The Pakistan Observer has the following article. For what it's worth.

[size=4]Osama has died a natural death[/size=4]
by Tariq Saeed

PESHAWAR—Much dreaded Osama bin Ladin, the man on the top of the US list of most wanted men, had a peaceful natural death in mid-December in the vicinity of famous Tora Bora mountains, a Taliban leader who attended funeral of the Al-Qaeda leader confided to Pakistan Observer.

“The Coalition troops are engaged in a mad search operation but they would never be able to fulfil their cherished goal of getting Osama alive or dead”, the source added while referring to intensive operation launched by US and British troops to “smoke Osama out”.

Late Osama bin Ladin, according to the source, was suffering from some serious lungs complication and succumbed to the disease for lack of proper treatment. The source claimed that OBL was laid to rest honourably in his last abode and his grave was levelled even as per his Wahabi belief.

About thirty close associates of OBL in Al-Qaeda including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members and some “Taliban friends” attended the funeral rites. A volley of bullets were also fired to pay final tributes to the “great leader”. The Taliban source who claims to have seen Osama’s face before burial said “he looked pale and freak but calm, relaxed and confident”.

Asked whether Osama had any feelings of remorse before death, the source vehemently said “No”. Instead, he said, Osama was proud that he succeeded in his mission of igniting awareness amongst Muslims about hegemonistic designs and conspiracies of “pagans” against Islam. Osama, he said, held the view that the sacrifice of a few hundred people in Afghanistan was nothing as those who laid their lives in creating an atmosphere of resistance will be adequately rewarded by Almighty Allah.

When asked where are his last remains buried, the source said “I am sure that like other places in Tora Bora, that particular place too must have vanished”.

See article at: [url]
http://pakobserver.com/december/25/front/fnews07.shtml[/url]

Eric The(Thanks,ButWe'llStillKeepLooking)Hun[>]:)]

Here's another link to the same story, this time by the New York Times: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/26/international/asia/26LADE.html?ex=1009947600&en=6ad10afaba0221c6&ei=5038&partner=ASAHI[/url]

[size=4]High-Level Murmurings That bin Laden Is Dead[/size=4]
By JOHN F. BURNS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 25 — As the hunt for Osama bin Laden continues on both sides of the border between Afghanistan's Tora Bora district and the adjacent tribal regions of Pakistan, a succession of speculative and unsubstantiated reports have surfaced suggesting that the Qaeda leader may already be dead as a result of American bombing or even illness.

Over the last three days, the suggestion has come from Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, from Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the American military commander for Afghanistan, and from Kenton Keith, the spokesman here for the antiterror campaign — as well as in today's issue of a Pakistani newspaper, The Pakistan Observer.

In the case of President Musharraf, General Franks and Mr. Keith, the statements were conjecture, based on the intensity of the bombings at Tora Bora, not on any tangible evidence of Mr. bin Laden's death.

Only The Pakistan Observer went further, with a front-page report under an Islamabad dateline that quoted an unnamed Taliban leader as saying that Mr. bin Laden "had a peaceful natural death in mid-December in the vicinity" of the Tora Bora mountains. The report said that his death was the result of a "serious lung complication."

"He was laid to rest honorably in his last abode" in a grave prepared according to the beliefs of the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect of Islam to which the Qaeda leader belonged, the report said.

Since Sept. 11, Pakistan's newspapers have rarely failed to produce a daily menu of reports claiming exclusive knowledge of events relating to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Mr. bin Laden. Many of these accounts have later proved to be exaggerated, wrong or even invented. At the same time, some of the better-known newspapers here have broken major stories ahead of American and European newspapers covering the war, often on the basis of briefings from high-ranking Pakistani intelligence officials.

A former Pakistani government official familiar with The Pakistan Observer said the newspaper has close ties with Inter- Services Intelligence, or I.S.I., the country's principal military intelligence agency. The agency backed the Taliban from 1994, when their Islamic hard-liners first emerged as a force, until Pakistan officially abandoned them after Sept. 11.

The former government official said that the paper could have been provided information about Mr. bin Laden by the intelligence agency, but he cautioned that this might only mean that Taliban supporters in I.S.I. wanted to mislead the United States into thinking that Mr. bin Laden might be dead in order to confuse efforts to track him down.

- continued -

The Pakistan Observer's account included details on what purports to be Mr. bin Laden's funeral, but no specifics on where it occurred, or when, nor any information about the Taliban official who was the paper's supposed source. Nor did the article offer added information about Mr. bin Laden's alleged illness.

"About 30 close associates of Osama bin Laden in Al Qaeda including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members and some `Taliban friends' attended the funeral rites," the paper said. "A volley of bullets was also fired to pay final tributes to the `great leader.' "

Last Friday, in an interview recorded by Chinese television during an official visit to China, General Musharraf raised the possibility that Mr. bin Laden could be dead in one of the caves and bunkers at Tora Bora.

