Professor Says He Knows Where Bin Laden Is Hiding

Has a geography professor done what the US can't, locate Osama Bin Laden? That's the claim that Thomas Gillespie at the University of California in Los Angeles is making.

The professor and his team used patterns of how animal species spread to track down the head of al Qaeda. They report that he's in a North West Pakistan town in the tribal region. The team figured in the need for electricity, ceilings high enough to accommodate his height, spare rooms for body guards and security. That left three walled compounds. Like out of the television show "Num3bers" the team used mathematical models to theorize that Bid Laden would be close to the last place that he was spotted. They also figured in the need for secrecy. If they are correct the US forces should be going to Parachinar which is only 12 miles away from the Afghanistan border. The town would be able to support medical needs like the dialysis that Bin Laden reportedly uses. Using satellite pictures the team even has the location down to one of three houses. Not everyone is convinced though that the research is viable. The Guardian reports:

Kim Rossmo of Texas State University, who has worked with the military to find terrorists told USA Today: "The idea of identifying three buildings in a city of half a million especially one in a country the authors have likely never visited is somewhat overconfident."

Gillespie`s forte is Biogeography, Forest Ecosystems and Remote Sensing.