Osama bin Laden

Us?mah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin L?din (born March 10, 1957) ({{lang-ar|????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????}}), commonly known as Osama bin Laden, or Usama bin Laden, ({{lang-ar|أسامة بن لادن}}), is the founder of al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist network that has been involved in attacks against civilians and military targets around the world. He and his organization are widely believed to be responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001 on New York City and Washington, D.C. which killed at least 2,752 people.

Whereabouts

After the September 11 attacks, the United States asked the Taliban government of Afghanistan to "hand him over." The Taliban counter-offer to try bin Laden in an Islamic court or extradite him to a third-party country was deemed unacceptable by the U.S. government. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan resulted in the death or arrest of many members of his organization, as well as many civilians (estimates range from thousands to 49,000), but bin Laden was not found.

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There had been suggestions that bin Laden was killed or fatally injured during U.S. bombardments, most notably near Tora Bora, or that he may have died of natural causes. The U.S. military had reported that bin Laden suffered from a kidney disorder requiring him to have access to advanced medical facilities, possibly kidney dialysis. Ayman al-Zawahiri, also an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist, is a physician and may have provided medical care to bin Laden.

Related Topics:
Tora Bora - Kidney dialysis

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Bin Laden was rumored in the Pakistani press to have died in 2001 of pulmonary complications incident to catastrophic kidney failure in the absence of available hygienic dialysis. His death was speculated on by the Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/01/18/gen.musharraf.binladen/ and by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/10/06/karzai.binladen/. This speculation was later undercut by newly released videos of bin Laden, alive and referring to current events such as the 2004 U.S. Presidential election.

Related Topics:
Pakistan - Pervez Musharraf - Hamid Karzai - 2004 U.S. Presidential election

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Although he has been publicly disowned by his family, an estranged family member, Carmen Binladin, speculates (without providing evidence) that unnamed family members may be providing financial support to bin Laden. The corporate website of The Saudi Binladin Group's (a family-owned company), www.saudi-binladin-group.com, expired on September 11, 2001, the same day as the attacks in the United States.

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A Spanish court indicted bin Laden and 34 others on charges related to terrorism on September 17, 2003.

Related Topics:
Spanish - September 17 - 2003

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Rumors about his whereabouts have appeared from time to time since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan but none have been confirmed.

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On October 21, 2004, John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission, reported that bin Laden was indeed alive, and that the Pentagon knew exactly where he was. According to Lehman, bin Laden was living in South Waziristan in the Toba Kakar Mountains of the Baluchistan region in Pakistan, surviving from donations from outside countries such as the United Arab Emirates and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia. "There is an American presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops," Lehman said. "If we did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot afford that right now" http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/44654.php.

Related Topics:
October 21 - 2004 - John Lehman - 9/11 Commission - The Pentagon - Waziristan - Toba Kakar Mountains - Baluchistan - United Arab Emirates - Vietnam

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On October 29, 2004, the Arab television network Al Jazeera broadcast a video tape of bin Laden addressing citizens of the United States, discussing the reasons behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.b This release came just four days before the 2004 U.S. presidential election. In the video bin Laden gave a carefully crafted speech in which he repeatedly insulted U.S. President George W. Bush but appeared to hedge his bets on the election outcome, remarking that "your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush..." Both U.S. presidential candidates Bush and John Kerry had roundly condemned bin Laden, his ideas and his objectives, including an immediate removal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. See 2004 bin Laden video. On September 23, 2005, he was believed by Pakastani officials to be on the Afghan-Pakastani border. He is said to have been keeping a low profile, with as little as ten men guarding him.

Related Topics:
October 29 - 2004 - Al Jazeera - United States - September 11, 2001 - 2004 U.S. presidential election - George W. Bush - John Kerry - 2004 bin Laden video

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