# How was it established that the dead person was Ben Laden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485 "2011-05-02T16:11:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/1 "2011-05-02T16:11:44Z")
I read the top stories at [nytimes.com](http://nytimes.com) and [washingtonpost.com](http://washingtonpost.com) and scanned through Google news and I cannot find how they determined that the dead person was Ben Laden. No mention of photographs, fingerprints, DNA, expert witnesses. Just that they followed a trail and shot someone, identified him as Ben Laden and buried him at sea. Even CSI would have devoted a significant part of an hour to identification. Do you have a link? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/2 "2011-05-02T16:19:26Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > No mention of photographs, fingerprints, DNA In the top story on Yahoo news they are saying DNA testing “and other means” were used to confirm the identity. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/3 "2011-05-02T16:20:17Z")
Funny, every story I’ve seen mentions that they’ve compared his DNA to a sample from his sister. [google search for bin laden DNA](http://www.google.com/search?q=bin+laden+dna&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/4 "2011-05-02T16:20:37Z")
No link, but I read somewhere that Osama had a sister that died in Boston. Apparently they saved her DNA for just this purpose. Don’t think the tests have been completed yet. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/5 "2011-05-02T16:32:47Z")
[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/05/02/ap\_sources\_dna\_testing\_proves\_bin\_laden\_death/](http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/05/02/ap_sources_dna_testing_proves_bin_laden_death/) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON—After the firefight that killed Osama bin Laden, the U.S. used “multiple methods” to positively identify his remains, according to a senior Pentagon official who personally saw a photograph of the corpse. > > The official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, declined to specify the methods of identification, but two Obama administration officials said DNA evidence confirmed the death. > > The officials claimed the DNA evidence provides a match with 99.9 percent confidence. > > The officials did not immediately say where or how the testing was done but the test explains why President Barack Obama was confident to announce the death to the world Sunday night. Obama provided no details on the identification process. > > The U.S. is believed to have collected DNA samples from bin Laden family members in the years since the 9/11 attacks that triggered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. It was unclear whether the U.S. also had fingerprints or some other means to identify the body on site. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/6 "2011-05-02T16:35:30Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > they determined that the dead person was Ben Laden. He was really Obi Wan Laden. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/7 "2011-05-02T16:46:16Z")
NBC news this morning was saying that DNA testing had not yet been completed. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/8 "2011-05-02T16:55:21Z")
From the CNN blog: \*A U.S. official disputed reports that bin Laden had altered his appearance to avoid recognition. The official said Bin Laden was recognizable on scene. He was “not transformed somehow.” A visual ID was made, there were photo comparisons and other facial recognition used to identify him, the official said. A second official said that in addition to DNA there was full biometric analysis of facial and body features. \* ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/9 "2011-05-02T17:09:01Z")
I found a ‘how to’ at [Scientific American: How Do You ID a Dead Osama?](http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=how-do-you-id-a-dead-osama-anyway-2011-05-02) but nothing on what in fact has been done. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/10 "2011-05-02T17:19:11Z")
I’m looking for an Obi-Wan Laden. Is he a relative of Ben Laden? Do you know who I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/11 "2011-05-02T17:59:47Z")
Meh. It was written in the script. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/12 "2011-05-02T18:02:25Z")
MSNBC, 1100 hours PDT, says the identification was done with DNA ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/13 "2011-05-02T18:05:21Z")
Whew, thank goodness. Could have been a little embarassing otherwise. Whoops! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/14 "2011-05-02T18:21:14Z")
It was also reported that he was identified by one of his wives at the scene. Sorry, no link, I’m on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/15 "2011-05-02T18:33:46Z")
[The AP article](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110502/ap_on_re_us/us_bin_laden_dna;_ylt=AmLV27AdXW2ybkNG8HVxNOl34T0D;_ylu=X3oDMTJobzZiMDc3BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNTAyL3VzX2Jpbl9sYWRlbl9kbmEEY3BvcwMyBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2Fwc291cmNlc3VzdQ--) ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/16 "2011-05-02T18:34:15Z")
They used DNA and computer recognition to positively identify him. Virtually every website in the world has posted this information. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/17 "2011-05-02T19:17:17Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I’m looking for an Obi-Wan Laden. Is he a relative of Ben Laden? Do you know who I’m talking about? > [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > Meh. It was written in the script. This also explains why the SF killed him. From reports I’ve read–Osama shot first. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/18 "2011-05-03T08:42:01Z")
Let’s also remember that Bin Laden was 6’6" tall. Not too many men are that size. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/19 "2011-05-03T14:49:14Z")
I was reading a report (spin, maybe) that there’ll be a mass-denial of his death by radical Muslims (and perhaps Republicans) unless an official photo of his corpse is released. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485/20 "2011-05-03T14:50:55Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > I found a ‘how to’ at [Scientific American: How Do You ID a Dead Osama?](http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=how-do-you-id-a-dead-osama-anyway-2011-05-02) but nothing on what in fact has been done. How do you ID a dead Osama? How do you ID a dead Osama? How do you ID a dead Osama? Ear-lie in the morning? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-it-established-that-the-dead-person-was-ben-laden/580485.md?page=2)