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.
======================================================================
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
===============================================================
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.
“Whilst I’m glad bin ladin has finally been removed, one must not forget the 100,000 Iraqis whose lives were taken against international law using the excuse of Bin Ladin to pursue their own political aims.”
-Yeah the 90000 killed by Bin Laden allies…
“Great shot in the arm for the Obama campaign.”
Taking credit for an operation started over nine years ago and performed by the U.S. Navy Seal Team Six based on intelligence obtained from Guantanamo Bay, enhanced interrogation techniques and rendition (all objected to by Obama) seems like a little much.
It is not going to change the price of gas long term, balance the budget or create employment. Wait a few months when gas does not go down.
johanna says (May 2, 2011 at 12:39 pm):
“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’?”
This was almost certainly done with Pakistani permission. Pakistan is a nuclear power with air defense systems commensurate with that status. An unauthorized US helicopter near a major city over 500 miles inland would have lit up their air defense systems on the way in and on the way out. Not even the United States could pull that off. To do something like that requires stealth fighters going in first and taking out ground defense radars.
The $64,000 question is what Obama had to secretly give to Pakistan to get their permission. He wouldn’t dare risk a helicopter full of Navy Seals getting shot down over Pakistan and there’s just no possible way to pull it off without significant risk of that unless Pakistan knew about it ahead of time and stood down while it happened.
[911 truther topic is a policy violation]
Also from Perth, also feel very uncomfortable with Anthony carrying this OT story at all, and agree with Keith from Perth, this is not justice, this is vigilante revenge.
The plain fact is there has never been any real evidence connecting OBL to the 9/11 attacks, that is the simply truth. OBL should have been captured and brought to trial not extra-judicially murdered on some country’s president’s say-so. Everyone should re-read OBL’s perceptive and humane response to the attacks. Usually terrorists claim responsibility for their attacks so that the reasons are clear, no-one ever claimed responsibility (except those Gitmo torturees, but torture admissions are not believable).
That is the end of “rule of law”, and the start of “rule of men”. It is the start of the Dark Ages and everyone “celebrating” the “justice” have fallen into the muck and mire of base human emotion. This is a very low point for the once admirable USA, n including the fact they have claimed this operation as their own when in fact the action was purely Pakistani with the American involvement limited to flying into to collect the body. See: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7366885.html
I suspect the ISI sold the CIA a dud, and that’s why the body was tossed.
George E. Smith,
Thanks for trying to answer some of my questions, instead of labeling me a conspiracy theorist. Now that more information is coming out, it appears that this was a legit operation that went well. I will be very interested in the follow-up questions resulting from the intelligence that was gathered.
And you’re right, I was not aware of the intricacies of Muslim burial customs. I’m as concerned with those particular details as al Qaida is with our own burial customs. We don’t normally bury folks under thousands of tons of rubble.
As a fellow inmate of the Peoples’ Socialist Soviet of California, I agree that the last thing we should do is turn over cutthroat terrorists to soft-headed, touchy-feely judges who look for any possible reason to blame society, or anything/anyone else, for their outrageous criminal actions.
Unfortunately, we have a repeat offender in Gov Moonbeam, who appointed the original soft-headed judge, Rose Bird, during his first term of office. Heaven help us, the same Moonbeam is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the state’s public employees unions.
Who we should really thank – Richard Marcinko the creator of Seal Team Six.
“Marcinko sold the idea and was eventually tasked with creating and commanding SEAL Team SIX, the Navy’s first and only counter-terrorist command. SEAL Team SIX engaged in highly classified missions from Central America to the Middle East, the North Sea to Africa and beyond, and established itself as the world’s foremost counter-terrorism unit.”
Poor Smokey… stuck in the sunny and balmy climes of the PSSC. Perhaps you should abandon California and move to the cold and grim shores of Canada? It looks like we’re going to have a conservative majority government for the next 4 years, with Harper (a closet AGW skeptic) in the helm. Huzzah! What a day! Osama gone and a conservative government elected in just over 24 hours.
I am glad to see you are coming around to more or less accepting the official story, Smokey; if you had not, I would have also had to seriously doubt the narrative. On balance, it looks like Osama is dead.
WUWT as usual, by providing a forum for a variety of views allows the avid reader a chance to weigh the facts and figure things out. Thanks, Anthony, although I was not expecting this topic here!
Phlattery will get you nowhere!
/Mr Lynn
Alexander Feht said:
“Excuse me, but I don’t follow your logic — either because there is no logic in your statements, or because you are incapable of formulating your thoughts clearly.”
Draw me out will you? Bravo!
I viscerally felt something that rubbed me the wrong way in your argument about Bad Religion that pulled too large of swath of humans on this planet into the same “they-all-suck” net.
That made me become interested as person is what made you tick, as a person.
So I baited you. A bit. Sort of.
You remind me of “the old me”, when I was young.
What was the question?
