It took 10 years but the chief terrorist got his due. Osama Bin Laden confirmed killed. And apparently by a special forces bullet and not a drone.
The President of the United States made the announcement tonight himself. He was found in “a compound” in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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I am wondering if this article is related:
ABBOTTABAD: Three loud blasts were heard near the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul Road late Sunday night and a military helicopter also crashed. Sources told Geo News that heavy firing was heard in the area before the chopper crashed.
Windowpanes of the nearby buildings and houses were smashed due to the intensity of the blasts, the sources said. Eyewitnesses said first sound of heavy firing was heard and then there was a huge blast. Fire erupted at the scene of the occurrence and according to latest reports police and fire brigade teams were rushing towards the blast scene. Security forces cordoned off the entire area and military helicopters were also hovering over the area. [Link]
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p>The helicopter cited above is rumored to have been a Pakistani one is now known to have been a Special Forces helicopter that had mechanical problems. I will update this post tonight with the latest.
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p>Update 1: Here is an intriguing article from two weeks ago about a possible Indonesian terrorist found in Abbottabad earlier this year:
Abdul Hameed in Northwest Pakistan’s hill town of Abottabad would have never imagined that his act of kindness, of giving a foreign couple food and shelter for a few days would blow up in his face.
He had come across a foreign couple, cold and shivering in the street, and could he give them food and shelter for a few days?
Hameed had spare rooms on the second-floor that he occasionally let out since his older children had left home…
The run of good luck had ended for Umar Patek, an al-Qaida-linked Indonesian militant who for 10 years had been on the run from a 1 million US dollar bounty on his head, for allegedly helping build the bombs used in the 2002 bombings of nightclubs in Bali that killed 202 people. [Link]
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Update 2: Wow! Check out this article I dug up from just a week ago:
Pakistan’s army chief said Saturday his forces had “broken the back” of Islamist militants after the United States criticised the country’s efforts to quell Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.
“The terrorists’ backbone has been broken and God willing we will soon prevail,” General Ashfaq Kayani said in a speech at a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in northwestern garrison town of Abbottabad. The White House this month criticised Pakistan’s efforts to defeat the Taliban in its border regions, in a report immediately rejected by Islamabad. [Link]
If this article is correct then Bin Laden was staying within a couple of miles of Kayani’s speech!
Update 3 (12:31a.m. EST): The Atlantic suspects they know which compound. I’d take it with a grain of salt for now.
Update 4 (1:32a.m. EST): This is likely going to come down to two brothers that were couriers. The CIA were set up on them for a long time.
Can you be more specific?
Yes, what you say is true, Alina! If someone is intent on being irrational, you really can’t reason with them.
I am left with questions. Just because hitler & most of his associates were killed or forced to kill himself at the ending of WW2, it didn’t mean that the nazis/aryan movement/white supremist types have gone and died with them. Will bin laden’s followers and associates crawl back to their septic tanks, or go underground, or get psyched to do more mischief? They are outnumbered vastly, I would imagine. But these criminals are sneaky, unethical & clever, as we have seen in their past actions. They seem to strike when least expected.
On a side note, many Muslims around the world are celebrating today according to cnn.com. They must be relieved and hopefully they will be able to have some peace of mind now. I am positive the average Pakistani had no clue what was going on and just trying to go about their own business. (Is the Pakistani media heavily or partly censored? Many of my Indian relatives in India seemed to have a good sense of what was going on and they turned out to be correct about bin laden hiding in Pakistan. They are not extraordinary – they just go online and read the local papers, watch the news, cnn international etc. Unlike Palin, they can name their local newspapers.)
I am very happy that this scumbag is dead.
Bastard caused so much pain in the world.
Its too much to hope we can get back to less hatred now. But this man singlehandedly created so much hate.
“Is the Pakistani media heavily or partly censored?” No the Pakistani media is not censored. They are as free as the Indian media (except for occasional threats from the Taliban & ISI). The problem with them is that they are all like Fox. So all the information gets distorted and you hear only one side of the story. Also, Pakistan as a whole nation is living in denial. There are one or two good outlets though. Dawn (www.dawn.com) is as good as any paper in India if not better.
