Israel Matzav

How they killed Bin Laden (with photo of dead body and video report)

The most amazing thing about this story is that Bin Laden was (more or less) right under the noses of US troops for some period of time, and they didn't even realize it (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

The U.S. had been monitoring the compound in Abbottabad for months after receiving a tip in August that Bin Laden might be seeking shelter there. He had long been said to be in the mountainous region along the Afghanistan, Pakistan border, hiding in a cave as the U.S. sought to kill him with drone strikes from above. Instead, he was in a house eight times larger than its neighbors, with walls more than 12 feet tall and valued at $1 million. The house had no phone or television and the residents burned their trash. The house had high windows and few points of access, and U.S. officials concluded it had been built to hide someone.

According to U.S. officials, two U.S. helicopters flew in low from Afghanistan and swept into the compound at 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Twenty to 25 U.S. Navy Seals under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command in cooperation with the CIA stormed the compound and engaged Bin Laden and his men in a firefight, killed Bin Laden and all those with him.

Two Bin Laden couriers were killed, as was one of Osama Bin Laden's son, as was a woman reportedly used as a shield by one of the men. Other women and children were present in the compound, according to Pakistani officials, but were not harmed. U.S. officials said that Bin Laden himself fired his weapon during the fight, and that he was asked to surrender but did not.

One of the U.S. helicopters, a CH47 Chinook, was damaged but not destroyed during the operation, and U.S. forces elected to destroy it themselves with explosives. The operation took 40 minutes, much of it spent searching the residence for intelligence.

The Americans took Bin Laden's body into custody after the firefight, taking it back to Afghanistan by helicopter, and confirmed his identity. A U.S. official said he was buried at sea at 2 a.m., Washington D.C. time, in accordance with Islamic practice.

What a pity that they didn't bury him in pigskin instead.

And how did they find him in the first place?

Let's go to the videotape.

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And here's a more detailed description of the compound (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

In 2009, "we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated. They were very careful, reinforcing belief we were on the right track."

In August 2010, "we found their home in Abbottabad," not in a cave, not right along the Afghanistan border, but in an affluent suburb less than 40 miles from the capital.

"When we saw the compound, we were shocked by what we saw: an extraordinarily unique compound."

The plot of land was roughly eight times larger than the other homes in the area. It was built in 2005 on the outskirts of town, but now some other homes are nearby.

"Physical security is extraordinary: 12 to 18 foot walls, walled areas, restricted access by two security gates." The residents burn their trash, unlike their neighbors. There are no windows facing the road. One part of the compound has its own seven-foot privacy wall.

And unusual for a multi-million-dollar home: It has no telephone or Internet service.

This home, U.S. intelligence analysts concluded, was "custom built to hide someone of significance."

Besides the two brothers, the U.S. "soon learned that a third family lived there, whose size and makeup of family we believed to match those we believed would be with bin Laden. Our best information was that bin Laden was there with his youngest wife."

There was no proof, but everything seemed to fit: the security, the background of the couriers, the design of the compound.

"Our analysts looked at this from every angle. No other candidate fit the bill as well as bin Laden did," an official said.

"The bottom line of our collection and analysis was that we had high confidence that the compound held a high-value terrorist target. There was a strong probability that it was bin Laden."

That conclusion was reached in mid-February, officials said. Beginning in mid-March, the president led five National Security Council meetings on the plans for an operation.

On Friday, the president gave the order.

This information was shared "with no other country," an official said. "Only a very small group of people inside our own government knew of this operation in advance."

Continue reading here.

Labels: 9/11, Barack Obama, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, US Navy Seals

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:44 AM