I have to now look up if you give off signs of being either super healthy or super sickly. For if you are super healthy then you need petting and encouragement, merely. But if your are super sickly then you will hate anything I say that separates that which sucks from that which is tall and fine.
Ah…your name links to a web site.
Mine is at http://www.e-dot.com
You have love in your heart, but LOGIC is not useful to you since you can’t place it into a useful context that will be useful to the rest of us.
I will now listen to your music.
There is piano. I have a HUGE subwoofer. Who is singing?
What is song?
The sound is kind of flat.
The neighbors will kick my ass for this.
Inside of Raphael paintings is some sort of answer.
Did you make these songs?
The space BETWEEN words is lacking.
SLOW IT ALL DOWN.
Structure is there, but it must be based upon RECKLESS passion, death, hellfire and enjoyment of daughters vs. sons.
I’m switching the radio station to David Bowie.
“It’s a god awful small affair…”
Surfer Dave says:
May 2, 2011 at 6:33 pm
The plain fact is there has never been any real evidence connecting OBL to the 9/11 attacks, that is the simply truth
=============================================================
I thought I remembered a video where he takes “credit” for the attack. See:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/osama-bin-laden-911-confession-13506877?tab=9482931§ion=1206828
Of course, you probably believe this was all made up by CIA. Oh well, you can believe what you want. Just don’t it truth, without some proof.
“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”-Martin Luther King, Jr
It ain’t over until the FBI sings:
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/usama-bin-laden/view
Deceased. Good.
cwj says:
May 2, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Cassandra King
Could the DNA tests have been done on a ship? Carriers apparently have quite sophisticated hospital facilities and would be secure. That would cut a lot of transport time from the time line.
And I really would like to know just what information of any value would come from an autopsy. I think a photo of a really big hole in the head is about all the evidence needed.
You can never have too much information and a full detailed autopsy provides a world of data of the subjects long term health, recent medical/dental treatment. Hair analysis can determine long term residence in what area, drugs ingested. A wealth of data to be harvested.
I want to believe, I am ready to believe, nothing would please me more to believe that Binbag is dead. I jumped up and down with glee and sheer happiness remembering 9/11 and my copious tears and helpless rage. HOWEVER!
I want to know certain facts for my own peace of mind:
The op start time and location, the transit time to destination, the arrival time, the kill shot time, the extraction time, the first destination of the corpse and the time it arrived for examination, what tests were carried out and the time of burial. From take off of the kill team to the dumping of OBL into the water, how long? How/when/where? I want to see pictures of the fire fight and pictures of the corpses, I want to know how many guards were killed and how many escaped/released/detained alive.
The MSM are reporting that 100 special forces took part in the raid carried by just four helicopters and one of those shot down/suffered technical failure, so three came out with 100 on board plus crew? So where are we right now in terms of concrete evidence? If a post kill search was done and with a whole 40mins on the ground it suggests there was then why was there a passport left on the floor of the bedroom below what looked like a syringe and a shelf full of meds left behind? I want to know all the facts so I can pop that champagne and toast success and mission accomplished and just because I want that evidence, clear and concise and detailed evidence it doesnt mean I am some whacko tin foil hat wearing loony conspiracy theorist.
There is far too much MSM invention and poor investigative skills, too many copy and paste hacks printing too much trash, I just want cold hard facts please and plenty of them. I keep hearing that the body was dumped quickly in accordance with islamic law but why him and not others then? I hear that pictures are not released because it might upset his followers or others but millions of islamists see muslim corpses on the TV every day, death is a constant on the muslim media. There are some who would be upset but so what? Does anyone out there give a hoot that some islamists might be upset at seeing OBLs dead body? Is the most powerful nation on earth frightened that if they keep OBLs corpse for a little longer than islamic law dictates there will be riots and the storming of embassies around the world? Hundreds of millions around the world want OBLs corpse strung up by the ankle and left to rot. The people who matter do not give two hoots about how OBLs body is handled. Those who are upset at his death are going to be upset anyway so why pander to them by going through some hand wringing cringing routine about islamic burial custom?
I want to believe and I want to trust that he is dead, I am eagerly waiting a full account of the action so I can have some kind of closure to erase the constantly playing loop of the events of 9/11 in my mind, we need closure, all of us need all the facts so we can move on.
Such a tease…
http://www.spectator.co.uk/rodliddle/6910048/revenge-at-last.thtml
If they release photos,people will say “doctored”If they release video people will say “fake”(the moon landing was filmed in a studio somewhere).
The only way the truth would be known was if his body was paraded before the world.Even then that would not prove manner of death.
He is dead,no doubt on that one.That’s good enough for most people.
People with any sense will know it was Bush policy that ultimately brought about his demise.
Credit to Obama for sticking with the majority of that policy.
