“Pakistan’s intelligence chief, Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, admitted ‘negligence’ on the part of authorities in failing to find bin Laden during a closed session in Parliament on Friday [May 13, 2011], a government spokeswoman told reporters.” – Riaz Khan, “Pakistan Suicide Bombs Kill 80 to Avenge bin Laden,” Associated Press, May 13, 2011 […]
5/13/2011
In Pakistan, “A pair of Taliban suicide bombers attacked paramilitary police recruits eagerly heading home for a break after months of training, killing 80 people Friday [May 13, 2011] in the first act of retaliation for the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In claiming responsibility, the al-Qaida linked militant group cited anger at […]
5/12/2011
Senator John “McCain [R-AZ] said he opposes waterboarding, a technique that simulates drowning, and any form of torture tactics. He said that they could be used against Americans and that their use damages the nation’s character and reputation. ‘I do not believe they are necessary to our success in our war against terrorists, as the […]
5/12/2011
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) claimed that enhanced interrogation techniques did not lead to the tracking of Osama bin Laden. “In a statement, [former Attorney General Michael] Mukasey said McCain ‘is simply incorrect,’ on the bid Laden leads and interrogation. Mukasey said [9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh] Mohammed disclosed the nickname of the courier [of bin Laden] […]
5/12/2011
“Waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques were not a factor in tracking down Osama bin Laden, a leading Republican senator [John McCain] insisted Thursday [May 12, 2011]. …In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, the Arizona Republican said former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and others who back those tactics were wrong to claim that […]
5/11/2011
From a Financial Times article on May 11, 2011: “According to Robert Blackwill, a former Republican U.S. ambassador to India, ‘the Pakistani military is not an ally, not a partner, not a friend of the US.’ “ – Ahmed Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink, Page 176 […]
5/6/2011
According to an Associated Press article on May 6, 2011, “analysts who examined this information [seized from the raid which killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011] came to believe that bin Laden ‘was a lot more involved in directing al Qaeda personnel and operations than sometimes thought over the last decade’ and that […]
5/6/2011
Following the death of Osama bin Laden, “On May 6 [2011], a U.S. government official told CNN that bin Laden ‘worked at the operational and even tactical levels. …He was clearly issuing directions at all levels.’ From his strategically placed compound, with couriers and assistants to help, he was also apparently overseeing the details of […]
5/6/2011
The hunt for bin Laden at “Tora Bora [Afghanistan] taught both sides important lessons. The Americans learned, as a top intelligence official said, ‘that it was a bad idea to *outsource* something as important as capturing or killing bin Laden.’ Mutual mistrust kept the Pakistani military and Afghan fighters from embracing the Americans’ search for […]
5/6/2011
“On May 6th [2011], Al Qaeda confirmed bin Laden’s death and released a statement congratulating ‘the Islamic nation’ on ‘the martyrdom of its good son Osama.’ The authors promised Americans that ‘their joy will turn to sorrow and their tears will mix with blood.’ ” – Nicholas Schmidle, “Getting Bin Laden,” The New Yorker, Aug. […]