Global News Post: Osama bin Laden

Bin Laden Documents Reveal Splits in al-Qaida

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By Gary Thomas from Washington<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A selected set of documents seized from the compound of Osama bin Laden last year sheds new light on the terrorist leader. The documents highlight what was, at times, an apparently difficult relationship between al-Qaida's core group, headed by bin Laden, and its affiliates. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The documents, analyzed and released by the U.S. Military Academy [the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point], show bin Laden in his final years as frustrated with the strategy and tactics of the franchise al-Qaida groups in the Middle East and North Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Nelly Lahoud, one of the authors of an analysis accompanying the released documents, said the papers challenge the widely held assumption of strong unity between bin Laden and the core group of al-Qaida's leaders holed up in Pakistan with him, and their affiliates elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“However, bin Laden does come across as outmoded by the new generation of regional jihadi groups. He doesn’t seem to be seeing eye to eye [in full agreement with them]. He’s more methodical in terms of the operations that he would like to plan, whereas he sees them as being kind of too risky, and they’re more enthusiastic than they should be with respect to their operations,” said Lahoud.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Correspondence between bin Laden, associates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The 17 documents released Thursday - 175 pages in the original Arabic - are in the form of letters between bin Laden and his associates between 2006 and 2011. The three longest and most revealing letters are by bin Laden himself, written between 2010 and late April of 2011 - just one week before a raiding party of U.S. Navy commandos killed bin Laden [on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan]. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lahoud cautions that the al-Qaida letters now made public are only a tiny window into al-Qaida and the terrorist leader who was once the world’s most wanted man. In fact, she said, it is not even clear if the affiliate groups ever received the bin Laden letters. Nevertheless, bin Laden is clearly displeased that al-Qaida affiliates undercut their cause by staging attacks that killed fellow Muslims. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lahoud said bin Laden wanted the affiliate groups to concentrate their efforts on the United States, not on their home countries, where they need public support.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“One of the interesting metaphors he uses is this malignant tree. He wants to focus on the trunk of the tree. He believes the United States is the trunk of the tree, whereas all the other branches are kind of like the apostate Muslim regimes that he considers to be apostates, and NATO or Britain," she said. "And he says we really shouldn’t waste our time on the branches. We should really just try to get rid of the trunk of the tree. Once the trunk is off, the rest will fall.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bin Laden often critical of fellow terrorists<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One letter has the al-Qaida leader refusing a request by its Somalia-based affiliate al-Shabab for formal union with al-Qaida central. Al-Shabab and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP], based in Yemen, also were scolded by bin Laden for seeking his blessing to declare an Islamic state in their respective countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bin Laden also comes across as sharply critical of fellow jihadists like Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born AQAP figure killed in a U.S. drone strike last year, and the Pakistani Taliban. He was dismissive of lone-wolf attackers in general. Specifically, he singled out Faisal Shahzad, the man who launched the failed 2010 bomb attack in New York City’s Times Square. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lahoud said bin Laden was critical of Shahzad for, of all things, violating his U.S. citizenship oath.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“He doesn’t mind people who already have citizenship to mount attacks against the United States. But he does mind that those who have acquired citizenship, and therefore have sworn an oath not to threaten the United States, violate their oath,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Stuart Caudill, a co-author of the report analyzing the documents, said there is no evidence of any alliance between Iran and al-Qaida. In fact, he said, the relationship between Iran and al-Qaida was sometimes even antagonistic because of Iran’s detention of al-Qaida operatives and some members of bin Laden’s family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Remaining questions, unfulfilled evil<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One key unanswered question is how bin Laden managed to evade detection while living for years in Abbottabad, a city not far from Islamabad that has many associations with the Pakistani military. Caudill said the letters provide no answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“It’s inconclusive as to what relationship, if any, but based on the documents there’s no references to institutional Pakistani support by members of the government or the security services," said Caudill. "And really the only references to Pakistani intelligence are to avoiding their monitoring, making sure that [al-Qaida hideouts] are not discovered by Pakistani intelligence.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lahoud said bin Laden seemed to be genuinely pleased by the Arab Spring, which was then in its early stages. In one letter dated just a week before he died, he called for education and media outreach in the region to make new converts to the jihadi cause.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“His plan was to incite the people who had not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers. But mainly we see he wanted to educate and warn Muslims from those who might tempt them to settle for half-solutions. So he doesn’t want people to be sort of tempted by the political process, like the Muslim Brotherhood.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In another letter, Adam Gadahn, a U.S.-born extremist who calls himself "the American al-Qaida," advised his colleagues in the terrorist network's leadership to disassociate al-Qaida from any other group that mounted an attack in al-Qaida's name without consulting the core leadership. Gadahn also proposed that al-Qaida should mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington in a way that would burnish the terrorists' reputation and stature. Bin Laden longed to replicate the 2001 attacks, but he never did. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Bin Laden Documents Reveal Splits in al-Qaida

