No Word On Bin Laden - Mullah OmarSo. Did we get him? Is he in some blown-in cave in Tora Bora, reduced to bones that worms won't even touch? Is he buried in some unmarked grave, dead of typhoid? Did he die from kidney failure?PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Taliban chief Mullah Omar has added to the mystery over Osama bin Laden, saying he hasn’t seen his ally and fellow fugitive since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001.
“No, I have neither seen him, nor have I made any effort to do so, but I pray for his health and safety,” Omar said in an e-mailed response to questions sent by Reuters.
The questions were relayed to Omar through his spokesman, Mohammad Hanif, and a reply was received late Wednesday.
I've often wondered at how quiet he's been. After Tora Bora he kept a REAL low profile (maybe 6 feet under?) but still...
No videotapes, except a couple that couldn't be identified as to date. Audiotapes - but anyone with a laptop and a few hours of his audiotapes (and aparently the man was something of a televangelist when it came to distributing his speechs via CD and cassette) could cut & splice out a ten to fifteen minute message. Record it to audiotape, and you had a 'new' message from Osama.
So now Mullah Omar says he hasn't seen him since 2001. That's... interesting.
(It could also explain why Bush has dismissed Osama as a threat. He may still be a tripping hazard from scattered bones, but that's about it.)
J.