Joy, anger trail al-Qaeda leaders death Buried at sea on the deck of USS Carl VinsonTHE helicopter carrying Navy SEALs malfunctioned as it approached Osama Bin Ladens compound at about 3.30 p.m. ET Sunday, stalling as it hovered. The pilot set it down gently inside the walls, then couldnt get it going again.According to a report, it was a heart-stopping moment for President Barack Obama, who had been monitoring the raid in the White House Situation Room since 1.00 p.m., surrounded by members of his war cabinet. Obviously, everyone was thinking about Black Hawk Down and Desert One, a senior administration official recalled.The SEALs disembarked.The assault team went ahead and raided the compound, even though they didnt know if they would have a ride home, an official said.The special forces put bombs on the crippled chopper and blew it up, then lifted off in a reinforcement craft just before 4.15 p.m., capping an astounding 40 minutes that gave the United States a tectonic victory in the 10-year war on terror touched off by September 11, 2001.The sick chopper turned out to be a tiny wrinkle in an astounding military and intelligence triumph. Bin Laden was shot in the face by the SEALs during a fire-fight after resisting capture.He was buried at sea less than 12 hours later. He was 54.Heres how the worlds most-hunted man was vanquished, as recounted by senior administration officials: Contrary to the intelligence communitys long-held belief that Bin Laden was in a lawless no mans land on the Pakistani border, Bin Laden had been hiding in a three-story house in a one-acre compound in Abbottabad, about 35 miles north of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Officials describe it as a relatively affluent community, with lots of residents who are retired military. Bin Laden was living in a relatively comfortable place: A compound valued at about $1 million, a senior U.S. official told POLITICO. Many of his foot soldiers are located in some of the remotest regions of Pakistan and live in austere conditions. Youve got to wonder if theyre rethinking their respect for their dead leader. He obviously wasnt living as one of them. Officials described the raid as the culmination of years of highly advanced intelligence work that included the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which specialises in imagery and maps, and the National Security Agency (NSA), the code-makers and code-breakers who can covertly watch and listen to conversations around the world.On June 2, 2009, just over four months into his Presidency, Obama had signed a memo to CIA Director Leon Panetta, stating that in order to ensure that we have expanded every effort, I direct you to provide me within 30 days a detailed operation plan for locating and bringing to justice Bin Laden.In the biggest break in a global pursuit of Bin Laden that stretched back to the Clinton administration, the U.S. discovered the compound by following one of the terrorists personal couriers, identified by terrorist detainees as one of the few al-Qaeda couriers who Bin Laden trusted. They indicated he might be living with and protecting Bin Laden, a senior administration official told reporters on a midnight conference call. Detainees gave us his nom de guerre, or his nickname, and identified him as both a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al-Qaeda who was captured in 2005.Officials didnt learn the couriers name until 2007. Then it took two years to find him and track him back to this compound, which was discovered in August 2010. It was a Holy cow! moment, an official said. The compound had been relatively secluded when it was built in 2005on the outskirts of the town center, at the end of a narrow dirt road.In the last six years, some residential homes have been built nearby, an official said on the call. The main structure, a three-story building, has few windows facing the outside of the compound. A terrace on the third floorhas a seven-foot privacy wall.The property is valued at approximately $1 million but has no telephone or Internet service connected to it. Everything about the compound signalled that it was being used to hide someone important.It has 12- to 18-foot walls topped with barbed wire, the official said. Internal wall sectionsinternal walls sectioned off different portions of the compound to provide extra privacy. Access to the compound is restricted by two security gates, and the residents of the compound burn their trash, unlike their neighbours, who put the trash out for collection. For all their suspicions, U.S. officials never knew for sure that Bin Laden was inside.The White Houses original plan had been to bomb the house, but Obama ultimately decided against that. The helicopter raid was riskier. It was more daring, an official told POLITICO. But he wanted proof. He didnt want to just leave a pile of rubble.Officials knew there were 22 people living there, and Obama wanted to be sure not to kill civilians unnecessarily. So, he ordered officials to come up with an air-assault plan.The SEALs held rehearsals of the raid on April 7 and April 13, with officials monitoring the action from Washington.As the real thing approached, daily meetings were held of the national security principals, chaired by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, and their deputies, chaired by John Brennan, the presidents counter-terrorism adviser.Over the past seven weeks, Obama had chaired numerous National Security Council meetings on the topic, including ones on March 14, March 29, April 12, April 19 and April 28.In the lead up to this operation, the President convened at least nine meetings with his national security principals, a senior administration official e-mailed reporters. Principals met formally an additional five times themselves; and their Deputies met seven times. This was in addition to countless briefings on the subject during the Presidents intelligence briefings; and frequent consultations between the (White House National Security Council), CIA, (Defense Department) and Joint Staff. The President was actively involved in reviewing all facets of the operation.At an April 19 meeting in the Situation Room, the