OBL Claimed To Be Alive

There have been no US confirmed sightings of Osama bin Laden (OBL) since December 2001. That's when he escaped Coalition and Afghan Forces in the Tora Bora Region of Eastern Afghanistan. The fact that he is Alive and Well comes from Mansour Dadullah, whose brother, Mullah, was a top Taliban Commander. Mullah was killed last year, and Mansour's statement is found in an article printed in West Australian Newspapers Limited (Bin Laden is alive).

“He is extremely healthy and active,” Mansour Dadullah said, according to the video’s English-language subtitles. The clip was dated June 15, according to reports.

Mansour claims that bin Laden contacted him directly. Osama bin Laden, if he really is still alive, is in the rugged, mountainous area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border. Bin Laden has released several audio and video tapes since he was last seen, and there is at least a $25 Million bounty for his capture.

There remains speculation from others that Osama bin Laden is dead.

“There’s a very high percentage chance” that bin Laden is dead, Will Geddes, managing director of the London-based International Corporate Protection security company, said in a telephone interview today.

Even if bin Laden is alive, it may not be a “massive blow” to the US, Geddes said.

As a tactical target in the Global War on Terror, OBL is not that important. But for Strategic reasons, OBL is a very important target.

“Al-Qaeda is no longer one man leading an international army. The organization has become a “generic umbrella name,” he [Geddes] said.

For the time being, we still have no reliable report about the health of Osama bin Laden. There are now, and have been for some time, conflicting opinions about his condition.

According to reports in September, Saudi Arabian intelligence officials believe Saudi-born bin Laden died from a fever in a remote region of Pakistan.

The French newspaper cited a report from France’s DGSE external intelligence agency. Saudi Arabia and Western governments, including France and the US, cast doubt on the report.

Things haven't changed much since December 2001. We Still Don't know for sure.