So when are we going to see India assasinate those who initiated the Mumbai attacks?? HMMMMMMMM
Good point, Anil. But I think India would get some bad press if they tried to bring the Mumbai attackers/enablers/planners/initiators/etc to justice. Or like Yo Dad mentioned in his last post , if India could try catching other goons like Daewood or other violent terrorists. Probably won’t happen.
First, I doubt if the government of Pakistan would allow Indian armed forces or the Indian version of Navy SEALS inside the borders of Pakistan. Second, I am not sure if the UN or the rest of the world approve of Indian armed forces venturing into Pakistan, no matter how strong the reason is. I am convinced the Mumbai attack was planned and carried out by hoodlums and criminals of Pakistani origin. Curious to know if it was financed and given blessings by Pakistani intelligence or some other powerful, violent gang inside Pakistan. I don’t know the answers and haven’t researched the topic enough.
Since civilians/ foreigners (from the US, European countries, etc) also perished in the Mumbai hotel attacks, perhaps the US (or NATO forces?) could work on catching the masterminds & others behind the attacks. Although I don’t think that will be a priority or get on the US agenda, at this point realistically, or if at all.
Thanks, Yo dad – what you say is in agreement with one Indian (from India) relative I briefly spoke with today. Musharaff appears to be a very corrupt politician but he has lots of connections and power.
Extra special thanks and salutes to the Navy Seals, and other US Armed forces who expertly caught that human garbage bin laden. No civilians were hurt, except one unfortunate soul used as a human shield, according to news reports. Saying thanks is not a strong enough word, though.
GM: First, I doubt if the government of Pakistan would allow Indian armed forces or the Indian version of Navy SEALS inside the borders of Pakistan. Second, I am not sure if the UN or the rest of the world approve of Indian armed forces venturing into Pakistan, no matter how strong the reason is. I am convinced the Mumbai attack was planned and carried out by hoodlums and criminals of Pakistani origin. Curious to know if it was financed and given blessings by Pakistani intelligence or some other powerful, violent gang inside Pakistan. I don’t know the answers and haven’t researched the topic enough.
GM, if India attempted to do something like what the Americans did, and even if it were successful like what the Americans did, it would amount to a declaration of war. The Pakistanis have been on a war-footing against India for a while now, and all their resources are being directed towards annihilating India. When a disaster strikes their country, they blame it on India (and now USA as well) via lunatic theories; when they receive foreign aid (i.e. $18B from the USA), a disproportionate amount of it goes to weapons that could be used against Indians, etc. They want to fight India no matter how small the provocation, since this would justify their existence.
China keeps mum
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/china-keeps-mum-on-osama-bin-ladens-death/articleshow/8145005.cms
Alina, you post so often, you should probaby consider some kind of profile so your comments wont get hidden.
But anyway, when I said the disposal of the body lacked transparency, it is what it means. I am not some birther. I am liberal leaning. But I feel that they should have handled it the same way they handled the Saddam video footage. Maybe they could have buried him at sea with almost the same expediency. But they should have had a press corps summoned to witness the transfer and burial.
It’s too bad India is led by spineless leaders(and yeah, that includes the Shiv Sena /BJP types who like to rile up religious tensions and victimize innocent muslims but do not do a thing to fight terrorists when it matters). If Indian leaders had a spine, they would capitalize on this issue and go after the Mumbai terrorist backers more aggressively.
Mainstream Republicans
“First it was the truthers, then the birthers, what are we going to call this bunch?” Pakistani elites
Phusiyare 3 phusiyare ne bola Chood haan. Wah bhai wah!
Wonder what happened to the little kids that lived there…
Wonder what happened to the little kids that lived there…
pak. gov custody according to the new york times.
Well I got this from an article:
While there was no doubt among U.S. government officials that bin Laden had been killed, the administration was debating Monday whether to release photos of his corpse to the world. Their release would confirm his death and tamp down skepticism, but the photos are gruesome because bin Laden sustained a large, bloody head wound above his left eye where he was shot, with exposed brain material, according to ABC News. Also up for possible release is videotaped footage of bin Laden’s burial at sea.
