memeorandum: Rumors swirl over bin Laden's fate (CNN)

4:15 PM ET, September 23, 2006

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Big News: bin Laden dead; Bigger News: Ansar al Sunnah Head Captured! — Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta today! First, bin Laden is reportedly dead. Or dying. Or whatever. In any event, I don't believe it. But it's the kind of rumor I dig. Thanks to everyone that e-mailed it to me.

Discussion: The Anchoress, Hot Air, The Fourth Rail, Old War Dogs, Atlas Shrugs, The Strata-Sphere and A Blog For All

Associated Press:

France Looks Into bin Laden Death Report — PARIS (AP) - The French defense ministry on Saturday called for an internal investigation of the leak of an intelligence document that raises the possibility that Osama bin Laden may have died of typhoid in Pakistan a month ago but said the report of the death remained unverified.

Discussion: Althouse, Elephants in Academia and No More Mister Nice Blog

CNN:

Rumors swirl over bin Laden's fate … PARIS, France (CNN) — Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has a water-borne illness, a Saudi intelligence source told CNN on Saturday, a report that conflicts with an article in a French newspaper saying that the man who has been hunted by the United States for the past five years is dead.

Discussion: Tammy Bruce, Talking Points Memo, Law Librarian Blog and Say Anything

Reuters:

U.S. can't confirm bin Laden death report: official — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is unable to confirm a French newspaper report that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to have died last month in Pakistan, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Saturday.

Discussion: CNN.com, A Blog For All, Don Surber and Liberty and Justice

Mary Katharine Ham / Townhall:

AP France Unconfirmed Report: Osama bin Laden Dead? — I got this from Ace, who has gone ahead and thrown up a fireworks graphic, but Drudge is still running the angry-Clinton story as his lead, so I'm gonna remain skeptical, but hopeful. But man, if this is true, the nutroots are gonna go truly nuts.

Discussion: Stop The ACLU and Old War Dogs

Think Progress:

Fox News Sunday, Interview With President Bill Clinton, 9/22/06 (Rough Transcript) — WALLACE: In a recent issue of the New Yorker you say you're sixty years old and you're worried about how many lives you can save...Is that what drives you in your effort to help? — CLINTON: Yes.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Right Wing Nut House, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, The Carpetbagger Report, Taylor Marsh, Free Frank Warner, WTF Is It Now??, Firedoglake, NO QUARTER, Talking Points Memo, Dr. Sanity, NewsBusters.org, All Spin Zone, The Mahablog, OxBlog and skippy the bush kangaroo

Agence France Presse:

French newspaper says Saudis believe bin Laden dead — A French newspaper published what it said was a report by the country's intelligence services that said Saudi Arabia believes Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan this month. — France's foreign intelligence service, the DGSE …

Discussion: ¡No Pasarán!

AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere:
Bin Laden Dead?

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, TIME and The Jawa Report

Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
FOX News Saying "Clinton Gets Crazed"

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and KnoxViews

John Ward Anderson / Washington Post:
France Looks Into Bin Laden Death Report

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Claude Salhani / UPI:
Analysis: Is bin Laden truly dead?

Discussion: Reuters, PoliPundit.com and Pajamas Media

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIM: Saudi Police, Via AP France— OSAMA BIN LADIN DEAD

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Riehl World View, ScrappleFace, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Pundit, Johnny Triangles and JustOneMinute

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
bin Laden Dead? Officials Scramble To Confirm Reports (UPDATED)

Discussion: All Things Beautiful and The American Street

Mark Memmott / On Deadline:
Read it yourself: Clinton-Wallace fireworks on Fox

Discussion: Firedoglake and Eschaton

Reuters:
French paper says bin Laden died in Pakistan

Discussion: Blogcritics, QandO, Power Line, Blue Crab Boulevard and PSoTD

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Clinton, he's red-faced and angry.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Think Progress and The Anchoress

Rick Klein / Boston Globe:

Congress in dark on terror program — Few briefed on CIA interrogation — WASHINGTON — As lawmakers prepare to debate the CIA's special interrogation program for terrorism suspects, fewer than 10 percent of the members of Congress have been told which interrogation techniques have been used in the past …

Discussion: Andrew Sullivan, Talking Points Memo and Balkinization

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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Detainee Deal Comes With Contradictions

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Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Everyone — including Democrats — agrees to pretend that Bush …

Discussion: New York Times, Firedoglake and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Maggie Michael / Associated Press:

Abbas says unity effort 'back to zero' — CAIRO, Egypt - Efforts to form a Palestinian government acceptable to the West have gone "back to zero," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday, a day after Hamas said a coalition government that recognizes Israel is unacceptable.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Blue Crab Boulevard

Digby / Hullabaloo:

Unleashing The Beast — I have written often about how the Republicans are becoming what they railed against for decades: totalitarians. Unsurprisingly I suppose, it turns out that what they really hated about Soviet communism was the economics. The 50 years of ranting about personal liberty …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Andrew Sullivan

Mark McDonald / Philly.com:

No ifs, butts: Smoking ban starts 'immediately' — Mayor Street said yesterday that the city will begin enforcing the new smoking-ban law "immediately," a development that caught a number of bar and restaurant operators by surprise. — "We can't pick and choose when we enforce the law," Street said.