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."

Read more ....

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.

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.

Read more ....

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

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.

Read more ....

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?



Read more ....



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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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."

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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."

Read more ....

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.

Meet The Persistent CIA Hunter Brought Down Bin Laden

President Obama's decision to go forward with the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and the minute-by-minute account of the president and his team watching the mission unfold. (Courtesy of the White House)

The Man Who Hunted Osama Bin Laden -- ABC News/AP

After Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, the White House released a photo of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet inside the Situation Room, watching the daring raid unfold.

Hidden from view, standing just outside the frame of that now-famous photograph was a career CIA analyst. In the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist, there may have been no one more important. His job for nearly a decade was finding the al-Qaida leader.

Read more ....

My Comment: An intriguing read .... and you know that this story is only the tip of the iceberg.

Did Bin Laden Weighed Seeking Pakistani Protection?

Photo: The revelation came as U.S. agents analyzed documents found in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.

Signs That Bin Laden Weighed Seeking Pakistani Protection -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed show that he and his aides discussed making a deal with Pakistan in which Al Qaeda would refrain from attacking the country in exchange for protection inside Pakistan, American officials said Thursday.

The documents, which officials said included messages between Bin Laden and his top operations chief over the past year, provide the first suggestion that Bin Laden considered Pakistan’s government amenable to a bargain that would ensure the safety of top Qaeda leaders.

Read more ....

Update: Bin Laden considered seeking deal with Pakistan, U.S. official says -- CNN

My Comment: The U.S. officials who are making these documents public are not saying it .... but for Bin Laden and his top operations chief to be discussing making a deal with Pakistan tells me that there must have already been some conversations between Bin Laden and someone in Pakistan's government.

More Info Being Released On The Bin Laden Raid

‘Cairo’ The SEAL Dog, Overheated Stealth Helos, And More From The Osama Raid -- The Danger Room

Details of what happened on the night we killed Bin Laden have been dripping slowly from the White House, but anonymous government sources have just handed the AP the entire story. Every single detail.

Even the SEAL dog’s name.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is information overload. It is no wonder that the Pentagon is upset with all of these leaks.