The last months of the
disappearance of Bin-Ladin were necessary for his cure from the scars of the plastic
surgery, which he had undergone to alter his features. This surgery was secretly performed
and was part of his plan to escape from the US hot pursuit that had come too close. The
surgery was performed by a Russian plastic surgeon of Chechen origin and he is one most
renowned doctor in his field in Russia.
He had cooperated with the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, and he visited Beirut
in the early seventies and stayed there for a while. This doctor supervised the
establishment of a plastic surgery center inside the Palestinian Sabra refugee camp in an
underground clinic, which was used to alter the features of Palestinian commandos who had
participated in major operations abroad such as the hijacking of aircraft.
During that time, he became acquainted with Dr. Wadi' Haddad, the engineer of foreign
and resounding operations, and they became close friends. The Russian surgeon trained Dr.
Haddad on performing plastic surgeries for which the Palestinian leader later became
famous. In fact, Dr. Haddad used to define the steps of the plastic surgeries that were
performed on him to alter his features and he used to choose the new faces himself. His
wife used to perform the surgery on him under his guidance to ensure complete secrecy even
from his closet aides.
This Russian surgeon was himself responsible for altering the features of the terrorist
Carlos at the request of Dr. Haddad in the wake of the operation that was carried out
against the OPEC oil ministers in Vienna. After spending some time in Beirut, this Russian
doctor returned to Moscow and disappeared from sight and it was said that this was due to
the fact he had retired because of his age. The one who suggested the name of the doctor
and contacted him in his retirement was a person who had strong links with the Palestinian
resistance in Beirut. After the resistance torch was handed over to the fundamentalist
movements, this person managed to establish strong links with Islamic trends.
These connections paved the way for him to establish contacts with Usamah Bin-Ladin
through a Kuwaiti businessman who is a friend of the fundamentalist leader. This
intermediary had been following the information about the US pursuit of Bin-Ladin and
became convinced that he was being cornered. The intermediary also realized that it would
be impossible for Bin-Ladin to escape from the eyes that are following him and counting
the number of the breaths he takes and an idea came to his mind.
He thought that the only chance for Bin-Ladin was to acquire a new identity in order to
escape from and mislead those giving chase to him and remembered his old friend the
Russian plastic surgeon. Before making a move in the direction of Moscow however, he
contacted his Kuwaiti friend, who leads one of the fundamentalist groups and put the idea
to him and asked him to suggest it to Bin-Ladin...
[Bin Laden] accepted the offer in principle and a meeting was held the following night
to approve the details. During the following meeting, an agreement was reached on a number
of basic principles.
They were:
The surgery has to be performed inside the base.
All the technical and human facilities for performing the surgery have to be brought to
the base.
The new face of Bin-Ladin must be kept secret.
A new passport has to be issued for Bin-Ladin bearing his new identity and from a
country that does not accuse him of terrorism.
An extensive camouflage plan has to be prepared in order to provide a cover for the
surgery and conceal the aims of the plan.
During the same meeting, two of the closet aides of Bin-Ladin were entrusted with the
task of making the necessary contacts and arrangements, including the financial
arrangements. Contact with the intermediary was made through the Kuwaiti businessman in
Beirut and a meeting for agreement on the details was arranged between the Bin-Ladin aides
and the intermediary in non-eastern Arab country. The meeting did not last long during
which the intermediary asked for $5 million to be placed at his disposal, including $1
million for the doctor, $1 million for the assisting team, and $3 million for the purchase
of the necessary medical equipment and transportation expenses...
[Upon his arrival at Bin Laden's headquarters in Afghanistan, the] Russian doctor held
several sessions with Bin-Ladin during which he studied the details of his face and he was
also given several pictures of Bin-Ladin taken from different angles. The doctor studied
them carefully and began to prepare draft sketches on paper for the faces of Bin-Ladin
before deciding on a semifinal draft sketch.
He also prepared designs for suggested shapes of the mouth and nose. The doctor also
asked the computer technician who was accompanying him within the team to enter the
pictures and suggested shapes of the face, nose, and mouth of Bin-Ladin into his personal
computer. At the instructions of the doctor, the technician started to test out the
structure of the various pictures of the new face of Bin-Ladin until he reached a picture
that he deemed appropriate.
The doctor presented the picture to Bin-Ladin in a separate meeting and listened to his
remarks and they agreed on the shape and the date for performing the surgery after three
days. The thick beard and hair of Bin-Ladin was cut and he was admitted to the operation
tent alone and the only ones who were present were the assisting team and a doctor who is
close to Bin-Ladin and is believed to have been Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Bin-Ladin remained in the operation room for nearly seven hours after which he emerged
with his face covered by bandages. He was placed in a bed in a corner in the same cave and
separated from the rest of the cave by a curtain and no one was allowed to see him. While
awaiting his recovery from the surgery, agreement was also reached on providing Bin-Ladin
with a passport bearing his new identity and from a country that lies in northernmost
Asia.
Agreement was also reached on performing a plastic surgery on one of his wives so that
she may accompany him also carrying a new passport during the escape after which she would
also return to her country. Plastic surgeries were also performed on two of the closet
aides of Bin-Ladin to escort and guard him and assist him in the journey to the new
headquarters. It was also decided to put Bin-ladin on a strict diet program to increase
his weight and on a physical training program to build his muscles so that absolutely no
one would recognize him.
At the same time, an extensive operation of camouflage and deception was launched.
Information was leaked through exposed persons known to cooperate with the Pakistani
intelligence that Bin-Ladin had disappeared and afterward information was leaked that he
had fled Afghanistan across the Tajik or Iranian borders and then he was reported to have
been killed during his escape.
While Bin-Ladin was lying in his hideout and only seen by his closet men, conflicting
information was pouring into the supercomputer at the US Fort Meade Base. This information
was causing concern for the experts and officials at this base, which is regarded as the
brain center of the US National Security Agency. This concern was further multiplied by
the failure of the eavesdropping and surveillance equipment operating in earth stations
and satellites to pick up or monitor any contact from or to Bin-Ladin.
In fact, his name had completely disappeared from all the monitored communications. The
lack of information stirred the fear of the US security agencies. This was at a time when
other agencies were making contacts with the Taleban Movement in which the name of
Bin-Ladin was being repeatedly mentioned. The head of Bin-Ladin was mentioned as the price
for a major bargain that would lead to US recognition of the of the Taleban government as
the legitimate government in Afghanistan.
However, the unexpected happened when one of the Taleban members who collaborates with
Western intelligence found a few torn papers scattered on the floor at the base. Those
papers soon reached the experts of a Western security agency and who started to study and
analyze them and try to reconstruct them. They used advanced computers to obtain an
enhanced image and were astonished when they realized that this image could be that of the
face of Bin-Ladin with a few changes in details.
They used the pictures of Bin-Ladin that they have in their possession and the enhanced
computer image to obtain an expected picture of the new face of Bin-Ladin. They became
convinced that Bin-Ladin had undergone plastic surgery. However, the experts have not
arrived at a decisive decision. Is the picture that had been sketched actually the new
face of Bin-Ladin or one of the rejected rough drafts?
At any rate, the security agency has distributed the pictures among its agents and
warned them to be alert because their man has put on a new face. Moreover, the agency has
become certain that he would soon leave for another country with a new alias and new
identity."
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the content and articles of this
website, do not necessarily express the opinions of the Zionist Organization of America,
nor the editor and creator of this website.