Office of Strategic Influence

[Nic Name]

Bin Laden in Iraq?

As the Boston Globe noted this week, US authorities conceded that they have killed only one senior Al Qaeda figure and seven minors ones, and that the members of Al Qaeda have proved far more elusive that they had expected. So just where is Osama bin Laden these days? An organization linked to Al Qaeda, that has provided reliable information in the past, says that bin Laden, Mullah Mohammed Omar and many of their top deputies are still alive and together. And a new Arabic language website has started carrying messages from bin Laden. The AsiaTimes says that he is in Iraq, having escaped there through Iran. The Financial Times of London says bin Laden's group is recruiting new members at a fast rate and is probably in the process of planning new attacks. US authorities believe that with their safe base in Afghanistan gone, Al Qaeda will devolve into smaller groups that will not be able to carry out larger operations like Sept. 11, but will still be dangerous and hard to find.

Would there be more support for an attack on Iraq if bin Laden were reported to be there?

Stay tuned for more news from the DoD a.k.a. Department of Disinformation