Bin Laden's black beard baffles U.S. intelligence

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence officials studying Osama bin Laden's videotape released last week said on Monday they were baffled by his new black beard.

"We don't know if it's dyed and trimmed, or real, but that's one of the things we are looking at," Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told a Senate committee hearing. "The last time he appeared it was very different."

The videotape released by his al Qaeda network on Friday was bin Laden's first in nearly three years. In it, his beard was black and neatly cropped, unlike the untrimmed gray of previous appearances. Analysts say the tape was made no earlier than last month.

McConnell reiterated an administration assessment that bin Laden's video -- calling the United States vulnerable and encouraging Americans to embrace Islam - did not appear to be a signal for a new attack. But he said al Qaeda's hostile intent was clear.

The beard has also mystified private analysts, who said bin Laden may be trying to enhance his image as a leader or who simply called it bizarre. M.J. Gohel of the Asia-Pacific Foundation said bin Laden looked "vain and ridiculous."

"It does not fit with the image he has so carefully nurtured, the masquerade of his being a holy warrior devoid of normal human traits," he said.