Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories
Encyclopedia
The death of Osama bin Laden
gave rise to various conspiracy theories
, hoax
es, and rumor
s. These include the ideas that bin Laden had been dead for years, or is still alive. Doubts about bin Laden's death were fueled by the U.S. military's disposal of his body at sea, the decision to not release photographic evidence of bin Laden's death, the official story on the raid at the Abbottabad compound have changed or directly contradicts previous assertions, and the 25-minute blackout during the raid on bin Laden's compound during which a live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the U.S. special forces was cut off.
On May 2, 2011, an image purporting to show a dead bin Laden was broadcast on Pakistani television. Though the story was picked up by much of the British press, as well the Associated Press
, it was swiftly removed from websites after it was exposed as a fake on Twitter
.
On May 4, 2011, the Obama administration announced it would not release any images of bin Laden's dead body. The administration had considered releasing the photos to dispel rumors of a hoax, at the risks of perhaps prompting another attack by al Qaeda and of releasing very graphic images to people who might find them disturbing. Several photos of the aftermath of the raid were given to Reuters
by an anonymous Pakistani security official, but though all appeared to be authentic, they were taken after the U.S. forces had left and none of them included evidence regarding bin Laden's fate.
On May 6, 2011, it was reported that an al-Qaeda website acknowledged bin Laden's death. On May 11, Republican
senator and Senate Armed Services Committee member Jim Inhofe
viewed "gruesome" photographs of bin Laden's corpse, and later confirmed that the body "was him", adding, "He's history".
The people who promote the conspiracy theories have been referred to by bloggers and mainstream media as "deathers", or "proofers".
, even though it is against Muslim beliefs to have a sea burial. The Muslim practice has not always been followed by the U.S. in the past. For example, the bodies of Uday Hussein
and Qusay Hussein
, sons of Saddam Hussein
, were held for 11 days before being released for burial. In that instance, however, several Iraqi cities were reluctant to grant a gravesite for Saddam's sons.
The decision to bury bin Laden at sea was questioned by some Islam
ic scholars and by some 9/11 victims and their relatives. Professor Peter Romaniuk of John Jay College described the burial at sea as a way to forestall further questions. He stated: "Obviously they’re going to be under pressure to show a body or produce further evidence, but this was a way of taking that issue off the table."
, Pakistan, residents said they believed the announcement of Osama's death was a U.S. conspiracy against Pakistan. A local lawyer said, "They’re just making it up. Nobody has seen the body." Some residents doubted not only that bin Laden was dead, but also that he ever lived among them.
Senior Pakistani officials disseminated the theory that no firefight ever took place, and that U.S. forces captured bin Laden alive, executed
him outside the compound in front of his 12-year-old daughter, and took his body away on a helicopter.
In an interview with CNN's Eliot Spitzer
, Hamid Gul former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) stated that he believed bin Laden had died many years ago and that the official death story given out by the American media was a hoax. Furthermore, he thinks the American government knew about bin Laden's death for years, "They must have known that he had died some years ago so they were waiting. They were keeping this story on the ice and they were looking for an appropriate moment and it couldn't be a better moment because President Obama had to fight off his first salvo in his next year's election as he runs for the presidential and for the White House and I think it is a very appropriate time to come out, bring this out of the closet."
Yet another scenario was reported in an article in the Urdu
newspaper Ausaf
, which quoted military sources as saying, "Bin Laden has been killed somewhere else. But since the US intends to extend the Afghan war into Pakistan, and accuse Pakistan, and obtain a permit for its military's entry into the country, it has devised the [assassination] scenario."
Bashir Qureshi, who lives just a bean field away from where bin Laden was shot and whose windows were blown out in the raid, was dismissive. "Nobody believes it. We've never seen any Arabs around here, he was not here."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "I have exact information that bin Laden was held by the American military for sometime... until the day they killed him he was a prisoner held by them," in a live interview on Iranian state television.
groups formed discussing a rumor, in what has been dubbed the "death hoax". Some blog
s theorised that the raid and killing were faked, in a conspiracy to attempt to deflect questions about President Barack Obama
's citizenship
, or to boost Obama's approval ratings and guarantee him popularity during the 2012 U.S. presidential election
.
stated "If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid". She referred to America as a
"lying, murderous Empire", and told Americans, whom she called "brainwashed," to "put [their] flags away." Sheehan further stated on her Facebook page, "The only proof of [bin Laden] being dead again that we were offered was Obama telling us that there was a DNA match between the man killed by the Navy SEALs and OBL. Even if it is possible to get DNA done so quickly, and the regime did have bin Laden DNA lying around a lab somewhere – where is the empirical proof?" An article in The Village Voice
criticized her suggestion that Osama bin Laden wasn't dead, writing that "she appears to have really lost it."
