OBL Guilty or Not? Wanted or Not?

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/

Islamic militant leader Osama bin Laden, the man the United States considers the prime suspect in last week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, denied any role Sunday in the actions believed to have killed thousands.

In a statement issued to the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera, based in Qatar, bin Laden said, "The U.S. government has consistently blamed me for being behind every occasion its enemies attack it.

"I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks, which seems to have been planned by people for personal reasons," bin Laden's statement said.

"I have been living in the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan and following its leaders' rules. The current leader does not allow me to exercise such operations," bin Laden said.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/OPINION02/606290310/1014

FBI says, ‘No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11'

The Muckraker Report spoke with Rex Tomb, chief of investigative publicity for the FBI. When asked why there is no mention of 9/11 on the Bin Laden's Most Wanted Web page, Tomb said, “The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama Bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.”

Surprised by the ease with which this FBI spokesman made such an astonishing statement, I asked, “How was this possible?” Tomb continued, “bin Laden has not been formally charged in connection to 9/11.” I asked, “How does that work?” Tomb continued, “The FBI gathers evidence. Once evidence is gathered, it is turned over to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice then decides whether it has enough evidence to present to a federal grand jury. In the case of the 1998 United States Embassies being bombed, bin Laden has been formally indicted and charged by a grand jury. He has not been formally indicted and charged in connection with 9/11 because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.”

It shouldn't take long before the full meaning of these FBI statements start to prick your brain and raise your blood pressure. If you think the way I think, in quick order you will be wrestling with a barrage of very powerful questions that must be answered.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D15FC39540C778CDDAE0894DE404482

-The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday. The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the C.I.A.

Now these three stories all make it seem as though Osama bin Laden is not actually being hunted for plotting the attacks on 9/11/01. He denies involvement. The video purported to show him confessing the crime is widely deemed a fake. The FBI says it has no hard evidence connecting him to the attacks, even though they could easily fabricate it. The CIA supposedly shut down the unit "hunting" for him (of course that doesn't preclude another unit opening up.)

So what does that tell us about Osama bin Laden? Once a CIA operative and valued member of a powerful Saudi family with connection to U.S. leaders and dealmakers, but now public enemy #1 to the West (simply due to artful propaganda) and a hero in the Middle East (probably due to the same reasons.)

I guess we'll never know and his story will go down like that of Lee Harvey Oswald or John Hinkley. He's either an evil terrorist, a sontrived boogeyman, or a patsy. we report, you decide?