Osama Bin Laden's Home Being Sold Off Brick By Brick

Self-obsessed: The Muslim extremist indulged his vane side despite living in this fortified and undecorated compound

Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad Home Being Sold Off Brick By Brick -- The Telegraph

Osama bin Laden's last home is being sold off brick-by-brick after his secret Pakistani hideaway was demolished.

Two baths and a homemade TV aerial have also been put on sale by the enterprising contractor who bulldozed the three-storey home in February.

While Pakistan's political and military leaders are keen to obliterate any memory of how the world's most wanted man evaded capture for so long, Shakeel Ahmed said his salvage yard in Abbottabad had become a tourist attraction for visitors looking for a souvenir.

"These bricks can be used by people to build new houses," he said, pointing to a heap of some of the 180,000 bricks he collected from the site. "Some come here looking for just one as so they can have them as a gift."

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My Comment: Expect some of these items on eBay for sale very soon. Hmmmm .... a brick from Bin Laden's home on my desk table .... used as a paper weight or something ..... what a unique novelty item.

Osama Bin Laden Influence Continues Even After Death

Panetta: Osama Bin Laden Influence Continues -- CNN

Osama bin Laden continues to assert an "almost spiritual leadership," even after his death, according to U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in an interview with CBC over the weekend.

Materials seized from the Pakistan compound where bin Laden was found suggest bin Laden was pushing for further attacks on the United States and other countries, Panetta told Peter Mansbridge in an interview aired over the weekend on CBC's "Mansbridge One on One" and on CBC's newscast "The National."

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My Comment: One more reason why I wish he was captured alive and staying at Guantanamo. But .... he is dead .... and yes .... his legacy of Islamic terrorism will continue.

Bin Laden Did Not Believe That 9/11 Would Make An Impact

Osama Bin Laden Initially Dismissed The Prospect Of 9/11 Style Plot Against America As 'Inconsequential' -- Daily Mail

Osama bin Laden initially dismissed the prospect of a 9/11 style plot against America as ‘inconsequential’, according to a new book.

When the strike was first proposed to him in 1996 the Al Qaeda leader was ‘noncommittal’ and refused to give his backing.

It was not until three years later before he could be brought around - and another five years before the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbour eventually took place.

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My Comment: He must have realized after 9/11 that the life that he had known would be gone forever. What I am wondering about is .... did he also know this before 9/11 .... or was he in denial like the Japanese were before Pearl Harbor .... that the U.S. reaction would be passive and meek.

The Osama Bin Laden Plot To Assassinate President Obama

Reuters

The Bin Laden Plot To Kill President Obama -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Because of constant harassment and communications difficulties in Pakistan’s tribal areas, bin Laden encouraged al-Qaeda leaders to leave north and south Waziristan for more distant and remote locations.

Bin Laden had an unlikely managerial focus, for such a notorious terrorist. He discusses the need for “deputy emirs” and “acting emirs” to run regional operations when the local boss is away, and he suggests that emirs should serve two-year terms and write an “annual report to be sent to the central group detailing the local situation.” He allowed a relatively frank exchange with his subordinates, who voiced criticisms about the organization’s errors.

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More News On The Bin Laden Plot To Kill President Obama

Osama bin Laden 'ordered al-Qaeda to kill Barack Obama and David Petraeus' -- The Telegraph
Papers Show Osama Bin Laden Plot to Kill President Obama and David Petraeus -- ABC News
Bin Laden wanted to attack Obama directly: report -- AFP
Documents reveal bin Laden directive to kill Obama, Petraeus -- FOX News
Bin Laden plotted to assassinate Obama, Petraeus, documents show -- L.A. Times
Report: Bin Laden Tried To Organize Plot To Kill Obama And Petraeus -- NPR
Bin Laden plotted to kill Obama, Petraeus -- USA Today
Report: Bin Laden plotted to kill President Obama, Gen. Petraeus -- The Hill
What to Expect from Osama's Secret Writings -- Atlantic Wire

Wikileaks: Leaked Emails Reveal That Bin Laden's Body Was Brought To The U.S.

Osama bin Laden (Reuters / Stringer)

Leaked: Bin Laden Not Buried At Sea, Body Moved On CIA Plane To US -- RT

The body of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was not buried at sea, according to leaked emails of intelligence firm Stratfor, as revealed by WikiLeaks.

Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, believes the body was “bound for Dover, [Delaware] on [a] CIA plane” and then “onward to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda [Maryland],” an email says.