By Gary Thomas from Washington A selected set of documents seized from the compound of Osama bin Laden last year sheds new light on the t...

Obama Denies Politicizing Bin Laden Raid

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9pt;">Photo © VOA</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9pt;">Osama bin Laden compound interactive graphic</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">U.S. President Barack Obama says his administration is not politicizing the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, pushing back on criticism that the White House is indulging in "excessive celebration" over the terrorist leader's death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking days before the first anniversary of the U.S. commando raid in Pakistan that killed the al-Qaida leader, Obama said Monday that there are others - an apparent reference to his presumed Republican challenger in the November election - who have reversed position on going ahead with such a mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Without mentioning Mitt Romney by name, Obama recommended looking at people's previous statements on the issue. Romney said several years ago that it was not worth a tremendous, costly effort to go after one person, but on Monday said "of course" he would have ordered bin Laden killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">"I said that I would go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him and I did. If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, then I'd go ahead and let them explain it," Obama reiterated during a White House news conference.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marking the one-year anniversary, Obama will be featured in a NBC TV news special Wednesday that includes an interview in the White House Situation Room where he and his top aides watched the raid on bin Laden's compound unfold live.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The bin Laden raid and drone strikes have hurt U.S. relations with Pakistan. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On Monday, Obama's counterterrorism adviser defended the use of unmanned aerial strikes against terrorism suspects overseas, in the administration's first such detailed public comments on the controversial program. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John Brennan said the "targeted strikes are legal,'' citing U.S. law and noting that the United States is in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban and other associated forces in response to the al-Qaida terror attacks of September 11, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><i><b>Watch related video</b></i></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</strong></span></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="305" src="http://www.voanews.com/templates/widgetDisplay.html?id=149670895&player=article" width="480"></iframe><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The killing of suspected militants, including American citizens overseas, by U.S. drones has been criticized by human rights and civil liberties groups. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking Justice Department memos justifying the targeted killings. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Obama Denies Politicizing Bin Laden Raid

Photo © VOA Osama bin Laden compound interactive graphic U.S. President Barack Obama says his administration is not politicizing the ra...

Bin Laden’s Family Arrive in Saudi Arabia

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">RIYADH (NNN-KUNA) -- The wives and children of Osama Bin Laden - the slain leader of Al-Qaeda organization - arrived at Jeddah airport, southwest Saudi Arabia, from Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on Thursday, a Saudi official confirmed here Saturday evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"At the request of Bin Laden's family in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the travel procedures of Bin Laden's family were facilitated," Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted the official as saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dealt with this matter on humanitarian, legal and religious grounds, taking into account that there is no information or evidence on the family's involvement or participation in any criminal or illegal acts, according to the report.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"It is inappropriate to discuss any details affecting the privacy of bin Laden's family in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the source concluded.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in pre-dawn raid on May 2, 2011, in the north-west Pakistani city of Abbottabad. -- NNN-KUNA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Bin Laden’s Family Arrive in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH (NNN-KUNA) -- The wives and children of Osama Bin Laden - the slain leader of Al-Qaeda organization - arrived at Jeddah airport, sou...

