Bin Laden's Sea Burial Fuels Conspiracy Theories
Within hours of the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound, the CIA had used 21st century technology to get “a virtually 100% DNA match” on the dead man. But something out of another century may come back to haunt Washington: the Al Qaeda leader’s burial at sea.
Conspiracy theorists on both the left and right were quick to insist that Bin Laden was either still alive or had been dead for years, pouncing on the government’s decision to slide the body of the world’s most wanted man off a board into the Arabian Sea.
As blogs hummed with allegations that the Obama administration had faked the middle-of-the-night raid, the Bin Laden “death hoax” threatened to replace questions about President Obama’s citizenship as the latest Internet rumor to go viral.
Photos: Osama bin Laden’s death
“I am sorry, but if you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid,” antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan posted on her Facebook page. “Just think to yourself — they paraded Saddam’s dead sons around to prove they were dead — why do you suppose they hastily buried this version of OBL at sea?”
Infowars, the website of Libertarian radio host Alex Jones, was crammed with stories charging that the U.S. government had concocted the killing to justify a security crackdown. The Tea Party Nation website brimmed with indignant posts questioning the timing of Obama’s announcement.
“Don’t you think OBAMA needs something to assure his reelection,” one commenter wrote.
Even a relative of one of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks voiced skepticism, citing the burial at sea.
“Is it true or false? I don’t know,” said Stella Olender of Chicago, whose daughter Christine died at the World Trade Center. “To me that seems strange, that they disposed of it and no one [besides] whoever was right there knows what happened.”
The conspiracy theories spoke to the quandary facing the U.S.: proving the Al Qaeda leader’s death without inflaming his supporters and the broader Muslim world. Because of that concern, U.S. officials were considering the merits of releasing gory photos of Bin Laden taken after he was shot.
The burial, which was carried out from aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, was necessary because arrangements couldn’t be made with any country to bury Bin Laden within 24 hours, as dictated by Muslim practice, administration officials said. But a senior military officer said the U.S. also wanted to avoid creating a shrine somewhere on land that would attract his followers.
Administration officials insisted Monday that there was no question who was killed in the Pakistani raid. Along with being visually identified on the scene by U.S. operatives, Bin Laden was identified by name by a woman believed to be one of his wives, according to a senior intelligence official. On Sunday evening, CIA specialists compared photos of the body with known photos of Bin Laden, determining with 95% certainty that they were one and the same.
On Monday morning, the CIA and other agencies conducted an “initial DNA analysis,” comparing a sample taken from the body with DNA samples from several Bin Laden family members. The results, the official said, gave them “a virtually 100% DNA match.”
The intelligence community has been collecting DNA samples from Bin Laden relatives for years, according to another U.S. intelligence official. Because the family is so big, obtaining samples was not difficult, officials said, particularly from relatives who denounce Bin Laden’s activities.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a former FBI agent, confirmed that the government had more than one source of DNA.
“Through the DNA testing and other things, it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was Osama bin Laden, based on the science,” he said.
Dr. Frederick Bieber, a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said it is possible for genetic kinship analysis to be done quickly, particularly if profiles of relatives have already been completed.
“Often it can be done overnight, and in high-profile forensic investigations, it often is,” said Bieber, who declined to comment on the particulars of this case.
The administration was still weighing whether to release graphic photos of Bin Laden’s bullet-pocked body to put the rumors of a hoax to rest. (A photo, purportedly of Bin Laden’s corpse, circulating online was determined to be fake.)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Recent Stories
Recent Comments
- Gawker: Chief of CIA’s Global Jihad Unit Revealed Online
- "9/11 Conspiracy Roadtrip" - A Participant's Perspective
- Identity of CIA Officer Behind 9/11 & Torture Cases Revealed
- "9/11 Conspiracy Roadtrip" - A Participant's Perspective
- "9/11 Conspiracy Roadtrip" - A Participant's Perspective
- Who Funded 9/11? Families & Insurers Still Want Answers
- Sibel Edmonds Interviews Paul Thompson
The show called “Osama-9/11” is a soap opera, a conspiracy from side to side. What a pity, people worldwide, mostly in the states, believe all that! No wonder, an ocean of propaganda was poured on them. Compared to the modern manipulators poor J. Goebbels looks like an innocent kid.
On 9/11 US government committed a mass murder of thousands of its own citizens, that’s the bitter truth. And all the rest was just a game of manipulation. Its aim was to provide more power to certain political forces, tied up to the world’s biggest bankers. The whole issue enabled so called “war on terror”. As a result, people were deprived of many of their civil rights, and were economically robbered, not only in the US. There are millions of evidences on the web. People must be really dumb not to notice them. But that’s the thing: they are already made to feel ashamed for thinking, or believing something “wrong”.
