Jack Ryan may refer to:

Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy character), a fictional character in a series of novels by Tom Clancy

Jack Ryan (politician) (born 1959), former candidate for United States Senator from Illinois and ex-husband of actress Jeri Ryan

Jack Ryan (designer) (1926–1991), designer and Zsa Zsa Gabor's sixth husband

Jack Ryan (pitcher) (1884–1949), Major League Baseball pitcher

Jack Ryan (outfielder) (1905–1967), MLB outfielder

Jack Ryan (catcher) (1868–1952), MLB catcher and University of Virginia baseball coach

Jack Ryan (streetball player)

Jack Ryan (FBI agent), former FBI agent

John J. Ryan, known as Jack, head football coach at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin

See also

John Ryan

pl:Jack Ryan

Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on ''The Daily Show'' and for his Comedy Central show ''Important Things with Demetri Martin''.

Early life

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, now deceased, a Greek Orthodox priest. Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship.

Career

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase ''Premium Blend''. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show ''If I...''. The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In 2004, Martin had his own ''Comedy Central Presents'' stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while alternating between playing harmonica and talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on ''The Daily Show'', on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace. On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'', talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled ''These Are Jokes'', which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features ''Saturday Night Live'' member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to ''The Daily Show'' on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series ''Flight of the Conchords''. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.

He also had a part in the movie ''The Rocker'' (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called Important Things With Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that ''Important Things'' will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film ''Taking Woodstock'' (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled ''This Is a Book by Demetri Martin''.

Martin was slated to portray Paul DePodesta as Oakland Athletics assistant GM to Billy Beane in the 2011 movie ''Moneyball'', however was dropped and Jonah Hill took his place in the movie.

Future plans

Martin sold his movie concept ''Will'' to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role. He will play the lead in the film ''Moon People'', a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.

''If I''

''If I'' is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.

Comedic style

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses one-liners and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once. He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.

Personal life

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage when his stand-up career began.

He is extremely allergic to nuts and peanuts.

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.

Filmography

''Invite Them Up'' (2005)

''These Are Jokes'' (2006)

''Demetri Martin. Person.'' (2007)

''Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009-2010)

Filmography and television work

''If I'' ''12:21'' ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' "''Someone to Love (Fountains of Wayne song) ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series) ''The Rocker (film) ''Paper Heart'' ''Post Grad'' ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Important Things with Demetri Martin'' ''Take Me Home Tonight (film) ''Contagion (film) ''Conan_(TV_series)

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002	''Analyze That''	Personal Assistant
2003	|	Himself	British television special, also writer
2004	|	Himself	short film, also writer
2004	|	Himself	1 episode, series writer
2007	Someone to Love''" ||	Seth Shapiro	''Fountains of Wayne'' music video
2007	Flight of the Conchords'' ||	Demetri	Season 1, Episode 12
2008	The Rocker'' ||	Kip (a music video producer)
2009	|	Himself
2009	|	Ad Exec
2009	|	Elliot Tiber
2009–2010	|	Himself / Various	writer, series creator, executive producer, and composer
2011	Take Me Home Tonight'' ||	Carlos
2011	Contagion'' ||	Dr. David Eisenberg
2011	Conan'' ||	Himself	guest

Written works

''This Is a Book'', April 2011, .

Awards and nominations

AwardPerrier Comedy AwardEmmy Awards Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Writers Guild of America Award Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Barry Award (for comedy)

Year	|	For	Category	Result	Other notes
2003	|	''If I''		Won	At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2004	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Nominated	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2005	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series	Won	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2006	Barry Award ||	''Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin''		Won	Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

References

External links

Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club

Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia

Article, in ''The Scotsman''

Article, in ''Gelf Magazine''

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

MP3 Audio Interview on ''The Sound of Young America'' public radio show and podcast

Interview Believer Mag

New Jersey Monthly Magazine

Fresh Air, NPR.org

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American comedy writers Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Writers from New York City Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Yale University alumni Category:The Daily Show correspondents and contributors

cs:Demetri Martin da:Demetri Martin de:Demetri Martin fr:Demetri Martin gl:Demetri Martin it:Demetri Martin ru:Мартин, Деметри simple:Demitri Martin fi:Demetri Martin sv:Demetri Martin

name	Tom Clancy
birth date	May 12, 1947
birth place	Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
occupation	Novelist
nationality	American
period	1984–present
genre	Techno-thriller, Crime fiction, nonfiction
influences	H.P. Lovecraft, William Shakespeare, Eric Donovan, Robert A. Heinlein
influenced	Dale Brown, James Wesley Rawles
website	}}

Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. (born April 12, 1947) is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and promotional purposes. His name is also a brand for similar movie scripts written by ghost writers and many series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders. He is Vice Chairman of Community Activities and Public Affairs, as well as also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.

Personal life

Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland, graduating with the class of 1965. He studied English Literature at Loyola College in Baltimore, graduating in 1969. Before making his literary debut, he spent some time running an independent insurance agency. This agency thrived for a few years before joining a group of investors.

Clancy and his first wife Wanda married in 1969, separated briefly in 1995, and permanently separated in December 1996. Wanda Clancy filed for divorce in November 1998, which became final in 1999.