Castro Criticizes US for Way it Killed Bin Laden

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has criticized the way the United States carried out the raid against Osama bin Laden, saying the U.S. commandos killed him in front of his family.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br /><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Castro made the comments in an essay published by state media on Thursday. He also said the U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan violated that country's laws and offended its dignity.</i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i></i></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">The former Cuban leader noted he expressed solidarity with the United States following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, despite political differences with the United States.  He also said he abhors all types of terrorism.  </span></i></span></span></div><br /><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;">But Castro said the killing and burial at sea of bin Laden has made the world's top terrorist a "much more dangerous person."</span></i></span></span></div><br /><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A team of Navy SEALs raided bin Laden's compound early Monday, killing the terrorist leader and ending a nearly decade-long manhunt of the man behind the September 11 attacks on the United States.</span></span></i></span></span></div><div style="font-style: italic; line-height: 19px;"></div><div style="display: inline !important; text-align: justify;"><div style="display: inline !important; text-align: justify;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 15px;">(VOA News)</span></span></i></span></i></span></div></div></div></div></div>

Castro Criticizes US for Way it Killed Bin Laden

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has criticized the way the United States carried out the raid against Osama bin Laden, saying the U.S. c...

Ban urges world to recall terrorism victims aftermath Osama's death

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySVjT6t2a-vw-N0NTQH4ADV84O7U7GoaYosxhFSwBkcXviXoKD_Gbi73RDkj9nhSHDePLLPN7JMAgM6-UY4hAZb5zO4lexMMgskHSNwTlYZbN8HMK2kd6QrGzIyTLzjav3pEusDLHDub8/s1600/bankimoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySVjT6t2a-vw-N0NTQH4ADV84O7U7GoaYosxhFSwBkcXviXoKD_Gbi73RDkj9nhSHDePLLPN7JMAgM6-UY4hAZb5zO4lexMMgskHSNwTlYZbN8HMK2kd6QrGzIyTLzjav3pEusDLHDub8/s1600/bankimoon.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tehran–<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"> The death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind some of the world’s most notorious terrorist attacks, represents a “watershed moment” in the fight against the scourge of terrorism, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">US President Barack Obama announced last night that bin Laden – the founder and head of al-Qaeda – was killed by US forces at a compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, which is located close to the capital, Islamabad, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Tuesday. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Speaking to reporters at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Ban said it was “a day to remember the victims and families of victims, here in the United States and everywhere in the world.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bin Laden claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. He is also believed to be responsible for organizing or funding many other attacks, including the 1998 bombing of two US embassies in East Africa, the 1995 bombing of a Saudi security training centre in Riyadh and numerous attacks inside Afghanistan. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ban described bin Laden’s death as “a watershed moment in our common global fight against terrorism. The crimes of al-Qaeda touched most continents, bringing tragedy and loss of life to thousands of men, women and children.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a statement he voiced relief at the news and commended “the work and the determined and principled commitment of many people in the world who have been struggling to eradicate international terrorism.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The secretary-general stressed that the UN would continue to lead the global campaign against terrorism, drawing from the counter-terrorism strategy adopted by the General Assembly. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">His remarks were echoed by General Assembly President Joseph Deiss, who said that the UN’s fight against terrorism is “undertaken in the name of all victims. Terrorists must know that there will be no impunity for their barbaric and cowardly deeds.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Deiss stressed that terrorism remains unacceptable, regardless of what form or purpose it takes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ambassador Gérard Araud of France, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency this month, read out a presidential statement in which the 15-member panel welcomed the news that bin Laden “will never again be able to perpetrate such acts of terrorism.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The statement urged all countries to remain vigilant and intensify their efforts to defeat terrorism, including by working together to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of terrorist attacks. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The Security Council stresses… that terrorism will not be defeated by military force, law enforcement measures and intelligence operations alone, and can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all states, and relevant international and regional organizations and civil society to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and to impede, impair, isolate and incapacitate the terrorist threat.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), noted that the huge number of lives lost around the world as a result of the activities of al-Qaeda. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Welcoming last night’s news, he stressed that nevertheless “there remains significant work in addressing terrorism, including tackling conditions that lead to or facilitate terrorism and building the legal basis needed to work against this threat to human security in a humane and effective manner.” <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">IRNA </span></span></div></div>

Ban urges world to recall terrorism victims aftermath Osama's death

Tehran– The death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind some of the world’s most notorious terrorist attacks, represents a “watershed m...

