Osama’worth more alive than dead’ to the US, says his son

LONDON - Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden’s fourth son, Omar, has told the Rolling Stones magazine in an interview that his father is worth more to the United States alive than dead because his death could unleash “very,very nasty” attacks by militants.

The interview, which was conducted in part in a Damascus strip club, saw Omar saying that his father had already won the War on Terror because he had achieved his aim of humbling the US and would probably not feel the need to launch more big attacks.

According to The Times, he also described US President Barack Obama’s decision to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan as a big mistake that would damage the US economy.

“It is like adding water to sand, as we say in the Arab world. It only makes the sand heavier,” Omar Osama bin Laden told the magazine.

“If I was in his (Obama’s) position, the first thing I would do is make a truce. Then, for six months or one year, no fighting, no soldiers. Afghanistan can never be won. It has nothing to do with my father. It is the Afghan people,” Omar said.

“It is going to be worse when my father dies. The world is going to be very, very nasty then. It will be a disaster,” he added.

Omar makes a living as a scrap metal merchant in Jeddah. He has been banned from entering Britain with his wife, Zaina, over fears that his presence would cause “considerable public concern”.

He said that he respected former president Bill Clinton for his “smart” decisions to attack his father’s training camp with cruise missiles in retaliation for attacks on US interests in Africa. (ANI)