The official version is that the body of Al-Qaeda’s top man, who was killed by a US raid in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, was buried at an undisclosed location at sea in a proper Muslim ceremony.

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Update #1: Leaked E-mails Suggest bin Laden Not Buried at Sea -- New American
Update #2: Was Osama Bin Laden Really Buried At Sea? WikiLeaks Emails Suggest Al Qaeda Chief's Body Was Flown To US Military Mortuary -- Huffington Post

My Comment: This is not the first time that I have heard rumors of this sort. A friend of mine who use to work for an intelligence agency of a European country mentioned to me a few months after the Bin Laden operation that the story of Bin laden being buried at sea within a day of his death should be treated with a great deal of skepticism. Hmmmm .... after reading these news reports .... it looks like he may have had a point.

U.S. Vice President Biden Admits That He Was Against The Bin Laden Raid Decision

Biden Dishes On Bin Laden Decision -- CNN

The mission to get Osama bin Laden seems to be the raid that keeps on giving for the Obama White House. Whether it is a mention at the top and bottom of the State of the Union address or a highlight in a campaign speech, the president frequently references to the mission as evidence of the his leadership and foreign policy strength.

Vice President Joe Biden jumped on the Obama leadership bandwagon Friday when he revealed that he cautioned the president against signing off on the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideaway. Despite his reservations, Biden said the President made the gutsy decision all alone.

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More News On Vice President Joe Biden's Comments On The Bin Laden Raid

Biden: I Told Obama to Hold Off on Bin Laden Raid -- FOX News
Biden Wanted To Wait On Bin Laden Raid -- FOX News
Biden admits he advised Obama not to carry out Bin Laden raid -- The Nation
Biden says he advised 'don't go' on raid to kill bin Laden -- Delaware Online
Biden claims Panetta was only Obama adviser urging a 'go' on bin Laden raid -- FOX News

Did The White House Give Away Too Many Secret Details On The Bin Laden Raid?

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Did Obama Administration Give Hollywood Filmmakers Too Many Secret Details On Bin Laden Raid? -- Daily Mail

* Kathryn Bigelow and Sony making Bin Laden film
* Rep. Peter King worried how many details they got
* Wants to know if military will get pre-publication view

In the aftermath of Osama Bin Laden’s death there was huge pressure for Barack Obama to release as many details as possible about the killing.

So it’s understandable that one politician feels rather peeved about Hollywood gaining special access to the secret raid in Pakistan for a film.

Rep. Peter King wants to know if Sony and director Kathryn Bigelow got too many details about the raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader in May.

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More News On The Pentagon's Inspector General investigating Leaks On The Bin Laden Raid

Defense, CIA to Investigate Access for Filmmakers to Info on Bin Laden Kill Mission -- FOX News
Rep. King probes Hollywood bin Laden movie -- CBS/AP
Osama bin Laden movie leaks investigated by Defense Department -- Politico
Pentagon investigating possible leak of Bin Laden raid details -- Baltimore Sun
US probes claims filmmaker given bin Laden mission info -- AFP
Did Pentagon leak for Bin Laden movie? -- USA Today
Kathryn Bigelow Osama Bin Laden film faces US probe -- BBC
CIA, DOD probing whether bin Laden secrets were leaked -- The Hill
CIA leaked bin Laden operation details to Sony -- RT

Critics Call "SEAL Target Geronimo's" Description Of The Bin Laden Raid A Lie

Spec-Ops Command: SEAL Raid Book 'A Lie' -- MSNBC/AP

Spokesman disputes author's claim that SEAL team shot bin Laden within 90 seconds of arriving at compound.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Special Operations Command is calling a former Navy SEAL's book bogus over its claims to describe the "real" version of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

"It's just not true," U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye said. "It's not how it happened."

Laden with conspiracy theories and attacks on the Obama White House, Chuck Pfarrer's "SEAL Target Geronimo" claims an alternative version of the raid in which the SEAL team shot bin Laden within 90 seconds of arriving at the Pakistan compound where the al-Qaida mastermind was holed up.