In 1993, Tom Clancy joined a group of investors that included Peter Angelos and bought the Baltimore Orioles from Eli Jacobs. In 1998, he reached an agreement to purchase the Minnesota Vikings, but had to abandon the deal because of the divorce settlement cost.

On June 26, 1999, Clancy married freelance journalist Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, whom he had met in 1997. Llewellyn is the daughter of J. Bruce Llewellyn, and a family friend of Colin Powell, who originally introduced the couple to each other.

In 2008, the use of Clancy's name was purchased by French video game manufacturer Ubisoft for an undisclosed sum. It will be used in conjunction with video games and related products such as movies, and books.

Political views

A week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, on ''The O'Reilly Factor'', Clancy stated that left-wing politicians in the United States were partly responsible for September 11 due to their "gutting" of the Central Intelligence Agency. Clancy has also associated himself with General Anthony Zinni, a critic of the George W. Bush administration, and has been critical of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well.

Some of his books bear dedications to Republican political figures, most notably Ronald Reagan. In his novels, countries portrayed as hostile to the United States include the former Soviet Union, Syria, China, Iran, India, and Japan while Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom are shown as close allies of the United States.

On September 11, 2001, Clancy was interviewed by Judy Woodruff on CNN. During the interview, he observed that Islam does not condone suicide. Among other observations during this interview, Clancy cited discussions he had with military experts on the lack of planning to handle a hijacked plane being used in a suicide attack and criticized the news media's treatment of the United States Intelligence Community. Clancy appeared again on PBS's ''Charlie Rose'', where he debated Senator and future Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards.

Clancy has been a Life Member of the National Rifle Association since 1978. He is a Republican.

Bibliography

''The Hunt for Red October'', ''Patriot Games'', ''Clear and Present Danger'', and ''The Sum of All Fears'' have been turned into commercially successful films with actors Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford as Clancy's most famous fictional character Jack Ryan, while his second most famous character John Clark has been played by actors Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. All but two of Clancy's solely-written novels feature Jack Ryan or John Clark.

The first NetForce novel was adapted as a television movie, starring Scott Bakula and Joanna Going. The first Op-Center novel was released to coincide with a 1995 NBC television mini-series of the same name (Tom Clancy's Op-Center) starring Harry Hamlin and a cast of stars. Though the mini-series did not continue, the book series did, but it had little in common with the first mini-series other than the title and the names of the main characters.

With the release of ''The Teeth of the Tiger'', Clancy introduced Jack Ryan's son and two nephews who were main characters; these characters continue in one of his latest novels, ''Dead Or Alive''.

Clancy has written several nonfiction books about various branches of the U.S. armed forces (see non-fiction listing, below). Clancy has also branded several lines of books and video games with his name that are written by other authors, following premises or storylines generally in keeping with Clancy's works. These are sometimes referred to by fans as "apostrophe" books; Clancy did not initially acknowledge that these series were being authored by others, only thanking the actual authors in the headnotes for their "invaluable contribution to the manuscript".

In 1997, Clancy signed a book deal with Penguin Putnam Inc. (both part of Pearson Education), that paid him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books. He then signed a second agreement for another US$25 million for a four-year book/multimedia deal. Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the ABC television miniseries ''Tom Clancy's Net Force'' aired in the fall/winter of 1998. The Op-Center universe has laid the ground for the series of books written by Jeff Rovin, which was in an agreement worth US$22 million bringing the total value of the package to US$97 million.