Reported killing of Bin Laden 'Hollywood scripted,' says Islamic thinktank

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTI4GyKbm6SMGDOxyEg3_JoDpOWg4JnwkravAO4jvxS8-2aHrUIgrslwB7-4bNscVW4QcqWf5K1Eus6Gugl0A17mhoxuYbCQ3NC2Py7fsWsogoHcbVd_afVXD0oQVQVllk0xhqYs0rUPfC/s1600/T30369584-1225161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTI4GyKbm6SMGDOxyEg3_JoDpOWg4JnwkravAO4jvxS8-2aHrUIgrslwB7-4bNscVW4QcqWf5K1Eus6Gugl0A17mhoxuYbCQ3NC2Py7fsWsogoHcbVd_afVXD0oQVQVllk0xhqYs0rUPfC/s1600/T30369584-1225161.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">London   –<i> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>UK-based Islamic thinktank Global Vision 2000 has expressed doubts about the veracity of the reported US killing of Osama bin Laden, which he said benefits specifically President Barack Obama.</b></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“It appears to be a Hollywood scripted story portraying Pakistan, the world's sole Muslim nuclear power, as the greatest threat to world security so that any type of operation can be mounted against it,” said Global Vision's managing director Moeen Yaseen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The real significance of this 'psy-op' was to spread the Global War of Terror into Pakistan. The Pakistan armed forces loyalty is being tested whose side are they on,” Yaseen said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In an interview with IRNA, he suggested that Monday's reported assassination showed that “America has asserted its right to unilaterally mount attacks within any sovereign country, any time it likes, without approval from the UN.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The significance of this attack has set a blank check precedent for the USA to extend at will its military operations beyond the tribal areas to any city within Pakistan utilising airpower,” he warned. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yaseen believed that it was avoid embarrassment, whilst officially denying any involvement of knowledge of the attack that Pakistani authorities “leaked reports confirming that the operations could never take place without Pakistan's intelligence agencies.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“It appears that elements of the Pakistani regime colluded in this attack on Pakistan's sovereignty and even officially offered congratulations. Permission was granted for an American military operation in Abbotabad the Pakistan equivalent of Sandhurst and GCHQ just 30 minutes from the capital Islamabad,” he said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Global Vision was established in 2000 as a catalytic multi-level organisation committed to a holistic global Islamic renaissance and to facilitate the evolution of global human consciousness by focussing on an Universal transcendentalist Islamic vision. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yaseen said that the thinktank does not accept the official view of 9/11 but believes it was “an example of sophisticated false flag terrorism which became the Cassus Belli for the Global War of Terror legitimising the invasion and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With regard to the reported US killing, he said that there were already “many examples of photoshop and hoax video interviews with Osama Bin Laden which has been used consistently and repeatedly with a view of whipping up fear and hysteria to justify Pax America and continuation of the longest war ever.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The evidence from the USA submitted by the CIA/Pentagon is basically war propaganda and is untrustworthy and needs to be dismissed, as it is designed to mislead public opinion.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With regard to the claimed killing of Bin Laden, Yeseen said that the news </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">only benefits America and specifically Obama, who can “now portray his faltering Global War of Terror as a victory to his people, securing his re-election and diverting attention from the public debate on his constitutional legitimacy.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“This so called Global War on Terror is really a Global War of Terror planned before 9/11 by neo-con and Zionist thinktanks for the new Anglo-American Zionist Century,” he said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“It has materialised into the longest modern war even longer than the second world war from 1939-1945. History will reveal that 9/11 was the deliberate start of a covert 3rd World War to inaugurate the New World Order.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Global Vision director said accordingly it was “imperative in the Western military doctrine to exaggerate and continue this threat as long as necessary.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The danger facing the world now is that there are Satanic forces seeking to plunge the world into an overt 3rd World War at a time when their financial and economic system is breaking down,” he told IRNA. <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">IRNA</span></i></span></div></div>

Reported killing of Bin Laden 'Hollywood scripted,' says Islamic thinktank

London – UK-based Islamic thinktank Global Vision 2000 has expressed doubts about the veracity of the reported US killing of Osama bin La...

