Bin Laden -- terror zombie

Terrorist leaders have a history of dying. Repeatedly. Now we're being told that public enemy numero uno might be tango uniform again, this based on a tip from our dear friends the Saudis through our dear friends the French. Consider me a part of the society of skeptics.

Since he's reported dead but might not be, I'm considering him in the zombie phase until further notice. We all know zombies can continue to do considerable damage.

Some are wondering whether the Taliban funeral we didn't fire on could have been his, but that was seemingly disproven by the original report:

In a statement released Wednesday, the U.S. military in Afghanistan said the picture - a grainy black-and-white photo taken in July - was given to a journalist to show that Taliban insurgents were congregating in large groups.

The new report said bin Laden met the virgins on August 23rd. It's doubtful he would have been buried in such an open fashion, anyway.

Speaking of zombies, we're still waiting for a few key Iraqis to show up fully dead after being reported dead, namely top insurgent leader Izzat al-Duri and Saddam's right hand man Tariq Aziz. In a region where disinformation is key (as evidenced of late) a more encouraging report might have been good health--for example a French report that UBL had been spotted playing tennis or racketball. Then we'd know he was dead.

PS--confession--I've vacilated back and forth on this UBL death concept worse than a John Kerry position paper. I fully admit to having less of a clue today and than yesterday, and yesterday's clue was pretty flimsy.

MORE THOUGHTS 9/23/06

One idea floating around the internet has potential--that is, if bin Laden kicks the bucket from natural causes, like distemper for instance, it prevents him from becoming an official martyr. That could explain our waiting game. As Sudanese leader Hasan al-Turabi once said, paraphrasing, "kill bin Laden and you create 100 more", kill being the operative word.

ROVE'S OCTOBER SURPRISE 9/23/06

In discussing reasons bin Laden might be dead the Ace of Spades referred to this:

5. Rove's Alleged Promise of a Coming "October Surprise." Sort of speaks for its damn self, doesn't it? If Rove heard about this -- and of course he had -- he knew it was only a matter of time before there was either confirmation (discovery of the body) or at least a news source reporting it.

Thing is, the surprise might not have anything to do with bin Laden. Think about it. Iraq has caused more problems for republicans than anything, and many democrats are prepared to make issue with it this fall. Perhaps the surprise has something to do with Saddam vis a vis the GWoT.

That said, I'd be remiss without criticizing such a thing if indeed it turns out to be a political stunt. Any delay in announcing 'news' should be explainable, such as a legitimate need to protect operational security, etc.