Jan Klimkowski Wrote:Meanwhile, right-wing and military parts of cyberspace are claiming that the operation was conducted by SEALS using Blackwater helicopters and possibly personnel.

Perhaps the reality is that it was Blackwater helicopters already based in Pakistan, run by whomever has replaced hired gun Raymond Davis as the TF373/PMC death squad liaison between official US intelligence and the off-the-books operations.

Anthony Thorne Wrote:Bin Laden's 'burial at sea' is in keeping with the here today, gone tomorrow nature of much of the critical 9/11 evidence, right down to torture recordings destroyed and terabytes of Able Danger terrorist data-mining logs deleted on Rumsfeld's direct orders. I expect this story, fake on some, many or even all levels, to be endlessly replayed and recounted for the rest of the year.

Magda Hassan Wrote:I wonder if the Blackwater boys will get the $25,000,000 bounty and split it amongst themselves?

Quote:U.S. forces were under orders to kill Bin Laden

By Steve Holland and Kamran Haider

WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan | Mon May 2, 2011 10:16am EDT

WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. helicopter raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, ending a long worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Members of an elite Navy Seals team dropped by helicopter to the compound were under orders to kill not capture bin Laden, who had eluded U.S. forces for 13 years, a senior U.S. security official told Reuters.

"This was a kill operation," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Many analysts see bin Laden's death as largely symbolic since he was no longer believed to have been issuing operational orders to the many autonomous al Qaeda affiliates around the world.

Fearful of revenge attacks, the United States swiftly issued security warnings to Americans worldwide. A top Republican lawmaker briefed by the White House on bin Laden's death said U.S. security agencies were working to prevent any attacks on the United States or its installations overseas.

"This is a key moment because al Qaeda has to avenge. This is a terrible defeat for them and they have to move as quickly as they can, and it's up to us to stop them," said congressman Peter King.

Bin Laden's death is unlikely to have any impact on the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan spawned by the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York. U.S. forces there are facing record violence by a resurgent Taliban, which has vowed to avenge his death.

President Barack Obama, whose popularity has been hit hard by rising gasoline prices, will likely see a short-term bounce in his approval ratings. But he may also come under more pressure from Americans to speed up a planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from the unpopular war in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials said bin Laden was found in a million-dollar compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad. After 40 minutes of fighting, bin Laden was among several people in the mansion killed.

A source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head. A senior U.S. official in Washington said the al Qaeda leader was killed in a firefight after he resisted the assault force.

Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said bin Laden was buried at sea. A third official said this was done to prevent a gravesite on land becoming a shrine for followers.

"Justice has been done," Obama declared in a dramatic late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive head of the militant Islamic group behind a series of deadly bombings across the world.

PAKISTAN TOLD AFTER RAID

Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against al Qaeda, a mood reflected in financial markets. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.

Thousands of jubilant, flag-waving Americans thronged outside the White House and in the streets of New York after Obama's announcement.

It was the biggest national security victory for the president since he took office in early 2009 and will make it difficult for Republicans to portray Democrats as weak on security as he seeks re-election in 2012.

In sharp contrast, on the streets of Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's native land which stripped him of his citizenship after September 11, there was a mood of disbelief and sorrow among many.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas mourned bin Laden as an "Arab holy warrior."

But many in the Arab world felt his death was long overdue. For many Arabs, inspired by the popular upheavals in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere over the past few months, the news of bin Laden's death had less significance than it once might have.

The operation could complicate relations with Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the battle against militancy and the war in Afghanistan. Those ties have already been frayed over U.S. drone strikes in the west of the country and the six-week imprisonment of a CIA contractor earlier this year.

A U.S. official said Pakistani authorities were told the details of the raid after it had taken place.

The revelation bin Laden was living in style will hugely embarrass Pakistani officials, who will be under pressure to explain how he could have been right under their noses. Residents in Abbottabad said a Pakistani military training academy is near the compound.

"For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad," said Imtiaz Gul, a Pakistani security analyst.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Patricia Zengerle, Arshad Mohammed, Alister Bull, Missy Ryan, Mark Hosenball, Richard Cowan, Kristin Roberts, Andrew Quinn and Tabassum Zakaria, Joanne Allen in Washington and Chris Allbritton in Islamabad; Writing by Steve Holland and Ross Colvin; editing by David Storey, Dean Yates and Jackie Frank)

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:

Magda Hassan Wrote:I wonder if the Blackwater boys will get the $25,000,000 bounty and split it amongst themselves?

Blackwater mercs are both Crusaders and Dogs of War. As we know, Blackwater's Crusader General, Erik Prince, is explicit about his religious and material motivations.

It's a win-win: the PMCs get to slaughter "infidels" and get paid a bounty (treasure).

Magda Hassan Wrote:I can't hear it on my computer tonight but it looks like the compound is burning. More destruction of evidence? The previous video of the interior looked quite intact and not burnt. So this must be subsequent if it is the same place.

Quote:ISLAMABAD, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Urdu TV channel Geo News quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed in a search operation launched by the Pakistani forces after a Pakistani army helicopter was shot down in the wee hours of Monday in Abbotabad, a mountainous town located some 60 kilometers north of Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad.

At about 1:20 a.m. local time a Pakistani helicopter was shot down by unknown people in the Sikandarabad area of Abbotabad. The Pakistani forces launched a search operation in the nearby area and encountered with a group of unknown armed people. A fire exchange followed between the two sides.

When the fire exchange ended, the Pakistani forces arrested some Arab women and kids as well some other armed people who later confessed to the Pakistani forces they were with Osama Bin laden when the fire was exchanged and Bin Laden was killed in the firing.

Local media reported that after the dead body of Bin Laden was recovered, two U.S. helicopter flew to the site and carried away the dead body of Bin Laden.

Initial reports said that at least one was killed and two others were injured in the crash. At least two houses were engulfed by the huge fire caused by the crashed chopper.

Rescue team rushed to the site shortly after the crash was reported and the armed forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation there.

Sources of Xinhua said they tried to enter the area after the incident took place, but no media people were allowed inside.

"No one knows in that helicopter crash Bin Laden was killed," said the sources.

Quote:"After midnight, a large number of commandos encircled the compound. Three helicopters were hovering overhead. All of a sudden there was firing toward the helicopters from the ground," said Nasir Khan, a resident of the town.

"There was intense firing and then I saw one of the helicopters crash," said Khan, who had watched the dramatic scene unfold from his rooftop.

Senior Pakistani security officials said the operation, carried out at around 1:30 a.m., involved both helicopters and ground troops.

A Pakistani military helicopter crashed near Abbotabad on Sunday night, killing one and wounding two, according to local media. It was unclear if the crash was related to bin Laden's death, but witnesses reported gunshots and heavy firing before one of two low-flying helicopters crashed near the military academy.