On Russia Today
, radio host Alex Jones claimed that bin Laden had been dead for nearly ten years, and that his body had been kept frozen on ice to be used as a propaganda tool at a future politically expedient time. In 2002, he claimed that an anonymous White House source had told him that bin Laden "is frozen, literally frozen and that he would be rolled out in the future at some date". In a separate interview in 2002, Steve Pieczenik
told Jones that bin Laden had been dead for months. Pieczenik also later suggested that bin Laden had died from complications of Marfan Syndrome
in 2002. Jones also pointed to similar comments made by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
in 2003, "Yes we have been told by intelligence that they’ve got him, Bush may roll him out but because they exposed that at the election they didn’t do it". Jones further voiced doubts about the official story of bin Laden's death on his radio show telling his listeners, "My friends, this is a complete and total hoax."
The Iranian-controlled network Press TV
interviewed journalist Webster Tarpley and researcher Stephen Lendman, who both doubted the official story of bin Laden's death. Tarpley said he believed bin Laden had been dead for a long time. He also claimed that the public was deceived by a staged announcement. Moreover, Lendman said that bin Laden died of natural causes in mid-December 2001—citing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto (who later stated that she misspoke) —and that bin Laden's supposed death was strategically timed as a distraction so Obama's approval rating would increase, despite a very weak American economy. Both Tarpley and Lendman suggested that Obama's announcement was also an excuse to involve the United States in wars with Pakistan and Middle Eastern nations.
Andrew Napolitano
, the host of the Fox Business program Freedom Watch
, said bin Laden's death could not be verified and insinuated that Obama was using the death of bin Laden to save his "lousy presidency." On the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends
, co-host Steve Doocy
challenged the DNA evidence confirming bin Laden's death, saying that the report was "just numbers on a piece of paper". An article in Mediaite
criticized Napolitano's remarks, opining that "such conspiracy talk is ultimately beneath Napolitano and his often enlightened discussions."
Canadian deputy Leader of the Opposition and MP, Thomas Mulcair
, stated in an interview with CBC Television
that "I don't think from what I've heard that those pictures [of bin Laden's body] exist". His remarks were picked up by dozens of U.S. media outlets, and criticized by various Canadian politicians.
An official statement from the Taliban stated that the lack of photos or video footage is suspicious, as their own sources close to bin Laden had not confirmed or denied his death, and that "When the Americans killed Mullah Dadullah (Taliban’s chief military commander) they publicly showed the footage".
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
gave rise to various conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
, hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es, and rumor
Rumor
A rumor or rumour is often viewed as "an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern" However, a review of the research on rumor conducted by Pendleton in 1998 found that research across sociology,...
s. These include the ideas that bin Laden had been dead for years, or is still alive. Doubts about bin Laden's death were fueled by the U.S. military's disposal of his body at sea, the decision to not release photographic evidence of bin Laden's death, the official story on the raid at the Abbottabad compound have changed or directly contradicts previous assertions, and the 25-minute blackout during the raid on bin Laden's compound during which a live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the U.S. special forces was cut off.
On May 2, 2011, an image purporting to show a dead bin Laden was broadcast on Pakistani television. Though the story was picked up by much of the British press, as well the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, it was swiftly removed from websites after it was exposed as a fake on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
On May 4, 2011, the Obama administration announced it would not release any images of bin Laden's dead body. The administration had considered releasing the photos to dispel rumors of a hoax, at the risks of perhaps prompting another attack by al Qaeda and of releasing very graphic images to people who might find them disturbing. Several photos of the aftermath of the raid were given to Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
by an anonymous Pakistani security official, but though all appeared to be authentic, they were taken after the U.S. forces had left and none of them included evidence regarding bin Laden's fate.
On May 6, 2011, it was reported that an al-Qaeda website acknowledged bin Laden's death. On May 11, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
senator and Senate Armed Services Committee member Jim Inhofe
Jim Inhofe
James Mountain "Jim" Inhofe is the senior Senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1994, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007. Inhofe served eight...
viewed "gruesome" photographs of bin Laden's corpse, and later confirmed that the body "was him", adding, "He's history".
The people who promote the conspiracy theories have been referred to by bloggers and mainstream media as "deathers", or "proofers".
Criticism of burial at sea
Doubts about bin Laden's death were fueled by the U.S. military's disposal of his body at sea, though U.S. officials maintained that the burial was necessary because arrangements could not be made with any country to bury bin Laden within 24 hours, as dictated by Muslim practiceIslamic funeral
Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia calls for burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah...
, even though it is against Muslim beliefs to have a sea burial. The Muslim practice has not always been followed by the U.S. in the past. For example, the bodies of Uday Hussein
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
and Qusay Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...
, sons of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, were held for 11 days before being released for burial. In that instance, however, several Iraqi cities were reluctant to grant a gravesite for Saddam's sons.
