The Mysteries of History (May 2 Edition)
Osama bin Laden Killed
2011 — Osama bin Laden Found and Killed
public domain image from wikimedia commons
A few interesting things happened on this date: In 1885, Good Housekeeping magazine debuted; In 1933, the Loch Ness Monster was supposedly first spotted; but leaving those events far behind in both import and interest was what happened on this date in 2011, almost ten years after “9/11”:
Osama bin Laden was tracked down and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he had been in hiding. Those who live by the gun will die by the gun.
I previously expressed doubts about whether it was really bin Laden who had been killed. Having changed my mind about those doubts, I fundamentally reworked this article on 5/30/2025.
My doubts had sprung partly from reports that bin Laden had already been dead for some time, but more so from the fact that his body was not produced as evidence of his demise, but was rather “conveniently” buried at sea. However, after watching the new Netflix documentary American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, I am almost positive Osama bin Laden was killed at the time, place, and manner reported. I certainly don’t want to be an Alex Jones type of conspiracy theorist, denying the truthfulness of actual events (such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting). Denying such is not just wrong, but extremely painful and harmful to those affected by the incidents being called into question (especially the families and friends of the twenty children and six staff members mercilessly killed at Sandy Hook).
The documentary mentioned above brought out two points that made it understandable why bin Laden’s remains were dumped into the ocean: First, if his body had been preserved/locatable, it could have become a sort of shrine to those who espouse his views/philosophy, and second, his face had been basically “shot off,” so people could easily wonder if it was really him, as he couldn’t be visually identified. The body could perhaps be definitively identified as bin Laden’s by DNA testing — provided that previous ObL DNA samples were available or recoverable — but even with that people who wanted to believe otherwise could choose to not accept the veracity of the tests.
image of Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan from wikimedia commons
public domain images from wikimedia commons
Questions: How is it possible to “get to the bottom of” events whose truthfulness is disputed? What harm can be caused when proven facts are rejected and far-fetched theories are espoused in their stead? Who, if anybody, has taken bin Laden’s place as emir (leader) of Al-Qaeda? Is Al-Qaeda still the most formidable/dangerous terrorist organization? If not, then who is?
