Osama bin Laden

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New Book Contradicts Official Story of bin Laden Raid

SEAL team reportedly angry at Obama

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden didn’t die after a 45-minute gunfight, according to a new book—he died 90 seconds into the raid, according to SEAL Target Geronimo. The new book is by former SEAL Team Six leader Chuck Pfarrer, who says he interviewed the team that killed bin Laden. The...

Panetta Gets $10K Wine for Nabbing bin Laden

California restaurateur made a bet with then-CIA chief

(Newser) - This New Year’s Eve, Leon Panetta will know the sweet taste of victory, thanks to a bet he made with California restaurateur Ted Balestreri. The Panettas and about 28 others were dining with Balestreri in his wine cellar last New Year’s, when someone asked after the restaurant’s...

Pakistan May Execute Doc Who Helped Find bin Laden

Shakil Afridi should be charged with high treason, commission decides

(Newser) - The doctor who ran the fake vaccination scheme that helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden should be charged with high treason, an inquiry in Pakistan has recommended. If convicted, Shakil Afridi could be executed. The doctor was arrested by Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency a few weeks after the...

US Fights to Keep bin Laden Death Photos Secret

Administration argues in court that they would endanger Americans abroad

(Newser) - The Obama administration filed court documents this week arguing that the 52 photographs and video recordings it has of Osama bin Laden's corpse are "wholly exempt from disclosure," and that it would not release them for fear of inspiring violence against Americans abroad. The filing is in...

Al-Qaeda Drops Posthumous Osama Video

Video intended to mark anniversary of 9/11 attacks

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda celebrated the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by releasing a 62-minute video that included a message from deceased former leader Osama bin Laden along with one from current chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, the SITE Intelligence group tells the AFP . In the video, titled “The Dawn of Imminent Victory,”...

One in Four Would Trade Rights for Security: Poll

And that's down big time since 9/11

(Newser) - Only about 25% of Americans now say they would give up their “basic civil liberties” in exchange for security—a huge decrease from the days after the September 11 attacks, according to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll . In January of 2002, close to half of respondents (47%) were willing...

Did White House Leak Osama Secrets to Hollywood?

Maureen Dowd says access granted for positive pre-election film

(Newser) - A Republican congressman is demanding an investigation following reports that the White House leaked top secret information about the Osama bin Laden kill operation to Hollywood filmmakers. Details were handed over to Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow to make a positive film to boost the president's image before the...

Al-Qaeda on Verge of Collapse: US Officials

But new dangers emerging in Yemen, elsewhere

(Newser) - The good news: Al-Qaeda is on the verge of total collapse, thanks to the killing of Osama bin Laden and punishing drone attacks that have killed more than 1,200 militants in Pakistan since 2004, reports the Washington Post . "We are within reach of rendering them ... largely incapable of...

Zawahiri's al-Qaeda to Focus Outside US

He is expected to go after American and Western targets overseas

(Newser) - Now that Ayman al-Zawahiri is in charge of al-Qaeda, the group is likely to shift its focus away from attacks on US soil and toward much easier hits on US targets overseas, US officials and experts tell the Wall Street Journal . “I would not be surprised to see potentially...

Bin Laden Planned US Attack on 9/11 Anniversary

But planning was in early stages when he was killed

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden wanted to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this year in the best way he knew how: with another assault on US soil. Intelligence gathered from the Navy SEALs raid that killed him showed bin Laden was trying to put together a team to carry...

CIA's bin Laden Vaccine Hoax Sparks Anger

Some fear it will deter Pakistanis from getting kids vaccinated

(Newser) - The CIA is experiencing quite the backlash over the fake vaccination program they used to try to get DNA from Osama bin Laden’s children. International health advocates are furious, because they believe the operation will foster paranoia about vaccination programs, particularly in already hard-to-vaccinate places like Pakistan, Politico reports....

Flickr Gaffe Outs bin Laden Hunter 'John'

But 'Observer' decides not to publish his name

(Newser) - Last week, the AP ran a story praising a CIA agent , identified only as “John,” for his key role in catching Osama bin Laden. Well, it only took two days for another journalist to identify this shadowy hero. The AP article had said the man was just outside...

CIA Ran Phony Vaccination Scheme to Find bin Laden

Pakistani doctor busted for his role in plan

(Newser) - Cunning minds at the CIA devised a phony vaccination program in an effort to uncover Osama bin Laden's hiding place, a Guardian investigation has found. A regional health official was recruited to organize the vaccination drive in Abbottabad, beginning the program in a poorer part of town to make...

Pakistan Bars bin Laden Family From Leaving

Commission doesn't want wives, children repatriated

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's three widows and six children are still in Pakistan, and the country has now decided to bar them from leaving. Initially, Pakistan intended to repatriate the women to their countries of birth, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. But an independent commission investigating the US raid that killed...

Meet the Agent Who Found bin Laden

The story of the unsung CIA man who hunted the leader for a decade

(Newser) - By now, you’ve seen the photo of Obama administration brass awaiting word of the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. What you haven’t seen is the CIA agent standing just outside the frame, a man the AP identifies only as “John.” He spent years doggedly...

Bin Laden Documents Detail Worries About al-Qaeda

His subordinates carped about not having enough money

(Newser) - The Washington Post has more details about Osama bin Laden's correspondence, and they reinforce the notion that he was worried about al-Qaeda's dwindling finances and military might. One thing never changed, though: “The trove makes it clear that bin Laden’s primary goal—you can call it...

Pakistan Taliban Vows Revenge Attack on US

Wali-ur-Rehman says France, Britain are also targets

(Newser) - To take revenge for Osama bin Laden's death, the Pakistani Taliban has threatened to attack the US and its allies. "Soon you will see attacks against America and NATO countries, and our first priorities in Europe will be France and Britain," deputy leader Wali-ur-Rehman says in a...

Osama Wanted to Rebrand Al-Qaeda

He wanted it to sound more religious

(Newser) - If Osama bin Laden had lived much longer, al-Qaeda might have pulled a Blackwater and renamed itself. In one of his last letters, the arch-terrorist lamented that al-Qaeda had gotten a bad name from killing so many Muslims, the AP reports. Sounding like nothing so much as a CEO in...

Phone Suggests bin Laden Link to Pakistan Intelligence

His courier had contact info to militant group with ISI connections

(Newser) - The cellphone of Osama bin Laden's infamous courier, who was killed along with the al-Qaeda leader, contained contact information to a militant group with longstanding connections to Pakistan's intelligence agency, reports the New York Times . It's not a "smoking gun," say officials, but it certainly...

Osama Turned to Kidnapping to Raise Cash

Al-Qaeda was increasingly cut off from funding sources

(Newser) - Even terrorists have to pay the bills, and files taken from Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad show that al-Qaeda was increasingly cash-poor and turning to kidnapping and ransom as a way to raise some revenue. The shift shows that a crackdown on al-Qaeda's funding has proven financially...

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