• Zardari denies Pakistan harboured bin Laden • Cameron: questions will be asked about Pakistan’s role • Global security clampdown at embassies and airports 8.58am: Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden. One of the main subjects today looks set to be accusations that Pakistan had been harbouring bin Laden . Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari dismissed such charges as “baseless speculation”. Writing in the Washington Post , he said: Some in the US press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing. Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn’t reflect fact. Pakistan had as much reason to despise al-Qaida as any nation. The war on terrorism is as much Pakistan’s war as it is America’s. In Britain, David Cameron chaired a 45-minute meeting of the government’s Cobra emergencies committee , and will update MPs on events in a Commons statement later today. Cameron said Pakistan had “lots of questions” to answer. But he warned against a “flaming great row” with Pakistan’s leaders, who he said were committed to tackling terrorism. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: We should deal with what we do know. And we do know that the Pakistan political leadership is fighting terrorism, we do know that country has suffered. We should work with those forces in Pakistan that want us to combat terrorism and extremism and make democracy take hold in that country. That is in our national interest. We could go down the other route of just having a flaming great row with Pakistan over this. I think that would achieve nothing. But we should deal with what we do know. And we do know that the Pakistan political leadership is fighting terrorism, we do know that country has suffered. We should work with those forces in Pakistan that want us to combat terrorism and extremism and make democracy take hold in that country. That is in our national interest. We could go down the other route of just having a flaming great row with Pakistan over this. I think that would achieve nothing. Osama bin Laden al-Qaida Middle East Pakistan United States Obama administration US foreign policy UN MDG summit 2010 Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …US President Barack Obama has hailed the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as a “good day for America,” saying the world is now a safer and a better place. Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. He is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and a number of other deadly bombings. He topped the US “most wanted” list. DNA…
Continue reading …After nearly a decade of anger and fear, America rejoiced Monday at the demise of Osama bin Laden, the terror mastermind behind the horrific 9/11 attacks. (May 2)
Continue reading …This morning, as America comes to grips with its victory over bin Laden, the pride and glory is splashed all over the nation’s front pages. See the best headlines du jour.
Continue reading …• Osama bin Laden ‘martyr’ tape expected soon • US weighing release of Bin Laden death evidence • White House says Bin Laden used wife as ‘shield’ • Pressure grows on Pakistan over al-Qaida hideout 6.35pm: CNN is now reporting that “administration officials” say Osama bin Laden did not take up or fire a weapon when the US special forces landed – again, in contradiction to earlier reports. The explanation is that more recent debriefing of the Navy Seals involved are providing more details of what actually took place in Abbottabad. 6.33pm ET: The White House is now saying two new pieces of news, via cable news channels: • the woman killed in the compound was not Bin Laden’s wife • Bin Laden was shot twice – not once as previously stated – once, in the chest and once in the head 11.22pm BST / 6.22pm ET: Remember when US evangelical leader Jerry Falwell blamed the 9/11 attacks on America’s gays, lesbians and liberals? Using Falwell’s logic, this tweet makes perfect sense. 6.14pm ET: The Associated Press is reporting comments by two Pentagon officials, who say a video of Osama bin Laden’s burial at sea will likely be made public “soon”, perhaps along with photos of his corpse. Bin Laden’s body was buried in the North Arabian Sea from the deck of the aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, earlier on Monday morning. 6pm ET: CNN reveals that the US code-name for Osama bin Laden during Sunday’s special operation was “Geranimo”. 5.54pm ET: Here’s a flashback to the 2008 election campaign, as the Republican candidate John McCain attacks his Democratic rival Barack Obama for his remarks about attacking high value targets in Pakistan: Senator John McCain intensified his attacks on Senator Barack Obama, saying he was “naive” for publicly suggesting several months ago he would attack targets in Pakistan. “The best idea is not broadcast what you are going to do. That’s naive,” McCain said at a news conference in Columbus. “You make plans and you work with the other country that is your ally and friend, which Pakistan is,” McCain added. “You don’t broadcast and say you are going bomb the country without their permission or without consulting them. This is the fundamentals of the conduct of national security policy. I believe in working with the other country.” Thank goodness President McCain won that election. 5.43pm ET: What news of the Osama bin Laden ‘martyr’ tape? According to US security briefings, the fear is that the tape could provoke counter-attacks by al-Qaida. In the meantime, there’s much speculation and few details about what might be on the “death tape”. 