Osama Died Of Typhoid Fever In August?

The AP adds this to the rumor mill - the French intelligence report is authentic but the content has not been verified:

The French defense ministry on Saturday called for an internal investigation of the leak of an intelligence document 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 daily newspaper for the Lorraine region in eastern France printed what it described as a confidential document 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.

The contents of the document, 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 document could risk punishment.

Document exists but cannot be confirmed
Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau, clarifying the statement, said that the DGSE document 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.

The Ace of Spades has good coverage, including an excellent "I Question The Timing" analysis.  Dems who have been fearing an "October Surprise" can be excused a bit of non-surprise now.

And yes, we went through a similar exercise in 2004 - TNR worried about a "July Surprise" where Bush would disrupt Kerry's convention by announcing the capture of Osama or another High Value Target.  It's hard to believe that the NY Times took the notion seriously enough to prepare a front page, just in case.

POINT TO PONDER:  The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.  Osama being considered to be dead works well for Bush, Musharaff, and Osama.

MORE:  TIME magazine has a Saudi source with a similar story:

                                Fugitive al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, believed to be on the run in rugged terrain in the Afghan-Pakistani border region since the September 11 attacks five years ago, has become seriously ill and may have already died, a Saudi source tells TIME, echoing earlier reports in the French media.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Saudi officials have received multiple credible reports over the last several weeks that Bin Laden has been suffering from a water-borne illness. The source believes that there is a "high probability" that Bin Laden has already died from the disease, but stressed that Saudi officials have thus far received no concrete evidence of Bin Laden's death.

"This is not a rumor," says the source. "He is very ill. He got a water-related sickness and it could be terminal. There are a lot of serious facts about things that have actually happened. There is a lot to it. But we don't have any concrete information to say that he is dead."

And here is some info about typhoid.  let's clip this:

Mexico and South America are the most common areas for U.S.       citizens to contract typhoid fever. India, Pakistan and Egypt are also       known high risk areas for developing this disease.

Apparently typhoid is common enough in Pakistam that drug-resistant starins have developed - here are papers from 1996 and 2002.

Comments

[Semanticleo]

Since you referenced the promised Rovian 'October Surprise' I thought it would be appropriate for your team to mitigate the
provocative and dangerous rumblings of a blockade in the Gulf. The only surprise will be if this typical shallow and ham-handed
move doesn't lead to the loss of a majority
of US troops in Iraq. Any defense of this
idiocy will be regarded as 'hating the troops'.

[lurker]

Well, we'll see. Need to see DNA proof before we'll see it.

The forever negative ali-cleown, nah, it won't happen. Looking back into the 19th century history, which you intentionally chose to ignore, anything like a provacative and dangerous rumblings of a blockade in the Gulf can happen but only from the Islamofascists.

Other than that, whatever we are doing won't lead to the loss of a majority of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Besides, it'll be a good "October surprise" or "so what?"

[lurker]

Osama bin Laden Dead? by Reihl World with more details.

And Ace of Spades - unconfirmed.

Waiting for confirmation.

[Mike G]

If true-- and I doubt we'll ever know, I also doubt this is the last time we'll hear this sort of report-- it is at least fitting that having achieved the primitive world for himself that he hoped to bring to all of us, he died of one of its diseases, one that is easily prevented and/or cured thanks to the inventions of the decadent modern world-- and, often as not, the inventions of Jewish doctors.

[lurker]

AJStrata raised the possibility of a connection with 100 Talibans attending a funeral (a public funeral, which could be held at a later time).

Maybe. Maybe not.

Still need confirmation!

[Other Tom]

I remember the provocative and dangerous rumblings about George H. W. Bush being strapped into a Mach 2 fighter and flown over to cut a deal ensuring that the embassy hostages wouldn't be released until after Reagan won the election.

More recently, there have been provocative and dangerous rumblings about the 22 indictments that Fitzgerald was going to announce last year. And still more recently, the provocative and dangerous rumblings about Rove being secretly indicted on May 13, with the indictment remaining under seal while he spills his guts about Cheney.

Where do these loons come up with this stuff? (Tradesports GOP house majority now at 58.5--I suspect some of the despairing moonbats are bidding it up.)

[jerry]

I've been sitting here trying to decide if I'd rather know that UBL is dead or learn what Fitzgerald has learned in his investigation... I think the Fitzgerald news would be much more interesting.

