Could it be that we just use his name as public enemy number one? Every time you’ll hear his name it instills fear. Is there a possibilty that he couldn’t even be a person? Perhaps “it” is just something that we’re supposed to fear to distract our attention from the REAL issues?
Well, he is extremely rich and has a lot of power in Afghanistan. He talks and people listen, he is quite the figurehead. If he believes in this Jihad so much, why doesn’t he go on a suicide bombimg? How does he get so rich off of his campaigns? I was reading about how he got more money by fighting off the Russians in Afghanistan, but how?
Getting rich off the campaigns is probably the easiest part of this horrible tragedy to figure out.
Knowing that he is going to attack the world’s financial centre, his group would have been buying up gold and oil stocks in advance of the attack.
Once the attack happened, brokers the world over would have been snapping up these commodities forcing the price up as people speculate that the Middle East is involved in the attack.
All they have to do then is sell their stock at the new higher price and there you have it - they clean up in the markets. You could look at it as the ultimate form of insider trading.
In fact a quick scan of the stock market will show that all stocks have taken a beating except Gold and oil.
Here’s something shocking for you. Within an hour after the attack the price of oil had already risen significantly (not sure by how many points though yet)
He appears to have made (or inherited) his money before taking up terrorism. This BBC News profile indicates his fortune originally came from his family’s construction business back in Saudi Arabia.
Just buy futures and options. Get massive leverage. Would have made out like bandits. Certainly the 10% loss I took in Hong Kong today could have been someone’s gain.
I think that we’ve gotten off the issue here. If I understand the question, then no it is not possible that he is not a real person for the reasons mentioned above.
He comes from a very very rich family. He is worth about $200M just from that I suppose.
He has assets, these can be seized, any nation not wishing to comply with such a request from the US can also join the list of nations whose assets can be seized.
Strip this person of his wealth, then find him and do the same with his life.
It would be impossible to contain this person in a prison whilst pending trial as there would be terrorists incidents aplenty trying to regain his freedom, and on the day of his final sentencing there would be another crop of outrages by his supporters.
We cannot bring him into custody for this reason and this is why we, as a civilisation, have to kill him, we simply cannot take the risk of his planning further such events.
casdave, sure you can do that but another guy would just fill his shoes. I don’t know if he did it as he said he didn’t do it; but one would have to look through his eyes to see why he did it if he did.
Doesn’t matter what his reasons were, he needs to be taken out.
He is not easily replaced, to find another person with the religious fervour, hatred, money, and power is difficult if not just about impossible.
If you have the wealth he has then it is likely that you will have commercial interests and this alone makes you part of the international markets, with the processes of thinking and logic that go along with it.
Let’s try to remember what forum we’re in. The general question is whether Osama bin Ladin is a real person. I think the GQ has been answered, so I’ll close this.
bibliophage
moderator GQ