Sep 07 2007
Bin Laden Looks Old And Beaten
Bin Laden is coming out with a new video to try and recapture some of the magic he had back in 2001 and 2002. With Iraq a rolling disaster for al-Qaeda now that the Muslim population has risen up against al-Qaeda, it is important Bin Laden come off looking like he can make a come back. From the one image we have seen so far it looks like al-Qaeda’s leader is a bruised and beaten down as his movement:
The first thing everyone has noticed is the shorter beard now bereft of all the gray hairs he used to have. But what I noticed is his right eye and the drooping nature of his upper eyelid. It would be better for Bin Laden if this was a war scar – which it might be. If it is from something like the remnant of a stroke he will come across to everyone as weak and dying. And that will reflect on his movement as well. Imagery is everything and right now al-Qaeda is losing so badly in Iraq it might not ever recover. Once the Muslim street turns on al-Qaeda it is over.
There is no escaping the fact Bin Laden doesn’t look young and strong. He has always been thin and looking a bit emaciated, but he looks even more so now (and will continue to do so as he ages). Even his shoulders looked slumped as well, as if he tires of the war he started with the US. Compare the new image with one that reflects a slightly younger Bin Laden
This is all conjecture based on one frame. But I suspect the video will be more heartening to America than threatening. Bin Laden is paying the price for his actions – and he still has to pay the ultimate price. But he is not living in one of many palaces spread across Iraq – as he would be if we had surrendered Iraq like the Democrats desired so much last spring. Clearly he is and his organization have not weathered the years since 9-11 well, at least as well as we have.
Update: Make sure to check out Gateway Pundit’s picture comparison between the ’04 and ’07 versions of Bin Laden. I found the same (if not similar) picture from 2004:
Comparing this with the latest images I am now very confident his eyes are drooping downward due to some injury or illness. In 2004 his oval shaped eyes were wide open and his eye brows rose high above them. In the latest image this ‘spring’ in his face is gone.
AJ
I have seen discussions the beard in photo shoped or fake.
Trust me as you get older , your beard usually doesn’t thicken up like that looks.
He certainly does not look healthy. We know that they will continue to attack us but they are really weak.
Since the NSA terrorist surveillance program helped Germany thwart those recent plots, I shudder to think that one of our Democrat candidates win ’08.
Oh, Merlin, if you want a laugh, go check the two threads about the Democrats crying Uncle and the Momentum threads. Do help disprove that idiotic copperhead.
I’m not convinced it is really Bin Laden.
Of course bin Laden looks old and sick. He’s been living in caves for the last 6 years. But what about the Oval Office Draft-dodger/Cheer-leader George W. Bush:
He’s older; he’s grayer; he’s not allowed to run anymore; he’s all weepy-eyed at the dim prospects for his “Legacy”; and most telling . . . has he caught “Osama bin Laden – Dead or Alive?”
Nope. One failure after another.
All US Presidents became older and grayer. All US Presidents eventually are not allowed to run or decided to run one term.
OBL has become so weak that he is not as important. Don’t forget that Clinton FAILED To catch OBL.
Clinton was a miserable failure.
It’s not that important for Bush to capture OBL but don’t worry…the surge has been successful!
I’ve read some of the purported OBL ramblings – sounds more like a Democrat contender for the presidential nomination. If Clinton and Obama aren’t careful, OBL may get endorsed by Move-on-org!!
BTW, I’m glad Southie is letting us know his AQ leaders have been kept in caves by GW. After all, OBL and the AQ thugs were living the high life when the Clintons were in office – no wonder he has a fondness for them to get back into power.
Jaqui:
I agree, I am not sure this is Bin Laden either.
sooth:
Oh shuddup, at least Bush is trying, all the Democrats do is threaten to invade people and then kiss butt when it comes time to actually fight.
If they had gone after Bin Laden in the 90’s when declared war on the US there would not have been a 9/11 attack. The chickens.
BRING OUT YER DEAD!
at least Bush is trying
Bull-oney!!
He virtually admitted the other day that there is no chance of HIS pet quagmire being rectified during his presidency, so he’s dragging it out so he can saddle whoever the next president is – Dem or Repub – with the problem.
This, in light of the recent revelations that he was briefed by Tenet specifically that Saddam Hussein did NOT have WMD’s and chose to ignore the date, pretty much sets it in stone:
George Walker Bush, 43rd and Worst President of the United States of America.
the quagmire is in the U.S. Congress. Be gone, democrats!
Southie, Southie…you can do better than this old propaganda. Can’t you at least be new and innovative instead of regurgitating the same old Dem and AQ talking points??
I guess though that may require actual thought process instead of merely “copy and paste” – which is asking a lot from far leftists like yourself.
Check this out and guess who is doing the talking, Soothie or Bin Laden. almost impossible to tell the difference.
Soothie, Bush has gone after the terrorists, the only thing Bill Clinton was chasing was tail, the old horndog.
God Bless Bush 43, one of the best US Presidents we’ve ever had.
Bush is Great!
The quagmire is over! The surge is successful.
I think it IS Osama, but I think he’s shaved off his real beard (perhaps to move around)? In that case he had to come up with a beard to make this video…..too bad he couldn’t have come with one that is less “fakey”. His past beard not only had a lot of grey in it, it was rather unkempt & straggly. Another reason I think it’s Osama; on another site they had two pictures side by side. One thing that hasn’t changed is his nose…..what a honker!
I agree he doesn’t look well at all. The right eye definitely droops, if it isn’t from injury perhaps he’s had a stroke….or some sort of palsy. He looks like a balloon that hasn’t been fully inflated.
Dubya may be gray but he sure looks fit and trim; Osama looks like he’s been rode hard & put up wet.
By leaking the video before even the Islamo-web sites posted it, someone has betrayed our ability to tap into the AQ communications network.
Actually is is closer to a symptom of being a diabetic.
ML
There are even more hints if you examine the pdf captures.
I just read the transcript. The words betray a sense of defeatism; this particular message from the jihadi leader is very close to a capitulation. The absence of belligerence, the absence of a call to jihad, and the absence of the recruitment of martyrs is telling.
The missive dwells on the failures of the Democratic Party because in the eyes of Osama, there is a failure to be justified here. He is scolding them.
I have been saying that in this war there will be no formal surrender. Perhaps I was wrong. From the beginning, we have ascribed super-human power to these people, so we may be mis-reading what amounts to an indication that they’ve thrown in the towel. (Pun intended).
MerlinOS2,
Yikes…..I’m a newly diagnosed diabetic, I thought I’d read most everything that points out all the nasty things I have to deal with should I not get it under control. I know it can affect my vision but I haven’t seen any references to the “droopy eyelid” etc. Can you point me to info where I can find out more about this?
(Sorry to go off topic folks).
Thanks.
Thoughts On The Osama Tape: Was It A Forgery?…
There has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about Osama’s beard. Was it fake? Was it dyed?
Here are a few thoughts from Michael Leeden at the Corner:
First, the beard. Robert Spencer finds that Muslims are permitted to dye their hair when …