Daily brief: Osama bin Laden is dead

By Katherine Tiedemann, May 2, 2011 Monday, May 2, 2011 - 8:10 AM Share

"Justice has been done"

Yesterday in Abbottabad, around 40 miles from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and close to Pakistan's Kakul Military Academy, four U.S. helicopters dropped a Navy SEAL strike team operating under the authority of the C.I.A. that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who reportedly resisted before being shot in the head (NYT, WSJ, Post, AP, LAT, CNN, Guardian, ABC, ET, BBC, NYT, Tel, Pajhwok, FT). Also said to be killed in the 40-minute firefight were two couriers, one of bin Laden's sons, and a woman who was used as a shield by a man in the compound. Watch U.S. president Barack Obama's announcement of the news last night, and read the transcript of a White House briefing call afterwards (WH, WH).

The operation that led to bin Laden's death reportedly centered around one courier who was long trusted by the al-Qaeda leader, thought to be a protege of self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and an assistant to captured al-Qaeda number three Abu Farraj al-Libi, and had been in the works for years (NBC, NYT, ABC, ABC, WH). U.S. officials said the compound in Abbottabad was roughly 8 times larger than other homes in the area, was valued at $1 million, has 12- to 18-foot walls topped by barbed wire, and had no telephone or internet service connected to it. DNA tests and facial recognition reportedly confirmed bin Laden's identity, and he was buried at sea, in keeping with Muslim customs, earlier this morning (LAT, Post, CNN, Guardian). U.S. officials reportedly sought to keep bin Laden's burial place from becoming a shrine.

Although Obama cited Pakistani assistance in the operation, Pakistan's government stressed that U.S. forces, not Pakistani soldiers, carried out the raid, apparently reflecting "concern about a possible backlash from Islamist insurgents or Pakistan's strongly anti-American public" (Post, WSJ, AFP, Reuters, Independent, AFP). Pakistani prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called bin Laden's death a "great victory," and Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari held "emergency talks" with his security team following Obama's late-night announcement (Dawn, Reuters). The Times writes, "It [is] too soon to say whether Bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad reflected Pakistani complicity or incompetence," and assesses that tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan will be further inflamed (NYT).

The reactions from around the world

Last night, hundreds of people gathered at the White House in Washington D.C. and Ground Zero and Times Square in New York, chanting "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" and singing the national anthem (Post, WSJ, AP). The U.S. warned of possible threats of retaliation (CNN). European, Israeli, Japanese, Filipino, Australian, Kenyan, Ugandan, Russian, and other world leaders hailed the death of bin Laden (AFP, LAT, AFP, ET, WSJ, CNN). India's home minister, P. Chidambaram, expressed concern that the raid took place "deep inside Pakistan," underlining Indian worries about terrorist groups finding "sanctuary" in Pakistan (AFP). Afghan president Hamid Karzai said bin Laden was "delivered his due punishment," as other Afghan officials expressed relief, though cautioned that bin Laden's death "should not be seen as mission accomplished" (AP, Post, NYT). U.S. and NATO officials sought to reassure Afghans that bin Laden's death does not signal the end of the international efforts in Afghanistan (AP).

Officials in the Middle East did not have immediate reactions, and responses were "mixed" on the Arab street (WSJ, CNN, NYT, FT). Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, condemned the killing and described bin Laden as a "holy warrior" (CNN).

A member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula reportedly confirmed bin Laden's death, calling it a "catastrophe," though an online jihadi forum used for official messages has reportedly been deleting posts with the news pending confirmation by "mujahideen sources" (AFP). The Taliban in Afghanistan had no immediate official reaction, though a local commander in Paktia said the killing of bin Laden "will affect their morale and will trigger the violence" and a commander in Baghlan promised revenge (NYT, WSJ, Guardian).

Analysts variously warn that the death of bin Laden does not mean the end of al-Qaeda (NYT, Tel), which remains the "organization likely to remain the most significant security threat to the United States" (Post), while others assess bin Laden's death is likely to "have a dramatic impact" on U.S.-Pakistani relations and on the war in Afghanistan (WSJ). Speculation about who will succeed bin Laden at the helm of the terrorist group and the future of the group is rife (CNN, AJE, Guardian). The BBC reports mini-profiles of al-Qaeda's remaining leaders (BBC).