Indian leader decries labelling Laden's extremism as 'Islamic terror'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24lD6S-d-HJSpiYvPhE_vcKWTpGHQR69OZqIAVzKMWK_UapunaLpsrxsgo6aD00Sts5CRrE724dvOLm7INf1mi7yXOdq0nFNTk8BJLyGP3uB66hHpYQQj4YlHNSoA6py1G0c6u81PvlmA/s1600/T30369809-1225717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24lD6S-d-HJSpiYvPhE_vcKWTpGHQR69OZqIAVzKMWK_UapunaLpsrxsgo6aD00Sts5CRrE724dvOLm7INf1mi7yXOdq0nFNTk8BJLyGP3uB66hHpYQQj4YlHNSoA6py1G0c6u81PvlmA/s1600/T30369809-1225717.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">New Delhi(India)-- <b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday said slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden 'took to extremism' as a means to establish the theory he was indoctrinated with and the path chosen by him cannot be labelled as 'Islamic terrorism'.</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'His teacher had taught him that history is written with nothing other than blood; that fame is built on skulls and only dead bodies and skeletons formed the base of honour and pride. He accepted this into and took to extremism as a tool to establish it during his lifetime,' the DMK patriarch said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">According to the Indian news agency PTI, writing in party mouthpiece 'Murasoli,' published in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, he said many had attempted to brand this (path of extremism) as 'Islamic terrorism.' </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'This is not acceptable. Islam is synonymous with peace. Holy Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) had laid down that Islam is a path of peace and tolerance and that every Muslim should be in peace with God and human,' he said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Arguing that any form of terrorism -- right-wing, left-wing or ultra-nationalist -- should be 'nipped in the bud,' he said history ''shows extremists are there in every religion.'' </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'There is no second opinion that they should be punished. However, just the anger may be, but justifiying extremism is not fair. Bin Laden's end proves the saying that one who takes to violence will die by violent means. (DMK founder) the late C N Annadurai had also said that one should not take to violence,' he said.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">IRNA </span></span></div></div>

Indian leader decries labelling Laden's extremism as 'Islamic terror'

New Delhi(India)-- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday said slain al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden 'took to extremism' a...

German daily brands Obama 'terrorist' for ordering Bin Laden killing

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Berlin- <b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The Berlin-based daily junge welt here Tuesday labeled US President Barack Obama 'terrorist' for ordering the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.</span></i></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Headlining 'Terrorists kill Osama bin Laden', the newspaper said the US clearly wanted </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3z1-7v2uSLQO3wkhh0vDqNZCHKbo-rX-Bvs9cujJzIgbMT8tLEBYZkN7u8TFZxaR_GYROgLmyOgm6x5AWSheVaBz-VJk7FRgk0SWqzu9LBaNzz_07gNKkM0vNRbvQoOkHG9K2iQbc9sv/s1600/T30368979-1224052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3z1-7v2uSLQO3wkhh0vDqNZCHKbo-rX-Bvs9cujJzIgbMT8tLEBYZkN7u8TFZxaR_GYROgLmyOgm6x5AWSheVaBz-VJk7FRgk0SWqzu9LBaNzz_07gNKkM0vNRbvQoOkHG9K2iQbc9sv/s1600/T30368979-1224052.jpg" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to liquidate the Al-Qaeda leader rather than put him on trial. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It also pointed out that even America's NATO allies did not criticize this killing which </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">is in breach of international law. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That notwithstanding, former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt on Monday </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">lambasted the US commando killing of the Al-Qaeda boss, saying it violated </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">international law. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Talking to German television, Schmidt said the killing of Bin Laden was </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a 'clear violation of existing international law.' </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bin Laden who masterminded the devastating September 11, 2001, terrorist </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">attacks on the US, was killed Sunday in Abottabad, Pakistan in </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a shootout with American special forces.   IRNA </span></div><br /></div>

German daily brands Obama 'terrorist' for ordering Bin Laden killing

Berlin- The Berlin-based daily junge welt here Tuesday labeled US President Barack Obama 'terrorist' for ordering the killing of Al-...