I used to post using my Gmail, but then over the past few months I started getting rude, and even demeaning emails from people I suspect read this blog because it’s the only blog I regularly comment on…and I don’t have a Twitter, Facebook, blogspot or anything like that…I don’t mind being anonymous; most people who post here are.
That sucks. But the delete button in Gmail is so easy to use!
Alina, I never use my personal email account on forums. I don’t really use my facebook page. It was just an experiment to set a couple up.
One solution for people could be to set up a dummy email account and use that to post on forums.
Regarding the gruesomeness of the pictures, I doubt they were half as gruesome as the Rajiv Gandhi bombed pics. Plus they could always show pics of Osama in a long shot view. Or at least have congress and the press view them and certify that to the world.
“Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, the ISI, has said it is embarrassed by its failures on al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
An ISI official told the BBC the compound in Abbottabad where Bin Laden was killed by US forces on Sunday had been raided in 2003.
But the compound “was not on our radar” since then, the official said.
He gave new details of the raid, saying Bin Laden’s young daughter had said she saw her father shot.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13268517
The ISI is trying to have it both ways. I think the US needs to keep doling out fake praise in public to Pakistan to let Zardari save face, but do whatever they want to do internally. If ISI lashes back, show them the power of the US and shut them up. I am sure, the US has a lot of incriminating evidence by now on the Pakistanis.,(THough frankly, I am sure the Pakistani ISI guys have it on us too).
Looking to see the “kidney machine” on ebay, why no mention of that? hasnt he been on dialysis for so long??.
Hah yeah but it wasn’t just 1 message, it was a bunch of them over the course of several months from different people (or one person with multiple emails). Anyway I don’t mind being anonymous, I don’t think it’s worth setting up a dummy email/facebook account or whatever.
Anyway I would not be surprised if pictures of OBL or the burial are released eventually; we know that the pictures exist, and even if it’s a matter of years, chances are they’ll somehow find their way into the public domain. Not to sound crude, but I remember after Princess Diana died I heard them saying on TV how photographers had snapped photos of her but they would never air it on TV, and years later the media did that too…and OBL isn’t exactly a revered person like she was.
You mean American media hasn’t shown the images yet. OBL’s face with gun shot was shown in Pakistani news, and sourced to it on Indian TV/newspapers as well.
Type “Osama bin Laden dead” in Google Images, you’ll find the same pic some Indian newspaper was running on its main page yesterday. Warning: it’s gruesome.
Yeah, I’ve seen the pictures, released in the French media, on the internet. Also highlights from the actual operation broadcast on Indian TV.
Actually Osama effectively died earlier this year during the Jasmine revolution. Things are going to change in that part o fhte world for sure.
I thought those pictures were fake? Anyway they’re not that gory….but maybe i’m jaded cause i dissect dead critters half the day….
still won’t put an end to the conspiracy theorists though; but a lot of them claim obama died of kidney failure in 2001 and this is just crap made up by the Obama administration to boost morale. Whatever, I think most people can rest assured he’s dead.
the above comment is why i refuse to be offended by various news stations (mainly Fox affiliates) misstating “report: obama captured” and the like. it’s a matter of one letter. if we all referred to osama by his last name, bin laden, then this would be avoided, but the “obama gets osama” tagline is so obvious! obviously alina m didn’t mean it maliciously, and so i think it’s unfair to assume that just because a news station is owned by rupert murdoch, that the employees subconsciously want the president captured/whatever.
alina m has mentioned her pashtun (right?) heritage here before, so she’s not unfamiliar with names like ‘osama’, and she made a quick typo. so it’s also unfair to blame the misspellings on ignorance. in the newsroom rush, mistakes are easy to make.
I’m not denying that some newscasters may have unflattering opinions about our president, etc., but painting everyone with a broad brush is lame. and i’ve seen a lot of that doing the rounds in brown people discussions and internetz. just wanted to throw that out there.
haha yeah just a type – no offense meant! good catch though
I wouldn’t assume a newscaster/journalist had malicious intents if they made the same mistake (it is just a letter difference) but there are definitely some people who do it on purpose: Ann Coulter has referred to him as “Osama Hussein Obama” etc…
Yup, they’re fake. Supposedly the Obama admin is pondering what to do with the images of OBL they have. Sooner or later, they’re going to be Youtube viewing like the Pearl beheading. I wonder if we’re all immune to these kinds of images now.