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More News On Critics Calling The Book "SEAL Target Geronimo" A Lie

Former Navy Seal's book on Bin Laden's death branded 'fabrication' -- The Guardian
'Categorically incorrect': Special Ops Commander brands book on SEAL raid that killed bin Laden a lie -- Daily Mail
U.S. Military Says Bin Laden Slay Book Tells Lies -- IBTimes
U.S. military: Bin Laden raid book "a lie" -- CBS/AP
Don’t Believe the WMD Hype in ‘SEAL Target Geronimo’ -- Kris Alexander, Danger Room
Military crying foul over alternate account of raid that killed Osama Bin Laden -- New York Daily News

More Details On The Bin Laden Raid Released

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Revealed: How Obama Was Playing Golf Until 20 Minutes Before Navy SEALs Began Mission To Take Out Bin Laden -- Daily Mail

* Stayed out on golf course to distance himself if it went wrong, book claims
* We would have taken him alive if he surrendered, says commander
* Al-Qaeda leader's wife screamed: 'No, no, don't do this... it’s not him!'
* SEALs nicknamed Bin Laden 'Bert' in reference to Sesame Street muppet
n the official photograph, he looked every inch the commander in chief.

Strain etched on his face, Barack Obama watched as the raid to kill Osama bin Laden played out on a television in front of him.

According to a new book, however, the President was not nearly that engaged – and was actually playing golf until 20 minutes before the operation began in earnest.

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More News On the Bin Laden Raid

Myths of the Bin Laden Raid -- Daily Beast/Newsweek
Graphic take on bin Laden raid -- CNN
Osama bin Laden 'was dead in 90 seconds' -- The Telegraph
SEALs Killed Usama Bin Laden Within Minutes, New Book Reveals -- FOX News
Real story of SEAL Team 6’s mission to kill bin Laden -- New York Post
How inside is the new 'insider' account of bin Laden raid? -- CNN

My Comment: Someone (or more than one) is talking, and the info appears detail enough to make one wonder if it comes from someone in the "community". So much for keeping secrets.

New Details On The Bin Laden Raid Contradicts The White House Version

New Book About Osama Bin Laden Killing Being Shopped to Hollywood (Exclusive) -- Hollywood Reporter

Chuck Pfarrer's book, scheduled for publication Nov. 8, contains new details about the mission that killed Bin Laden that challenge the official White House version of events.

Hollywood's interest in the killing of Osama Bin Laden is about to be put to another test. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that agents for the new book SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden, by former SEAL Team Six commander Chuck Pfarrer,will be in Los Angeles on Friday shopping film and television rights. Interest from studios and producers is expected to be robust. RWSG Literary Agency is repping the property.

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Update: New Book Disputes Obama Administration's Account of Bin Laden Raid -- Fox News

My Comment: I look forward to the movie.

Osama Bin laden And A Bottle Of 1870 Château Lafite Rothschild

Leon Panetta’s Bin Laden Bet -- ABC News

It was a bet with CIA Director Leon Panetta that Ted Balestreri never thought would come through.

On New Year’s Eve, Balestreri, a co-owner of Monterey’s Sardine Factory restaurant, was hosting a dinner party with 28 friends, among them long-time friend, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who at the time was the CIA Director.

Several guests teased Balestreri about when he was going to serve them a bottle of 1870 Château Lafite Rothschild, priced at $15,000, from the restaurant’s rare wines collection.

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My Comment: Of the Premiers Crus .... Lafite Rothschild is great ... but I love Château Margaux (when I can afford it).

What Has Happened To Bin Laden's Home?

Revisiting The House Where Bin Laden Lived -- CNN

After Osama bin Laden was killed in May, the house where he was found was teeming with journalists and quite open. Now, the Pakistan Army surrounds the house with vegetation growing thick around it. Things have definitely changed.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh travels to Abbotabad, Pakistan, to visit one of the few reminders of the architect of the September 11, 2011, attacks as the world is still asking – how did bin Laden live here so long?

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My Comment: My prediction .... the house will be bulldozed within a year.

A Critical Analysis On The New Yorker's Article On The Operation To Take Down Osama Bin Laden

The Schmidle Muddle of the Osama Bin Laden Take Down -- Joshua Foust, Registan

A special guest post by C. Christine Fair

On Monday, August 1, the New Yorker ran a piece by Nicholas Schmidle, a young freelance journalist, which proffered a breathtakingly detailed account of the Bin Laden Take-down in May of 2011. I have known Schmidle since the summer of 2006, when we met at my office at the United States Institute of Peace. He explained that he had a fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs that would allow him to live in Pakistan and write about his experiences for two years.

Mr. Schmidle had one serious problem: he was not an accredited journalist, which meant the Pakistani government was disinclined to give him a journalism visa. He sought my advice. I explained to him that visa issues are not my bailiwick but I outlined some of the key issues he could consider if and when he sets out upon his newfound adventure. Though he didn’t know much about Pakistan, Mr. Schmidle struck me as a fast study.

