# Osama dead? Cite please Mr. Watson! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 17, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466 "2002-07-17T19:58:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/1 "2002-07-17T19:58:00Z")
[Salon: FBI boss thinks bin Laden is dead](http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/07/17/laden_dead/index.html) > [@](#): > > \*\*Watson, speaking at a conference of law enforcement officials at a downtown hotel, quickly emphasized that he had no evidence that bin Laden was dead, but his comments suggest that the FBI has no intelligence that proves bin Laden is alive. > > “Is (bin Laden) alive or is he dead?,” Watson said. “I am not really sure of the answer…I personally think he is probably not with us anymore but I have no evidence to support that.”\*\* Is this just me, or are Watson’s comments extraordinarily irresponsible? The chief of counterterrorism at one of the most powerful information-gathering organizations in the world stating (with a complete lack of evidence) that the man who most of America hates vehemently is a big deal, but only because it speaks volumes about the political pressure he must be under from the Administration. That’s an extraordinary statement to make, considering the import many people seem to place upon it. “_We can’t prove he’s alive, so he must be dead!_” Ridiculous. I smell a mouthpiece. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/2 "2002-07-17T20:03:04Z")
I think it’s a scam to make Usama make another video, so we can get something to work on to find him again. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/3 "2002-07-17T20:20:03Z")
My understanding is that the reason most of the intelligence community thinks he is still alive is that in monitoring the communication of those who would know if he died, they have found no reference to it, as they would have expected had he died. Furthermore, Mullah Omar is almost certainly alive - no reason to think he is dead - and there’s been no sighting of him either. So there’s no compelling reason to think OBL must be dead either. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/4 "2002-07-17T20:25:18Z")
[Amir Taheri](http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/11/opinion/11TAHE.html) makes a good case for bin Laden being dead, based on his ego and recent silence. Like anyone else, though, including Watson, he’s only discussing probabilities. His intriguing further discussion is about how it’s not all that important, since “bin Ladenism” is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/5 "2002-07-17T20:58:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\*His intriguing further discussion is about how it’s not all that important, since “bin Ladenism” is dead. \*\* I agree that the reality is that Osama’s current state of existence has little real import. Nevertheless, it has a lot of _political_ weight, in America and elsewhere, and it seems irresponsible to me for a supposed government authority to make such an ill-supported statement. A lack of evidence doesn’t support any conclusion well, positive or negative. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/6 "2002-07-17T21:09:15Z")
I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt and state that maybe they’re trying to throw al-Qaeda off in regards to how good our intelligence is. Unfortunately, the Bush administration is through getting the benefit of the doubt from me. I didn’t vote for them, but I was willing to support my country’s President. Now, uh-uh. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2002, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/7 "2002-07-17T21:50:21Z")
Clearly, [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_122.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_122.html) , he’s both alive and dead. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/8 "2002-07-18T06:15:20Z")
Osama is dead. This plot of his is inspired partly by Stephen King’s _Running Man_. If there is no new video of him sent to al-Jazeera by 6pm Qatar time, then he has to be dead, following the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Dragline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@Dragline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragline)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/9 "2002-07-18T14:24:53Z")
I still think he’s room temperature and the US government knows it. Just think of the advantages of leaving him in the current state of limbo, though. This way, the military gets to barge into whatever country or region with the excuse “We heard Osama was around here, somewhere.” Also, leaving him in this quasi-dead state prevents the building of a legendary martyr, ala Che Guevera. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/10 "2002-07-18T17:42:37Z")
I think he’s dead for two reasons: (1) all he has to do to infuriate America further is be in a short, short video holding up today’s newspaper. Wouldn’t he jump at the chance to taunt the Great Satan? (2) All of a sudden, Bush is hot to go after Saddam Hussein. What happened to “we will not rest until OBL has been brought to justice”? Oh that’s right, it’s no longer a priority. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-dead-cite-please-mr-watson/119466/11 "2002-07-18T18:00:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > **All of a sudden, Bush is hot to go after Saddam Hussein. What happened to “we will not rest until OBL has been brought to justice”? Oh that’s right, it’s no longer a priority.** **Or** … our people can’t find bin Laden and Bush is playing the political game of focusing on a target that he actually has a chance of hitting. His promises to “get” bin Laden have proven to be beyond his reach, so now he’s ignoring them. _shrugs_ Doesn’t surprise me much. That’s happened to an awful lot of Bush promises. Doesn’t mean bin Laden’s dead, either.