Maybe there's no video because our brave Marine pulled out a "I'll show you how a Marine dies!" moment and ruined their snuff film. No fun to watch if the murderers seem like pathetic coward scum.

Al-Queda is in its death throws. In comparision with the 9/11 attack, the London attack, although tragic, wasn't even close to the same scale. It was even far less than the Madrid bombing.

This claim is an anemic attempt to appear effective. Their supporters & followers may be sated for a short while on false or poorly proven claims, but not for ever.

err, umm... I should have made a distinction between the Taliban and Al-Queda, but in effect they are in the same boat.

Another reason for no video: Operation Red Wing, a US-led search for Taliban and Al-Qaeda guerrillas in the mountain wilderness of Kunar province may have been close to UBL's suspected refuge says the UK Timesonline. Why share any video details with your clever enemies?

Before the coalition's invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA and Special Ops types knew the Taleban's penchant for battlefield beheading, which was well published in the mainstream. The real reason to doubt their claimed beheading would be absence of the alleged victim's real name or physical description (unique scars or tatoos).

If this report was meant to deter any SOF folks in the AOR, I can tell you that it is seems more likely that the result may be a few less captured alive with all body parts intact Taliban fighters in the forseeable future, though this kind of information won't be available to anyone.