It is obvious by now that bin-Laden was not some dirty ragamuffin living in squalor in a cave high in the mountains, but was living a life of relative luxury by Pakistani standards. The ability he had to command and control Al-Qaeda on every level is becoming apparent, to the embarrassment of US policy-makers and Obama. Since bin-Laden was leading jihad against the West and his own people, at the behest and protection of the highest officials in the Pakistani government it is now incumbent to view Pakistan as an enemy.
They have proven themselves to be jihadists of the first order and the clamps must be tightened. Now is not the time to play the "oh, but they really, really want to help" card, it is time to walk the talk and put Pakistan in the same circle of enemies as Iran, Syria, Hamas, Somalia and the Muslim Brotherhood.
We have more actionable intelligence now than we ever had, thanks to bin-Ladens penchant to keep everything on computer or thumb drive. We have been blessed with a treasure trove of information which, when the final analysis is done will provide us with enough information on the where, who and how that many plots and people will be destroyed.
Thank you, SEAL Team 6.
From Reuters/Yahoo May 7 by David Alexander
Reuters
Mr. "Puppy-dog eyes" reclines
with rifle.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Osama bin Laden was actively engaged in directing his far-flung network in plots against the United States from the compound in Pakistan where he was killed, a senior U.S. intelligence official said as new video images of the al Qaeda leader were released on Saturday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said information carted away from the compound by U.S. forces after Monday's raid, represented the largest trove of intelligence ever obtained from a single terrorism suspect.
"This compound in Abbottabad was an active command and control center for al Qaeda's top leader and it's clear ... that he was not just a strategic thinker for the group," the official said. "He was active in operational planning and in driving tactical decisions."
President Barack Obama's administration released five video clips of bin Laden taken from the compound, most of them showing the al Qaeda leader, his beard dyed black, evidently rehearsing the videotaped speeches he sometimes distributed to his followers.
None of the videos was released with sound. The intelligence official said it had been removed because the United States did not want to transmit bin Laden's propaganda. But he said they contained the usual criticism of the United States as well as capitalism.
While several video segments showed him rehearsing, one showed an aging and gray-bearded bin Laden in an austere setting, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a ski cap while watching videotapes of himself.
The official said the personal nature of the videos was further evidence that the man killed in the raid was bin Laden, who carefully managed his public image.
The revelations came as senior Pakistani officials said bin Laden may have lived in Pakistan for more than seven years before he was shot dead by U.S. Navy SEALS, a disclosure that could further strain relations between the two countries.
One of bin Laden's widows told Pakistani investigators that he stayed in a village for nearly two and a half years before moving to the nearby garrison town of Abbottabad, close to the capital of Islamabad, where he was killed.
The wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, said bin Laden and his family had spent five years in Abbottabad, where one of the most elaborate manhunts in history ended on Monday.
"Amal (bin Laden's wife) told investigators that they lived in a village in Haripur district for nearly two and a half years before moving to Abbottabad at the end of 2005," one of the security officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Abdulfattah, along with two other wives and several children, were among 15 or 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities at the compound after the raid.
The senior U.S. intelligence official said bin Laden's identity had been confirmed after his death in several ways -- by a woman at the compound, by facial recognition methods and by matching against a DNA profile with a likelihood of error of only 1 in 11.8 quadrillion.
An initial review of the information taken from the compound showed bin Laden continued to be interested in attacking the United States and "appeared to show continuing interest in transportation and infrastructure targets," the official said.
Read it all
They have proven themselves to be jihadists of the first order and the clamps must be tightened. Now is not the time to play the "oh, but they really, really want to help" card, it is time to walk the talk and put Pakistan in the same circle of enemies as Iran, Syria, Hamas, Somalia and the Muslim Brotherhood.
We have more actionable intelligence now than we ever had, thanks to bin-Ladens penchant to keep everything on computer or thumb drive. We have been blessed with a treasure trove of information which, when the final analysis is done will provide us with enough information on the where, who and how that many plots and people will be destroyed.
Thank you, SEAL Team 6.
From Reuters/Yahoo May 7 by David Alexander
Bin Laden directed Qaeda from Pakistan compound
Reuters
Mr. "Puppy-dog eyes" reclines
with rifle.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Osama bin Laden was actively engaged in directing his far-flung network in plots against the United States from the compound in Pakistan where he was killed, a senior U.S. intelligence official said as new video images of the al Qaeda leader were released on Saturday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said information carted away from the compound by U.S. forces after Monday's raid, represented the largest trove of intelligence ever obtained from a single terrorism suspect.
"This compound in Abbottabad was an active command and control center for al Qaeda's top leader and it's clear ... that he was not just a strategic thinker for the group," the official said. "He was active in operational planning and in driving tactical decisions."
President Barack Obama's administration released five video clips of bin Laden taken from the compound, most of them showing the al Qaeda leader, his beard dyed black, evidently rehearsing the videotaped speeches he sometimes distributed to his followers.
None of the videos was released with sound. The intelligence official said it had been removed because the United States did not want to transmit bin Laden's propaganda. But he said they contained the usual criticism of the United States as well as capitalism.
While several video segments showed him rehearsing, one showed an aging and gray-bearded bin Laden in an austere setting, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a ski cap while watching videotapes of himself.
The official said the personal nature of the videos was further evidence that the man killed in the raid was bin Laden, who carefully managed his public image.
The revelations came as senior Pakistani officials said bin Laden may have lived in Pakistan for more than seven years before he was shot dead by U.S. Navy SEALS, a disclosure that could further strain relations between the two countries.
One of bin Laden's widows told Pakistani investigators that he stayed in a village for nearly two and a half years before moving to the nearby garrison town of Abbottabad, close to the capital of Islamabad, where he was killed.
The wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, said bin Laden and his family had spent five years in Abbottabad, where one of the most elaborate manhunts in history ended on Monday.
"Amal (bin Laden's wife) told investigators that they lived in a village in Haripur district for nearly two and a half years before moving to Abbottabad at the end of 2005," one of the security officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Abdulfattah, along with two other wives and several children, were among 15 or 16 people detained by Pakistani authorities at the compound after the raid.
The senior U.S. intelligence official said bin Laden's identity had been confirmed after his death in several ways -- by a woman at the compound, by facial recognition methods and by matching against a DNA profile with a likelihood of error of only 1 in 11.8 quadrillion.
An initial review of the information taken from the compound showed bin Laden continued to be interested in attacking the United States and "appeared to show continuing interest in transportation and infrastructure targets," the official said.
Read it all
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