Obama watched live video of Osama hit

WASHINGTON: Dramatic pictures have been released of US President Barack Obama watching live footage of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

Photographs issued by the White House show the president and other members of his team looking tense as they watch live video of the mission as it happened.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is shown with a particularly anxious expression, with both her hands clasped over her mouth.

US chief counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan was also among those viewing the footage.

Brennan: "It was probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of time. It was clearly very tense, a lot of people were holding their breath.

"There was a fair degree of silence as the operation progressed.

"Minutes passed like days and the President was concerned about security of his personnel."

He added that a "tremendous sigh of relief" came in response to confirmation that Bin Laden was among those found in the compound.

Asked how Obama reacted when he received the news that bin Laden had been killed, Brennan recalled that the president said, "We got him."

Phone call by Kuwaiti courier led to Osama

WASHINGTON: When one of Osama bin Laden's most trusted aides picked up the phone last year, he unknowingly led US pursuers to the doorstep of his boss, the world's most wanted terrorist.

That monitored phone call, recounted Monday by a US official, ended a years-long search for bin Laden's personal courier, the key break in a worldwide manhunt. The courier, in turn, led US intelligence to a walled compound in Abottabad, where a team of Navy SEALs shot bin Laden to death.

The violent final minutes were the culmination of years of intelligence work. Inside the CIA team hunting bin Laden, it always was clear that bin Laden's vulnerability was his couriers. He was too smart to let al-Qaida foot soldiers, or even his senior commanders, know his hideout. But if he wanted to get his messages out, somebody had to carry them, someone bin Laden trusted with his life.

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, detainees in the CIA's secret prison network told interrogators about an important courier with the nom de guerre Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti who was close to bin Laden. After the CIA captured al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he confirmed knowing al-Kuwaiti but denied he had anything to do with al-Qaida.

Then in 2004, top al-Qaida operative Hassan Ghul was captured in Iraq. Ghul told the CIA that al-Kuwaiti was a courier, someone crucial to the terrorist organization. In particular, Ghul said, the courier was close to Faraj al-Libi, who replaced Mohammed as al-Qaida's operational commander. It was a key break in the hunt for in bin Laden's personal courier.

"Hassan Ghul was the linchpin," a US official said.

Finally, in May 2005, al-Libi was captured. Under CIA interrogation, al-Libi admitted that when he was promoted to succeed Mohammed, he received the word through a courier. But he made up a name for the courier and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti, a denial that was so adamant and unbelievable that the CIA took it as confirmation that he and Mohammed were protecting the courier. It only reinforced the idea that al-Kuwaiti was very important to al-Qaida.

If they could find the man known as al-Kuwaiti, they'd find bin Laden.

The revelation that intelligence gleaned from the CIA's so-called black sites helped kill bin Laden was seen as vindication for many intelligence officials who have been repeatedly investigated and criticized for their involvement in a program that involved the harshest interrogation methods in US history.

"We got beat up for it, but those efforts led to this great day," said Marty Martin, a retired CIA officer who for years led the hunt for bin Laden.

Mohammed did not discuss al-Kuwaiti while being subjected to the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, former officials said. He acknowledged knowing him many months later under standard interrogation, they said, leaving it once again up for debate as to whether the harsh technique was a valuable tool or an unnecessarily violent tactic.

It took years of work before the CIA identified the courier's real name: Sheikh Abu Ahmed, a Pakistani man born in Kuwait. When they did identify him, he was nowhere to be found. The CIA's sources didn't know where he was hiding. Bin Laden was famously insistent that no phones or computers be used near him, so the eavesdroppers at the National Security Agency kept coming up cold.

Ahmed was identified by detainees as a mid-level operative who helped al-Qaida members and their families find safe havens. But his whereabouts were such a mystery to US intelligence that, according to Guantanamo Bay documents, one detainee said Ahmed was wounded while fleeing US forces during the invasion of Afghanistan and later died in the arms of the detainee.

But in the middle of last year, Ahmed had a telephone conversation with someone being monitored by US intelligence, according to an American official, who like others interviewed for this story spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. Ahmed was located somewhere away from bin Laden's hideout when he had the discussion, but it was enough to help intelligence officials locate and watch Ahmed.

In August 2010, Ahmed unknowingly led authorities to a compound in Abbottabad, where al-Libi had once lived. The walls surrounding the property were as high as 18 feet and topped with barbed wire. Intelligence officials had known about the house for years, but they always suspected that bin Laden would be surrounded by heavily armed security guards. Nobody patrolled the compound in Abbottabad.

