duties. The latest proof that he is alive is that he sent me a letter of condolences after the martyrdom of my brother. He advised me to follow my brother's path." Mohammed's brother Dadullah had led military operations for the Taliban until his death in May 2007. Mohammed stated that "Sheikh Osama prefers not to be seen or meet anyone because if he makes himself available to the media maybe he will be facing danger." September 7: Former counter-terrorism official Richard A. Clarke speculated that bin Laden's "phony looking beard" in a recent videotaped message may mean his original beard has been shaved to help him blend into different Muslim communities. Clarke stated to ABC News that beards would stand out in southeast Asia, the Philippines, or Indonesia, and noted that "No one's thought he was there, but that is an environment where most Muslim men normally don't have beards." 2008 July 12: Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, speaking in opposition to drone attacks in Pakistan, claimed to the British Sunday Times that "If Osama was in Pakistan we would know, with all the thousands of troops we have sent into the tribal areas in recent months. If he and all these four or five top people were in our area they would have been caught, the way we are searching." Malik claimed that drone strikes in Pakistan were a waste of time, stating that "according to our information Osama is in Afghanistan, probably Kunar." November: CIA Director Michael Hayden, in a speech to the Atlantic Council, states that bin Laden is probably hiding in the tribal area of northwest Pakistan and that his capture remains a top U.S. priority. Hayden states that bin Laden is "putting a lot of energy into his own survival, a lot of energy into his own security. In fact, he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads." 2009 February 17: A research team led by Thomas W. Gillespie and John A. Agnew of UCLA publish a report in which they use satellite-aided geographical analysis to pinpoint three compounds in Parachinar, Pakistan as likely hideouts of bin Laden. March: The New York Daily News reported that the hunt for bin Laden had centered in the Chitral District of Pakistan, including the Kalam Valley. November 29: News report states bin Laden is living in Pakistan and Gordon Brown