Elusive Osama bin Laden becomes global commercial trademark
“The last attempt on his life was five years ago”
Jamal Ismail, a journalist with Abu Dhabi TV, interviewed Bin Laden four times (all of the interviews are part of his book Osama, with became a bestseller in the Arab world). The fourth interview took place in February of 2001. The journalist was flown by helicopter to a remote location in the mountains, in Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. According to Jamal, 2001 was the year of CIA’s last attempt on Osama’s life.
“The Americans succeeded in paying off a worker of Osama’s kitchen detail. The guy was a volunteer from Bangladesh,” says Ismail. Well, they didn’t promise him a lot of money – just one million dollars for services rendered. In fact, the official award for the capture of bin Laden was five times bigger at the time. The spooks furnished him with two kinds of poison, thallium and cyanide. He was supposed to sprinkle thallium on Osama’s clothes, but he couldn’t get near his dresser. Two times the killer put the poison into a cup of coffee but bin Laden never drank it. He was fully absorbed in watching his men do some combat training. In desperation, the Bangladeshi emptied a vial of cyanide into the plate full of pita bread. One of the bodyguards was watching him at the very moment. The guy was caught red-handed. Following the attempt, Osama began taking special medications as antidote against the effects of a variety of poisons,” says Ismail.
Jamal Ismail has no doubts that the so-called hunt for bin Laden is just for show. “Is Osama really being hunted? I really doubt it. The CIA should have taken action some ten years ago. Should they capture him, it won’t change a thing. Even folks in Washington have figured it out. Today they’re mostly concerned about a tactic to prevent new bombings of airplanes in London. At the moment they just can’t care less for ways and methods of putting handcuffs on Osama bin Laden,” says Ismail.
The main mosque in the city of Jelalabad draws crowds on Fridays. Osama bin Laden lived in the city for two years after moving to Afghanistan. Eyewitnesses swear that Ghulbeddin Khekmatiar himself visited the mosque twice in recent years. Khekmatiar is one of the warlords who declared jihad or holy war on the American troops. Not unlike bin Laden, he has been wanted for terrorist activities for five years. The reward posted for his capture equals five millions U.S. dollars. He was usually accompanied by twelve bodyguards when he turned up in the mosque. Nobody made a move to arrest him.
“Rumor has it that the Sheikh also visited the mosque a year ago,” says Habibullah with a smile.
“He’s got lots of money, and he always knows whom she should pay to. That’s why he slipped away from Torah Borah, a trap set up by the Americans. He’s rumored to have paid $10 million for his escape. The Pakistani government makes an effort in showing its love and affection for the U.S. However, all the government ministers do understand that a civil war will break out the very moment they let the U.S. troops land onto the “tribal zone.” It’s funny, isn’t it? Lots of people can guess the exact place where they should go and get the Sheikh. At the same time, no one dare lay hands on him,” says Habibullah.
CNN has recently reported that Osama bin Laden was hiding somewhere in Pakistan’s province of Chitral (there were some trees spotted in the footage, they happen to be of a kind that occurs only in the above province). Judging by the footage, bin Laden is not by any means holed up in some cave. On the contrary, his family members and he live in a house, which is watched by two guards only. “The Americans could only catch him by a stroke of luck. However, their chances are nil at the moment,” said one of the sources featured in the report broadcast by CNN.
“The Americans have used a really stupid tactic from the very beginning,” says the French Col. (Ret.) Bob Denar, the most notorious mercenary of the 20th century. “The U.S. sent troops to a country in order to apprehend one man. It’s just like using an elephant for chasing a scorpion. The latter will sting his enemy without taking any risks at all. Back in the 1970s, I’d snatch the presidents of some African countries right from their beds. And it would take me just 40 men to do the job. Nowadays those trigger-happy generals dispatch some 40 thousand troops for the same mission. But the mission is doomed to failure. They’re never going to catch bin Laden anyway. The efforts to capture him are getting weaker as far as I’ concerned. I believe the status quo is okay with both sides. Look, the radical Islamists have their spiritual leader alive and kicking while the Americans have their enemy #1 in their sights. You know, America just can’t do without its enemies,” said Denar.