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My Comment: The New Yorker article is here.

More Details On The Bin Laden Raid Are Now Being Made Public

Six New Things We Learned About The Bin Laden Raid -- Globe And Mail

An article in the New Yorker offers revelations about the Navy Seal attack on terrorist leader’s Abbotabad compound.

Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates was skeptical of a helicopter assault

Mr. Gates recalled being in the Situation Room of the Carter White House when military officials presented Eagle Claw – the 1980 Delta Force operation aimed at rescuing American hostages in Tehran that ended up killing eight U.S. servicemen . “They said that was a pretty good idea, too,” warned Mr. Gates, who preferred an air strike by B-2 Spirit bombers.

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Previous Post: Details Emerge On The Mission To Kill Osama Bin Laden

More News On The Details Of The Bin Laden Raid And It's Impact

Getting Bin Laden: What happened that night in Abbottabad. -- Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker

New Yorker Details Raid That Killed Osama Bin Laden -- Wall Street Journal
Freelance journalist scores coup with account of bin Laden raid -- Washington Post
Freelancer gets scoop on details of bin Laden death -- Sydney Morning Herald
New Account Of Bin Laden Raid Gives Insider Details -- Business Insider
Osama bin Laden: What did Pakistan know? -- Micah Zenko, CNN
How Bin Laden's Death Has Affected Al-Qaida -- Peter Bergen, NPR
Second-Hand Reporting is Troubling -- Max Boot, Commentary

Details Emerge On The Mission To Kill Osama Bin Laden

'For God And Country - Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo': The Words The SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Radioed Home - And Why No-One Will Ever Know His Identity -- Daily Mail

* SEALs always intended to shoot Bin Laden
* Advisers including Robert Gates were against the plan
* Mission almost failed in the first minute when helicopter went down
* President Obama has never asked who pulled the trigger
* Medics took bone marrow samples from Bin Laden's body
* SEALs were NOT wearing helmet cameras
* Bin Laden's body was offered to Saudis for burial - they said no

When he pulled the trigger on his silenced rifle in a darkened bedroom in Pakistan and shot a tall, unarmed man with a straggly beard in a prayer cap and shalwar kameez, he ended a nine-year manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, the man who claimed 2,973 lives on September 11, 2001.

But no-one - not even President Barack Obama - will ever know the name of that SEAL, nor of the comrade who wrapped Bin Laden's wives in a huge bear hug and dragged them aside in case they were wearing suicide bomb vests, knowing he would absorb most of the blast and save the men behind him.

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More News On The Mission To Kill Osama Bin Laden

Getting Bin Laden: What happened that night in Abbottabad. -- New Yorker

Osama Bin Laden: Mission Was To Shoot To Kill From The Start -- The Telegraph
A cinematic retelling of bin Laden raid from the New Yorker, with new details -- Washington Post
New Account of the Night Bin Laden Was Killed -- Atlantic Wire
Details Of The Bin Laden Raid, Recounted By The SEALs -- NPR (Audio)
Inside the bin Laden raid: Navy SEALs 'never' intended on capturing terror leader -- New York Post
Officer: Raid Was Always to Kill Bin Laden -- Military.com
Inside the raid that killed Osama bin Laden: “Crankshaft,” DEVGRU and a dog named Cairo -- Yahoo News/The Envoy
Bin Laden's killers 'not instructed to capture' -- The Independent
Wanted: dead - not alive! -- New York Post
US SEALs had no intention of 'capturing or detaining' Osama during Abbottabad raid -- Economic Times
US Navy SEALs practised with Osama house replica for May raid -- Indian Express
US considered tunneling to bin Laden: report -- AFP
Killing Bin Laden 'Like Mowing The Lawn,' Defense Official Tells Journalist -- NPR
Navy SEALs had "kill" order on Osama bin Laden, report claims -- Global Post
First on chest, second on head, that's how Osama bin Laden was killed -- Economic Times
Osama bin Laden was killed with a shot to the chest, then to the head -- Metro
Advanced Technology, Old-Fashioned Tactics Helped Make Bin Laden Raid a Success -- PBS Newshour
The True Story Of What Happened In Operation Kill Bin Laden -- Gizmodo

Al Qaeda's Attempt To Rewrite History

A new edition of Al Qaeda's official magazine claims that Osama bin Laden fought back in a "vicious battle" with the U.S. Navy SEALs before his death in May. (ABC News)

New Al Qaeda Magazine: Bin Laden 'Confronted' SEALs in 'Fierce Battle' -- ABC News

A new edition of Al Qaeda's official magazine claims that Osama bin Laden fought back in a "vicious battle" with the U.S. Navy SEALs before his death in May.