By publication date

; ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984): Clancy's first published novel. CIA analyst Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius. Captain Mancuso is introduced here. Nearly every book after has Mancuso in ever increasing command of U.S. submarine forces. ; ''Red Storm Rising'' (1986): War between NATO and USSR. The basis of the combat game of the same name, this book is not a member of the Ryan story series (although the protagonist of the story has many similarities with Jack Ryan). He co-wrote it with Larry Bond. ; ''Patriot Games'' (1987): ''Patriot Games'' predates the first book that Clancy wrote, ''The Hunt for Red October'', chronologically. Jack Ryan foils an attack in London on the Prince and Princess of Wales by the "Ulster Liberation Army". The ULA then attacks Ryan's Maryland home while he is hosting the Prince and Princess for dinner. The movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Samuel L. Jackson as Robby Jackson. ; ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988): First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Ryan leads a CIA operation which forces the head of the KGB to defect. Other elements include anti-satellite lasers and other SDI-type weapons, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Major Alan Gregory is introduced here. (He appears later, updating SAM software in ''The Bear and the Dragon''). Colonel Bondarenko also is introduced here. (He appears in later books offering advice to Golovko in "Executive Orders" and commanding the Russian Army defenses against China in its sequel "The Bear and the Dragon".) ; ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1989): The President authorizes the CIA to use American military forces in a covert war against cocaine producers in Colombia. The operation is betrayed. Ryan meets John Clark as they lead a mission to rescue abandoned soldiers. Domingo "Ding" Chavez (Clark's protege in later novels) is one of the rescued soldiers. The 1994 film stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, Willem Dafoe as Clark and Raymond Cruz as Chavez. ; ''The Sum of All Fears'' (1991): Arab terrorists find a nuclear weapon that had been lost by Israel, and use it to attack the United States. This nearly triggers a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, due to the incompetence of the new President and his mistress with an anti-Ryan agenda. Ryan intervenes to avert the war. The 2002 film stars Ben Affleck as Ryan and Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists to neo-Nazis. ; ''Without Remorse'' (1993): ''Without Remorse'' takes place during the Vietnam War, when Jack Ryan was a teenager. Ex-SEAL John Clark (then John Kelly) fights a bloody one-man war against drug dealers in Baltimore, attracting the attention of Jack's father Emmett, a Baltimore police detective. He also helps plan and execute a raid on a prisoner-of-war camp in North Vietnam. Clark joins the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). ; ''Debt of Honor'' (1994): A secret cabal of extreme nationalists gains control of Japan (having acquired some nuclear weapons), and start a war with the U.S. Ryan, now National Security Advisor, and Clark and Chavez, agents in Japan, help win the war. The Vice President resigns in a scandal, and the President appoints Ryan to replace him. A vengeful, die-hard Japanese airline pilot then crashes a jetliner into the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress attended by most senior U.S. government officials, including the President. Ryan thus becomes the new President through succession. ; ''Executive Orders'' (1996): This is the immediate sequel to ''Debt of Honor''. President Ryan survives press hazing, an assassination attempt, and a biological warfare attack on the United States. Clark and Chavez trace the virus to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work. ; ''SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare'' (1996): Follows the missions of USS ''Cheyenne'' in a future war with China precipitated by China's invasion of the disputed Spratly Islands. Also not a Ryan universe book, SSN is actually a loosely connected collection of "scenario" chapters in support of the eponymous computer game. ; ''Rainbow Six'' (1998): Released to coincide with the computer game of the same name. John Clark and Ding, who is now Clark's son-in-law, lead an elite multi-national anti-terrorist unit that combats a worldwide genocide attempt by eco-terrorists. (Jack Ryan is the U.S. President and only mentioned or referred to as either 'The President' or 'Jack'.) ; ''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000): War between Russia and China. Ryan recognizes the independence of Taiwan, Chinese police officers kill a Roman Catholic Cardinal, and the American armed forces help Russia defeat a Chinese invasion of Siberia. ; ''Red Rabbit'' (2002): In the early 1980s, CIA analyst Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II. ; ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2003): Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan, Jr., becomes an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the end of the Jack Ryan Sr. presidential administration. This book of the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy introduces Ryan's son and two nephews as heirs to his spook-legacy. ; ''Dead or Alive'' (2010, with Grant Blackwood): Clancy's second newest novel, the story picks up where ''The Teeth of the Tiger'' left off with Jack Ryan, Jr. and The Campus trying to catch a terrorist known as "The Emir". ; ''Against All Enemies'' (2011, with Peter Telep): A terrorist bombing in Pakistan wipes out Max Moore’s entire CIA team. As the only survivor, the former Navy SEAL plunges deeper into the treacherous tribal lands to find the terrorist cell, but what he discovers there leads him to a much darker conspiracy in an unexpected part of the globe — the United States/Mexico border.

Novels not in the series

''Red Storm Rising'' (1986)

''SSN'' (1996)

''Against All Enemies'' (2011)

Jack Ryan/John Clark universe chronology

In the order in which they occur in the storyline (and when they occur):

''Without Remorse'' (1970)

''Patriot Games'' (1982, based on a reference to Ryan's age, which is 31 at the beginning of the novel. This roughly fits with a reference to the Princess of Wales first child being a baby and a few months old, Prince William was born in 1982)

''Red Rabbit'' (circa spring of 1982, based on references to living Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Suslov, both of whom died in 1982, as well as Jack Ryan, Jr.'s age in the novel, 6 months) Discrepancies with the estimate of 1982 include frequent references to "Transformers" which did not appear until 1984 and the fact that the Orioles played the Phillies in the World Series in 1983, not to mention that the World Series is played in the Fall, not the Spring.

''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984)

''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1986) – "The first chapter is set in January and states that Ryan is 35 years old. It also has references to the other books set earlier. For example the Foley's have been in Moscow for almost four years. The book must begin (not including prologue which was set end of previous year) in January 1986.

Starting with the following novel, the series becomes distinctly different from real history as noted below.

''Clear and Present Danger'' (1988) The book refers to Jack's age at 40.

''The Sum of All Fears'' (1990–1991) — Israel partially cedes sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and the city becomes a United Nations protectorate policed by Swiss Guards. Residents of Jerusalem can choose between either Vatican, Israeli or Islamic judicial law. Denver is devastated by a terrorist nuclear explosion. The book occurs after the Persian Gulf War and before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is implied that both events occur at the same time in the Ryan universe as in actual history (of the Soviet Union dissolution), 1991. In the earlier chapters it states that it had almost been two Novembers since President Fowler had been elected, making the beginning set in 1990.