president approved the air assault as the course of action. He ordered the force to fly to the region to conduct it. Last Thursday, just after his East Room announcement that Panetta would succeed Robert Gates as Defence Secretary, the president held another meeting in the Situation Room, and went through everyones final recommendations.Obama didnt announce his decision at the meeting, but kept his counsel overnight.In the White House Diplomatic Room at 8.20 a.m. on Friday, before flying down to view tornado destruction in Alabama, Obama informed Donilon that he was authorising the operation. Also attending the meeting were Brennan, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley and Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough.Donilon signed a written authorisation to Panetta, who commanded the strike team. Donilon convened a principals meeting at 3.00 p.m. to finish the planning. The raid was scheduled for Saturday, the day when Obama and most of the West Wing were due at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. But weather pushed it to Sunday. Top West Wing staff worked most of the day on the operation. Senior national security officials stayed in the Situation Room beginning at 1.00 p.m.The officials e-mail gave this account of Obamas day: 2.00 p.m., the President met with the principals to review final preparations.3.32 p.m., the President returned to the Sit Room for an additional briefing.3.50 p.m., the President first learns that UBL was tentatively identified.7.01 p.m., the President learns that theres a high probability the HVT (high-value target) was (Bin Laden).8.30 p.m., the President receives further briefings.In the Situation Room, the president was surrounded by Daley, Donilon, McDonough, Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and others.Panetta was at CIA headquarters, where he had turned his conference room into a command centre that gave him constant contact with the tactical leaders of the strike team.With the team still in the compound, the commander on the ground told a remote commander that they had found Bin Laden. Applause erupted in Washington.Three other adult males were killed with Bin Laden, officials said.We believe two were the couriers and the third was Bin Ladens adult son, an official said on the call. There were several women and children at the compound. One woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant. Two other women were injured. U.S. forces took photographs of the body, and officials used facial-recognition technology to compare them with known pictures of Bin Laden.It was him. At 11.35 p.m., Obama stepped into the East Room and told the world: Justice has been done.However, the release of a decades frustration was unmistakable yesterday as Americans streamed to the site of the World Trade Centre, the gates of the White House and smaller but no less jubilant gatherings across the nation to celebrate the death of the worlds most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, cheering, waving flags and belting the national anthem.But there were fears worldwide that despite Bin Ladens death, the world remains unsafe because of the presence of his global terrorist network and his likely successors who may be equally deadly. Such fears were expressed by diplomats, experts and world leaders as they reacted cautiously to the killing of the al-Qeada leader yesterday.Ground zero, more familiar these past 10 years for bagpipes playing Amazing Grace and solemn speeches and arguments over what to build to honour the September 11 dead, became, for the first time, a place of revelry.Bin Laden was killed on Sunday night during a 40-minute raid of an upscale Abbottabad neighbourhood in Islamabad, Pakistan.United States (U.S.) President Barrack Obama said in global cables yesterday that Bin Laden was killed during a firefight in a ground operation outside Islamabad based on U.S. intelligence, the first lead of which emerged last August.The U.S. forces, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), were from theelite Navy Seal Team Six. They undertook the operation in Abbottabad, 100km (62 miles) north-east of Islamabad. Bin Laden was shot in the head after resisting while no Americans were harmed.Three other men were killed in the raid - one of Bin Ladens sons and two couriersa U.S. official said, adding that one woman was also killed when she was used as a shield and two other women were injured. One helicopter was lost due to technical failure. The team destroyed it and left in its other aircraft.One resident, Nasir Khan, told Reuters the helicopters had come under intense firing from the ground.Bin Ladens hide-out had 4m-6m (12ft-18ft) walls, was eight times larger than other homes in the area and was valued at a million dollars, though it had no telephone or Internet connection.The U.S. official said that intelligence had been tracking a trusted courier of Bin Laden for many years. The couriers identity was discovered four years ago, his area of operation two years ago and then, last August, his residence in Abbottabad was found, triggering the start of the mission.But contrary to the claims of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari on intelligence sharing, a senior U.S. official said that no intelligence had been shared with any country, including Pakistan, ahead of the raid.Bin Laden is generally believed to be the mastermind of the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 (9/11) and a number of others, bringing down the World Trade Centre and killing about 3,000 innocent people. He was top of the U.S. most wanted list. Strikingly, he evaded the forces of the U.S. and its allies for almost a decade, despite a $25m bounty on his head.A senior U.S. official told U.S. television networks that Bin Ladens body had been buried at sea.Finding a country willing to accept the remains of the worlds most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, the official said. So the U.S. decided to bury him at sea. It is also to ensure that his final resting place does not become a shrine and a place of pilgrimage for his followers.Bin Laden was buried at sea from the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the north Arabian Sea after being washed according to Islamic custom during a religious funeral, a U.S. Defense official said yesterday: Preparations for at-sea burial began at 1:10 a.m. EST and were completed at 2 a.m. EST. Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed.The official described the procedure to NBC News as follows:The deceaseds body was washed and then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks that were translated into Arabic by a native speaker.After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceaseds body eased into the sea from the USS Carl Vinson.The rites sparked a debate about Islamic customs, with some Muslim clerics calling the procedure humiliating and others saying it was proper.President Obama said yesterday it was the most significant achievement to date in our nations effort to defeat al-Qaeda.In a reaction, the United Kingdom has put its high commissions and embassies around the world on alert.British Prime Minster David Cameron also said the West would have to be particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead.Speaking with The Guardian yesterday in Abuja, some western diplomats who sought anonymity said they expect the Nigerian authorities to put extra security measures in place to foist any possible backlash from al-Qaeda sympathisers in Nigeria.One of them said: Yes, it is very possible. Look at Nigeria today, you know it is possible. The intelligence report is public enough, even the media knows, there are elements of al-Qaeda in Nigeria. We see the outbursts from time to time, even before the latest bombings...There is need for a high co-operation on this.Also, Acting Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Prof. Bola Akinterinwa yesterday cautioned that Bin Ladens killing would not end the al-Qaeda threat, noting that Bin Laden had now become an idea and like atom that can not be destroyed.Akinterinwa spoke as members of some militant Islamist forums yesterday said that they prayed the news of Bin Ladens death was not true and hinted at retaliation if it was.According to Akinterinwa, Bin Ladens death raises the issue of how to deal with terror effectively now that the name is a doctrine-gospel that has been sold around the world with many followers.He noted that Bin Laden and what he represented had become an institution, adding that his killing had raised new questions as to how terror can be nipped in the bud.Akinterinwa said: The killing has the potential of sparking retaliation which may not happen in the U.S. or Pakistan but anywhere in the world. All those who are rejoicing in all parts of the world can also be targeted.Security measures against possible retaliation would now lead to proper checking of travellers and there will be potential struggle within the al-Qaeda as who will now be the new leader.Basically, the news of the killing has further raised more questions than answers.Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (March 10, 1957 May 2, 2011) who was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the jihadist organisation al-Qaeda, responsible for the September 11 attacks on the U.S. and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets.Long believed to be hiding in caves, Bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy. The stunning news of his death prompted relief and euphoria outside the White House and around the globe, yet also fears of terrorist reprisals against the U.S. and its allies.Justice has been done, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a dramatic announcement at the White House.Frances President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the killing as a coup in the fight against terrorism, but both he and Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned it did not spell al-Qaedas demise.Oh God, please make this news not true... God curse you Obama, said one message on an Arabic language forum. Oh Americans... it is still legal for us to cut your necks.His killing, in a mansion outside of the Pakistani city of Islamabad, dealt a symbolic blow to the global militant network, although Islamist forum posters said the strike would not change their commitment to fighting Western powers.Osama may be killed but his message of Jihad will never die. Brothers and sisters, wait and see, his death will be a blessing in disguise, said a poster on another Islamist forum.Another forum member pointed to the irony of Bin Ladens location, contrasting with long-time rumours that he was hiding in caves.So after 10 years of hiding in mountains, he ends up getting killed in a mansion outside of Islamabad. Interesting.But the prevailing sentiment was one of grief.A poster on the Arabic-language Ansar forum said: Gods revenge on you, you Roman dog, Gods revenge on you crusaders... this is a tragedy brothers, a tragedy.Those who revered him prayed the news was not true but many in the Arab world felt the death of Osama Bin Laden was long overdue.Some said the killing of the Saudi-born al-Qaeda founder in Pakistan was scarcely relevant any more, now that secular uprisings have begun toppling corrupt Arab autocrats who had resisted violent Islamist efforts to weaken their grip on power.On the streets of Saudi Arabia, bin Ladens native land which stripped him of his citizenship after September 11, there was a mood of disbelief and sorrow among many.I feel that it is a lie, said one Saudi in Riyadh. He did not want to be named. I dont trust the U.S. government or the media. They just want to be done with his story. It would be a sad thing if he really did die. I love him and in my eyes he is a hero and a jihadist.Officials in the country of his birth maintained near silence at the news of Bin Ladens death. The state news agency merely noted that Washington and Pakistan had announced it.Other Gulf Arab states also eschewed comment.Another strand of opinion believes that Bin Laden and al-Qaeda brought catastrophe on their Muslim world as the United States retaliated with two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the word Islam became associated with terrorism.
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