Paul Arhewe
The near decade hunt for American most wanted terrorist and mastermind of the September 11, 2001 Twin tower bombings in New York came to an end early yesterday when Osama bin Laden was killed by US troops through a helicopter fire-fight in a commando fashion.
US intelligence got the information in August last year that Bin Laden was holed up in a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, some 50 miles northeast of Islamabad. How bin Laden was able to reside in posh vicinity fortified with Pakistani military officers is still a mystery.
A U.S. official said a key clue to tracking bin Laden down was learning the name of a trusted courier, which led U.S. intelligence to the compound raided on Sunday. After noting the compound had few electronic links to the outside world - and incinerated its trash, rather than putting it out to be picked up - Obama gave the go-ahead last week for a helicopter raid into the compound.
Bin Laden "did resist the assault force," the U.S. official said, but was shot in the head and killed "as our operators came into the compound."
The area was home to many retired Pakistani military officers, and had been spared much of the extremist violence that has erupted in the country over the past several years.
"The compound has been in existence for roughly five years, but we don't know how long bin Laden had been there," A Whitehouse official told ABC News.
The property was valued at about $1 million but had no phone or Internet service, another sign that led U.S. intelligence to believe bin Laden was being harboured inside. Residents at the home also burned their garbage, rather than put it out for pickup as others residents in the area did.
"It was custom-built to hide someone of significance," one official told reporters.
The White House said three other men were killed in the raid, including two couriers and one of bin Laden's adult sons. One woman was also killed, the U.S. said, after being used as a human shield.
It would be churlish, but accurate; to point out that he had eluded a worldwide manhunt for close to a decade after eluding a tightening, but fraying, U.S.-Afghan net at Tora Bora on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in December 2001. As hundreds crowded around the White House to celebrate bin Laden's demise, it's also relevant to note that bin Laden's impact peaked on 9/11, and has dwindled ever since. Nonetheless, the symbolic impact of his death cannot be under-estimated, either in the war on terror or on Obama's re-election prospects.
US intelligence got the information in August last year that Bin Laden was holed up in a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, some 50 miles northeast of Islamabad. How bin Laden was able to reside in posh vicinity fortified with Pakistani military officers is still a mystery.
A U.S. official said a key clue to tracking bin Laden down was learning the name of a trusted courier, which led U.S. intelligence to the compound raided on Sunday. After noting the compound had few electronic links to the outside world - and incinerated its trash, rather than putting it out to be picked up - Obama gave the go-ahead last week for a helicopter raid into the compound.
Bin Laden "did resist the assault force," the U.S. official said, but was shot in the head and killed "as our operators came into the compound."
The area was home to many retired Pakistani military officers, and had been spared much of the extremist violence that has erupted in the country over the past several years.
"The compound has been in existence for roughly five years, but we don't know how long bin Laden had been there," A Whitehouse official told ABC News.
The property was valued at about $1 million but had no phone or Internet service, another sign that led U.S. intelligence to believe bin Laden was being harboured inside. Residents at the home also burned their garbage, rather than put it out for pickup as others residents in the area did.
"It was custom-built to hide someone of significance," one official told reporters.
The White House said three other men were killed in the raid, including two couriers and one of bin Laden's adult sons. One woman was also killed, the U.S. said, after being used as a human shield.
It would be churlish, but accurate; to point out that he had eluded a worldwide manhunt for close to a decade after eluding a tightening, but fraying, U.S.-Afghan net at Tora Bora on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in December 2001. As hundreds crowded around the White House to celebrate bin Laden's demise, it's also relevant to note that bin Laden's impact peaked on 9/11, and has dwindled ever since. Nonetheless, the symbolic impact of his death cannot be under-estimated, either in the war on terror or on Obama's re-election prospects.
2 comments:
Good post, I haven't yet read most of your post but i will continue to do so, must says your blog is very informative! I have had a few views from different people and have engaged in a number of arguments about Osama's death, some people believe he is out there and have stated a number of reasons why they believe so, with the question in mind "why would U.S publish such info if it was not so" I would like to hear your personal views on the issue.
Thanks Mandi for your positive comment. It is an energizer indeed.
I believe Osama is history; I don't see why Obama would risk his leadership position to tell the world Bin Laden is dead if he is alive.
The latest news today reports that Pakistan government have arrested some alleged CIA informants for aiding US to raid Osama. If indeed the death of Osama was a sham why has Pakistan govt and al-Qaida agreed to his demise?
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