Osama is, and has always been just a scary puppet. Just a CIA agent, playing his part, ruled from Washington and Langley. The whole Al-Qaeda is invented in CIA and made of “former” CIA agents.
And here is finally the end of this ungainly drama. Most likely “Obama” is now doing perfectly well, preparing for his next mission after some plastic surgery. All Washington-CIA tandem needed, was a few fake “evidences” of his “death”, and a fast sea “burial”.
And by the way, I get sick of those aggressively propagandistic pictures I see these days, posted everywhere. They prove nothing, but only try to make me feel what I’m “supposed” to feel. Well, don’t take trouble, CIA-guys. Save your Photoshop skills.
provchen said: “People must be really dumb not to notice them. But that’s the thing: they are already made to feel ashamed for thinking, or believing something “wrong”.
That’s exactly it provchen… I don’t believe the “soap opera” and I know in my heart it’s not true and I’ve researched and ask the questions, if only to myself (and for fear of retaliation). I know that there is something very sketchy that lead to the events of 9/11. But, I also know, when voicing the concerns, the questions to friends and relatives, I get a very strong reaction of disapproval and “how could I possibly believe that our own government could do something like that” and “what about the soldiers fighting for our country?” And I say my heart is heavy when I think of those poor men and women loosing their lives IN VEIN! They are fighting for blood money and black gold.
There is no patriotism in fighting a NON WAR. Our men and women are programmed into believing they are fighting for democracy, for peace and to avenge 9/11! Than what the hell did Saddam Hussane (SH) have to do with it? If we are to believe all is true, and Osama Bin Laden (UBL) was the master mine of 9/11, and UBL ordered the planes into the towers, not SH, so why was it necessary to hunt SH down and kill him for the 9/11 attacks?
Truly sad. I believe in the conspiracy as much as they believe in the war. How do you debate that with people that are of such an ingrained opinion. I am ashamed to voice the questions and point out the discrepancies.
“Our men and women are programmed into believing they are fighting for democracy, for peace and to avenge 9/11!”
I’ve lost a couple of friends over the years who served in the military and came back parroting every national security talking point. I do understand that they can’t feel guilty for the people they or their buddies killed. That they want to feel like what they’ve lost is worth it. And you do lose something inside yourself fighting in war. But that doesn’t mean you have to become a total ditto head.
You are supposed to feel ashamed which is exactly and really the only reason I call this a movement anymore. I certainly don’t share the same goals with most of those involved, caught up in evidence instead of justice and history, but I do share the status of pariah. I know your actions are justified and important. Frankly, I’m embarrassed to claim association with the movement. But don’t blink clarifying what I know about history.
I share your frustration, but I think you’ve overdone it a bit. This kind of snarky summary feels good. I’ve written a few myself. But it’s really important, specifically when people are claiming we overly speculate, that we keep our cool.
Blaming the “U.S. Government” is overly general, even in the realm of reasonable speculation. We have reason to suspect collusion between elements inside our government and foreign intelligence agencies via privately contracted agents providing plausible deniability to all those at high levels. In other words, we can’t know exactly who pulled it off. Acting like we know really turns people off that might otherwise listen to our case.
And saying people who don’t know about our concerns are ‘dumb’ is exactly backward. 9/11 truth is an educational movement dedicated to informing people. You don’t build a bridge with insults. I know it can be alienating to invest in something that most people consider crazy. But don’t forget we are trying to reach those few who CAN learn about the truth.
Finally, the whole Bin Laden situation may not have been what we thought, and we certainly have very little information to go on. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to talk about what we don’t know and why that’s a problem. And I think we have reason to be skeptical about why he was buried at sea. But I’m not surprised to hear that he was alive or that he’s been killed. Being used as a pawn till the very end.
I’m sure you’re a reasonable guy. I’m just recommending that we not let our frustration get the best of us.
@julian – Thanks for the rational. You are right but I think that frustration is warranted. When the public is continually fed half truths and sugar, it becomes very deflating.
@ Julian (maybe this isn’t the appropriate post for this, given the article is about OBL, but, continuing the thread of the conversation above ) — could you elucidate a little your statement, “I certainly don’t share the same goals with most of those involved, caught up in evidence instead of justice and history” ? Not clear on who is caught up in the evidence vs justice & history — you? the others? I’m sort of out here in the hinterlands, Thanks.
