Is Osama bin Laden Dead? Are bin Laden Tapes Fakes?

AP is reporting this morning, "Al-Jazeera on Thursday broadcast portions of an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offering a possible truce to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.....

There was no immediate confirmation of the tape's authenticity, although the voice resembled that of bin Laden's in previous messages.

It has been more than a year since the last confirmed message from bin Laden... Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Sheik would not comment on when or where the tape was received. He said the full tape was 10 minutes long. The station aired four excerpts with what it "considered newsworthy," he said, but would not say what was on the remainder. Al-Sheik said the tape seemed to have been made 'recently' but would not say what led him to that conclusion."
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Ever notice how threatening Osama bin Laden tapes coincidentally emerge exactly when President George Bush most desperately needs to shore up his support? At The Moderate Voice, veteran journalist Joe Gandelman snarks, "The tape also indicates bin Laden (if it is him) follows the U.S. opinion polls."

Remember when a fear-inducing bin Laden tape suddenly appeared mere days before the November 2004 elections? Many believe that tape created last-minute momentum for Bush at a time when the polls reported that he could lose the election.

This week, the Bush Administration is reeling like never before under the weight of Jack Abramoff's bribery and corruption revelations about Republican leadership in DC; with Congressional hearings slated to start in 4-days on Bush's warrantless spying on Americans; and after the brilliant speech given Monday by Al Gore, in which he flatly declared...

"...the President of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently. A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government....Once violated, the rule of law is in danger. Unless stopped, lawlessness grows. "

A new terror-inducing tape from Osama bin Laden would be enormously helpful politically right now to the Bush Administration. And conveniently, one appeared today.

I reported here in late November 2005 that Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had been told that day, presumably by US intelligence, that bin Laden"may have died in the earthquake that they had in Pakistan. " If Mr. Reid revealed this to the public, then he must have believed with great certainty.

In fact, many world leaders and their intelligence agencies believe that Osama bin Laden is dead, and has been for quite a while...long before the November 2004 elections.

Is bin Laden dead? I have no idea. Are these fear-inducing "purported" bin Laden tapes fakes? Again I have no earthly idea. But I do know...and we all know...that this Bush Administration is dishonest, wholly untrustworthy and will stoop to unknown depths to achieve their goals and hold on to political power.

And I heartily agree with blogger PW at top community blog TPMCafe when he observed in late 2005, " If Bush really wanted bin Laden, he'd have him by now." Of course he would.

For your perusal, listed below are links to stories and musings over the past few years on the fascinating political question, "Is Osama bin Laden dead?":

Senator Harry Reid Told Osama bin Laden Killed in Pakistan Earthquake
Intelligence Sources Confirm bin Laden Is Dead
Australian Expert Says Bin Laden Could Be Dead
India Daily: Osama Bin in Pak-Occupied Kashmir in Massive Earthquake?
National Review: Iranians Believe bin Laden Is Dead
CNN: Pakistan's Leader Thinks bin Laden Is Dead
CNN: Karzai: bin Laden is Probably Dead
BBC News: FBI Counter-Terrorism Chief Thinks bin Laden Probably Dead
National Review Online: Bin Laden Dead? a Chinese Report Says So
Blogger The Peking Duck: "Osama bin Laden Is Dead"
Osama bin Laden - A Dead Nemesis Perpetuated by the US Government

And then there's blogger AW Griffith Of Oklahoma, who writes today "This fear-mongering administration will do just about anything to get the American people frightened by the decomposed corpse of Osama bin Laden. Look, people, Osama is dead.....When poll numbers go down, the administration is forced to ramp up the terror by gettin' us all scared again. It's ridiculous. Don't fall prey to this blatant psy-ops by our government."
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