''Debt of Honor'' (1995–1996) — The U.S. and Russia destroy all of their ballistic missiles. After crippling the U.S. economy and becoming a nuclear power, Japan invades and takes the Marianas Islands; the United States and Japan fight a brief war, which the Japanese lose (they are subsequently denuclearized); an embittered Japanese pilot and proponent of the war crashes a 747 into the United States Capitol Building immediately after Ryan's confirmation vote for the Vice President, killing most of the House and Senate, the President, all nine Supreme Court justices, the senior military establishment (including the JCS), and most of the Cabinet; Ryan is left in charge of a gutted government. The end of the book occurs shortly after the New Hampshire primary, which shows that the novel takes place during the 1996 election. Of interest, but not crucial to the plot of this or further books is that North and South Korea were said to be unified at some point between ''The Sum of All Fears'' and this book.

''Executive Orders'' (1996) — Saddam Hussein is assassinated; Iran and Iraq merge forming the United Islamic Republic; the UIR launches a biological attack on the U.S. using the Ebola virus; the United States launches the Second Persian Gulf War against the UIR and defeats them; the Ayatollah is killed in a smart-bomb attack by the U.S.

''Rainbow Six'' (Takes place between ''Executive Orders'' and ''The Bear and the Dragon'' most likely 1998-1999 from a statement saying that it had been a year and a half since Jack became president and the date of the video game) (although events seem to be based on the Sydney Olympics held in 2000) RAINBOW — an elite counter-terrorist force — is created and engages terrorists across Europe. Ecoterrorists plan to create a genetically-enhanced virus based on Ebola and cancer cells, which they plan to use to wipe out much of the world's population.

''The Bear and the Dragon'' (2000) — Russia is admitted to NATO; China and Russia fight a major war, in which the U.S. intervenes on its NATO ally's side. It implies that the British Prime Minister is Tony Blair.

''The Teeth of the Tiger'' (2005, based on the age of Jack Ryan, Jr.) The U.S. is now engaged in a global war on terrorism, in response to the September 11 attacks, which occurred in the Ryan universe as they did in the real world. It is mentioned that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq occurred in the Ryan universe continuity, and that the Jerusalem Treaty signed in ''The Sum of All Fears'' has failed as Israelis and Palestinians went back to fighting each other.

''Dead or Alive'' (2007, based on Jack Ryan's announcement that he would run against Ed Kealty for President "in the coming year") — The Umayyad Revolutionary Council (the Ryan universe version of Al-Qaeda) and its leader "The Emir" (based on Osama bin Laden) plan a string of major attacks on the U.S. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, as in our timeline, and President Kealty is in the process of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, a process that began in our timeline in 2009. A character also explicitly refers to the date as May 2010, in the process of decoding encrypted messages.

Op-Center universe

# ''Op-Center'' # ''Mirror Image'' # ''Games of State'' # ''Acts of War'' # ''Balance of Power'' # ''State of Siege'' # ''Divide and Conquer'' # ''Line of Control'' # ''Mission of Honor'' # ''Sea of Fire'' # ''Call to Treason'' # ''War of Eagles''

NetForce universe

''NetForce'' (1998)

''Hidden Agendas''

''Night Moves''

''Breaking Point''

''Point of Impact''

''Cybernation''

''State of War''

''Springboard''

''Changing of the Guard''

''The Archimedes Effect''

NetForce Explorers universe

Virtual Vandals

The Deadliest Game

One is the Loneliest Number

The Ultimate Escape

End Game

Cyberspy

The Great Race

Shadow of Honor

Private Lives

Safe House

Power Plays series

''Politika'' (novel, 1997)

* ''Politika'' (computer game) by Red Storm Entertainment

** ''Politika'' (board game)

''ruthless.com'' (novel, 1998)

* ''ruthless.com'' (computer game, 1998) by Red Storm Entertainment

''Shadow Watch'' (novel, 1999) by Jerome Preisler

* ''Shadow Watch'' (computer game, 1999) by Red Storm Entertainment

''Bio-Strike'' (novel, 2000) by Jerome Preisler

''Cold War'' (novel, 2001) by Jerome Preisler

''Cutting Edge'' (novel, 2002) by Jerome Preisler

''Zero Hour'' (novel, 2003) by Jerome Preisler

''Wild Card'' (novel, 2004) by Jerome Preisler

Ghost Recon universe

''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon'' by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Combat Ops'' by David Michaels

EndWar universe

''Tom Clancy's EndWar'' by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

''Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Hunted'' by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

H.A.W.X universe

''Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X'' by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

''Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2''

Non-fiction

Guided Tour

''Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship'' (1993)

''Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment'' (1994)

''Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing'' (1995)

''Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit'' (1996)

''Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force'' (1997, ISBN 0425157709)

''Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier'' (1999)

''Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces'' (2001)

Study in Command

''Into the Storm — On the Ground in Iraq'' (with Fred Franks) (1997)

''Every Man a Tiger — the Gulf War Air Campaign'' (with Chuck Horner) (1999)

''Shadow Warriors — Inside the Special Forces'' (with Carl Stiner) (2002)

''Battle Ready'' (with Anthony Zinni) (2004)

Other

''The Tom Clancy Companion'' — Edited by Martin H. Greenberg — Writings by Clancy along with a concordance of all his fiction novels, detailing characters and military units or equipment.