In fact, nobody came or went. And no telephone or Internet lines ran from the compound. The CIA soon believed that bin Laden was hiding in plain sight, in a hideout especially built to go unnoticed. But since bin Laden never traveled and nobody could get onto the compound without passing through two security gates, there was no way to be sure.

Despite that uncertainty, intelligence officials realized this could represent the best chance ever to get to bin Laden. They decided not to share the information with anyone, including staunch counterterrorism allies such as Britain, Canada and Australia.

By mid-February, the officials were convinced a "high-value target" was hiding in the compound. President Barack Obama wanted to take action.

"They were confident and their confidence was growing: 'This is different. This intelligence case is different. What we see in this compound is different than anything we've ever seen before,'" John Brennan, the president's top counterterrorism adviser, said Monday. "I was confident that we had the basis to take action."

Options were limited. The compound was in a residential neighborhood in a sovereign country. If Obama ordered an airstrike and bin Laden was not in the compound, it would be a huge diplomatic problem. Even if Obama was right, obliterating the compound might make it nearly impossible to confirm bin Laden's death.

Said Brennan: "The president had to evaluate the strength of that information, and then made what I believe was one of the most gutsiest calls of any president in recent memory."

Obama tapped two dozen members of the Navy's elite SEAL Team Six to carry out a raid with surgical accuracy.

Before dawn Monday morning, a pair of helicopters left Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. The choppers entered Pakistani airspace using sophisticated technology intended to evade that country's radar systems, a US official said.

Officially, it was a kill-or-capture mission, since the US doesn't kill unarmed people trying to surrender. But it was clear from the beginning that whoever was behind those walls had no intention of surrendering, two US officials said.

The helicopters lowered into the compound, dropping the SEALs behind the walls. No shots were fired, but shortly after the team hit the ground, one of the helicopters came crashing down and rolled onto its side for reasons the government has yet to explain. None of the SEALs was injured, however, and the mission continued uninterrupted.

With the CIA and White House monitoring the situation in real time - presumably by live satellite feed or video carried by the SEALs - the team stormed the compound.

Thanks to sophisticated satellite monitoring, US forces knew they'd likely find bin Laden's family on the second and third floors of one of the buildings on the property, officials said. The SEALs secured the rest of the property first, then proceeded to the room where bin Laden was hiding. A firefight ensued, Brennan said.

Ahmed and his brother were killed, officials said. Then, the SEALs killed bin Laden with a bullet just above his left eye, blowing off part his skull, another official said. Using the call sign for his visual identification, one of the soldiers communicated that "Geronimo" had been killed in action, according to a US official.

Bin Laden's body was immediately identifiable, but the US also conducted DNA testing that identified him with near 100 percent certainty, senior administration officials said. Photo analysis by the CIA, confirmation on site by a woman believed to be bin Laden's wife, who was wounded, and matching physical features such as bin Laden's height all helped confirm the identification. At the White House, there was no doubt.

"I think the accomplishment that very brave personnel from the United States government were able to realize yesterday is a defining moment in the war against al-Qaida, the war on terrorism, by decapitating the head of the snake known as al-Qaida," Brennan said.

US forces searched the compound and flew away with documents, hard drives and DVDs that could provide valuable intelligence about al-Qaida, a US official said. The entire operation took about 40 minutes, officials said.

Bin Laden's body was flown to the USS Carl Vinson in the North Arabian sea, a senior defense official said. There, aboard a US warship, officials conducted a traditional Islamic burial ritual. Bin Laden's body was washed and placed in a white sheet. He was placed in a weighted bag that, after religious remarks by a military officer, was slipped into the sea about 2 a.m. EDT Monday.

Said the president: "I think we can all agree this is a good day for America." (AP)

Haqqani promises Osama intelligence inquiry

WASHINGTON: Pakistani ambassador to US promised a "full inquiry" Monday into how Pakistani intelligence services failed to find Osama bin Laden in a fortified compound just a few hours drive from Islamabad.

"Obviously bin Laden did have a support system, the issue is was that support system within the government and the state of Pakistan or within the society of Pakistan?" ambassador Husain Haqqani told American news channel.

"We all know that there are people in Pakistan who share the same belief system and other extremists.... So that is a fact that there are people who probably protected him," he said.

"We will do a full inquiry into finding out why our intelligence services were not able to track him earlier."

"Any question about intelligence failures will definitely be addressed by

us jointly," Haqqani said.

"What I find incredulous is the notion that somehow, just because there is a private support network in Pakistan, the state, the government and the military of Pakistan shouldn't be believed."

But the ambassador indicated there were some in Pakistan that still had to come to terms with working with the Americans.

"Look, we have to as a nation in Pakistan re-evaluate our view of this whole problem," he said.

