That quote from president Obama tonight. The story here
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet” – Afghan proverb
UPDATE #3: Zeroing in on the compound. Threes a charm. Like anything in the fog of war, early reports can be erroneous. The first two seemed plausible, especially the second one with the high walls. Now the official Google Earth Blog weighs in:
[UPDATE: The location has essentially been confirmed by the BBC
(via Ogle Earth).] You can fly there with this KML file
or view the image below:
Lat/lon 34.169314° 73.242304° see it on Google Maps
The Pentagon has released this photo, which matches:
A powerpoint from the Pentagon is here (PDF) which shows the details.
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UPDATE: I have the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan mapped on Google Earth below:
Lat/Lon 34.146371° 73.216925° Google Maps It sure looks like a fortress. I’m betting they special forces landed the copters in the field to the east, near the blue roofed building, which is the Government Post Graduate College No.1 Another view here
Source: The Atlantic
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UPDATE2: The Atlantic’s story was wrong, here is the (likely) correct location:
Lat/lon 34.187663° 73.242617° See it on Google Maps
Here it is with the PMA Kakul Military academy mentioned in news reports h/t to Ryan Maue:
Wikipedia has already made an update about the PMA Kakul Military academy:
In May 2011, the US military conducted a raid and killed Osama bin Laden in a compound less than 1 km from Burn Hall Army Academy in Abbottabad. Burn Hall is a junior academy that feeds the Pakistan Military Academy. Bin Laden’s extended refuge near the academy is cited as evidence of the Pakistani government’s collusion with al Qaeda.
That places the compound back near the city center where we originally placed it from reports by The Atlantic. The compound originally identified din’t quite match the news reports.(see image below).
The imagery of the compound above described as “very high walled” matches the image of the white building and the tall white walls around it. I also just saw some helmet cam video of the scene in flames, and the white walls were visible.
The Google added red pointer location for OBL’s compound Abottabad in their database in the images above was originally near the city center, See below for the original placment Google had. But the pointer lat/lon has been updated within the last hour to the new location near PMA Kakul shown above. I think the locations above are correct, as they match news accounts much better.
Smokey et al.
Going by news reports, in Islam it is highly important that the body be buried quickly, “the highest honor.” The US caught flak for embalming Saddam Hussein’s two sons. So preserving the body was obviously ruled out.
There is also the concept of seeking out someone, presumably a family member, to accept the body for burial. As stated, it was concluded that it would be difficult to locate a country willing to accept the remains, thus the quick sea burial was selected. Personally I think it is blatantly obvious that someone somewhere would have been willing to receive the remains if a public request had been made.
So as it was done, they can claim they stuck with the most important aspect, quick burial, while still denying OBL a future shrine.
BTW, for those questioning the DNA based on time for testing, note that the compound had been known about for at least days before the attack, likely under observation for weeks to months. News reports are saying the DNA match was positive. Personally I have yet to see official word as to when the DNA sample from OBL was taken, which easily could have been obtained from clothes he had worn, a table napkin, etc. Considering that this attack would be regarded as such a strong insult against Pakistani sovereignty, I’m certain the US must have been really certain OBL was living there before they proceeded.
Thus, to directly state it, as far as we know, or at least AFAIK, the DNA match could have been done prior to the attack, with the sample obtained by means the US government would prefer to not discuss.
I’m certain I’ll be corrected if this is not the case. 😉
The only thing I am sure of is that he is dead.Easy enough for him to pop up on video if he’s not.How and when he died is open to question.
The fact is that the US and Pakistani governments could agree to concoct a story.
Who would believe any dissenter?
I really hope the story is true,that means that he knew he was going to die.Icing on the cake if he knew that a US soldier had him in his sights.
Am I vindictive?As Palin would say”you betcha”
It’s hard to believe that a man who has evaded the might of most of the world(with a lot of help)did not have a lot of security and an escape tunnel.It was too easy.