Video games

In 1996, Clancy co-founded the computer game developer Red Storm Entertainment and ever since he has had his name on several of Red Storm's most successful games. Red Storm was later bought by publisher Ubisoft Entertainment, which continues to use the Clancy name. This game series includes:

''The Hunt for Red October'' (1987): Submarine simulation loosely based on the novel of the same name. Produced by Grandslam Entertainment for IBM PC, C64, and Amiga.

''Red Storm Rising'' (1988): Submarine sim loosely based on the novel of the same name. Produced by MicroProse for IBM PC, C64, and Amiga.

''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990): Submarine sim based on the movie of the same name. Produced by Grandslam Entertainment for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum.

''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990): Submarine sim based on the movie of the same name. Produced for Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and Super NES.

''SSN'' (1996): Submarine sim based on the novel of the same name. Produced by Simon & Schuster Interactive for IBM PC.

ruthless.com (1998) by Red Storm Entertainment: Strategy game based loosely on the book of the same name.

''Shadow Watch'' (2000): Turn-based strategy based on the Power Play novel of the same name.

''The Sum of All Fears'' (2002): Tactical first-person shooter similar in style to ''Rainbow Six'', but based on the Ghost Recon engine. The plot is based on the movie of the same name. Produced by Ubisoft for the IBM PC and Nintendo GameCube system.

''Rainbow Six series'': Squad-based first-person shooters, based on the novel of the same name, typically taking place in closed urban environments. Tom Clancy has made 18 Rainbow six games.

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six'' (1998)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch'' (1999)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear'' (1999)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Urban Operations'' (2000)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Covert Operations Essentials'' (2000)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Take-Down — Missions in Korea'' (2001)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Black Thorn'' (2001)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf'' (2002)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield'' (2003)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow'' (2004)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword'' (2004)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Iron Wrath'' (2005)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown'' (2005)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour'' (2006)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas'' (2006)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2'' (2008)

*''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard'' (2011)

''Ghost Recon series'': Squad-based first-person shooters/third-person shooters. As opposed to the ''Rainbow Six'' games, Ghost Recon usually takes place in larger, outdoor environments.

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon'' (2001)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege'' (2003)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder'' (2003)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm'' (2004)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2'' (2004)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike'' (2005)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter'' (2006)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2'' (2007)

''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier'' (2012)

*''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Lead the Ghosts'' (TBA)

''Splinter Cell series'': Third person stealth games, lately spawned a line of books written by a series of different authors, all writing under the pseudonym David Michaels.

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' (2002)

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow'' (2004)

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory'' (2005)

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials'' (2006)

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent'' (2006)

*''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction'' (2010)

''EndWar series'': Franchise set in a speculative World War III, taking place in 2020.

*''Tom Clancy's EndWar'' (2008)

*''Tom Clancy's EndWar 2'' (TBA)

''H.A.W.X series'': Air combat.

*''Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X'' (2009)

*''Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2'' (2010)

Many of the games bearing the Clancy name have been very successful, spawning several sequels and expansions. It is unknown how much input Clancy has into the games.

World news media is a fictional news network that had been featured in many Tom Clancy's video games.

It has been said that an attempt will be made to merge the various series into one coherent universe (~2:40-3:30)

Board games

''The Hunt for Red October'' (1988)

: Naval wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered modern naval warfare between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

''Red Storm Rising'' (1989)

:Ground warfare wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered an attack on NATO forces in western Europe by the Warsaw Pact. It included rules for integration with ''The Hunt for Red October'' game of the year before. The publisher reused the system for ''Europe Aflame'' (1989), a strategic World War II game, and ''A Line in the Sand'', a strategic game about the First Gulf War.

''Tom Clancy's Politika'' (1997)

Achievements and awards

Clancy is one of only three authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s (the other two being John Grisham and J.K. Rowling). Clancy's 1989 novel ''Clear and Present Danger'' sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the #1 bestselling novel of the 1980s.

Clancy received an honorary doctorate in humane letters and delivered the commencement address at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992, and has since worked a reference to the school into many of his main works.

Clancy is an honorary Yeoman Warder of The Tower of London holding the title "Supernumerary Yeoman". On the television show Ace of Cakes his wife commissioned, for his 60th birthday, a special cake in the shape of the Tower of London in acknowledgment of his status. In the episode, Tom Clancy referred to the ''Beefeaters'' as, "Just a terrific bunch of guys".

Clancy received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in 1990.

In popular culture

The BBC Radio 4 sitcom ''Deep Trouble'', set on a nuclear submarine, features a humorous version of Clancy as a recurring character. He is portrayed by Ben Willbond, co-writer of the series.

See also

List of bestselling novels in the United States

List of other novelists

Stephen Coonts

John le Carré

Ian Fleming

James Clancy Phelan

Frederick Forsyth

Charles Cumming

Notes

References

External links

Official Tom Clancy Web Site

Transcript of interview with Deborah Norville on the War in Iraq — April 2004

Detailed Tom Clancy Book Reviews

Tom Clancy FAQ

The Page of Tom Clancy's Primary Publisher

Literary reviews and criticism

"Something for the Boys" by Christopher Hitchens, ''The New York Review of Books'', November 14, 1996. A review of Clancy's ''Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit.''