The decision to bury bin Laden at sea was questioned by some Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic scholars and by some 9/11 victims and their relatives. Professor Peter Romaniuk of John Jay College described the burial at sea as a way to forestall further questions. He stated: "Obviously they’re going to be under pressure to show a body or produce further evidence, but this was a way of taking that issue off the table."
In Pakistan
A number of AbbottabadAbbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
, Pakistan, residents said they believed the announcement of Osama's death was a U.S. conspiracy against Pakistan. A local lawyer said, "They’re just making it up. Nobody has seen the body." Some residents doubted not only that bin Laden was dead, but also that he ever lived among them.
Senior Pakistani officials disseminated the theory that no firefight ever took place, and that U.S. forces captured bin Laden alive, executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
him outside the compound in front of his 12-year-old daughter, and took his body away on a helicopter.
In an interview with CNN's Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
, Hamid Gul former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...
(ISI) stated that he believed bin Laden had died many years ago and that the official death story given out by the American media was a hoax. Furthermore, he thinks the American government knew about bin Laden's death for years, "They must have known that he had died some years ago so they were waiting. They were keeping this story on the ice and they were looking for an appropriate moment and it couldn't be a better moment because President Obama had to fight off his first salvo in his next year's election as he runs for the presidential and for the White House and I think it is a very appropriate time to come out, bring this out of the closet."
Yet another scenario was reported in an article in the Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
newspaper Ausaf
Ausaf
Ausaf is an international Urdu daily newspaper which is being published simultaneously from Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Muzaffarabad, Frankfurt and London. Its chief editor is Mehtab Khan Abbasi....
, which quoted military sources as saying, "Bin Laden has been killed somewhere else. But since the US intends to extend the Afghan war into Pakistan, and accuse Pakistan, and obtain a permit for its military's entry into the country, it has devised the [assassination] scenario."
Bashir Qureshi, who lives just a bean field away from where bin Laden was shot and whose windows were blown out in the raid, was dismissive. "Nobody believes it. We've never seen any Arabs around here, he was not here."
In Iran
A number of Iranians said they believed that bin Laden was working with the U.S. during the entire war on terror. Ismail Kosari, an Iranian MP, said that bin Laden:was just a puppet controlled by the Zionist regime in order to present a violent image of Islam after the September 11 attacks. Bin Laden's death reflects the passing of a temporary US pawn, and symbolizes the end of one era and the beginning of another in American policy in the region.Another MP, Javad Jahangirzadeh, said he believed that it was the U.S. that had carried out the terrorist attacks, and bin Laden was the main source of help. He stated, "The West has been very pleased with bin Laden's operations in recent years. Now the West was forced to kill him in order to prevent a possible leak of information he had, information more precious than gold." Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi claims that bin Laden died from an illness before the US raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Iran has documents to prove it, "we have credible information that Bin Laden died some time ago of a disease."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "I have exact information that bin Laden was held by the American military for sometime... until the day they killed him he was a prisoner held by them," in a live interview on Iranian state television.
On the internet
FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
groups formed discussing a rumor, in what has been dubbed the "death hoax". Some blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s theorised that the raid and killing were faked, in a conspiracy to attempt to deflect questions about President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's citizenship
Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories about the citizenship of Barack Obama claim that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore not eligible to be President of the United States under Article Two of the U.S. Constitution. Some theories allege that Obama was born in Kenya, not...
, or to boost Obama's approval ratings and guarantee him popularity during the 2012 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
.
Others
Anti-war activist Cindy SheehanCindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
stated "If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid". She referred to America as a
"lying, murderous Empire", and told Americans, whom she called "brainwashed," to "put [their] flags away." Sheehan further stated on her Facebook page, "The only proof of [bin Laden] being dead again that we were offered was Obama telling us that there was a DNA match between the man killed by the Navy SEALs and OBL. Even if it is possible to get DNA done so quickly, and the regime did have bin Laden DNA lying around a lab somewhere – where is the empirical proof?" An article in The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
criticized her suggestion that Osama bin Laden wasn't dead, writing that "she appears to have really lost it."
On Russia Today
Russia Today
Russia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News...
, radio host Alex Jones claimed that bin Laden had been dead for nearly ten years, and that his body had been kept frozen on ice to be used as a propaganda tool at a future politically expedient time. In 2002, he claimed that an anonymous White House source had told him that bin Laden "is frozen, literally frozen and that he would be rolled out in the future at some date". In a separate interview in 2002, Steve Pieczenik
Steve Pieczenik
Steve Pieczenik, MD, PhD is an American psychiatrist, former State Department official, author and publisher.-Early Life and Education:...
told Jones that bin Laden had been dead for months. Pieczenik also later suggested that bin Laden had died from complications of Marfan Syndrome
Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers....
in 2002. Jones also pointed to similar comments made by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
in 2003, "Yes we have been told by intelligence that they’ve got him, Bush may roll him out but because they exposed that at the election they didn’t do it". Jones further voiced doubts about the official story of bin Laden's death on his radio show telling his listeners, "My friends, this is a complete and total hoax."