My mind is open on this news story. So can someone answer a few questions for me? Thanks:
Osama has been seen on video and heard on audio recordings sinece 2002. But every last one of those recordings has proved to be fradulent. bin Landen would have ignited a fire under his millions of adoring followere throughout the world, simply by appearing in person and exhorting them onward to jihad against the Great Satan. Yet he never appeared in any video or audio recordings; he ‘appeared’ in fuzzy videos and voice recordings that were later shown to be not Osama bin Laden – every one of them. Why did bin Laden never once appear incontrovertibly in public after 2002, in a setting that proved he was still alive?
With the criticism of Obama escalating by the day to intolerable levels over rising gas prices, stubborn unemployment, etc., the obvious question in this situation is: who benefits? The chattering classes have now been distracted. Cui bono?
The U.S. military has helicopters and ships with walk-in freezers. Why was the body buried at sea, instead of being transported to a U.S. Navy ship? After a forensic autopsy the body could have been buried at Guantanamo, or cremated. Why the rush to dipose of the body of “Osama”?
Where is the chain of custody for the purported DNA? How did the U.S. get bin Laden’s DNA in the first place? And how would we know it was bin Laden’s own DNA? Or did they just compare a close relative’s DNA, and make an assumption for public consumption?
A long firefight occurred within walking distance of a Pakistani military installation, but aroused no suspicion, and brought no response. Why is that?
Skeptics are supposed to ask questions like these, and not just credulously swallow the official story line. Now there is no body, they promptly got rid of it before uncomfortable questions were asked. Now there is only the Administration’s claims made for public consumption, breathlessly repeated by Obama’s pet media. We know that lies routinely flow from of Obama’s mouth like water from a fire hose, and that this event takes a tremendous amount of political pressure off of him. The whole story stinks to high heaven.
Michael, Michael – is that you (referring to the board’s conspiracy theorist)?
BTW, can you take it back to infowars please? And also take Alex Jones references back with you as well please?
Thank you.
.
I’ll agree that burying the body so quickly was a mistake.
But what information could a forensic analysis or autopsy provide that those procedures would be worth doing? The body would have a reasonably certain cause of death considering the hole in the head and the brains apparently spilling out, and it would be known who did it and generally how it happened. What would be the value of any further investigation?
Keith in Perth says:
May 1, 2011 at 10:38 pm
It would have been justice if the UN, Interpol or Pakistan had captured him, and then tried him and executed him.
The US going into another country and blowing people up is revenge
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Keith. While one must respect other’s views and their right to hold them, you are talking complete tosh. OBM was recognised throughout the world as a terrorist. Indeed, he claimed to be himself and made no secret about his opposition to democracy. Pakistan is not his country but harboured him and other terrorists who moved freely into Afghanistan (and Britain) to engage with US and its allied forces and kill civilians of those countries. Can you seriously believe that the UN, Interpol or especially Pakistan could or would even bother to try to capture him etc. Don’t make me laugh!
Douglas
Smokey,
Right on! Much more detail than my 3 liner. Still, sure am glad that if they did get him they obeyed “Muslim rituals” in disposing of him. Would’nt be able to sleep if I thought differently.
Would it be OK if a foreign government landed a helicopter on US soil and took out a foreign war criminal or terrorist, plus a few other people, in the name of ‘justice’?
I imagine that all communication media in the US would light up like an indignant Christmas tree.
Be careful what you wish for, and applaud. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
While I personally am satisfied that OBL has been dispatched below for an eternity of increasing temperatures, I will not deny others the opportunity to bang around the idea that OBL now resides among the likes of Elvis, Amelia Earhart, the Roswell Aliens, Michio Cuckoo, Linda Moultan Howe and Art Bell. I am thinking about starting a “Where’s OBL?” thread, and encourage folks to go nuts. Should be fun.
Meanwhile, I will second the words of Mr Springer above. The psychotic maniac deserved his snuffing–along with those that went down with him. The world is a far better place with that creature removed from it.
