An e-mailer suggests an new WaPo Style section piece: “Osama Bin Laden: Evil and His Roots are Showing,” based on these AP details:
One difference in his appearance was immediately obvious. The announcement had a still photo from the coming video, showing bin Laden addressing the camera, his beard fully black. In his past videos, bin Laden’s beard was almost entirely gray with dark streaks.Bin Laden’s beard appears to have been dyed, a popular practice among Arab leaders, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terror messages.”I think it works for their (al-Qaida’s) benefit that he looks young, he looks healthy,” Katz said.