Spanish Lawmaker: FBI Used My Photo for 'New' Usama Wanted Poster

A Spanish lawmaker was horrified to find out the FBI used his photograph as part of a digitally enhanced image showing what Usama bin Laden might look like today, he said Saturday, calling into question the crime-fighting agency's credibility in battling terrorism. Gaspar Llamazares of the United Left party said he would no longer feel safe traveling to the United States after his hair and facial wrinkles were taken from the Internet and appeared on a wanted poster updating the U.S. government's 1998 photo of the Al Qaeda leader. "I was surprised and angered because it's the most shameless use of a real person to make up the image of a terrorist," Llamazares said at a news conference Saturday. "It's almost like out of a comedy if it didn't deal with matters as serious as bin Laden and citizens' security." The FBI said in a statement Saturday that it was aware of the similarities between their age-progressed image "and that of an existing photograph of a Spanish public official." "The forensic artist was unable to find suitable features among the reference photographs and obtained those features, in part, from a photograph he found on the Internet," the statement sent to The Associated Press said. The photo appeared on a U.S. State Department Web site rewardsforjustice.net, where a reward of up to $25 million is offered for bin Laden, wanted in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. The FBI said the photo of bin Laden will be removed from the Web site. Llamazares said he planned to ask the U.S. government for an explanation and reserved the right to take legal action. The State Department told a reporter to call back Tuesday after the U.S. federal Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday. Llamazares said he couldn't believe it when he was first told about the similarity, but he quickly realized the seriousness of the situation. The 52-year-old politician said he would not feel safe traveling in the U.S. now, because many airports use biometrics technology that compares the physical characteristics of travelers to passport or other photographs. "I have no similarity, physically or ideologically, to the terrorist bin Laden," he said.