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American military writers Category:American thriller writers Category:Baltimore Orioles owners Category:Loyola University Maryland alumni Category:Maryland Republicans Category:People from Calvert County, Maryland Category:Techno-thrillers Category:Writers from Maryland Category:Guggenheim Fellows Category:American spy fiction writers Category:National Rifle Association members

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Name	Osama bin Laden
Birth date	March 10, 1957
Birth place	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Death date	May 02, 2011
Death place	Abbottabad, Pakistan
Placeofburial	North Arabian Sea
Religion	Sunni Islam (Qutbism)
Years active	1979–2011
Death cause	Ballistic trauma
Successor	Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Spouse(s)	Najwa GhanhemKhadijah SharifKhairiah SabarSiham SabarAmal Ahmed al-Sadah
Children
Allegiance	Al-Qaeda
Serviceyears	1988–2011
Battles	Soviet war in AfghanistanWar on Terror: War in Afghanistan *Battle of Tora Bora War in North-West Pakistan *Operation Neptune Spear }}

}} Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (; , ''''; March 10, 1957 May 2, 2011) was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. He was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family, and an ethnic Yemeni Kindite.

Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, with a bounty by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

After being placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, bin Laden remained in hiding during three U.S. presidential administrations. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives in a covert operation ordered by United States President Barack Obama. Shortly after his death, bin Laden's body was buried at sea. Al-Qaeda acknowledged his death on May 6, 2011, vowing to retaliate.

Early life and education

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a son of Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a billionaire construction magnate with close ties to the Saudi royal family, and Mohammed bin Laden's tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas (then called Alia Ghanem). In a 1998 interview, bin Laden gave his birth date as March 10, 1957.

Mohammed bin Laden divorced Hamida soon after Osama bin Laden was born. Mohammed recommended Hamida to Mohammed al-Attas, an associate. Al-Attas married Hamida in the late 1950s or early 1960s, and they are still together. The couple had four children, and bin Laden lived in the new household with three half-brothers and one half-sister. The bin Laden family made $5 billion in the construction industry, of which Osama later inherited around $25–30 million.

Bin Laden was raised as a devout Wahhabi Muslim. From 1968 to 1976, he attended the élite secular Al-Thager Model School. He studied economics and business administration at King Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest he earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979, or a degree in public administration in 1981. One source described him as "hard working", another said he left university during his third year without completing a college degree. At university, bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work. Other interests included writing poetry; reading, with the works of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle said to be among his favorites; black stallions; and association football, in which he enjoyed playing at centre forward and followed the fortunes of Arsenal F.C.

Personal life

In 1974, at the age of 17, bin Laden married Najwa Ghanem at Latakia, Syria; they were divorced before September 11, 2001. Bin Laden's other known wives were Khadijah Sharif (married 1983, divorced 1990s), Khairiah Sabar (married 1985), Siham Sabar (married 1987), and Amal al-Sadah (married 2000). Some sources also list a sixth wife, name unknown, whose marriage to bin Laden was annulled soon after the ceremony. Bin Laden fathered between 20 and 26 children with his wives. Many of bin Laden's children fled to Iran following the September 11 attacks and Iranian authorities reportedly continue to control their movement.

Bin Laden's father Mohammed died in 1967 in an airplane crash in Saudi Arabia when his American pilot misjudged a landing. Bin Laden's eldest half-brother, Salem bin Laden, the subsequent head of the bin Laden family, was killed in 1988 near San Antonio, Texas, in the United States, when he accidentally flew a plane into power lines.

The FBI described bin Laden as an adult as tall and thin, between 6 ft 4 in and 6 ft 6 in (193–198 cm) in height and weighing about 165 pounds (75 kg). Interviewer Lawrence Wright, on the other hand, described him as quite slender, but not particularly tall. Bin Laden had an olive complexion and was left-handed, usually walking with a cane. He wore a plain white turban and he had stopped wearing the traditional Saudi male headdress. Bin Laden was described as soft-spoken and mild-mannered in demeanor.

Name

There is no universally accepted standard for transliterating Arabic words and Arabic names into English; bin Laden's name is most frequently rendered "Osama bin Laden". The FBI and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as other U.S. governmental agencies, have used either "Usama bin Laden" or "Usama bin Ladin", both of which may be abbreviated as "UBL". Less common renderings include "Ussamah bin Ladin" and, in the French-language media, "Oussama ben Laden". Other spellings include "Binladen" or, as used by his family in the West, "Binladin". The decapitalization of ''bin'' is based on the convention of leaving short prepositions and articles uncapitalized in surnames; however, ''bin'' means "son of" and is not, strictly speaking, a preposition or article. The spellings with ''o'' and ''e'' come from a Persian-influenced pronunciation also used in Afghanistan, where bin Laden spent many years.

Osama bin Laden's full name, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, means "Osama, son of Mohammed, son of Awad, son of Laden". "Mohammed" refers to bin Laden's father Mohammed bin Laden; "Awad" refers to his grandfather, Awad bin Aboud bin Laden, a Kindite Hadhrami tribesman; "Laden" refers not to bin Laden's great-grandfather, who was named Aboud, but to a more distant ancestor.