I suddenly feel like the odd man out on this blog.
I’m uncomfortable with all the revelry, but then I never lost anyone in 9/11, so it probably doesn’t hold as much significance for me. The only way I’ve been able to “accept” the celebration, is by seeing it as a celebration of the end of a violent ideology, and not a celebration of the death of a human (who apparently was a pacifist and ENFP (Myers briggs)).
I do feel a sense of relief, as a lot of people around the world would, because the proverbial “gun to the head” that America put on so many countries, has now been removed, perhaps temporarily. Can this be the end of the war on terrorism and of terrorism itself ? I sure hope so.
I really wish the US regains some of its respect before another republican gets elected and goes in for “shock and awe” and spent-uranium bombs, and unauthorized wars and patriot act and draining the economy and basically fucking everything up for the whole world.
“I really wish the US regains some of its respect before another republican gets elected and goes in for “shock and awe” and spent-uranium bombs, and unauthorized wars and patriot act and draining the economy and basically fucking everything up for the whole world.”
4 more years of President Obama would do much to heal the US.
You are definitely not the odd man out ithunk. Despite being the world’s most evil man or whatever, there is something not quite right about rejoicing the death of another human being.
I am also not sure about the place of summary executions in a civilised, democratic and just society..
The fact that BL was codenamed, unironically it appears, Geronimo, says a lot about this operation. Also, BL’s death is eerily similar to that of CIA’s assassination of Che Guvera in Bolivia. Any number of elite Apache leaders that America tracked down and killed in the late 1800s fits this bill as well. There have been many Bin Ladins in American history and there will be many more. Most of them have not been Muslim, but almost all have been non-white.
Good point. There are a lot of “inconsistencies” coming out. 1. He did not use his wife as a shield (but the CIA would like you to believe he did) 2. He wasnt armed. His wife was shot in the leg when she lunged at the SEALs. 3. The latest report is that he was captured and then/later killed (so says his 12 year old daughter who saw it).
The US govt has routinely propped up dictators and terrorists, then maligned them in the media to proceed with “regime change”.
This whole operation was illegal under international law. What is to stop the SEALs from doing the same to, lets say, Julian Assange ?
The “bullying” problem is endemic to the US psyche.
ohhh enough with this conspiracy nonsense about dead whats-his-face: Lady Gaga is touring India next year, why has no one blogged about this? The folks at Sepia Mutiny clearly don’t have their priorities straight…. 😉
no wayyy – if my cousin sees lady gaga live before i do, all %^&* is breaking loose. i will never live it down! crazyyy. i wonder if she will do silly bollywood dance moves to pander to the crowd. alsoo she might have to change costumes. the whole dress-made-of-sacred-cow-and-haram-pig might not go down so well LOL.
Obama has decided not to release pictures of Osama’s body. Panetta wanted to. Hillary and Gates advised against it. I think Obama made the right call.
There is no point in pandering to the loony tunes. Any sane, rational person can tell that Obama is indeed dead. His wife and daughter’s eyewitness testimony clinches it.
Right?! The thing I’ve heard people (Americans) claiming is “well it’s a mansion by Pakistani standards” but honestly, I have been to Peshawar and Islamabad and the mansions sure as hell don’t look like that; I have seen pictures from the inside and it wasn’t particularly imposing. What was most suspicious about it though was the 10 foot walls surrounding it. I read in an article that the Paki government claimed they didn’t find that suspicious because they assumed the residents were Pashtun people who frequently build their houses like that – well I’ve never been to Abottabad, but I’ve been all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a house surrounded by 10 foot walls is not the norm, especially for newer houses which are often built in a more Western style. But then again the Paki government just repeatedly denies shit left and right so to seem less suspicious, not that anyone is buying that.