The complex was heavily bombed by B-52's after American intelligence officials concluded that a large group of Al Qaeda fighters had retreated to the region, and that hideouts there dating to the guerrilla struggle against Soviet troops in the 1980's were an opportune place for Mr. bin Laden to take cover.

After most of the caves were overrun by Afghan fighters belonging to anti-Taliban forces, large numbers of Al Qaeda fighters were captured or found dead, but still no trace of Mr. bin Laden. The hunt has now extended to include United States marines, and across snowbound mountain passes into Pakistan, where General Musharraf has deployed several thousand Pakistani troops to close off the passes and conduct village-to-village searches.

"He's not in Pakistan, of that we are reasonably sure," the Pakistani leader said. "But we can't be 100 percent sure."

He added: "Maybe he is dead because of all the operations that have been conducted, the bombardment of all the caves. There is a great possibility that he may have lost his life there."

Over the weekend, General Franks, commander of the American campaign in Afghanistan, told reporters that his forces had no idea where Mr. bin Laden was. "He can be in Tora Bora or in that area dead, he can be somewhere else in Afghanistan and still alive, or perhaps he may have gotten into Pakistan," he said.

On Monday, Mr. Keith, the American spokesman in Islamabad, also speculated that Mr. bin Laden could have been killed in the Tora Bora bombing. "It's quite possible," he said. "If he had been affected by that bombing campaign, I don't think it would have surprised anyone."

Eric The(Yeah,WellKeepLooking)Hun[>]:)]

Sure, he just 'happened' to be buried in a cave that the American forces 'bombed' into rubble [rolleyes]

I often have trouble believing US media - these people are worse.  Probably more lies.  

I would prefer his head on a plate for all to see but so long as he is dead I can't really complain!

Coincident - coincidences - coincidental timing.
Bullshit.

This is actually a distinct possibility since we basically bombed [b]every[/b] cave in the region that we could see. I really don't see why the news makes such a big deal over someone saying that Osama was possibly killed in one of the caves by the bombing. You would have to be a complete moron to think otherwise.

The facts are, Osama was in the area at one point in time. We bombed the shit out of the whole place day and night for weeks, trying to kill anybody that we could. Now, many caves have been completely destroyed and sealed off, and some may never be accessible again without mining and tunneling. Osama, along with scores of other lesser known Taliban fighters, are nowhere to be found anywhere.

With the above facts I think it may be reasonable to say that Osama was killed in this last campaign and may [b]never[/b] be found, either because there isn't anything left or his body is sealed in a cave that we cannot access. Then again, he may pop up in Pakistan next week after setting off nukes in downtown LA. This has a good possibility of turning into a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. If Osama is not found in the next few weeks/months, how long do we continue seaching the rubble or caves or secluded valleys or whatever? We could waste millions of dollars looking for someone who has been blown to smitherines, or we might quit too early and he pops up again after killing a few thousand more Americans. I think we are starting to get in a pretty sticky situation, if he doesn't show up again soon (dead or alive), and the leadership is starting to understand this as well.

Guess we'll just have to see how it all pans out.

Pawneeboy,
it's the "natural death" and the perfect timing of that gives me problems.

Follow the insulin.

Do you suppose Osama bin Ladin's "suffering from some serious lungs complication" was as a result of infection caused by some "natural" M855?


[-=(_)=-]

Maybe its an attempt at making him look like some Islamic martyr.......I have my doubts on the authenticity of the story........I don't trust the media anyway......interesting though

It's been said that the devil's greatest accomplishment was in convincing us that he did not exist.   OTOH, Osama, et al, have neve shown that much ingenuity.

Well the first "video from the dead" surfaced today...

[b]This guy is gonna turn out to be the Elvis of Islam[/b]

ROTFLMAO [:D]
Attention ladies and gentleman, Osama has left the cave.

BTW this guy wont be dead untill i see Pics of local pesants throwing rocks at his corpse. Or i see crowds of the faithfull tearing him apart at his public funeral like the shaw back in the 80's

I think many Middle Easterners would rather UBL die from 'natural causes', like they way you would 'naturally' die if you got shot by another Middle Easterner. The alternative is to die un-naturally by being shot/bombed by an American.

Better to be killed by one of your own than by the enemy...

"Dead Man Walking"

Soon to be if not yet.

Latest reports have Bin Laden being spotted in Argentina at a night club with Jimmy Hoffa, Elvis, and an aging Adolf Hitler........................................................Bin Laden purportedly has cut his hair, shaved his beard, and is wearing a Blink-182 T-shirt...........