The Arabic linguistic convention would be to refer to him as "Osama" or "Osama bin Laden", not "bin Laden" alone, as "bin Laden" is a patronymic, not a surname in the Western manner. According to bin Laden's son Omar bin Laden, the family's hereditary surname is "al-Qahtani" (, ''āl-Qaḥṭānī''), but bin Laden's father Mohammed bin Laden never officially registered the name.

Osama bin Laden had also assumed the ''kunyah'' "Abū ʿAbdāllāh" ("father of Abdallah"). His admirers have referred to him by several nicknames, including the "Prince" or "Emir" (الأمير, ''al-Amīr''), the "Sheik" (الشيخ, ''aš-Šayḫ''), the "Jihadist Sheik" or "Sheik al-Mujahid" (شيخ المجاهد, ''al-Muǧāhid Šayḫ''), "Hajj" (حج, ''Ḥaǧǧ''), and the "Director". The word ''ʾusāmah'' (أسامة) means "lion", earning him the nicknames "Lion" and "Lion Sheik".

Beliefs and ideology

According to former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader was motivated by a belief that U.S. foreign policy has oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East, condensed in the phrase "They hate us for what we do, not who we are."

Bin Laden also said only the restoration of Sharia law would "set things right" in the Muslim world, and that alternatives such as "pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy" must be opposed. This belief, in conjunction with violent jihad, has sometimes been called Qutbism after being promoted by Sayyid Qutb. Bin Laden believed that Afghanistan, under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban, was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world. Bin Laden consistently dwelt on the need for violent jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims perpetrated by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states, the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and the necessity of forcing the United States to withdraw from the Middle East. He also called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury", in an October 2002 letter.

Bin Laden's ideology included the idea that innocent civilians, including women and children, are legitimate targets of jihad. Bin Laden was anti-Semitic, and delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next." Shia Muslims have been listed along with "heretics, [...] America, and Israel" as the four principal "enemies of Islam" at ideology classes of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization.

Bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds, and his attitude towards technology was mixed. He was interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants" on the one hand, but rejected "chilled water" on the other.

His viewpoints and methods of achieving them had led to him being designated as a terrorist by scholars, journalists from ''The New York Times'', the BBC, and Qatari news station Al Jazeera, analysts such as Peter Bergen, Michael Scheuer, Marc Sageman, and Bruce Hoffman and he was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid, New York City, and Tripoli.

Bin Laden's overall strategy against much larger enemies such as the Soviet Union and United States was to lure them into a long war of attrition in Muslim countries, attracting large numbers of jihadists who would never surrender. He believed this would lead to economic collapse of the enemy nation. Al-Qaeda manuals clearly outline this strategy.

Militant activity

Mujahideen in Afghanistan

After leaving college in 1979, bin Laden went to Pakistan and joined Abdullah Azzam to take part in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. During Operation Cyclone from 1979 to 1989, the United States provided financial aid and weapons to the mujahideen leaders through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Bin Laden met and built relations with Hamid Gul, who was a three-star general in the Pakistani army and head of the ISI agency. Although the United States provided the money and weapons, the training of militant groups was entirely done by the Pakistani Armed Forces and the ISI.

By 1984, bin Laden and Azzam established Maktab al-Khidamat, which funneled money, arms and fighters from around the Arab world into Afghanistan. Through al-Khadamat, bin Laden's inherited family fortune paid for air tickets and accommodation, paid for paperwork with Pakistani authorities and provided other such services for the jihadi fighters. Bin Laden established camps inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and used it to train volunteer fighters against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. It was during his time in Pakistan that he began wearing camouflage-print jackets and carrying a Russian-made assault rifle.

Formation and structuring of Al-Qaeda

By 1988, bin Laden had split from Maktab al-Khidamat. While Azzam acted as support for Afghan fighters, bin Laden wanted a more military role. One of the main points leading to the split and the creation of al-Qaeda was Azzam's insistence that Arab fighters be integrated among the Afghan fighting groups instead of forming a separate fighting force. Notes of a meeting of bin Laden and others on August 20, 1988, indicate al-Qaeda was a formal group by that time: "Basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make his religion victorious." A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge (''bayat'') to follow one's superiors.

According to Wright, the group's real name was not used in public pronouncements because "its existence was still a closely held secret". His research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an August 11, 1988, meeting between "several senior leaders" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abdullah Azzam, and bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Laden's money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organization and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, Osama bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia in 1990 as a hero of jihad, who along with his Arab legion "had brought down the mighty superpower" of the Soviet Union.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait under Saddam Hussein on August 2, 1990, put the Saudi kingdom and the House of Saud at risk, with Iraqi forces on the Saudi border and Saddam's appeal to pan-Arabism potentially inciting internal dissent. Bin Laden met with King Fahd, and Saudi Defense Minister Sultan, telling them not to depend on non-Muslim assistance from the United States and others, offering to help defend Saudi Arabia with his mujahideen. Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and after the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. troops in Saudi territory, Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi Arabia's dependence on the U.S. military. Bin Laden believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. Bin Laden's criticism of the Saudi monarchy led that government to attempt to silence him.

