Osama Bin Laden Killed

This story interested me very much. Compared to some I am very uneducated on the whole subject but was still really interesting to find out things about the event and also read about what felt like a real life season of '24'. I thought Obama's speach was very well written and was nice to see him mention those who lost people they loved in the 9/11 events. This does obviously question, however, is this the start of things to come and also people question whether or not Bin Laden is actually dead. Personally I don't know what to think and worry whether it sounds stupid to say he is still alive or neive to suggest he is actually dead and it isn't a huge cover up. However this is Obama's speech and some interesting information I found as I felt it needed the one or two views it will get on this site... compared to the MILLIONS it has got worldwide via the likes of youtube and CNN.

On May 1, 2011, in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by "a small team of Americans" acting under Obama's direct orders, in a covert operation dubbed Geranimo in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 50 km north of Islamabad. It had been believed that bin Laden was hiding near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, but he was actually found 100 miles away in a million-dollar three-story mansion in Abbottabad.

Bin Laden's mansion was located 0.75 miles southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy. U.S. officials reported that a team of 20–25 U.S. Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team Six), under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command and working with the CIA, stormed bin Laden's compound in two helicopters.

Bin Laden, three other men, and a woman were killed in a firefight in which U.S. forces did not experience any injuries or casualties. In his broadcast announcement President Obama said that U.S. forces "took care to avoid civilian casualties". According to one U.S. official the attack was carried out without the knowledge or consent of Pakistani authorities. In contrast, agents of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) said it was a joint operation.

Among those killed in the raid were one of bin Laden's sons, a man described as a courier, and the courier's brother. Four years of surveillance of the courier led to the intelligence which made the raid possible. It was reported that the courier was the owner of the compound where the assault took place. The day after the raid John Brennan, the White House counterterrorism chief, said that the woman that was killed was one of bin Laden's four wives and was being used as a human shield at the time. Two other women, who were also used as shields, were injured during the raid. However, the next day White House spokesperson, Jay Carney, said that bin Laden's wife had rushed the invading commandos and was shot in the leg, but was not killed. He also said that the al-Qaeda leader put up resistance, but was unarmed.

Bin Laden was shot twice. A shot above his left eye blew away a part of his skull. He was also hit in the chest.

DNA from bin Laden's body, compared with DNA samples on record from his dead sister's brain confirmed bin Laden's identity the following day according to assertions to ABC News by unnamed sources. The 193 cm long body was recovered by the U.S. military and was in its custody until his body was buried in the North Arabian Sea from the USS Carl Vinson, within 24 hours of his death in accord with Islamic traditions. One U.S. official stated that, "finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult." MSNBC reported, "There also was speculation about worry that a grave site could have become a rallying point for militants."

The U.S. State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans following bin Laden's death and U.S diplomatic facilities everywhere were placed on high alert, a senior U.S official said. Crowds gathered outside the White House, in New York City's Times Square, as well as the World Trade Center, the site of the September 11 Attacks, to celebrate bin Laden's death. Chittral News, a Pakistani news site, claimed that some people were dismayed that Pakistan has lost its sovereignty.