[911 truther topic is a policy violation]
@ecliptic
Interesting links. Thanks. But as for your obvious irritation with the sheeple (when it comes to this subject): C’mon, have a heart! As a non-American it is abundantly clear to me why healthy sceptics on AGW turn to mush when it comes to terrorism. It is the Patriotism Factor. Just think of all the innocent civilians and young boys who died. This is in the back of minds when the subject changes, and to them it feels almost like sacrilege to question the heroic actions of the seals (would they lie? Oh no!)(oh come on people, get real! They will do what they are told..) and the government. While the story may be true, the questions are legion. I, for one, being unburdened by American Patriotism, will keep an open mind. In that, ecliptic, I am with you. Well done.
Judge Andrew Napolitano
Who got the evidence osama had anything to do with 911? he wasn’t on the fbi’s most wanted, why? because there is no evidence.
Judge Andrew Napolitano Natural Rights and The Patriot Act part 1 of 3
Second week of bombing begins;
Media visits village hit by missile
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Monday, 15 October 2001
After a week of debilitating strikes at targets across Afghanistan, the Taliban repeated an offer to hand over Osama bin Laden, only to be rejected by President Bush.
The offer yesterday from Haji Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, to surrender Mr bin Laden if America would halt its bombing and provide evidence against the Saudi-born dissident was not new but it suggested the Taliban are increasingly weary of the air strikes, which have crippled much of their military and communications assets.
The move came as the Taliban granted foreign journalists unprecedented access to the interior for the first time. Reporters were escorted to the village of Karam in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban said up to 200 civilians were killed in an American bombardment last Wednesday.
The reporters saw clear evidence that many civilians had been killed in the attack, though they could not confirm the number of deaths. “I ask America not to kill us,” pleaded Hussain Khan, who said he had lost four children in the raid. In the rubble of one house, the remains of an arm stuck out from beneath a pile of bricks. A leg had been uncovered near by.
Another old man said: “We are poor people, don’t hit us. We have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. We are innocent people.” Washington has not commented on the bombardment………………………………..
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bush-rejects-taliban-offer-to-surrender-bin-laden-631436.html
The US government still has not produced evidence that Osama plotted and carried out 9/11, ya’ll might start looking a bit closer to home !
Because they hate your freedom & democracy ! hahaha how thick are you yanks ?
[911 truther topic is a policy violation]
[911 truther topic is a policy violation]
Well done brave and well trained men, for many years men such as these have extracted kidnapped women and children from behind the iron curtain that surrounds Islamic countries. I hope this team from this point on is reinforced and does similar work on the list that had Osama as #1. Two or three of these occurrences in different countries per year would see a profound change in attitude to the people sprouting holy war. On a lighter note, my take on the 72 virgins awaiting this person, using the experience of a long life and logic, would tend to make me believe that it is a hell worse than fire. If they are perpetual virgins he is frustrated forever, if they are deflowered it will take 72 nights. Then he has the rest of eternity dealing with 72 non virgins all demanding something, that has got to be a worse torture than dealing with the devil.
Lol. Folks like apoplectic, who see a conspiracy behind every tree and bush are probably wearing their tinfoil hats a bit too tightly, shutting off much-needed bloodflow to the brain. Their attempt to draw parallels between their whacko conspiracy theories and CAGW are nothing but pathetic scaremongering, which, ironically enough, is the same thing the Warmist bedwetters do.
The null hypothesis is that the moon landings really did happen, as did 9/11, as did OBL’s recent demise.
He died not only a mass murderer but a simpering coward, hiding behind and endangering the life of a woman – his own wife, in fact. His death was too easy, and his burial at sea far too dignified for the human scum that he was.
Never going to happen! That level of detail would divulge methods and simply serve as a training manual for the the terrorists and compromise future missions. Even without that info, the locals will be able to reconstruct far too much of the mission profile based on snippets of information like when the helicopters passed over someones house. We do not need to make the espionage efforts of the terrorists any easier by giving them the complete mission profile on a platter.
Not sure where you heard the MSM reporting 100 participants, the numbers I heard reported were a total of 40 seals only 24 of which made the insertion into the compound, leaving 16 on the hovering helicopters providing backup teams and flight crew. The air assets were supposedly 2 CH-47 chinooks and 2 UH-60 black hawks (one of which was lost on the ground after the hard landing). Since a single chinook can carry 33-44 fully equipped troops, and a blackhawk can carry 11 fully equipped troops, that makes the total extraction capacity of the remaining helicopters, far exceeds the needs of the 24 person insertion team, and lots of room for them to carry out intelligence materials harvested from the compound.
The media and official reports I have seen, also state that the entry team that took down Bin Laden did it near the end of the 40 minute time on the ground, which would give them only minutes to gather up his body and get out of the compound with all the intelligence materials they gathered. Since it takes some time to methodically work your way through an unknown compound and clear rooms and make entry into various levels of a 3 story structure I see absolutely no conflict between the times stated and reasonable assumptions about how long it would take for the insertion teams to work their way up to the occupied upper floors and take down not only Obama but the two couriers who presumably were trying to defend the compound and Bin Laden.
Larry