laden died and his comments are only based on a hunch. Baer will say this theory is not popular in Washington because “it veers off into the realm of conspiracies,” and people are scared that “the moment they air their view, bin Laden will reappear.” Nevertheless, according to Baer: “[I]t’s a real possibility that bin Laden was killed at Tora Bora in late 2001 and is now buried under tons of rock, never to be found. Or that he died of ill health in the intervening years.” [Time, 12/8/2009]

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Dall'articolo di David Ray Griffin "Osama Bin Laden: vivo o morto ?"

Prove testimoniali della morte di bin Laden

Oltre alle prove obiettive, nel 2002 fu resa disponibile una considerevole quantità di testimonianze fornite da persone in posizione tale da sapere che bin Laden era certamente o probabilmente morto. Tra tali persone figurano:

* Il Presidente del Pakistan Musharraf;

* Dale Watson, capo dell’unità anti-terrorismo dell’FBI;

* Oliver North, che disse: “Sono certo che Osama sia morto (…) E ne sono certi anche tutti quelli con cui sono in contatto”;

* Il presidente dell’Afghanistan Hamid Karzai;

* Fonti interne all’intelligence israeliana, secondo cui tutti i nuovi messaggi di bin Laden erano “probabili falsi”;

* Fonti interne all’intelligence pakistana, che “hanno confermato la morte di (…) Osama Bin Laden” e “hanno attribuito il fatto che Washington abbia nascosto la notizia sulla morte di Osama bin Laden al desiderio dei falchi dell’amministrazione americana di usare la questione di al-Qaida e del terrorismo internazionale per invadere l’Iraq”.

Per questa ragione, forse, le notizie sulla morte di bin Laden si interruppero per lo più verso la fine del 2002, quando gli Stati Uniti si stavano preparando all’attacco in Iraq. Da allora ad oggi, il numero di articoli e servizi del genere è diminuito.

Di recente, comunque, due ex funzionari dell’intelligence hanno parlato. Nell’ottobre del 2008, l’ex responsabile del fascicolo CIA Robert Baer, intervistato dalla National Public Radio, ha suggerito en passant che bin Laden non era più tra i vivi. Alla richiesta di ulteriori delucidazioni, Baer ha detto: “Ovvio che è morto”.

Nel marzo del 2009, l’ex funzionario del servizio di intelligence esterno Angelo Codevilla ha pubblicato su American Spectator un articolo intitolato “Osama bin Elvis”. Spiegando il titolo, Codevilla ha scritto: “A sette anni dall’ultima apparizione verificabile di Osama bin Laden tra i vivi, ci sono più prove della presenza tra noi di Elvis che della sua.”

Si tratta di un eccellente articolo con un unico grave difetto. Nel 2007, Benazir Bhutto, intervistata da David Frost, si riferì a Omar Sheikh definendolo “l’uomo che ha assassinato Osama bin Laden”. Codevilla ha citato questa affermazione come ulteriore prova che bin Laden sia morto. Ma la Bhutto si era semplicemente espressa male e in realtà intendeva dire “l’uomo che ha assassinato Daniel Pearl,” che è un modo standard di riferirsi a Omar Sheikh. Il fatto che la Bhutto si fosse sbagliata nel parlare fu dimostrato il giorno seguente, quando ella stessa dichiarò alla CNN: “Non penso che il generale Musharaf sappia personalmente dove sia Osama bin Laden”. Dieci giorni dopo, parlando alla NPR, ella riferì di aver chiesto ad un poliziotto assegnato a guardia della sua casa: “Non dovreste essere alla ricerca di Osama bin Laden?” Ma a parte questo, l’articolo di Codevilla supporta bene le sue affermazioni sulla mancanza di prove che corroborino la diffusa credenza secondo cui bin Laden sia ancora vivo.