The obituaries

NYT: The most wanted face of terrorism; LAT: Born to privilege, he dies a pariah; WSJ: The death of a terrorist; AP: Bin Laden took a path of fanaticism and terror; Post: Osama bin Laden killed; BBC: Obituary; Reuters: Trailing Osama bin Laden; FT: Obituary: Osama bin Laden; AJE: Obituary: Osama bin Laden; Telegraph: Osama bin Laden; CNN: The face of terrorism.

A wedding gift?

The Guardian points out that Obama authorized the raid at around the same time Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton were being married on Friday (Guardian, NYT).

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MARTY MARTEL

2:04 PM ET

May 2, 2011

Obama knew Pakistani Army sheltering of Osama

Taken together with President Obama's pointed reference to President Zardari and leaving out any mention of Pakistani forces' involvement, it would seem that Washington believes that Pakistan's military intelligence establishment, including the ISI, was sheltering bin Laden.

In a ten-minute television address, Obama left no doubt that US personnel alone were involved in the action that brought bin Laden to justice. While Obama said ''It's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding,'' he made no mention of any Pakistani military role in the operation. US officials in background briefing made it clear that no country, much less Pakistan, was informed of the operation.

In fact, there was not even a word of thanks for Pakistan. Instead, Obama said: ''Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al-Qaida and its affiliates.'

Afterall previous US ambassador Anne Patterson to Pakistan clearly pointed finger at Pakistani Army and ISI for supporting Osama bin Laden‘s Al Qaeda when she wrote in a secret review in 2009 that ‘Pakistan's Army and ISI are covertly SPONSORING four militant groups - Haqqani‘s HQN, Mullah Omar‘s QST, Al Qaeda and LeT - and will not abandon them for any amount of US money‘, as diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show.

Ambassador Patterson had NO reason to mislead her own State Department and U. S. government.

DETEODORU

2:04 PM ET

May 2, 2011

You don't poke a stick at a wolf

Bravo Obama! We're being hated and declining at same time. But you have a solution. According to Reuters you gave orders to KILL Osama, not capture him. Then you brag that "after a fire fight" he died-- your shyster lawyer training at Harvard is showing.

Nevertheless, on a level with your birth certificate, you are making theater of this event, coming on TV in the middle of Sunday night to announce binLaden's demise so that people can no longer confuse "Obama" and "Osama," just as they can no longer say that you are foreign born. But what have you done for the economy lately? Where are you going in Libya?

Bush went from "we;ll get him, dead or alive!" to "He's irrelevant, I never think about him." Now, a decade later, you use him as a campaign tool the way you used your birth certificate. What's your next substitute for doing your job as president?

Of course, all this is prologue to our stopping the American hemorrhage in Afghanistan. With binLaden dead and Petraeus locked up in the CIA tower, you can quit that festering wound. Then Penetta can cut the Pentagon budget drastically as SecDef while you try to get funding for a massive infrastructure project to produce employment.

I'll sure vote for you, especially as Republicans only offer us corporate stooges to further drink our blood. But you had better get serous in the next term.

By the way, perhaps because you come from Al Capone's Chicago, you think announcing that you killed Osama will stop the confounding of "Osama" and "Obama." It might well do the opposite. But I would remind you that the CIA and Delta Force are not organizations for bragging. They are supposed to be discrete because if they brag about their 1/10 successes people might find out about their 9/10 failures.

Furthermore, alQaeda is a group built on revenge and kept going by hate. Your self promoting "On my command" speech in the middle of Sunday Night kind of pokes a stick at a not completely dead wolf. If he bites anyone, you're going to have to take blame for you stirred him up to promote yourself.

Have you ever heard of dignity? What dignity is there in FINALLY killing a guy after ten years of trying to do so? So why violate the watermark of these secret agencies-- discretion and secrecy-- with a self-promoting announcement, one a bit late both vis-a-vis 9/11 and vis-a-vis the working day on Monday....Or did you mean this announcement for only the millions unemployed? Alas, sir, this isn't going to make up for a job.

Oh yes, I'll vote for you but will be damned glad when you leave in 2016 because, though learly the lesser of evils, you're a man who as president so far has done little more to earn his pay than promote himself.

As for the rest of us, we'll just brace ourselves for the next batch of hateful loony toons your Sunday night show provokes. Meanwhile, please try to remember that Wash DC is not Chicago and that yoiur President of these United States of America, not Al Capone.