It Is Reasonable To Ask

Let us return to July, 2001.

Osama bin Laden is hospitalized in Dubai for treatment of a serious kidney ailment.

It is reasonable to ask how his health fared in the subsequent decade, living as he must have for some part of the time in fairly primitive circumstances--he was, after all, a fugitive from justice in the third world.

Is it possible that he died of natural causes sometime during the 10 years that elapsed between September 11, 2001 and May 1, 2011?

If he did die of natural causes in that period, would the intelligence services of the United States or its allies learn of his death?

If the intelligence services of the United States did learn of his death by natural causes in that period, would this information be disclosed to the American public?

Was not Osama bin Laden worth more to the War On Terror alive and at large as a bogeyman than he would be if he were dead?

Would not Osama bin Laden's death by natural causes rob the American people of the satisfaction of revenge on bin Laden for the crimes against humanity of which he was accused (but for which he was never tried)?

Do the aforementioned possibilities represent incentives for members of the United States government involved with the War On Terror (some of whom have, in fact, profited from it handsomely, e.g., Richard Cheney) to withhold the intelligence of Osama bin Laden's death by natural causes from the American people?

Has interest in the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden among members of the American public not cooled in recent years?

Upon taking office in January 2009, was President Obama briefed as to the current intelligence on Osama bin Laden?

If Osama bin Laden had passed away prior to Barack Obama's taking office, or during his first term as President, would not President Obama be informed of this fact?

As of April 2011, was not Barack Obama campaigning for re-election?

As of April 2011, were not Barack Obama's prospects for re-election in 2012 less than certain (to put it mildly)?

Have the stories concerning the alleged assassination of Osama bin Laden in May of 2011 been consistent or shifting?

Has the American public been provided proof of Osama bin Laden's assassination?

Are "good taste" and "decorum" adequate justifications for withholding evidence from the American public in a matter vital to the national interest?

Have officials of the United States government not provided false or misleading information to the American public regarding other matters vital to the national interest in the recent past?

When will members of the American public begin to demand that U.S. government officials provide it with evidence of claims that it makes relative to matters vital to the national interest?