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”
yet it applies both ways… Let’s be vigilant!
Alexander Feht says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:44 am
“So, unless you can offer the conclusive evidence in support of your assertions, stop harassing those with more inquisitive minds, and mind your own business.
Some people don’t trust blindly everything that politicians tell them. This is not a paranoia, this is common sense.”
Not exactly.
First, OBL is a very high profile figure. If this report were false and he is alive, a quick video equals a huge amount of egg on US face. If he was already dead, then you are saying that elite teams and their military support would have to agree to lie for the POTUS so he can fix his poll numbers and work towards reelction. Considering his hatcheting of the military budget and the sheer number of people involved, this would be a TALL order – especially considering the price to be paid if it got out it was a hoax; so, forgive me for not seeing this as paranoia or common sense – I see this as the internet giving too many people a forum to voice mad speculation.
AND
mkelly says:
May 2, 2011 at 9:14 am
Rhys Jaggar says:
May 2, 2011 at 5:32 am
“As one of the “millions of barbaric Americans” please be assured I could care less what you think of me. You only call when your in trouble. ”
What mkelly said.
As another of those “barbaric Americans”, I would say that Rhys has not a clue what America does for this world in disaster relief and as a beacon for human rights. Tell me Rhys, how are women treated in your country? How about minorities? I know the U.S. has problems but we work to fix them – that’s the beauty of the Constitution. Women can’t vote? Slavery still exists? Then we amend the Constitution and fix it. We are a work in progress that strives to better itself, that’s why we have problems with too many people trying to get IN to the U.S. and not having to build walls to keep citizens from ESCAPING. Now, please tell me how bad women and minorities have it here in the U.S. so I will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you don’t know what you are talking about…
If this operaton went down a week ago there was plenty of time for a good DNA analysis to be completed.
Hate to say it but without a trial it’s not justice, it’s revenge. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Caution is advised as that applies to all who live by the sword.
I reflect on why insults and making fun of the recently deceased is acceptable in this case. One would never do it for someone that was respected.
It must be a surrogate for punching Osama in the nose for what he did, and verbally participating in the attack by the seals via written expression.
Although I lost many co-workers on 9-11, it was loss for all of us in the free world.
Rest in Peace my Friends, Rest in Peace.
Ass-ama, may you roast in Hades.
He was in very bad health in 2001, receiving kidney help. I believe he died long ago.
Smokey
Well, The Saudis wanted the body, getting rid of it ASAP takes pressure off right away. I also agree with someone else that he shouldn’t have been buried, a cremation would be more appropriate. Burial site would be a brilliant place for pilgrims, and perhaps even recruiting point for terrorists too.
However I still think they should have kept the body, DNA analysis and dental records would put a lot of troubled minds at ease. Instead it looks like Osama will be joining alien visitations and moon landings as a hot topic at ‘special’ messegeboards… sigh.
@Ecliptic
…
Wucash
Cremation would have an unnecessarily large carbon footprint.
For those of you asserting that not enough time has passed to do an ID on DNA evidence, are probably not aware that rapid DNA sequence techniques have improved significantly in recent years.
As an example:
http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/12/09/harvard-pacbio-use-fast-gene-sequencer-to-crack-dna-code-of-haitian-cholera-strain/
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/09-22-lockheed-and-zygem-accelerate-dna-analysis.html
Given the special ops team, and on ship forensics team on the USS Carl Vinson had access to essentially unlimited quantities of blood and tissue samples, and it is well known that they have pre-gathered DNA information for identification from the Bin Laden relatives. It is entirely reasonable that with the combined value of facial recognition, finger printing, ear shape verification, and all the other biometric information such as height weight and augmenting that with a quick screen of a large DNA sample they could provide very high confidence that it was in fact Osama.
Not to mention the verbal statement by his wife regarding his identity.
I have no doubt that they gathered tons of forensic evidence and even now are preforming more detailed forensic tests on any and all evidence gathered.
