# Iran: bin Laden has "most likely" fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 16, 2001, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767 "2001-11-16T17:48:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/1 "2001-11-16T17:48:07Z")
This story is on the Reuters news service. [Bin Laden May Have Fled to Pakistan --Iran Radio](http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=CVPREVC4RWPKYCRBAEKSFEYKEEARMIWD?type=topnews&StoryID=380838) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/2 "2001-11-16T17:56:40Z")
[http://www.asia.reuters.com/news\_article.jhtml;jsessionid=JYE3MPDEER4TICRBAELCFEYKEEARKIWD?type=topnews&StoryID=380898](http://www.asia.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=JYE3MPDEER4TICRBAELCFEYKEEARKIWD?type=topnews&StoryID=380898) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/3 "2001-11-16T17:59:59Z")
Er, sorry about that: I’ll just paste the story here. The little emoticon face that appeared there was purely accidental. ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Islamabad on Friday dismissed as “preposterous and mischievous” an Iranian radio report that Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden had probably fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan. “It seems to be an attempt to create turmoil and confusion,” the military government’s top spokesman, Major General Rashid Qureshi, told Reuters. “That is preposterous and mischievous.” State-run Iran radio quoted an unnamed “informed source” as saying that the millionaire militant, prime suspect in the September 11 attacks on the United States, had probably fled for his life across the border near the remote and inaccessible region of Tirah in northwestern Pakistan. “Osama bin Laden has most likely abandoned Afghanistan for the Manatiq-e-Azad (free areas) of Pakistan to save his life,” the report quoted the unidentified source as saying. Manatiq-e-Azad is a semi-autonomous tribal region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/4 "2001-11-16T18:00:51Z")
I had trouble posting that damn link, too. Try turning off smilies. It took me a while to get it. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/5 "2001-11-16T18:02:56Z")
Well, there goes out the window all of the Drudge Report’s credibility in posting timely and accurate links! 😃 (That’s where I saw the story.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/6 "2001-11-16T18:06:25Z")
Yeah but the Pakistani’s would deny wouldn’t they? The last thing they’d want is this coming up from there back door into their back-facing sun room. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/7 "2001-11-16T18:11:43Z")
Then again, as a mate of mine just said, Pakistan would hand him straight in as they’re only in this for the massive 1bn bribe that Bush is offering. So he’d have to be a bit desperate. But who else would have him? (well, I would if it meant I could turncoat on him and claim the cash!) ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/8 "2001-11-16T19:02:09Z")
No matter what the ultimate fate of OBL is, I’m sure there will be many urban legends and conspiracy theories that something else ‘actually’ happened to him. Like people who thought Hilter escaped to S. America. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-bin-laden-has-most-likely-fled-from-afghanistan-to-pakistan/93767/9 "2001-11-16T19:21:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by curious george \* > \*\* Like people who thought Hilter escaped to S. America. \*\* i swear i saw him tooling around in the back of a mercedes in Sao Paulo in 1984!