Opinion

Opinion: Geronimo is back in the news with Osama bin Laden





"Geronimo was an Apache leader in the 19th century. More than 100 years after his death the Native American warrior's name is back in the news when it was revealed that "Geronimo" was the code name used for Osama Bin Laden while the U.S. special forces plotted to kill him.

Born in what would later become New Mexico in 1829, Geronimo spent many years successfully fighting Mexican and U.S. armies until 1886. when he and 35 warriors surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles near the Arizona-New Mexico border.

Geronimo was sent to an Army outpost at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where he eventually died of pneumonia in 1909.

In 1918, according to legend, members of the secret Skull and Bones club at Yale (including, allegedly, former President George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush) dug up Geronimo's grave when a group of Army volunteers from Ivy League school was stationed at Fort Sill during World War I. The grave robbers took Geronimo's skull and some of his bones."

Get the Story:
Top of the Ticket by Andrew Malcolm: Geronimo: A century after his death, mysteriously tied to Bin Laden, the CIA and Skull and Bones (The Los Angeles Times 5/3)

Related Stories:
Opinion: US slanders Geronimo's name with Osama mission (5/3)
Rep. Pearce: White House crowd celebrates Osama's death (5/2)

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