[Sue]

How appropriate, if true. The great warrior dying of something so unwarriorly as typhoid. Does he still get his 72 virgins?

[lurker]

Sue, and the dems and leftwingers will blame it all on Bush!

Tehehehe!!

Perhaps that was well-planned? To force OBL and Zawahiri into 7th century living conditions and leave them alone to die on their own?

I read this morning that Waziristan is turning into a AQ training ground. Well, we forced AQ into fewer places so we just knock one place down one at a time.

[Cecil Turner]

The only surprise will be if this typical shallow and ham-handed move doesn't lead to the loss of a majority of US troops in Iraq.

From what? An enteric epidemic?

[Syl]

Our intelligence guys say there hasn't been any chatter, or any posting on the 'net and these guys like to stay ahead of the news cycle.

Osama already had sworn his bodyguards to kill him if he was in danger of capture. You'd think he would also have a plan for how to deal with his death. Especially since I'm sure previous rumors had gotten back to him.

It's possible he swore them all to secrecy so the world wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing but the Saudis had a guy keeping an eye on him. Or whatever.

Or he's in a cave laughing.

One of my quiet fears has been that we'd all think Osama was dead, and he'd show up in D.C. at the Mall with a nuke and go out as a glorious mushroom martyr.

Well, we'll see. Can't prove a negative and if we never get access to a body, we'll just have to wait for the next tape.

[Pofarmer]

I think the Fitzgerald news would be much more interesting.

I don't think you can handle that much dissapointment at once.

[lurker]

Profarmer, I was thinking that since Fitz ended up with nothing in his investigation, the Fitz news would be boring.

[Cecil Turner]

Or he's in a cave laughing.

Entirely too possible. I remember in 1986 when the North Koreans announced Kim Il Sung's death over loud speakers in the DMZ, apparently to discredit the ROK (who eventually confirmed his death), and later trotted him out for a public appearance. I'd be real leery of a repeat, especially if we're basing this on a third- or fourth-hand account in a regional French newspaper.

[Syl]

It's kinda sad. There's a certain class of moonbats (and not even all moonbats) who cannot allow themselves to be happy at the possibility that Osama is really really dead.

I mean, there goes their 'Where's Osama?' talking point.

[Rick Ballard]

If he is dead I wonder who will provide future talking points for the Dem leadership? Come to think of it, his demise may explain the Dems inability to come up with a coherent strategy concerning the up coming election. That's a big turban for the Dems to fill.

[Syl]

I'd be real leery of a repeat, especially if we're basing this on a third- or fourth-hand account in a regional French newspaper.

Yeah. There was a photocopy of the document with the article I think. The French aren't saying it's fake.

But the document doesn't say the info came directly from Saudi secret service, but from a usually reliable (need exact description) source who said the Saudi's are convinced he died, though they haven't confirmed it.

We haven't a clue where the Saudi secret service got ITs info.

[cathyf]

It's been suggested that this is bait in order to cause an OsamaMedia production team to make a tape in time for the elections and seal republican control of congress.

I think that all the tapes we've seen over the last 2-3 years are fakes. That Kerry commercial from 2 years ago? That was some old video dubbed over with an Osama sound-alike with a new message. With a full beard, as long as you use video where the camera is far enough away you can't tell if his lips are moving along with the words or not.

The best evidence is the utterly fatuous and incoherent content of the "Osama" messages over the last few years. The guy was a brilliant theologian with a well-crafted message centered around muslim theology. So he suddenly turns into a mumbling robot parotting disjoint incoherent far-left talking points?

Maybe the kidney failure has caused brain damage. Being on the run has probably caused him to not get his dialysis on time on multiple occasions.

[Syl]

Sources and methods.

The French are peeved and said they're going to investigate the leak.

Now we know the French have infiltrated the Saudi Secret Service.

Bet the Saudi's are pissed off.

That's the problem with leaks. They tend to piss off your allies, not your enemies.

[002 - VRWC]

I can unofficially tell you all, speaking on a condition of anonymity because I have not been officially told that I can realeas anything to the blogosphere due to sensitive nature of the details, that even if the reports of OBL death are fake but accurate, nobody cares.