5.41pm ET: The Los Angeles Times highlights John Brennan’s coded remarks earlier today, putting pressure on Pakistan for its role in appearing to give sanctuary to Osama bin Laden: Brennan said it was “inconceivable” that bin Laden did not have a support system in Pakistan that allowed him to remain there for a long period of time. Asked about reports that some in Congress now want to attach strings to aid to Pakistan, he said: “People are raising a number of questions and understandably so. I’m sure a number of people have questions about whether there was some kind of support provided by the Pakistani government.” 5.36pm ET: I’ve blogged on the curious praise for Barack Obama coming from titans of the US conservative right, including the unlikely figures of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Here’s what Beck said earlier today on his radio talk show: Thank God we have a president who actually authorized the shoot to kill. That is a surprising shock to me. And I think that deserves to be said, that I didn’t think that this president would actually pull the trigger – well, he didn’t, but have somebody pull the trigger – and he did. Congratulations, President Obama. Thank you for doing the right thing on this. As they say: politics makes strange bedfellows. And this is strange as they get. 5.25pm ET: My colleague Ben Quinn has a round up of the latest news: • US intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden made a propaganda recording shortly before his death and expect that tape to surface soon. It is unclear whether the tape is audio or video, but a US official has said that intelligence indicates it is already working its way through al-Qaida’s media pipeline. The official said the timing was coincidental and there is no indication he knew US forces were bearing down on him. • President Barack Obama has hailed bin Laden’s death as a “good day for America,” and claimed that the world is now a safer and a better place. “Today we are reminded that as a nation there is nothing we can’t do”, the US president said. However, the US has issued security warnings while CIA Director Leon Panetta said al-Qaida would “almost certainly” try to avenge its figurehead’s death. • Pakistan’s government is facing deeply uncomfortable questions in the US and beyond over the presence of bin Laden near a military facility less than two hours from the capital, Islamabad. There have also been angry claims from Afghanistan that its own position has been vindicated. Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, hinted that the Pakistani state itself was complicit in sheltering the terrorist leader, saying Bin Laden had “hidden himself in the military bases of Abbottabad”. • It prevented any grave site emerging as a shrine but muslim clerics have warned that the US decision to bury Bin Laden’s body at sea may lead to reprisals. Some muslim scholars claimed it had breached sharia law and warned that it may provoke calls for revenge attacks against US targets while others used the sea burial question to doubt whether he was, in fact, dead at all, with doubts fuelled by the absence of photographs of his corpse. 5pm ET / 10pm BST: This is continuing live coverage of the fallout from the killing of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden. Here is a summary of the latest events: • US intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden made a propaganda recording shortly before his death and expect that tape to surface soon • John Brennan, the White House homeland security advisor, said President Obama’s decision to hunt down Bin Laden was “one of the most gutsiest calls of any president in recent memory” • Political allies and opponents unite in praise of the operation that finally caught up with Bin Laden , nine years after the 9/11 attacks in New York City and Washington DC • The White House confirmed that one of the four other people killed in the US special forces’s raid on the al-Qaida hideout in Abbottabad is believed to have been one of Bin Laden’s wives , used as a “human shield” • The US is weighing up whether or not to release photographs and other evidence of Bin Laden’s death You can catch up on the earlier news and events over the last 18 hours in our previous live blogs here and here . Osama bin Laden al-Qaida Obama administration US foreign policy Barack Obama Pakistan US military United States Global terrorism Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Al-Qaida leader’s death on its soil leaves Pakistan facing awkward questions The Obama administration is demanding an explanation from Pakistan on how Osama bin Laden was able to hide in the country for so long before he was killed by US special forces. Bin Laden was staying in a prominent million dollar, high-security residence in an area full of soldiers and close to the country’s premier military academy. John Brennan, a counter-terrorism adviser to Barack Obama, told journalists at the White House: “People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking right how he was able to hide out there for so long.” He added it was “inconceivable” that Bin Laden did not enjoy a “support system” in Pakistan. The al-Qaida leader was killed by US special forces who attacked the compound in Abbottabad, about 30 miles from Islamabad on Sunday, according to US officials. His body was taken by helicopter to a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Gulf and buried at sea. One of his adult sons was also killed, as was one of his four wives, whom the White House claimed had been used by Bin Laden as a shield. Obama said: “The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden.” Although Obama, Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state