"He confronted them, his weapons against theirs with his, and his strength against theirs, and he accepted the challenge of those who came out with their fancy equipment, machinery, weapons, aircrafts and troops, all haughty and pompous," the magazine, Inspire, said in a eulogy for the al Qaeda leader. "His determination did not weaken in front of them, nor was he sapped of strength. Rather, he stood and confronted them face to face like a firm mountain, and continued to engage them in a fierce battle... after which he excused himself and fulfilled the trust, receiving bullets of treachery and infidelity."

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My Comment: Saying that he died in a 'fierce battle' is better than saying that he died with his PJs on.

Bin Laden Plotted To Attack The U.S. On 9/11 Anniversary

Bin Laden Plotted To Attack U.S. On 9/11 Anniversary -- Wall Street Journal

Osama bin Laden was working to assemble a team of militants to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijackings, according to communications that Navy SEALs seized from his Pakistani hideout when they killed the al Qaeda leader this spring.

Bin Laden and his operations chief, Attiyah Abd al-Rahman, swapped views about the composition of the attack team, with bin Laden repeatedly rejecting names that Mr. Rahman suggested, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence taken from the bin Laden compound.

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My Comment: Apparently this planning was only in the planning stage .... I hope.

Fake Vaccinations Were Used To Obtain Bin Laden's Family DNA

Osama Bin Laden's Abbottabad residence

CIA Organized Fake Vaccinations To Obtain Osama Bin Laden's Family DNA -- The Guardian

As part of preparations for raid that killed al-Qaida's leader in Pakistan, agents organised a vaccine drive in Abbottabad

The CIA organised a fake vaccination programme in the town where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding in an elaborate attempt to obtain DNA from the fugitive al-Qaida leader's family, a Guardian investigation has found.

As part of extensive preparations for the raid that killed Bin Laden in May, CIA agents recruited a senior Pakistani doctor to organise the vaccine drive in Abbottabad, even starting the "project" in a poorer part of town to make it look more authentic, according to Pakistani and US officials and local residents.

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My Comment: So .... the doctor who organized these vaccinations is still in jail, while the facilitators for Bin Laden are still on the loose. Hmmm .... and the Pakistanis are wondering why their aid is being cut?

Gawker And Cryptome Identify CIA Operative Who Found Osama Bin Laden

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Gawker Publishes Alleged Photo Of CIA Operative Who Found Osama Bin Laden -- Gawker

Yesterday, the AP published an extensive piece on “John,” the CIA agent they claim to be the single most important person on the mission to find Osama bin Laden. Needless to say, it took little time for someone to attempt to identify the man, and today Gawker published photos from the White House Twitter feed claiming them to be of the man, courtesy of a leak website that traffics in such information. While there is no confirmation as to the man’s identity, someone may have been tossed into al-Qaeda’s cross-hairs today.

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My Comment: What Gawker and Cryptome have done is "legal", but highly unethical. I learned about this disclosure early Thursday morning, and decided to not post the story. Unfortunately ..... the story is now making the rounds in the worldwide web and any hope of burying the story is now gone (see here, and here). And yes .... I am pissed off with the clumsiness and sloppiness of the White House in NOT maintaining the proper security for key members within the intelligence community. They wanted their iconic picture of the moment, and in return they have now given Bin Laden's followers a target to go after .... and no .... I am definitely not going to publish the photos.

Who Was The CIA Analyst Behind The Bin Laden Raid?

Profiling The CIA Analyst Behind The Bin Laden Raid Isn't Easy -- The Atlantic

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, we've heard detailed accounts of the roles played by everyone from President Obama down to the Navy SEAL dog in the successful raid. But one story went untold until today: that of the CIA analyst who spent nearly a decade doggedly hunting the al-Qaeda leader. The AP's account this morning reveals how difficult it is to profile the intelligence official who spearheaded what the AP calls "the greatest counterterrorism success in the history of the CIA."

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Update: CIA analyst 'John' revealed as brains behind Osama bin Laden operation -- The Telegraph

Previous Post: Meet The Persistent CIA Hunter Brought Down Bin Laden

My Comment: We will only learn who is after he has (long) passed away.