What Osama bin Laden Might Look Like in Disguise

By Paul Bedard

Ever wonder what terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden might look like if he shaved his trademark beard and turned in his robes and camouflage for a western business suit? Well, apparently so did the intelligence analysts at the National Counterterrorism Center. In their popular annual desk calendar, just received at Whispers, a page about the al Qaeda leader features an altered photograph, showing a neatly trimmed bin Laden in a dark suit and tie, looking more like a used-car dealer than a guerrilla fighter.

Bin Laden has a $27 million bounty on his head and a distinctive visage that has become remarkably familiar over the past decade, but the Westernized Osama looks surprisingly different. Still, it's a face only his mother could kiss. And there are some things he won't be able to disguise. The NCTC's calendar points out that he remains unusually tall (somewhere between 6 foot 4 and 6 foot 6) and walks with a cane. The NCTC, which is the U.S. intelligence community’s primary analytical shop for terrorism, has not yet posted its 2009 calendar, but the 2008 version is on its website.