A few comparisons are in order between the December 2001 story in the New York Times and the more recent stories published over the last week or so.

The first time he died of natural causes, a lung problem:

Only The Pakistan Observer went further, with a front-page report under an Islamabad dateline that quoted an unnamed Taliban leader as saying that Mr. bin Laden ''had a peaceful natural death in mid-December in the vicinity'' of the Tora Bora mountains. The report said that his death was the result of a ''serious lung complication.''

The second time he was killed in a hail of gunfire from a secret team of US Navy SEALs, while unsuccessfully attempting to use his 15 y.o. wife as a human shield.

The first time he was buried, it was in accordance with his Wahibian beliefs, and in the ground, in a ceremony attended by his fellow Taliban.

''About 30 close associates of Osama bin Laden in Al Qaeda including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members and some 'Taliban friends' attended the funeral rites,'' the paper said. ''A volley of bullets was also fired to pay final tributes to the 'great leader.' ''

The second time he was given an ocean burial, within hours of his death by US forces just so his gravesite wouldn't ever become a place of pilgrimage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/26/world/a-nation-challenged-the-pursuit-high-level-murmurings-that-bin-laden-is-dead.html?scp=2&sq=osama+bin+laden+dead&st=nyt

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