New report, Hopefully it is true!!
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html
PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday he would investigate the leak of confidential French defense ministry documents containing a report that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, and stressed the report had been in no way confirmed.
"I was rather surprised to see that a confidential note from the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security) was published and I have asked the minister of Defense to start an investigation immediately and to reach whatever conclusions are necessary," Chirac said.
"Secondly, speaking of the source of the information itself, this information is in no way confirmed."
U.S. intelligence officials said Saturday they could not confirm the report suggesting that bin Laden might be dead, and a Saudi intelligence source told CNN's Nic Robertson that there had been credible reports in the past few weeks that bin Laden was ill with a water-borne disease, but that he was not dead.
The leaked information was published in the French regional newspaper L'Est Republicain Saturday.
The article said that a French foreign intelligence document dated September 21 quoted a "usually reliable source" as saying that Saudi Arabian authorities had received confirmation that bin Laden died of an acute case of typhoid in Pakistan August 23.
Laid Sammari, the journalist who wrote the article, told CNN in a phone interview he was confident of the authenticity of the confidential document.
He said the only thing the Saudis were trying to confirm was the burial place of the al Qaeda leader, before they would make an official announcement.
Pakistani officials also said on Saturday they have no information that confirms bin Laden's death.
Friday, U.S. President George Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in a joint news conference that the hunt is still on for the leaders of al Qaeda.
The report in L'Est Republicain said the Saudi secret service first got the reports of bin Laden's death on September 4.
CNN is trying to confirm the reports with Saudi officials in Washington, D.C., and in Saudi Arabia.
An official with the French defense ministry confirmed that an investigation into the leaked documents was already under way.
The last message from bin Laden was an audiotaped post on an Islamic Web site on June 30. The CIA confirmed the voice giving the message was that of the al Qaeda leader.
In the message, bin Laden names Abu Hamza al-Mujaher as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor as leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
The last videotaped statement from bin Laden was aired on October 29, 2004 on Al Jazeera.
CNN Producers Katie Turner in London and Pam Benson in Washington D.C. contributed to this report
:shrug:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html
PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday he would investigate the leak of confidential French defense ministry documents containing a report that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, and stressed the report had been in no way confirmed.
"I was rather surprised to see that a confidential note from the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security) was published and I have asked the minister of Defense to start an investigation immediately and to reach whatever conclusions are necessary," Chirac said.
"Secondly, speaking of the source of the information itself, this information is in no way confirmed."
U.S. intelligence officials said Saturday they could not confirm the report suggesting that bin Laden might be dead, and a Saudi intelligence source told CNN's Nic Robertson that there had been credible reports in the past few weeks that bin Laden was ill with a water-borne disease, but that he was not dead.
The leaked information was published in the French regional newspaper L'Est Republicain Saturday.
The article said that a French foreign intelligence document dated September 21 quoted a "usually reliable source" as saying that Saudi Arabian authorities had received confirmation that bin Laden died of an acute case of typhoid in Pakistan August 23.
Laid Sammari, the journalist who wrote the article, told CNN in a phone interview he was confident of the authenticity of the confidential document.
He said the only thing the Saudis were trying to confirm was the burial place of the al Qaeda leader, before they would make an official announcement.
Pakistani officials also said on Saturday they have no information that confirms bin Laden's death.
Friday, U.S. President George Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in a joint news conference that the hunt is still on for the leaders of al Qaeda.
The report in L'Est Republicain said the Saudi secret service first got the reports of bin Laden's death on September 4.
CNN is trying to confirm the reports with Saudi officials in Washington, D.C., and in Saudi Arabia.
An official with the French defense ministry confirmed that an investigation into the leaked documents was already under way.
The last message from bin Laden was an audiotaped post on an Islamic Web site on June 30. The CIA confirmed the voice giving the message was that of the al Qaeda leader.
In the message, bin Laden names Abu Hamza al-Mujaher as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor as leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
The last videotaped statement from bin Laden was aired on October 29, 2004 on Al Jazeera.
CNN Producers Katie Turner in London and Pam Benson in Washington D.C. contributed to this report
:shrug:
