# Would we even know it was Binny if we received his charred bones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2001, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990 "2001-09-21T11:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trenchmouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Trenchmouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trenchmouth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/1 "2001-09-21T11:29:42Z")
Do we have DNA comparisons in case somebody tries to pull a fast one on the US government? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/2 "2001-09-21T13:50:35Z")
Osama Bin Laden has many living relatives (including 50+ siblings). I would be easy to obtain DNA from a close relative to help identify a body. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/3 "2001-09-21T14:18:14Z")
And some of those siblings live in the U.S., if what I heard on the news the other night is correct. Shouldn’t be too hard to get a DNA sample. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/4 "2001-09-21T14:34:28Z")
But what if they use bombs strong enough to completely obliterate a human body? What if Bin Laden was in a cave at the time which was collapsed by one of those specialized bombs the US is testing? Bin Laden could always fake his own death by having his followers claim he was killed in a US bombing raid. I somehow doubt that the US will send out dozens of excavation teams to dig up the collapsed caves, plus a small army of forensic analysts to scrape up every last bit of gore from every single bombing site to test the DNA. They’ll never know for sure if they’ve got him. (Then again, they probably don’t much care about that; it gives them an excuse to continue their campaign indefinitely.) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/5 "2001-09-21T14:51:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychonaut \* > \*\*But what if they use bombs strong enough to completely obliterate a human body? What if Bin Laden was in a cave at the time which was collapsed by one of those specialized bombs the US is testing? Bin Laden could always fake his own death by having his followers claim he was killed in a US bombing raid. I somehow doubt that the US will send out dozens of excavation teams to dig up the collapsed caves, plus a small army of forensic analysts to scrape up every last bit of gore from every single bombing site to test the DNA. They’ll never know for sure if they’ve got him. (Then again, they probably don’t much care about that; it gives them an excuse to continue their campaign indefinitely.) \*\* Wanna bet? You can be sure that after Hitler and the relative mystery surrounding his death that the US wants proof of OBL’s death, if only as a trophy and warning to others. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/6 "2001-09-21T19:32:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MsRobyn \* > \*\* > the US wants proof of OBL’s death, if only as a trophy and warning to others. > > Robin \*\* Are they going to send each of his limbs to the four corners of the American empire and put his head on the Brooklyn bridge? 😉 But seriously, I agree that it’s not really going to matter much. Take out his operation and he will be weak as a kitten. Eventually he’s going to get caught or die and with all the bombs we’re going to be dropping they probably aren’t fully expecting a body. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/7 "2001-09-21T21:16:08Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Cisco_ > Are they going to send each of his limbs to the four corners of the American empire and put his head on the Brooklyn bridge? The second part is not a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/8 "2001-09-21T21:21:59Z")
From what I’ve read, isn’t he in poor health anyway? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/9 "2001-09-22T15:01:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Wanna bet? You can be sure that after Hitler and the relative mystery surrounding his death that the US wants proof of OBL’s death, if only as a trophy and warning to others. Yes, but how do they propose to obtain such a trophy? The situation with Bin Laden is a lot different from that of Hitler. In WWII, the Allies had invaded and conquered Germany. The Soviets held, without resistance, the territory containing Hitler’s bunker. Furthermore the bunker was more or less intact, and they were presumably able to retrieve the bodies without problems. OTOH, the US, as it seems now, has no plans to invade Afghanistan en masse. I’ve heard news reports of the US military testing special bombs which can collapse the caves in which Bin Laden may be hiding. So you have two main problems in retrieving a body: first, it may well be crushed under twenty metres of rubble and/or solid rock, and second, any excavation may have to be heavily fortified against enemy fire. Pretty expensive trophy, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Phouchg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/41988e/32.png) [@Phouchg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phouchg)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/10 "2001-09-22T16:11:03Z")
Binny? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/11 "2001-09-23T23:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phouchg \* > \*\*Binny? \*\* Testaverde? ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-we-even-know-it-was-binny-if-we-received-his-charred-bones/82990/12 "2001-09-24T10:59:29Z")
Speaking of such trophies, I understand we took the head and hands off Che Guevera and sent them to a CIA site for positive ID. Some or all of these parts were then re-shipped to Castro for a decent burial. Can someone verify this?