Also off the record, I can't officially confirm that I recently made a trip to the mountainous region along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. I'm not allowed to tell you that I was sent by 001, blowgun and dart in my backpack, to infect a certain person responsible for attacks on the US. And finally I can't tell you how it was timed specifically to come out just before the election.

Remember - you never saw or heard from me. I'm like the wind......

[Sue]

I'm like the wind......

I wonder, are you also like the sea?

[SteveMG]

Maybe the kidney failure has caused brain damage. Being on the run has probably caused him to not get his dialysis on time on multiple occasions.

According to Lawrence Wright (The Looming Tower, a brilliant work), OBL doesn't (didn't?) suffer from kidney failure. (Link)

If I had my druthers, I'd be more satisfied, right now, knowing that Zawahiri was captured/killed/dead than OBL.

And he's not (wasn't?) 6'5 or 6'4. He's about 6'0/6'1.

SMG

[Pofarmer]

Profarmer, I was thinking that since Fitz ended up with nothing in his investigation, the Fitz news would be boring.

That's kinda what I mean. I envision opening up the manilla envelope and finding just pages and pages of doodles.;)

[Bob]

Gotta love that Rove... what a prankster!

I betcha Bill Clinton never "tried" to contaminate OBL's drinking water with typhoid!...

[Jane]

Well the best evidence that OBL is dead or dying is that he didn't come out with a video to celebrate the 5th anniversary of 911. His last one was with that American kid looking for volunteers as I recall.

You know the dems base this entire GWOT on OBL - as if getting him will end it. What will they say when it makes no difference at all?

Gee let me answer my own question: If we had had gotten OBL earlier, the war on terror would have been won. Because we didn't it grew. Blah blah blah.

[Cecil Turner]

Remember - you never saw or heard from me. I'm like the wind......

Heh, my hero:

"You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me."

[002 - VRWC]

Dang it CT - you weren't supposed to know...

[Neo]

Osama being considered to be dead works well for Bush, Musharaff, and Osama.

It doesn't take much of an imagination to believe that any scenario where Osama, alive or dead, not in US hands is good for Bush, Musharaff, and Usama.

Additionally, with Usama dead, Democrats score a net plus as Ms. Pelosi won't be out there asking "why Osama is still on the loose ?".

[clarice]

cathyf, I'm with you. Those tapes are fakes. Now, I'm not saying Rove did them...BUT..(LOL)

[clarice]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1538569,00.html?cnn=yes

"The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Saudi officials have received multiple credible reports over the last several weeks that Bin Laden has been suffering from a water-borne illness. The source believes that there is a "high probability" that Bin Laden has already died from the disease, but stressed that Saudi officials have thus far received no concrete evidence of Bin Laden's death.

"This is not a rumor," says the source. "He is very ill. He got a water-related sickness and it could be terminal. There are a lot of serious facts about things that have actually happened. There is a lot to it. But we don't have any concrete information to say that he is dead."

[verner]

Hey, check out the NRO corner. Byron York is a lurker.

[Bob]

Just read somewhere... God knows if I could remember, but that last weeks funeral with the 190 Taliban may have been for OBL.

Add to that Musharraf's joke yesterday about OBL, and I think this may all be true!

[clarice]

Jane, you can't make up what their response would be, you're too samrt.

Remember the Beers-Kerry line was that instead of going into Iraq we should have put more troops into Afghanistan to root him out.
Of course, he was by that time in Pakistan and putting our troops in Afghanistan and Waziristan (had we been able to do that) would have instantly destroyed our considerable technological advantage. Any doofus with a 100 year old blunderbus has an equal chance of picking off an American soldier in a god forsaken Wadi in which there is no way to hide.

[Patton]

Remember when the press claimed they'd never trust those intelligence guys again?

[Patton]

"""You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding S. Typhi or if sewage contaminated with S. Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where handwashing is less frequent and water is likely to be contaminated with sewage. """

To be fair, it was Rove that told Osama to "Eat SH-T and DIE!. So, Rove got him!

[jerrry]

Maybe it's true and the Frenchies are trying to preempt Karl's October Surprise, there's something people could agree with.

[Jane]

Well Fox News is entertaining the idea albeit with skepticism. I'm a fan of the idea of OBL going out with a whimper not a bang. All and all he's just a wus with a cave full of money and a heart full of hate.

[boris]

October Surprise

This term has always been laced with projection. How many remember that Carter was planning to get the Iranian hostages released in October but Reagan behested GHW (alleged by moobats of the era) to fly in and thwart Jimmah's scheme.

