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You are here: Home / Politics / War on Terror / War on Terror aka GSAVE® / Osama’s Narrow Escape

Osama’s Narrow Escape

by John Cole|  September 4, 200510:17 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: War on Terror aka GSAVE®

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How close was it for Osama? This close:

PREVIOUSLY unseen footage of Osama Bin Laden taken by a CIA spy drone reveals how close the Americans came to killing the Al-Qaeda leader two years before the September 11 attacks.

The pictures were filmed by a Predator unmanned aircraft and show Bin Laden, in white robes, with a small group of followers at a training camp near Khost in eastern Afghanistan at the end of 1999. The drone was one of the first to be used in Afghanistan by the CIA, but because of bureaucratic wrangles it was unarmed.

The pictures, thought to be the first spy plane footage of Bin Laden to be published, have been obtained from American sources by Al-Jazeera, the Arabic language television station. “We had no doubt over his identity. Bin Laden can clearly be seen standing out from the rest of the group next to the buildings,” said Michael Scheuer, a former CIA officer who headed Alec Station, the agency’s unit which tracked Bin Laden during the 1990s.

I can’t help but think he is dead by now. Wouldn’t we have heard from him.

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16Comments

  1. 1.

    Pb

    September 4, 2005 at 10:20 am

    Is this honestly the first you’ve heard of this? Because I know I heard about it years ago… during the run-up to the election or perhaps before.

    As for whether or not Osama’s dead… I think he was dead, is dead, and will continue to be dead until just before the next US election when another videotape is mysteriously released with someone who the CIA says must be Osama bin Laden… He’s the gift that keeps on giving, dead or alive.

  2. 2.

    ppGaz

    September 4, 2005 at 10:22 am

    As for whether or not Osama’s dead… I think he was dead, is dead, and will continue to be dead until just before the next US election when another videotape is mysteriously released with someone who the CIA says must be Osama bin Laden… He’s the gift that keeps on giving, dead or alive.

    LOL! Excellent, good work.

  3. 3.

    John Cole

    September 4, 2005 at 10:27 am

    No. Read the link- there appear to be new details.

  4. 4.

    Pb

    September 4, 2005 at 10:31 am

    Drone may have spotted bin Laden in 2000 – CIA to investigate leak of tape to media
    From David Ensor
    CNN
    Wednesday, March 17, 2004

  5. 5.

    Jane Finch

    September 4, 2005 at 11:26 am

    Who knows if he’s dead? OBL has shown in the past that he will wait years between activities. As for public communications, America continues to be so jittery that he doesn’t have to do a thing, and his continuing silence contributes to those jitters.

  6. 6.

    Zifnab

    September 4, 2005 at 11:31 am

    The big kicker is that it’s been his lieutenant doing all the talking in front of the cameras. Usually, when Bin Laden wanted to threaten someone, he did it on camera himself. But he hasn’t been filmed in what? years? This dude has never been camera shy. There was talk of Bin Laden suffering kidney failure back on Afganistan, and frankly I think it’s reasonable to believe he kicked the bucket possibly even before the ’04 election.

  7. 7.

    Sojourner

    September 4, 2005 at 12:03 pm

    But he hasn’t been filmed in what? years?

    Audio in October 2004.

  8. 8.

    Northman

    September 4, 2005 at 12:56 pm

    Audio in October 2004.

    Video actually, and he was looking quite healthy at the time.

    I’m convinced he is still alive. There has been no major announcements from the US military about getting close to him or his senior advisors for some time, unless my memory fails me. I doubt they would keep that secret given the President’s falling poll numbers.

    I don’t think he’s doing much at the moment, merely staying off the radar screen and watching events unfold. That he hasn’t been heard of for awhile doesn’t mean much, unfortunately.

  9. 9.

    jobiuspublius

    September 4, 2005 at 2:22 pm

    Maybe he retired.

  10. 10.

    Mark

    September 4, 2005 at 3:05 pm

    I don’t like Al-Jazeera’s anti-American slant, but if it’s getting scoops like this, I think we can all agree that it’s adding something valuable to the world media landscape.

  11. 11.

    Geoduck

    September 4, 2005 at 3:37 pm

    I agree with two points stated above: He looked quite well during his last TV appearance, so you have to assume he’s still out there. And why should he attack us, either verbally or physically? Up til now, we’ve been doing everything he could possibly want us to. Saddam’s gone, our army’s bogged down, we’re piling up mountains of debt, and those that don’t hate us at least distrust us.

    Now that Katrina’s hit, though.. I’d be especially on the alert for something.

  12. 12.

    Boronx

    September 4, 2005 at 3:49 pm

    Now that Katrina’s hit, though.. I’d be especially on the alert for something.

    Yup, Osama like a “Double Whammy”, as our ,ah, president might put it.

    In anycase, I always thought that it’s disgusting how parts of our government will rush to claim this or that is really Zarqawi or bin Laden if doing so suits there purpose, while they are justifiably cautious if it does not.

    “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is the operative sentiment. These two terrorists are friends of the US government and get free propaganda whenever their names can be used as clubs to beat down critics of prevailing policy.

  13. 13.

    Sojourner

    September 4, 2005 at 6:33 pm

    Bush is doing exactly what Bin Laden wanted him to do. There’s no reason for him to make an appearance. He just needed to drop by to help his boy get elected.

  14. 14.

    Gary Farber

    September 4, 2005 at 7:59 pm

    “Wouldn’t we have heard from him.”

    Um, we have, several times, each time verified by the CIA, or so it’s reported. Doesn’t stop endless people from repeating what you say here, though.

  15. 15.

    Gary Farber

    September 4, 2005 at 8:00 pm

    “…there appear to be new details.”

    The only thing new in this story that I saw when I read it the other day was the fact that Pakistan was publicizing it. It really all is several years old stuff, written about in any number of books by now.

  16. 16.

    Anderson

    September 5, 2005 at 1:22 pm

    Really weird how so many of y’all have forgotten the October Surprise video by Osama.

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