and Brennan all expressed the importance of Pakistan in helping to fight al-Qaida, the presence of Bin Laden so close to the capital and just streets away from the principal training ground for the country’s officer corps threatened to create a fresh rift in already-strained US-Pakistan relations. Such was the American distrust of the notoriously leaky Pakistan government that it did not even inform it of the raid in its own territory until after US helicopters had cleared Pakistani airspace. Members of Congress threatened to withhold economic aid to Pakistan over the affair. Carl Levin, a Democrat who heads the powerful Senate armed services committee, reflected scepticism in the US about Bin Laden’s ability to remain hidden in Pakistan.”I think the Pakistani army and intelligence have a lot of questions to answer given the location, the length of time and the apparent fact that this facility was actually built for Bin Laden and its closeness to the central location of the Pakistani army,” he told a press conference. The US will step up pressure on Pakistan to hand over the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar and Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, if they are in Pakistan. The death of Bin Laden could also lead to a rethink of the scale of the US involvement in Afghanistan. Embassies, airports and defence bases were placed on high alert for possible retaliation by al-Qaida sympathisers. David Cameron warned the world still faced a threat from “extremist terrorism” but hailed a “massive step forward”. The mood in the US was one of celebration as Americans gathered at New York’s Ground Zero, pleased finally to have retribution. Obama called it “a good day for America” that had made the world a safer place. The White House and Pentagon provided fresh details of the mission by Navy Seals. Bin Laden was killed with a shot to the head, according to US officials. Brennan denied that the special forces had been told not to capture him, only kill him. “If we had the opportunity to take him alive, we would have done that,” he said. Clinton, anxious not to alienate a partner that may yet be needed for actions against al-Qaida and the Taliban, emphasised America’s “close co-operation” with Pakistan. She said: “In fact, co-operation with Pakistan helped lead us to Bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding.” The Pakistan government welcomed the killing as “a major setback to terrorist organisations around the world”. But the former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf reflected his country’s unease over a breach of sovereignty. “America coming to our territory and taking action is a violation of our sovereignty,” Musharraf told CNN. “Handling and execution of the operation [by US forces] is not correct. The Pakistani government should have been kept in the loop.” Clinton suggested that US policy on Afghanistan would not shift but other officials hinted that the dynamics may have changed. The Pentagon only wants to see a token force of a few thousand withdrawn beginning in the summer but Obama may want a more significant reduction. A senior Afghan government official said he feared the death would give “justification for US premature disengagement from the region”. It was a view echoed by Ahmed Wali Massoud, an Afghan politician and brother of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the legendary resistance fighter who was assassinated just two days before the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the orders of Bin Laden. “Obviously this is a huge relief for our family that justice has been done, but it also raises other concerns,” Massoud said. “Already the US has been thinking about shifting its policy on the war on terror and there is a risk that the American public will continue to question why their troops are still fighting there,” he said. One of the most senior American officers serving in Afghanistan, General William Caldwell, told the Guardian the death might encourage moderate elements within the Taliban to give up. Osama bin Laden al-Qaida Global terrorism Pakistan United States Ewen MacAskill Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Chris Matthews' obsession with birthers didn't take a break on the day after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Only 43 seconds into Monday's show on the terrorist, the Hardball anchor connected, “Barack Obama. The cool hand directs the operation step by step. All this time, the crazies were talking birth certificates, he was working.” Politicizing the death of the man who murdered 3000 people, Matthews berated, ” Will this make the Republicans look for someone who can do what Obama can do? Or will they keep on celebrating the clown show?” The liberal cable host jeered, “Will they stop enjoying their passion and go from cheering their buffoon parade to finding a real pick to put up against a proven master and commander?” [Video to follow shortly] Later, Matthews interviewed Politico's John Harris and Major Garrett of National Journal. Garret paraphrased Obama from 2008 on fighting terrorism and opined, “'I'm going to fight it hard. I'm going to think about it new and prosecute that war more aggressively than the current president,' which he has done.”
Continue reading …Long before Osama bin Laden was America’s most reviled terrorist, he was the quiet boy of a rich Saudi family, “a gentle, enthusiastic young man of few words who didn’t raise his voice while talking,” according to a former Saudi intelligence chief. Born in 1954, bin Laden was one of…
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