Osama bin Laden Killed in Pakistan
Published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta
(Russia) on 2 May 2011
by Evgeny Shestakov (link to original)
(Russia) on 2 May 2011
by Evgeny Shestakov (link to original)
Translated from
by Elvinas Blazevicius.
Edited by Gheanna Emelia.
If this news is confirmed, President Barack Obama, with an almost 100 percent guarantee, will be re-elected president of the United States in 2012. On the other hand, if this information, which purports to be the number one sensation of the year, is unreliable, Obama will inevitably lose the battle for the White House.
Too much was at stake when the U.S. president publicly announced the death of "The Number One Terrorist" Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, a person responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. This happened almost 10 years ago, in 2001. And in the eyes of many Americans, it looks very symbolic: exactly 10 years after 9/11, revenge found the main organizer of this monstrous crime.
The details of the operation — that were reported by President Obama, who did not hide his triumph — are as follows. In 2010, U.S. intelligence agencies once again came upon the trail of the terrorist. But it was only within the last week that they received information on his exact location. Previously, the U.S. government promised to pay tens of millions of dollars for information that would help to eliminate bin Laden. This money will obviously find its recipient.
The rest was a mere technical matter. In the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, U.S. intelligence operatives entered the building located behind a 12-foot-high wall. During the operation, the leader of al-Qaida and one of his older sons were killed. Two couriers who were in the house were also killed, as was an unknown woman who was used as a shield by one of the criminals. Another two women who were hiding in the house were injured.
According to the American president, the body of Osama bin Laden is in the possession of experts to carry out identification necessary in such cases. Numerous rumors were distributed previously about the existence of a number of bin Laden's doubles intended to deceive intelligence agencies. However, judging by the confidence with which the head of the White House spoke, he was sure: No error occurred.
Bin Laden had been hunted in Pakistan and Afghanistan since 2001. But every time, the "Number One Terrorist" managed to escape death. It was rumored that he moved to Yemen or Somalia. For their part, Pakistani officials had repeatedly denied information that bin Laden was hiding in their country. However, until today, they had not had reliable information on the location of bin Laden. The CIA admitted that they had lost his trail several years ago. There was some talk of the possibility that bin Laden died from a severe illness, and disparate terrorist organizations were hiding behind his name.
The elimination of perhaps the most famous criminal in the world is not merely a major victory for U.S. intelligence agencies. It is also a precedent to which many countries will repeatedly refer in the future to carry out similar operations abroad. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, and there are serious doubts that Islamabad was aware of the operation. Thus, Washington has demonstrated to the world: When it comes to the terrorist threat, references to someone else's sovereignty are no longer valid. And elimination of criminals anywhere in the world is the legal right of special agencies.
By the way, the information about the death of bin Laden came just days after Obama seriously "shuffled" security, defense and law enforcement posts. The director of the CIA was appointed as the Secretary of Defense and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan was then appointed as the new director of the CIA. There is no doubt now that Congress will promptly approve these appointments.
Too much was at stake when the U.S. president publicly announced the death of "The Number One Terrorist" Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, a person responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. This happened almost 10 years ago, in 2001. And in the eyes of many Americans, it looks very symbolic: exactly 10 years after 9/11, revenge found the main organizer of this monstrous crime.
The details of the operation — that were reported by President Obama, who did not hide his triumph — are as follows. In 2010, U.S. intelligence agencies once again came upon the trail of the terrorist. But it was only within the last week that they received information on his exact location. Previously, the U.S. government promised to pay tens of millions of dollars for information that would help to eliminate bin Laden. This money will obviously find its recipient.
The rest was a mere technical matter. In the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, U.S. intelligence operatives entered the building located behind a 12-foot-high wall. During the operation, the leader of al-Qaida and one of his older sons were killed. Two couriers who were in the house were also killed, as was an unknown woman who was used as a shield by one of the criminals. Another two women who were hiding in the house were injured.
According to the American president, the body of Osama bin Laden is in the possession of experts to carry out identification necessary in such cases. Numerous rumors were distributed previously about the existence of a number of bin Laden's doubles intended to deceive intelligence agencies. However, judging by the confidence with which the head of the White House spoke, he was sure: No error occurred.
Bin Laden had been hunted in Pakistan and Afghanistan since 2001. But every time, the "Number One Terrorist" managed to escape death. It was rumored that he moved to Yemen or Somalia. For their part, Pakistani officials had repeatedly denied information that bin Laden was hiding in their country. However, until today, they had not had reliable information on the location of bin Laden. The CIA admitted that they had lost his trail several years ago. There was some talk of the possibility that bin Laden died from a severe illness, and disparate terrorist organizations were hiding behind his name.
The elimination of perhaps the most famous criminal in the world is not merely a major victory for U.S. intelligence agencies. It is also a precedent to which many countries will repeatedly refer in the future to carry out similar operations abroad. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, and there are serious doubts that Islamabad was aware of the operation. Thus, Washington has demonstrated to the world: When it comes to the terrorist threat, references to someone else's sovereignty are no longer valid. And elimination of criminals anywhere in the world is the legal right of special agencies.
By the way, the information about the death of bin Laden came just days after Obama seriously "shuffled" security, defense and law enforcement posts. The director of the CIA was appointed as the Secretary of Defense and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan was then appointed as the new director of the CIA. There is no doubt now that Congress will promptly approve these appointments.
Next article![]( "Bin Laden's Death Doesn't Ease Strained U.S.-Afghanistan Conflict")