Another inconsistency is when I read a NYTimes article claiming the body was flown out to Afghanistan and buried at sea there – Afghanistan is a land-locked country! Maybe they got the 2 neighboring Stans reversed. I gotta say, I love my country and all, but damn it’s amazing how we’re good at so much but fail so bad at geography.
There have been a bunch of inconsistencies…but i think anyone would be stupid to think he’s alive at this point. I guess we’ll find out more detail as this plays out.
The elected govt may not even be the real power in Pakistan. Most pakistanis see the Army and the ISI as the only efficient and powerful institutions in the country. Now that myth is shattered as well. There is no getting around the fact that the Pakistani Army and ISI have been exposed as clueless and incompetent. How could the most wanted man in the world be living in a walled compound in what is essentially an army town without arousing suspicion? How could a bunch of foreign helicopters invade Pakistani airspace, land in a pakistani army garrison town, shoot, kill and blow things up for ~45 long minutes and then escape without the pakistani military being aware of it or able to do anything about it? Mind you, this is the same army that lost half the country in 1971. I think Pakistan is in deep doo doo.
Skull & Bones now has bin Laden’s skull. That’s why he was code-named “Geronimo”–it was a special deal made on behalf of George W. Bush for Skull & Bones.
A picture may rile up some people. But it can also help in demystifying the man. A picture of a guy with a bullet in the face has that effect. It can strip the dignity of most men. So show the pictures I say. Otherwise the mental picture of Osama in the minds of his followers is one of a guy repeatedly shot in the chest and marching forward to his assassins spouting islamic chants .
“A picture of a guy with a bullet in the face has that effect. It can strip the dignity of most men. So show the pictures I say”
Why do you think that, Praveen? Consider the picture of Jesus nailed to a cross. The Romans intended that to be a warning. But over time Jesus’s cause was considered just, and that very picture became a heroic image.
Of course, bin Laden is not equal to Jesus. But bin Laden conveyed a grievance that many others feel, and that grievance still needs to be addressed. So bin Laden’s final image could well become a symbol
Being nailed to a cross is a different imagery. I liken it to a movie where the hero keeps advancing towards the villain despite being shot in the face. Keep in mind those images on the cross are hardly realistic to what a true crucifixion would be like. Also the crucifixion doesn’t have Jesus lying dead.
It’s really hard to pretty up a bullet to the face. I have seen shards of Rajiv Gandhi being bombed pics. And while one feels sympathy, it does tend to put a weak victim like halo on the dead person. THat is just what the visual conveys to me.
It’s OK if some muslims feel sorrow. What we dont want to see is for them to look at him as a strong courageous lion.
This is one reason I knew that the photo shown around the world was fake; I read that some US Government official claimed that the photo was very gruesome, and that a bit of brain was exposed above the left temple near where he was shot; this level of detail wasn’t included in the fake photo.
Possibly this is why they claimed (I guess no one knows) that he tried to shield himself using his youngest wife; that bit made him sound especially pathetic and cowardly.
Alina, It is not my job to intervene here, but isn’t it too dangerous to venture into NWFP in Pakistan just to get into medical school in the US? Aren’t there other, safer, ways? Exactly what kind of security are you going to have there? Have you read some of the recent reports about US Peace Corps workers and what’s happened to them in 3rd world countries?
TYPO. I meant “despite being shot in the chest”
@”Concerned” – Contrary to what you may have learned listening to Limbaugh & Co, Pakistan is not a nation filled to the brim with machete-wielding terrorists waiting to kill foreigners. Actually my family is from the region you speak of with such disdain, and I’ve been there many times. I have traveled all over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and most of the towns were quite peaceful, and the people often friendlier than in the US suburb I was raised in. I have been harassed far more by strangers in NYC than I ever was in Peshawar. So rest assured that my family won’t need “security” visiting our own relatives. Also, I’m not a med student, nor do I work for the Peace Corps (though I will work for another humanitarian organization in Pakistan this November) – it’s both funny and pathetic how you’re accosting me without even getting your facts straight.
