Bin Laden ran Al Qaeda command center, videos offer details

AWA: The United States released several videos seized during a Special Forces raid on Osama Bin Laden’s house in Pakistan, an “active command and control center” where the Al Qaeda leader maintained strategic and operational control of the organization in the proximity of the country’s national military academy, a senior US intelligence official said on Saturday.

The official, who released five video clips of Bin Laden taken from the compound in Abbottabad by a 79-member US Navy SEALs team, said the information retrieved represented the largest trove of intelligence ever obtained from a single terrorism suspect.

“He was far from a figurehead, he was an active player,” the official told reporters. Journalists were shown five videos including one in which the Al Qaeda chief was shown inside his secret compound, holding a remote and watching images of himself on television, giving clear indication of Mr. Bin Laden's interest in his own image on networks around the world.

Another video is described by Bin Laden as “A message to the American people,” that is believed to have been recorded in October or November 2010, a senior US intelligence official told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

The videos, seized during the historic raid on May 1 in which Bin Laden was killed, ending the most elaborate manhunt in history, were part of a treasure trove of documents and evidence. Some of the seized material showed that the Al Qaeda chief remained a senior director of the terror group.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that the US ran a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) post in thzPakistani garrison town of Abbottabad where Bin Laden was found, operating a team of spies for surveillance of the compound where he was found.

Citing US officials, the Post said the clandestine safe house run by the CIA was used for the supremely delicate task of gathering intelligence in the city just 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

The network relied on local informants and other sources to piece together a “pattern of life” in the compound where the Al Qaeda chief had been living in secrecy in a compound surrounded by towering perimeter walls, the Post said.

The US Department of Homeland Security and other US agencies have been reviewing the treasure trove of information from Bin Laden’s compound.

Experts believed the material—including about five computers, 10 hard drives and 100 storage devices—could prove invaluable to deal further blows to Al Qaeda 10 years after the deadly attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

US officials said a task force of experts from the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department and other agencies had begun scouring the material, in a task that would last months and possibly years.

National Day of achievements

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia marks its 79th National Day on Wednesday, not only to remember the country’s unification at the hands of King Abdul Aziz but also to celebrate its achievements in the educational, health and economic sectors. Being the world’s largest oil exporter, it has become a member of G20 and is the largest economy in the Middle East.
“The National Day of Saudi Arabia is different from other countries. It is not an occasion to remember liberation from colonialists but rather an occasion to celebrate the unity of our people,” said Prince Abdul Rahman, deputy minister of defense and aviation.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), said: “By celebrating this day we are not just remembering the history but we take it as an opportunity to think about what we should do to have a brighter future.”
“Saudi Arabia is a major player on the world economic map, in terms of its contributions to the capital of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and (other) development banks and in terms of providing financial assistance to the less-developed countries,” said Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said his ministry had been successful in bringing down the Kingdom’s unemployment rate from 11.2 percent to 9.8 percent. As many as 36,614 Saudis were given employment in the private sector during the first half of this year, he said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated King Abdullah and the Saudi people on the occasion.
“The United States values Saudi Arabia as a close friend and ally. Ever since King Abdul Aziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt first met aboard the USS Quincy in 1945, our two nations have united in a durable and dynamic partnership that is based on mutual respect and mutual interest. Over the years, our friendship has deepened and enhanced the security and prosperity of both our countries,” she said in a message. “On this historic occasion, I want to salute King Abdullah for his leadership on key regional and global challenges, from championing the Arab peace initiative to working to respond to the international economic crisis.”
Pakistani Ambassador Umar Khan Alisherzai extended his warmest felicitations to King Abdullah and members of the royal family and the Saudi people. “Saudi Arabia enjoys enormous respect in the comity of nations, particularly in the Islamic world,” he said while praising the king’s initiative to enhancing interfaith dialogue.