Quick survey.... dead or alive?

I'm leaning much more towards dead given the lack of communication from bin Laden lately.  It's been a good while since we last heard from him, and it seems almost too long not to have heard something.

If he's not dead, then he has certainly been very quiet, which leads me to believe he's having a heck of a time trusting people around him enough to send anyone out with any communication.

Well apparently we don't care anymore anyways.

Well apparently we don't care anymore anyways.

I've noticed that too TW, which is part of the inspiration for the question.

Actually, that, and hearing a little of Daryl Worley on Sirius's New Country station while riding home from the ball game and shopping.  Worley had done the song 'Have you forgotten?' and it was a big hit for him (#1 for 7 weeks in a row).  It included lines about 'Don't you tell me not to worry about bin Laden' and it had me thinking that I haven't heard anything about or from him via the news in a while.

As you said, it does seem that we must not care anymore.

He's been dead since at least 2002 according to some Pakistani press.

i'll go with alive, if nothing more than a gut feeling. there is evidence to support either argument, so, i'll go with my gut.

Your gut is wrong.

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

6 ft 2 muslim in the desert on a dialysis machine since 1997?

Dead.

you know, stranger things have happened. my gut says alive also, and like sean, i got nothing. you may find it strange that i'm out of the loop on this, but it's true. my gut says it would be a bigger deal if he had died.

my gut says it would be a bigger deal if he had died.

That's part of what has me wondering too, but then again there had been lots of talk that if he was killed it would turn him into a martyr and create many more people ready to do his dirty work, so.... it's entirely possible that if he is dead and anyone has evidence of same they've kept it quiet because they are worried that the news of his death would cause more trouble from his followers than the celebrations from his detractors are worth.

Maybe he just died without being killed, like Deference alluded to. That would be bad for both sides, I think, so we haven't heard about it.

in an interview published by 'time' magazine on 6/19/05, then newly appointed cia director porter goss was asked when bin laden was gonna be apprehended. goss replied by saying bla bla bla we're making very good progress bla bla bla.

asked if that meant goss had an idea where bin laden was, goss answered: "I have an excellent idea where he is. What's the next question?"

soooo...is/was he more securely tethered to reality than bush/cheney/rice/gates/etc? (i initially phrased that question 'is he more or less securely tethered...' but modified it due to the impossibility of his being the latter.)

during an appearance on 'larry king live' broadcast earlier that same week, vp (but not necessarily member of the executive branch) dick cheney predicted victory in iraq by 2009 because:

"The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."

when asked by 'time' if he concurred with cheney, goss said: "I think they're not quite in the last throes, but I think they are very close to it. And I think that every day that goes by in Iraq where they have their own government and it's moving forward reinforces just how radical (the insurgents) are and how unwanted they are."

while smilies have their place, this is one of those times a sound effect would be much more useful. 'coo coo' 'coo coo' is exactly what's needed here.

I opined over a year ago that he was dead.  Mostly due to the lack of tapes from him (Video I can understand - but audio?).