I’m actually sincerely concerned, not trying to libel Pakistan. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/peace-corps-gang-rape-volunteer-jess-smochek-us/story?id=12599341
Concerned: Alina, It is not my job to intervene here, but isn’t it too dangerous to venture into NWFP in Pakistan just to get into medical school in the US? Aren’t there other, safer, ways? Exactly what kind of security are you going to have there? Have you read some of the recent reports about US Peace Corps workers and what’s happened to them in 3rd world countries?
Alina M: @”Concerned” – Contrary to what you may have learned listening to Limbaugh & Co, Pakistan is not a nation filled to the brim with machete-wielding terrorists waiting to kill foreigners. Actually my family is from the region you speak of with such disdain, and I’ve been there many times. I have traveled all over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and most of the towns were quite peaceful, and the people often friendlier than in the US suburb I was raised in. I have been harassed far more by strangers in NYC than I ever was in Peshawar. So rest assured that my family won’t need “security” visiting our own relatives. Also, I’m not a med student, nor do I work for the Peace Corps (though I will work for another humanitarian organization in Pakistan this November) – it’s both funny and pathetic how you’re accosting me without even getting your facts straight.
Boston_Mahesh: I’m with Concerned here. NWFP/Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a very dangerous place, even for non-Pashtun Pakistanis. My own Pakistani-American and Pakistani friends told me this. The Pashtuns there kidnap folks all the time there and hold them for ransom. They will hold a student like you, Alina, for $1,000,000, and when you tell them that you’re just a pre-med student, the kidnappers will say (as they stroke their beard): “But when we mail your family your fingertips, we’ll uncover assets that you never knew you had.” Moreover, one of my Pashtun friend’s uncle said that “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is…umm…70% safe.” Finally, one of my friends here is a Fullbright Scholar. She lived in Peshawar/Quetta for a year back a few years ago. Her SUV had bullet holes in the back seat.
It seems as if the safest thing to do in the NWFP areas is smoke cigarettes while eating nitrated meats while staring at the sun in the presence of piranhas…with rabies.
Also, I’ve read that the homes in Afghanistan’s Pashtun heartland are typically built like fortified castles. Perhaps this is for the feudal/tribal lords and only in Afghanistan’s Pashtun region and not Pakistan’s?
Now, I’m not bad-mouthing Pashtun people. They’re extremely honorable – the guys that I know here anyways. Very big-hearted, sensitive, and kind. However, the bulk of the Pashtuns there are not so educated, and they tend to be like the Blood and Crips, but with less developed-world cheer. Some of my facebook friends from Quetta/Rawalpindi also warned against me to visiting that area.
Hey, forget that world-altering event currently dominating the news, let’s interrupt by hassling posters who actually try to stay on topic, that sounds fun! Thanks for the article; I had no idea crime went on in South Asia of all places, I thought I’d be visiting a quaint Swiss village! BTW, I have been assaulted in the past, and no, not in Durka-Durkastan, but in the affluent white-bread suburb where I grew up; sorry I don’t have an article to share with you about that.
Funny, I’ve heard New Yorkers make similar comments about Beantowners 😉 Thanks for the startling insight though! I mean, I didn’t know anything about the NWFP til you folks enlightened me; I’ve only been there, what, 7 or 8 times for several summers, and don’t have family there or anything (whom you presumably lumped in with the people you’re mocking). Surely spent quite some time there which is why you’re so knowledgeable, right?
Also really appreciate you making BS up about me! Never mind that I’m not a pre-med student, or even a student anymore, since I recently graduated with my Bachelor’s in physics/anthro and will be working for the NY firm I’ve interned with for 2.5 years as a temp until I join MSF. Just feel free to sit on your ass behind the safety of your computer in your Momma’s basement somewhere and make things up about me if it makes you feel better about your own shitty life. Haha, see, I can make up crap about you too, isn’t trolling fun?
LOL you’re like a middle school girl who says “Um, no offense, BUT” right before a scathing comment. You can’t write a chunk of text insulting a group of people and follow it up with that, you’re not fooling me here.
I honestly regret sharing personal info on this site, I really wish I could delete it now. Hah I guess this is what you get when you combine internet anonymity + desi tendency to lecture the younger ones 😛
Alina… just ignore them… they are being inappropriate, and probably just trying to piss you off.