IOW the evil Republican's October Suprise was actually preventing Carter's October Suprise. lol

[Sue]

Wow, via Ace the DUers are even crazier than I thought they were.

[MogolHorde(or is that legion?)!!!!]

The Devil. Lucifer, Satan.

The devil seems a waste of time unless one considers the dreaming and seeing(with eyes closed and hearing the past and future). Lucifer seems to be the answer here. So, like Jesus, we all relive our lives and go to another existence; which is the same as the previous existence. Satan? He seems to be avoding all this and that may be why we are not humans anymore, so where is he so we can set him straight?

Bin Laden, like most, probably will just cease to exist. It's normal now to avoid any further type of damning(existence), even though some would rather continue to exist in hell(another existence)than cease to exist-Lucifer worshippers. Bin Laden has probably happily ceased knowing he did the 'right thing' considering where he was or may be again, although I doubt it. Not that he was very wealthy and was treated very badly, got mad, got even, and has financed these nuts for generations.

Typhoid fever?

Patton: Global ban on US Spinach from human feces contamination................

[Sara (Squiggler)]

I've heard several say that the funeral where we didn't bomb the Taliban leaders is bad timing for it to have be bin Laden, others not so sure. My first thought was, "oh that explains it!" thinking that we didn't want to drop a bomb in the middle of all that and risk turning the dead person's body into dust. But, if the timing is off, then that theory sort of goes out the window.

Somewhere last week in my blogosphere surfing I read a report of the deterioration of the quality of the speeches attributed to bin Laden in the last few we've received. They speculated that bin Laden had died awhile back and someone else has been writing the scripts.

I do agree that not to have heard a word from him on the 5 year anniversary is probably one of the biggest signs he is no longer alive or too sick to care.

[Sue]

Our intelligence is telling everyone to slow down, take a deep breath. I think it is another one of those rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated moments.

[patch]

He's not dead until we have a body; or it's the year 2101 and we haven't found the body.

[patch]

He's not dead until we have a body; or it's the year 2101 and we haven't found the body.

[Thomas Morrissey]

Grand Unified Moonbat Theory.

Having spent a great deal of time with Osama, Dick Cheney knew of his fondness for spinach.

Knowing as well that if ever captured, Osama would reveal he was in fact on W's Crawford Ranch,sharecropping,before and after 911,and Nancy Pelosi and Valerie Plame, wearing catsuits,had infiltrated Pakistan and were close to capturing him.

To prevent his capture, or running as a write in Democrat candidiate in a close House election, the NeoCons poisoned the world spinach supply, killing him.

It's simple.

[Semanticleo]

The Tonkin Incident was a minor prophet to the Granddaddy of all ClusterF***s; the October blockade of Iran.

The current witches brew is
brought to you by the producers of "Iraq;
1st course in the feast of vultures". They
seek to protect us from mad bombers by placing a stick of TNT up our collective asses. But you go ahead and keep cheering them on 'cause they're 'doin somthin'.
Just make sure your asses aren't in Iraq when the hammer descends. All will be right with the world, 'cause we showed them islamofascists what we're made of.

With friends like these, who needs terrorists?

[Bob]

So septic leo, why did Bill Clinton even "try", if there was nothing to worry about.

What was the 1993 bombing of the WTC... looked like a stick up our asses to me. And what did your philanderer in chief do... nothing!

The Khobar Towers... another stick up da butt and nothing.

2 North African Embassies... nothing

USS Cole... yup nothing.

Thank God he wasn't president for 12 years!

Go drown yourself in you cut and paste prose.

[Nies]

Osama would skip the five year thing. It's old news and he knew about it long before Plame. I think he would have been nice about it; but it was Plame........

[Thomas Morrissey]

Bob,

What you call perfidy is actual confirmation of the Pimp's extreme courage.

Khobar towers, he bravely ignore it,

The Embasssy Bombings,bravely ignored,

1997 declaration of War on us by A.Q, bravely ignored,

The USS Cole, bravely ignored once again.

You cowardly Neo-Cons, trying to frighten people with terrorism, why can't you find the courage to ignore those who want to kill us?

[boris]

Cleo's a sad sad clown today. Cry baby cry, your pouty tantrums and delusional despair are a joy to behold.