— I think all three hold the same weight, with, ultimately a necessity for some kind of reconciliation, in our lifetimes (or, maybe, yours), tied to the concept of “justice,” in order for this culture to have a hope of ever being psychologically clear on this issue — and I keep pondering what the concept of “justice” for these crimes would mean v/v the immense sense of outrage and betrayal that would be felt in this culture already pumped up and bought-into the idea that blowing someone, anyone, away, is the only answer, if the truth was revealed suddenly in some way to make it undeniable to the general populace )… but without a ground of — and recognition of — and an emphasis upon — fastidiously researched, quantifiable evidence first, the rest of the process (even a plodding long-term process of justice/reconciliation, and an enlightened view of history) just ain’t gonna happen… I mean, ok, ok, it’s all a long-shot, anyway, but… I’m looking at the truth movement as process that is at one time or another going to be unbalanced in the direction of one or the other of the issues you mentioned, evidence, justice, history. Obviously shifts will occcur in one direction or the other; as the events of the past week show, we’re still deep in the process, but withouut an emphasis on quantifiable evidence we don’t have anything, much, to offer..
Glad you asked.
There hasn’t been a functional or cohesive movement for 9/11 truth since 2004. I got involved in 2005 just in time to watch WAC and the ‘scholars’ turn it from a movement about history and justice into a movement about paranoid delusions and the physical evidence. My involvement since that time has been largely consumed by the attempt to preserve the strength of character the movement had at it’s peak. A failing effort, possibly with the exception of this site. Jon Gold also carries that torch well.
Bottom line: We have had all the most important evidence since 2004. There have been few if any revelations since that time which would make our case for a new investigation any stronger. Certainly not the reasonably disputed significance of nano-thermite.
And since that time, those with leadership roles in the movement have become those who both focus greatly on physical evidence and subscribe to the ‘big tent’ strategy.
The movement requires leadership based on a meritocracy of trust, intellect, and strategic insight. What we have now are charlatans, infiltrators, and well intended but strategically naive intellectuals.
And then there are the very few who ‘get it.’ Those who have some awareness of the history of social movements. Those who are savvy about infiltration. Those who understand the the requirements of reaching our skeptical target audience. Those people are my peers. And we tend to be more influential than our numbers would imply. But we aren’t recognized or respected as leaders.
Quite the opposite. For all my effort to keep the train on it’s tracks, I’m most often been called ‘disloyal’, ‘elitist,’ or just called an agent. So has Cosmos. So has Victoria Ashley. So has Jon Gold. The very people with the greatest insight into this movement are those least respected for their willingness to be honest.
How does that square with the supposed aims of this movement? The truth of the truth movement is not optional.
Sorry, you got me venting. Hope I answered your question.
BTW, you can use the nested reply function. Just click ‘reply’ under the comment you want to respond to.
To a certain extent, yes, you answered my question — I realized I sent this off without finishing the sentance with my explanation that I’m out here in the hinterlands of the Midwest, have been “on” to the questionability of the official story for , oh lets say, from the moment I heard a plane had crashed into the Pentagon (“how is THAT possible??” being my response — and have been up against the same reactions from others you were discussing above with “rabbit” since that very moment), and have only what I (obsessively) read from a distance to go on as far as understanding the “politics” of the 9/11 Truth Movement. This site, by the way, has been immensely helpful and I read it daily, but I have very little contact where I am with what’s going on with whatever “actual” movement there is (whether “cohesive” or not), other than what is posted here, on the aetruth site (to which I also refer regularly) and the STJ site. I certainly understand the potential for infiltration (“cognitive” and otherwise), and paranoia, and certainly the need for wariness… I also understand that nothing of this scope has ever quite happened like this, with the communication tools we have at our disposal now, and those of us who are concerned with this issue are all sort of blindly blindly feeling our way to an extent — who do you trust… what do you believe…. So it’s a help to me to hear how others who are vocal, active, and involved are perceiving the situation.
Thanks.
Yeah. The internal politics and failing of the movement are downright depressing. Of course, the whole topic is not a happy one. Many want to avoid it and I often have people telling me that I should just ignore these issues, which essentially dismisses most of the work I’ve done. I spent a couple years doing street action, so I’ve done some solid time reaching out and educating people. But I got my start in NY911Truth and watched that group be undermined by infiltration and big tent thinking.
The good news is that, while I’d like everyone involved to be aware of these concerns, we need people handling all sorts of tasks. You can do so much in your local community simply talking to the people you know. Along those lines, I recommend avoiding the topic of 9/11 entirely and focusing more on reinforcing the notion that the government lies to us and that it shouldn’t be alright. If you get people thinking more skeptically, they will be far more prepared and willing to consider lies about the attack.
Glad to have you posting here. We keep hoping more people in the movement will begin to appreciate our intent to be a responsible first reference on the issue. We really aren’t trying to compete with anyone. We built the site to be something different.