Only 'gullible' Americans believe Bin Laden killing, says UK journalist

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSx19IoyOwy3raHXoaRd0FV-jOkFaNsbr3jYd6vaMXSJf0z3ZC-oNDDQC2k2Cl9EWxTaKYD4bv8Ru4makA97AZYl_AVcDyluFQuQ0s9vXEML6gUSexeUlkjUGXPoOffXKH2QcSvi6yy-Z/s1600/yovnneredley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSx19IoyOwy3raHXoaRd0FV-jOkFaNsbr3jYd6vaMXSJf0z3ZC-oNDDQC2k2Cl9EWxTaKYD4bv8Ru4makA97AZYl_AVcDyluFQuQ0s9vXEML6gUSexeUlkjUGXPoOffXKH2QcSvi6yy-Z/s1600/yovnneredley.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">London– <i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">British broadcaster and journalist Yvonne Ridley is sceptical about reports of the US assassination of Osama bin Laden, which comes at a time when President Barack Obama is plagued over questions about his birth certificate and rated so lowly in the polls.</span></b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Only a gullible section of Americans are falling for this nonsense while the rest of the world is maintaining a healthy disbelief over the news that the al Qaida leader was killed in a compound in Abbottabad,” Ridley said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“What I would like to know is why did they dump the body at sea, thereby eliminating every bit of vital evidence?” she asked. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“This has only served to feed the many conspiracy theorists out there and those who no longer believe anything coming out of The White House since we were all lied to over the whereabouts of WMD in Iraq,” she said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The British journalist, who has extensive experience travelling around the Middle East, was expressing her doubts about the reports in an exclusive interview with IRNA. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“If I were a cynic I'd point out that it has certainly stopped people focussing on and talking about Obama's birth certificate - an issue which was becoming a major irritant for the US president who is embarking on his campaign for a second term,” she said.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The death of bin Laden, she suggested, “might just secure his second term in office, judging from the rather unbridled show of hysteria by the masses gathered in New York's Times Square, Ground Zero and other landmark sites.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ridley said that in October 2001. the Taliban's foreign minister offered to handover the al Qaida leader but the “reality is that the US needed an excuse to go into Afghanistan.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Osama bin Laden provided that reason otherwise they could have avoided the world's costliest manhunt for the last decade, the futile War on Terror and the catastrophic war in Afghanistan which has cost tens of thousands of lives,” she said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She believed that it was also ironically that Obama now needs to withdraw from Afghanistan after a fruitless 10 years there and that the al Qaida leader “has provided The White House with another excuse. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The announcement itself, Ridley said, will have “little or no impact on the now discredited War on Terror or global terrorism” as the reality is the al Qaida leader has not been 'hands on since December 2001 during the battle of Tora Bora when many believe he died.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Apart from the odd video and audio taped message, UBL has had no distinct influence or direction of al Qaida which became more of a brand name or a franchise. The US might have killed one man but his ideology lives on and you can not kill an idea,” she said. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">IRNA</span></span></div></div>

Only 'gullible' Americans believe Bin Laden killing, says UK journalist

London– British broadcaster and journalist Yvonne Ridley is sceptical about reports of the US assassination of Osama bin Laden, which comes ...

