This morning in Alaska, as the power flickers in the 80 mph wind, and rain on ice makes getting the newspaper impossible, I'll survive. But turning to my laptop, instead of yesterday's newspaper delivered today, I read that the trans-administration national security apparatchiks have a new Osama bin Laden tape for us.
I don't know whether this guy is dead or alive. Do you? If so, why?
This will be brief. I'm not going to go into the arcane subjects of the tunnels of Tora Bora, the difficulties of carting dialysis machines up and down icy mountain trails, software programs for voice manipulation, and so on.
I'm not going to tell you whether or not I believe bin Laden is alive or dead. I'm not going to ask you so much what your view on the dead-vs-alive issue so much as this:
Q: What is the best proof you've seen since Tora Bora, that Osama bin Laden might actually be alive today? Have you seen any verifiable "proof of life" on the guy since early 2002, that couldn't have been manipulated?
And there is a poll...
Update (10:30 a.m. Pacific): OK, at this point, almost 2x as many poll respondents feel 'it doesn't matter" or "don't know," as say "alive."
Comments have yet to posit an existent, let alone recent "proof of life."
I'd like to ask another question for commenters: What advantage would bin Laden gain from not posing for a picture next to the front page from yesterday's or last week's Los Angeles Times?