While covering the Russian war in Afghanistan, BBC correspondent John Simpson was shocked to learn that Osama Bin Laden, the notorious Saudi-born Muslim terrorist, had offered $500 to a group of mujaheddin fighters to murder him -- and had wept bitterly when they had refused.
"I was relieved," Simpson later recalled, "but felt the price was rather low!"
["The latest report is that Osama bin Laden has shaved his beard, is wearing Western clothes and has had plastic surgery," Jay Leno announced in 2002. "Isn't that amazing? The guy has made just two videos and he's already gone Hollywood!"]
Sources
John Simpson, A mad World, My Masters, Tales From a Traveller`s Life
