Osama Bin Laden Health
All information about bin Laden should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.
- Bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957 [1a].
- He is 6 feet 4 inches in height, according to a journalist who met him. ["Meeting Osama bin Laden." Frontline/PBS. KCSM-TV 5 April 2005.]
- A slim biography, published in Egypt in 1991 reported that about 1987 bin Laden had health problems that:
"forced him to lie down intermittently for hours at a time. He suffered from low blood pressure, which was treated by an Egyptian doctor from Peshawar, and diabetes, for which he received insulin shots. One of the photographs in the book shows bin Laden getting a shot after being exposed to 'poisonous gas.' Another shows bin Laden tending a wound in his foot. [1b]
- Comment: Being "forced to lie down" could be a result of hypotension, autonomic dysfunction, or some other cause of weakness, but it could also be a sign of pathological sleepiness. Of his experience fighting the Soviets, bin Laden has said:
Once I was only thirty meters from the Russians and they were trying to capture me. I was under bombardment, but I was so peaceful in my heart that I fell asleep. [1c]
[If not due to disease, this feat is even more startling than Gordon Cooper's famous nap-before-liftoff.]
- On Dec. 8, 1998, NBC News reported that bin Laden had only "months to live," explaining that he was suffering from heart problems and possibly cancer. This was obviously an exaggeration [1d].
- His beard has been streaked with white since around January 2000 (at least), when he was described as "visibly aged" [1e].
- "Based on an analysis of the breathing and speaking patterns Osama bin Laden exhibited in a videotape released in December [2001], Western intelligence officers believe he had suffered a severe chest wound but survived a U.S. air and ground assault in eastern Afghanistan." ["Al Qaeda's New Leaders." By Susan Schmidt and Douglas Farah. Washington Post. October 29, 2002; Page A01]
- There is an often-repeated statement, not "supported by firm evidence," that bin Laden has Marfan syndrome [e.g., "U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight." By Barton Gellman and Thomas E. Ricks. Washington Post. April 17, 2002; Page A01].
A journalist who met bin Laden in the 1990s described him as "lithe and muscular." Persons with Marfan syndrome are generally not muscular, but there are exceptions, e.g. the occasional college basketball player that proves to have the condition. ["Meeting Osama bin Laden." Frontline/PBS. KCSM-TV 5 April 2005.]
- There have been reports that bin Laden requires dialysis because of kidney disease. [e.g. Rohan Gunaratna, on the Charlie Rose television show, July 14, 2004.]
- On July 1, 2002, Time Magazine "reported that physicians who analyzed photos of bin Laden determined that he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble." ["Bin Laden Alive as of Late December Report." Reuters. Sun Jun 30, 2002; 2:11 PM ET.]
- The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that bin Laden does not need dialysis, but does suffer from kidney stones. ["CIA is looking for a few good doctors" by Robert Windrem, NBC News, Dec. 29, 2004 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6765861/∞ ]
A journalist who visited bin Laden's camp in the 1990s reported camp members saying that bin Laden had a kidney problem requiring him to drink large amounts of water. The journalist witnessed bin Laden constantly sipping water and green tea in the time they spent together. ["Meeting Osama bin Laden." Frontline/PBS. KCSM-TV 5 April 2005.]
- "The CIA has determined that bin Laden has an enlarged heart and chronically low blood pressure" [Windrem, Ibid.].
- Bin Laden is missing two toes "from a war wound suffered in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet Union" [Windrem, Ibid.]. Several video segments show bin Laden walking with the aid of a stick, ["Meeting Osama bin Laden." Frontline/PBS. KCSM-TV 5 April 2005.] but the reason for this is unclear.
- "At one point, medical analysts thought bin Laden was a 'bit of a hypochondriac,' said one former official, noting that the United States had heard of his constant health complaints. That profile, said one of the officials, was developed with the aid of defectors from al-Qaida [sic] as well as foreign intelligence services, bin Laden family members and U.S. technical intelligence." [Windrem, Ibid.]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7432-0502-2 @ Amazon [a] p. 44 [b] p. 57 [c] pp. 122-123 [d] p. 32 [e] p. 185
Taken from: Medical History of Osama Bin Laden∞.
See also: OsamaBinLaden.
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