But Benazir Bhutto said Ben Laden was already dead.....

[Alameda]

Doesn't anyone remember her talking about how he was murdered by Omar Shieikh?

"In a November 2, 2007 interview, less than two months before she would be assassinated, Benazir Bhutto was asked by reporter David Frost of Al-Jazeera English about a letter that she had sent to Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf. The letter outlined who she believed should be investigated in the event of her assassination. While giving her answer, she listed as one of the suspects a "key figure in security... a former military officer in Pakistan" who had dealings with, among others, "Omar Sheikh, the man who murdered Osama bin-Laden."

http://littlecountrylost.blogspot.com/2008/01/benazir-bhutto-omar-shiekh-murdered.html

edited to correct spelling of Benazir's name

[valerief]

1. Whether OBL was murdered recently or years ago doesn't matter.

How would we know one way or the other? The US is stating he's now dead. What does that mean for us? An end to the War on Terror or an escalation?

[Old and In the Way]

2. Lets hope that Obama uses this as a catalyst to completely

change our military engagement in the ME. It's well beyond time for us to get out of Afghanistan. This event allows him to use the prestige gained to drive a major change in our foreign policy.

[valerief]

5. That's what I'm hoping, but there are a lot of pigs at the Treasury trough.

They don't want to lose their WAR profits. That's the real war.

[mod mom]

10. I'm hoping this is a precursor to ending the war.

[Hannah Bell]

3. i remember.

[Solomon]

20. It was debunked. By right wing people at that.

She was talking about someone else and said Osama by a slip of the tongue.

If that doesn't satisfy you, then she was wrong. Simple as that.

[Incitatus]

4. She was way off on that one. nt

[WinkyDink]

15. She was pretty prescient of her own fate, no? She KNEW things.

[fujiyama]

6. There seemed to be a lot of confusion

Musharraf said the same thing but he was not at all trustworthy.

And maybe Butto's own intelligence was flawed. I'm guessing any "confirmation" Butto received was not done by taking DNA samples. After all, dudes with long beards in that region isn't exactly rare. But his height is fairly uncommon.

Who knows. There will be conspiracy theories floating around for years. And even DNA tests will not be convincing for many.

[Ikonoklast]

7. Lots of ISI and high-ranking Pakistani military were sympathetic to OBL.

I'm fairly certain they wanted to throw anyone off his tracks if they could; they are complicit in helping hide a murderer.

[cbdo2007]

8. Reports are that Osama tried to have Bhutto assassinated multiple times before they succeeded.

[Bucky]

9. I think she meant "dead to her" as in he was off her Christmas card list.

[Canuckistanian]

11. She had been "out of the loop" for decades

She couldn't possibly have had the latest intelligence. She was despised by the current Pakistani government.

I wouldn't be surprised if she was fed that line to discredit her.

[WinkyDink]

16. And yet you speak as if with authority.

[malaise]

12. I believed her

and always wondered why that interview was never carried in the US.
Who knows what to believe.

[TBF]

14. I believed her as well -

but she could've been fed bad information. Or we could be hearing the bad information now - who knows. Presumably they will release some sort of evidence to prove his demise (the burial at sea story is too convenient without evidence). I suppose they'll sort it out in the history books.

[Poboy]

13. Ah, an actual thread of sanity, amongst all the propaganda.

[Alameda]

18. Thanks.... :-) we are in crazy times

You know, I have had a few friends with diabetes who on dialysis, the thought of them doing even a fraction of what OBL was supposed to have been doing, I must say is pretty amazing. Anyone I have known on dialysis has been totally wiped out after treatment, they need it at least 3 times a week....the thought that he could have led such an active life is fantastic. Let's remember, according to reports, he has been on dialysis for over 10 years.

As for Benazir, she sure seemed to have known quite a bit, she had a very large and extensive network.

[CJCRANE]

17. She probably misspoke, she probably meant Daniel Pearl. nt

[Taverner]

19. Makes me wonder if they kept his body on ice, and then "caught" him

One thing that struck me as strange, is that reporters said the usual Jihadi sites were quiet yesterday. Usually when an al Queda member was caught, there was usually all kinds of talk, interviews with eyewitnesses, folks who were in the neighborhood when it happened, etc.

Even still, now is as good of a time as any. I wouldn't fault Obama for this - perhaps it took this long to negotiate for the body?

[seabeyond]

21. lookin like she was wrong. nt