Some people after 9/11 "said we shouldn't side with the United States because the United States is about to crumble like the Soviet Union did and we should actually support the Taliban," he said.

"You remember that, that changed. Pakistan has to come to terms with the fact and we will." (AFP)

Arab and world reactions on the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces

By ABEER TAYEL: World leaders lauded the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a firefight with a team of US operatives, who raided the compound where he had been hiding, not from Pakistan’s capital in Pakistan.

President Barack Obama of the United States announced the killing of Mr. bin Laden in a televised speech from the White House late Sunday.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority said the killing of Mr. bin Laden was “good for the cause of peace.”

“Getting rid of Mr. bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods—the violent methods—that were created and encouraged by Mr. bin Laden and others in the world,” PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib said, according to Reuters.

Yemen welcomed the US operation that killed Mr. bin Laden, a Yemeni official said, expressing hope that more measures would further root out militancy.

“We welcome the operation that was completed, and we hope that targeted measures will be taken to end terrorism throughout the world,” the official told Reuters, asking not to be named.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the killing of Al-Qaeda mastermind, saying he was a threat to America and the world.

“We join our fellow citizens in welcoming the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been eliminated as a threat to our nation and the world through the actions of American military personnel,” CAIR said in a statement, according to AFP.

“As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam,” the group said.

“In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al-Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide,” the group added.

Israeli leaders hailed the death of Al-Qaeda leader at the hands of US forces, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulating the United States on “a victory for justice.”

“The state of Israel joins together in the joy of the American people after the liquidation of Bin Laden,” said a statement from the premier’s office, according to Agence-France Presse.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates US President Barack Obama for this victory for justice, liberty and the common values of democratic nations which fought side by side against terrorism,” the statement said.

President Shimon Peres of Israel also welcomed the news, telling public radio the operation was “a great success, not only for the United States, but for the whole free world which now breathes more easily following the belated but deserved punishment inflicted on Bin Laden.”

However, some observers cautioned that the person identified as Osama bin Laden could have been a look-alike. But they also acknowledged that President Obama would scarcely have put the prestige of his office on the line had Mr. bin Laden’s body not been positively identified.

Pakistan said that the killing of Mr. bin Laden was a “major setback” to terrorist organizations around the world.

“Osama bin Laden’s death illustrates the resolve of the international community, including Pakistan, to fight and eliminate terrorism,” the foreign ministry said.

“It constitutes a major setback to terrorist organizations around the world,” it added in a statement.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan called on Taliban guerrillas to learn a lesson from the death of Osama bin Laden and stop fighting against his US-backed administration.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France congratulated the United States for its “tenacity” in hunting down Mr. bin Laden and dubbed his death “a major event in the world struggle against terrorism.”

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that Al-Qaeda leader’s death at the hands of US forces is a “victory for all democracies fighting the abominable scourge of terrorism.”

Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, meanwhile, hailed news Al-Qaeda leader's death, saying it would “bring great relief to people across the world.”

“It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror,” Mr. Cameron said in a statement.

“Osama bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen—for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British,” the British Prime Minister said.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy described Mr. bin Laden’s death as “a victory of good over evil, of justice over cruelty.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told President Obama that she was relieved about the killing of Mr. bin Laden, according to a statement released by her spokesman.

“With the commando operation against Osama bin Laden and his killing, US forces succeeded in making a decisive strike against Al-Qaeda,” Merkel's spokesman said in a statement.

Russia hailed the death of Al-Qaeda leader as a great success, adding that it was willing to step up its cooperation with the United States in the fight against terror.

Australia said it would continue its operations in Afghanistan following the death of Mr. bin Laden, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, according to Reuters.

“Whilst ِAl-Qaeda has been hurt today, Al-Qaeda is not finished. Our war against terrorism must continue,” Ms. Gillard told reporters. “We will continue the mission in Afghanistan.”

Kenya’s prime minister thanked the United States and Pakistan for the killing of Mr. bin Laden, describing the news as positive for the east African country struck by an Al-Qaeda attack more than a decade ago.

“Kenyans are happy and thank the US people, the Pakistani people and everybody else who managed to kill Osama,” Raila Odinga told Reuters.

“Mr. Osama’s death can only be positive for Kenya but we need to have a stable government in Somalia,” he said, referring to a four-year insurgency in neighboring Somalia where Al-Qaeda linked rebels are fighting to topple the government.

Text of White House speech by President Barack Obama on Osama's death

The following is the text of a televised speech given by President Barack Obama from The White House at 11:35 p.m., Sunday, May 1:

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda—an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must—and we will—remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not—and never will be—at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President [Asif Ali] Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.