Bin Laden: Hero or Villian?

Osama bin Laden has been on the FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' list for the best part of a decade. He was initially added in June 1999 in connection with the August 7, 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi; however, the status of his arrest warrant was updated following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers (regarding speculation that he was the mastermind). He is being hunted as a result of 'Murder Of U.S. Nationals Outside The United States, Conspiracy To Murder U.S. Nationals Outside The United States And Attack On A Federal Facility Resulting In Death'. There is a U.S. $25 million bounty on his head.

WikiLeaks has claimed that the United States Government have been complaining about the PR bin Laden has been receiving in Pakistan. "'Wanted' posters and matchboxes distributed in Pakistan were met by shops selling pro-Osama souvenir versions", an article by Declan Walsh on the The Guardian website stated. The poster below was distributed by the United States in August 1998.

The Taliban, "in sharp contrast with their ordinary execrable public relations performance", was doing better than the US, the message continued. We face a formidable foe among those churning out pro-Osama propaganda." These comments have prompted the government to reassess their approach on bin Laden based propaganda in the United States. Whilst the majority of Westerners see Osama as a threat, he is widely accepted as a hero amongst  militant groups in predominantly Islamic countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.FBI: Osama Wanted Poster

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