Larry
@DSW
“I would say that Rhys has not a clue what America does for this world in disaster relief and as a beacon for human rights.”
Sadly, one of the reasons for why bin Laden and the 40 Talibans turned on the west was because the Americans left hem hanging after having spent years manipulating and arming them against the communist sovs.
And as for “a beacon for human rights” spells better as “a bacon for human rights” as in they the western world, where the US sadly took the lead in par with limey town, fried the human rights to blisters. That’s why western world countries’ intelligence services are allowed to do what ever to, essentially, whom ever, breaking all the previous rules set up, and enforced, by the same western world countries to boot.
But I’m sure it is keeping to the human rights to imprison people without due process and trail and tribulation and what not, as it is keeping to the human rights to now be able prosecute people for free speech if it is interpreted as heresy, again.
cwj says:
May 2, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I’ll agree that burying the body so quickly was a mistake.
But what information could a forensic analysis or autopsy provide that those procedures would be worth doing? The body would have a reasonably certain cause of death considering the hole in the head and the brains apparently spilling out, and it would be known who did it and generally how it happened. What would be the value of any further investigation?
You have a point if the organisation doing the offing was the mob, the mob boss orders his goons to off someone which they duly do and then they dispose of the corpse straight away in the nearest soon to be poured bridge support or wearing concrete shoes etc BUT we are talking about a government action taking out a terrorist suspect crossing the sovereign borders of a supposed ally supposedly without their consent, rules and regulations and procedures apply. Without detailed records and history the corpse itself means nothing, governments do not and should not operate like the mob.
Osama bin Laden dead — proof of global warming
How come? His below average “carbon footprint” (no telephone, no internet) made is hideout stick out.
Keith in Perth says: May 1, 2011 at 11:45 pm
I’ll explain myself a little more Robert M.
[—–Justice is about proof, and the perception of due dilligence. ——I am not saying it is wrong that he is dead, but there is no way it should be labelled as “justice” If so we should bring back lynch mobs because they certainly felt they were dealing out justice]
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Keith. Are you some kind of lawyer or something? This ‘Joker’ is a self confessed mass murderer and terrorist. He has declared war on the ‘West’ and the west has reciprocated. He has been tried in the ‘court of the world citizenry’ and is recognised as described. I know in this day and age there are people like you who will mince matters and piss about with semantics and points of law – meanwhile this ‘person’ just goes about planning more of the same mayhem he unleashed in the past. He got a bit of ‘rough justice’. Will that do you?
Cheers
Douglas
Inquiring minds are open to many possibilities, knowing that the truth is rarely fully known and is often stranger than fiction. The science is never “settled”, and the deep dark truth about global corporate geo-politics is similarly complex and buried beneath stinking heaps of propaganda dung.
Dig in!
Al Qaeda: The Database
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1291
Ex-ISI Chief Hamid Gul: CIA “Choreographing” Osama Assassination Hoax
http://www.infowars.com/ex-isi-chief-hamid-gul-cia-choreographing-osama-assassination-hoax/
The Four Horsemen Behind America’s Oil Wars
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24507
Bombshell: Barack Obama conclusively outed as CIA creation
http://www.infowars.com/bombshell-barack-obama-conclusively-outed-as-cia-creation/
America Is Completely Broke, And Here We Are Funding Fantasy Wars at the Pentagon
http://www.alternet.org/economy/124881/america_is_completely_broke,_and_here_we_are_funding_fantasy_wars_at_the_pentagon
A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/
Outgoing DHS Cyber Chief Expands on Why He Resigned
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/03/outgoing-dhs-cy/
Police State Kicks Into Overdrive
http://www.infowars.com/police-state-kicks-into-overdrive-on-dubious-news-of-osama-takedown/
Ecliptic…
By all means, keep up your postings.
I’ve been in need of a few chuckles of late and you’ve given us some real knee- slappers, you and a couple of your buds on here…