Dead or alive, on his 50th birthday ghost of the Hindu Kush haunts US

CIA think they know where Osama bin Laden is.
So do local tribesmen - hiding in the White House

Osama bin Laden marks his 50th birthday today, most likely at a hideout in the tribal lands straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's tempting to imagine the grey-bearded jihadi hunched over a cake with burning candles inside a cave, smiling henchmen gathered behind him.

In reality it's not likely to be much of a bash. Birthday parties are frowned upon by Wahhabi puritans such as the al-Qaida leader, who consider such celebrations a vulgar western import. But as he passes another milestone he at least has reason to enjoy a quiet smile.

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America's spies are convinced OBL, as they call him, is hiding in Pakistan's tribal belt. "To the best of our knowledge the senior leadership, number one and two, are there," said Admiral Mike McConnell, the new director of national intelligence, last week. Based on this the CIA is sending fresh operatives to trap him, ABC News reported last Tuesday.

But if the Americans think he is in the border areas, the tribesmen who live there think the opposite. Across the border in Afghanistan the belief that Bin Laden has already been caught by America - and is even hidden inside the White House - is remarkably common. "Many, many people believe such stories," said Sarah Chayes, a writer who lives in Kandahar. If America really has such strong soldiers and intrusive satellites, they conclude, Bin Laden must already be in the bag.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,2030777,00.html