The Iranian-controlled network Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
interviewed journalist Webster Tarpley and researcher Stephen Lendman, who both doubted the official story of bin Laden's death. Tarpley said he believed bin Laden had been dead for a long time. He also claimed that the public was deceived by a staged announcement. Moreover, Lendman said that bin Laden died of natural causes in mid-December 2001—citing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto (who later stated that she misspoke) —and that bin Laden's supposed death was strategically timed as a distraction so Obama's approval rating would increase, despite a very weak American economy. Both Tarpley and Lendman suggested that Obama's announcement was also an excuse to involve the United States in wars with Pakistan and Middle Eastern nations.
Andrew Napolitano
Andrew Napolitano
Andrew Paolo Napolitano is a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and now a political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel. Napolitano started on the channel in 1998, and currently serves as the network's senior judicial analyst, commenting on legal news and trials...
, the host of the Fox Business program Freedom Watch
Freedom Watch
Freedom Watch is a television show hosted by Judge Andrew Napolitano. It was created in February 2009 as an online show and originally webcast once a week. In September 2009, the show began webcasting 3 or 4 times a week...
, said bin Laden's death could not be verified and insinuated that Obama was using the death of bin Laden to save his "lousy presidency." On the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends
Fox & Friends
Fox & Friends is an American morning television show on the Fox News Channel.-History:The show begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time with the latest Fox News Live headlines and analyzes the news of the morning...
, co-host Steve Doocy
Steve Doocy
Stephen James "Steve" Doocy is an American network-television personality on the Fox News Channel, journalist, and a best selling author.-Early life:...
challenged the DNA evidence confirming bin Laden's death, saying that the report was "just numbers on a piece of paper". An article in Mediaite
Mediaite
Mediaite is a news and opinion blog covering politics and entertainment in the media industry as well as other issues. It is the flagship blog of Abrams Media, a ring of blogs run by ABC legal analyst Dan Abrams and also featuring Gossip Cop, Geekosystem, Styleite, Sports Grid, The Mary Sue and...
criticized Napolitano's remarks, opining that "such conspiracy talk is ultimately beneath Napolitano and his often enlightened discussions."
Canadian deputy Leader of the Opposition and MP, Thomas Mulcair
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
, stated in an interview with CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
that "I don't think from what I've heard that those pictures [of bin Laden's body] exist". His remarks were picked up by dozens of U.S. media outlets, and criticized by various Canadian politicians.
An official statement from the Taliban stated that the lack of photos or video footage is suspicious, as their own sources close to bin Laden had not confirmed or denied his death, and that "When the Americans killed Mullah Dadullah (Taliban’s chief military commander) they publicly showed the footage".
Other conspiracy theories
Numerous other conspiracy theories relating to bin Laden's death that were discussed include:- That bin Laden had been killed a number of years prior in the Tora BoraTora BoraTora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...
mountains, but that this information had been kept secret to encourage continued support for the war on terrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. - That bin Laden died much earlier than reported, and the announcement of bin Laden's death was delayed, so as not to clash with the festivities surrounding the wedding of Prince William and Catherine MiddletonWedding of Prince William and Catherine MiddletonThe wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their...
. - That the announcement of bin Laden's death was timed to conflict with and take Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
's Celebrity ApprenticeThe Apprentice (U.S. season 11)The Celebrity Apprentice 4 is the eleventh installment of the United States version of the reality television series, The Apprentice. On May 16, 2010, NBC announced that the show would be returning to its Celebrity Apprentice format after returning to its regular version for the tenth season of...
off the air, to punish Trump for publicly questioning the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificateBarack Obama citizenship conspiracy theoriesConspiracy theories about the citizenship of Barack Obama claim that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore not eligible to be President of the United States under Article Two of the U.S. Constitution. Some theories allege that Obama was born in Kenya, not...
. - That it is suspicious that bin Laden's death occurred exactly eight years after George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's declaration of "mission accomplished" in Iraq and Afghanistan. - That bin Laden and Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
were announced dead on May 1 (U.S. time), leading to a theory that the IlluminatiIlluminatiThe Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
"sacrificed" them on one of their holiest holidays.
See also
- Reactions to the death of Osama bin LadenReactions to the death of Osama bin LadenOn May 1, 2011, United States President Barack Obama confirmed that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been killed in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.-Official reaction:...
- Al Qaeda
- List of conspiracy theories
External links
- Bin Laden Is Dead: The Reaction – slideshow by Life magazine