Bin Laden killing little effect on US terror war, says former CIA analyst

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhcCuXGadZrl10hziDyf91ODvomhpRiwl7eqzeStiG_XIQfd9Ti90UG6CTODqvj2_EY6fq9xXPSrZJkSwMlA8lkiKrmRbw3ripiFsgeVE9-GQ_9eJS3MrC5ztOb-Y2evIpkBJMj0xWmg-/s1600/30369274-1224648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhcCuXGadZrl10hziDyf91ODvomhpRiwl7eqzeStiG_XIQfd9Ti90UG6CTODqvj2_EY6fq9xXPSrZJkSwMlA8lkiKrmRbw3ripiFsgeVE9-GQ_9eJS3MrC5ztOb-Y2evIpkBJMj0xWmg-/s320/30369274-1224648.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">London– <b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The reported killing of Osama bin Laden is unlikely to have much effect on the so-called US-led 'war on terror,' according to former CIA political analyst Kathleen Christison.</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“This 'war on terror' has taken on a life of its own, having nothing to do with bin Laden or the Taliban, and I fear the United States will continue to pursue wars and military interventions even in the absence of bin Laden,” Christison said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The US wants to control the Middle East for its own purposes - to secure continued access to oil, to further Israel's regional hegemony, to help maintain friendly Arab governments such as Saudi Arabia in power, and to advance its own imperial ambitions,” she said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Bin Laden has never been a major factor in these objectives. He was merely a convenient excuse for the US to pursue these aggressive policies,” she said in an interview with IRNA. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Christison, now aged 70, worked as an analyst for the CIA for 16 years, including the last seven years centring on the Middle East ahead of her resignation in 1979. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She said that bin Laden ceased being a pivotal player in militant operations “quite some time ago” and was convinced that the United States, which claimed to have finally killed him on Monday, has been aware of this. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“As I noted, he has merely been a ready excuse for US aggression for some years,” the political analyst said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“It may be true, as the US is claiming that locating bin Laden and being able to kill him arose now more or less serendipitously, simply as a target of opportunity.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But she also related that the timing of the killing “most definitely helps Barack Obama domestically, at a time when presidential election campaigning is beginning and his own popularity ratings are low.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The joyful reaction among many Americans would seem to indicate that many of these Americans will give Obama great credit for the assassination and will regard him as a hero. His poll ratings will almost certainly rise,” she told IRNA. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Christison said she believed that even though al-Qaeda and bin Laden were “basically a creation of the West and the Arab governments, this did not mean that these governments still exercised any control over either the organization or the man.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“In the loose, subterranean world of militant groups and special intelligence operations, helping create a militant organization like al-Qaeda does not automatically mean having real control over that organization.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“In addition, a great deal of time has passed since the Mujaheddin arose in Afghanistan in the 1980s - time in which contacts with Islamists were undoubtedly lost,” she said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Chistison also suggested that it was clear that the US “lost track of where bin Laden was in the years following the 9/11 attacks, and did not particularly care about his whereabouts because he and al-Qaeda had become much less important.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“I think this explains in large part why it is possible that bin Laden could have been living in a large compound in a Pakistani city, right under the noses of Pakistani and US intelligence people, without anyone paying him particular attention until now,” she said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since leaving the CIA, Christison has worked as a free-lance author and gained recognition as vocal critics of US policy and Israel, writing such books as Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy and The Wound of Dispossession: Telling the Palestinian Story. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In an earlier interview with IRNA in March, she accused the US of wreaking havoc and committing “gross atrocities” around the world and “gross violations of international law.” IRNA</span></div></div>

Bin Laden killing little effect on US terror war, says former CIA analyst

London– The reported killing of Osama bin Laden is unlikely to have much effect on the so-called US-led 'war on terror,' according t...

CAIR Welcomes Elimination of Osama Bin Laden

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"></span><br /><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">WASHINGTON, D.C.-A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization has welcomed the announcement of the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and the world.</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a statement issued following President Obama’s announcement of bin Laden’s death, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><em><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“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. As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam. In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama’s clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam.”</span></strong></em></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">CAIR coordinated one of the first joint American Muslim statements condemning the 9/11 terror attacks, issued just hours after they occurred.</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. </span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">(IINA)</span></strong></span></div></div>

CAIR Welcomes Elimination of Osama Bin Laden

WASHINGTON, D.C.-A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization has welcomed the announcement of the elimination of Osam...