# Where is the proof of Bin Laden's death? Seriously? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-proof-of-bin-ladens-death-seriously/580510 "2011-05-02T20:29:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-proof-of-bin-ladens-death-seriously/580510/101 "2011-05-04T00:31:11Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Those are valid points, but you’re only looking at the two extreme scenarios (i.e. either he’s still alive or he died many years ago). This leaves out the far-more-plausible middle ground scenario… > > Say that Osama bin Laden died weeks or months ago of, for instance, kidney failure. The news trickled down his organization, was picked up by US operatives, and enabled them to track down his body. DNA tests confirmed the identity, and the US regime decided to spin it for all it’s worth by pretending that he was killed by US forces instead. > > Why lie? Because it’s cheap political capital. This way, nobody has to be held accountable for why the US’s most wanted man escaped capture for decades and was able to die in peace of natural causes. Instead, the government gets to bask in the artificial glow of a job well done. And, since so few people would have been privy to the truth in the first place, the risk of exposure is minimal. > > I am not, of course, saying that this scenario is true, for we have not been given any evidence one way or another. I am not, however, prepared to accept official US statements at face value. They have a nasty tendency of lying to us commoners. Just a few minor problems with your scenario. Why was the safe house maintained he he was dead? Why were the wives hanging around? Why risk a raid right in the middle of Pakistan? If we had his body, we could have claimed he was hanging out in some cave in the middle of nowhere in the West, where everyone thought he was. Remember, there was independent confirmation of the raid from that blogger. If we see raids and confiscation of money based on the captured computer files, that’s even more evidence Obama is telling the truth. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-proof-of-bin-ladens-death-seriously/580510/102 "2011-05-06T22:08:19Z")
While not a body, photo, or long form death certificate, there is this: [http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/al\_qaeda\_confirms\_osama\_bin\_ladens\_death.php](http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/al_qaeda_confirms_osama_bin_ladens_death.php) Al Qaeda confirms Bin Laden’s death. So either AQ is in on the conspiracy, or there isn’t a conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-proof-of-bin-ladens-death-seriously/580510/103 "2011-05-06T22:51:54Z")
Goebbels was talking in a context where the media can be owned, and where the people will believe it in spite of significant counter evidence. So far I see no significant counter-evidence. Is anyone linking the birth certificate yet and saying that it was only released so they’d look more credible when not providing a body? Otara [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-proof-of-bin-ladens-death-seriously/580510.md?page=5)