bin Laden Bodyguards Captured? He's Probably Dead.

Interesting article. I am guessing the guy is dead. Funny how this comes out today after the article from the London paper.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/30/binladen.son/index.html

 

Here's the text:

Sources: Bodyguard capture may mean bin Laden died
July 30, 2002 Posted: 12:36 PM EDT (1636 GMT)



Some U.S. officials say they believe Osama bin Laden is dead.


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From Kelli Arena and Barbara Starr
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The reported capture of members of Osama bin Laden's security detail suggest the al Qaeda leader is probably dead, sources say.

U.S. officials said some members of bin Laden's security detail are among the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Sources said they believe it's likely bin Laden died if his bodyguards were captured away from him.

The sources would not say when the guards were taken into custody.

It's the latest evidence suggesting the al Qaeda leader may have died in the U.S.-led military action to purge the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. Such evidence appears to have convinced some high-level U.S. officials that bin Laden is dead.


But sources Tuesday underscored there is not enough proof to draw a firm conclusion about bin Laden's fate, including anything to suggest he remains alive.

U.S. intelligence officials also are speculating about the status of Osama bin Laden's 21-year-old son, saying Tuesday that while they believe he is active in al Qaeda, they see nothing to suggest directly that he has taken on a more senior role.

They described Saad bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader's third eldest son, as a facilitator "making arrangements and introductions," and one intelligence official said, "He causes money to move around."

Officials underscore that they do not believe he has been designated the heir apparent or has taken control of al Qaeda, as some British-based Arab newspapers, including Asharq Al-Awsat, have suggested.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said that six to eight senior al Qaeda officials could still run the organization even if bin Laden were dead.

Nevertheless, the United States has high interest in capturing Saad bin Laden, in part because it is believed he would know whether his father is dead.

Officials tracking communications that could be linked to the group said Tuesday that they have picked up a fair amount of "chatter" in recent weeks, including intercepts of phone calls and e-mails between al Qaeda members.

Some of the intercepts contain messages regarding the movement of money and planning of future attacks. U.S. intelligence sources said they believe that some messages may be bogus, part of an al Qaeda effort to deceive the United States.

Despite that possibility, sources maintain that some level of threat remains.

 

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(By the way, that's a direct quote from a bumper sticker)