Shortly after Saudi Arabia invited U.S. troops into Saudi Arabia, bin Laden turned his attention to attacks on the West. On November 8, 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of El Sayyid Nosair, an associate of al-Qaeda operative Ali Mohamed, discovering copious evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers. This marked the earliest discovery of al-Qaeda terrorist plans outside of Muslim countries. Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and later admitted guilt for the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York on November 5, 1990.

Bin Laden continued to speak publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, for which the Saudis banished him. He went to live in exile in Sudan, in 1992, in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamed.

Sudan and return to Afghanistan

In Sudan, bin Laden established a new base for mujahideen operations in Khartoum. He bought a house on Al-Mashtal Street in the affluent Al-Riyadh quarter and a retreat at Soba on the Blue Nile. During his time in the country he heavily invested in the infrastructure and in agriculture and businesses. He continued his verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and in response, on March 5, 1994, Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Laden's passport. His family was persuaded to cut off his $7 million a year stipend. By now bin Laden was strongly associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), which made up the core of al-Qaeda. In 1995 the EIJ attempted to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The attempt failed, and the EIJ was expelled from Sudan.

As a result of his dealings in and advocacy of violent extremist jihad, Osama bin Laden lost his Saudi citizenship in 1994 and was disowned by his billionaire family.

Sudan also began efforts to expel bin Laden. The 9/11 Commission Report states:

In late 1995, when Bin Laden was still in Sudan, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learned that Sudanese officials were discussing with the Saudi government the possibility of expelling Bin Laden. CIA paramilitary officer Billy Waugh tracked down Bin Ladin in the Sudan and prepared an operation to apprehend him, but was denied authorization. U.S. Ambassador Timothy Carney encouraged the Sudanese to pursue this course. The Saudis, however, did not want Bin Laden, giving as their reason their revocation of his citizenship. Sudan's minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Laden over to the United States. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Laden. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment outstanding.

The 9/11 Commission Report further states:

In February 1996, Sudanese officials began approaching officials from the United States and other governments, asking what actions of theirs might ease foreign pressure. In secret meetings with Saudi officials, Sudan offered to expel Bin Laden to Saudi Arabia and asked the Saudis to pardon him. U.S. officials became aware of these secret discussions, certainly by March. Saudi officials apparently wanted Bin Laden expelled from Sudan. They had already revoked his citizenship, however, and would not tolerate his presence in their country. Also Bin Laden may have no longer felt safe in Sudan, where he had already escaped at least one assassination attempt that he believed to have been the work of the Egyptian or Saudi regimes, or both.

In May 1996, under increasing pressure on Sudan, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States, bin Laden returned to Jalalabad, Afghanistan aboard a chartered flight, and there forged a close relationship with Mullah Mohammed Omar. When bin Laden left Sudan, he and his organization were significantly weakened, despite his ambitions and organizational skills.

In August, 1996, bin Laden declared war against the United States. This fatwā was first published in Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based newspaper. The fatwā is entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places." Saudi Arabia is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest places in Islam. The reference to occupation in the fatwā refers to U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of controlling air space in Iraq, known as Operation Southern Watch.

In Afghanistan, bin Laden and al-Qaeda raised money from "donors from the days of the Soviet jihad", and from the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to establish more training camps for Mujahideen fighters.

Bin Laden effectively had hijacked Ariana Afghan Airlines, which ferried Islamic militants, arms, cash and opium through the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan as well as provided false identifications to members of bin Laden's terrorist network. Viktor Bout helped to run the airline, maintaining planes and loading cargo. Michael Scheuer, head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, concluded that Ariana was being used as a "terrorist taxi service".

Early attacks and aid for attacks

It is believed that the first bombing attack involving bin Laden was the December 29, 1992, bombing of the Gold Mihor Hotel in Aden in which two people were killed.

It was after this bombing that al-Qaeda was reported to have developed its justification for the killing of innocent people. According to a fatwa issued by Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, the killing of someone standing near the enemy is justified because any innocent bystander will find their proper reward in death, going to ''Jannah'' (Paradise) if they were good Muslims and to ''Jahannam'' (hell) if they were bad or non-believers. The fatwa was issued to al-Qaeda members but not the general public.

In the 1990s bin Laden's al-Qaeda assisted jihadis financially and sometimes militarily in Algeria, Egypt and Afghanistan. In 1992 or 1993 bin Laden sent an emissary, Qari el-Said, with $40,000 to Algeria to aid the Islamists and urge war rather than negotiation with the government. Their advice was heeded but the war that followed killed 150,000–200,000 Algerians and ended with Islamist surrender to the government.

Bin Laden funded the Luxor massacre of November 17, 1997, which killed 62 civilians, but outraged the Egyptian public. In mid-1997, the Northern Alliance threatened to overrun Jalalabad, causing bin Laden to abandon his Nazim Jihad compound and move his operations to Tarnak Farms in the south.

Another successful attack was carried out in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan. Bin Laden helped cement his alliance with the Taliban by sending several hundreds of Afghan Arab fighters along to help the Taliban kill between five and six thousand Hazaras overrunning the city.

In February 1998, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri co-signed a ''fatwa'' in the name of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders which declared the killing of North Americans and their allies an "individual duty for every Muslim" to "liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Mecca) from their grip". At the public announcement of the fatwa bin Laden announced that North Americans are "very easy targets". He told the attending journalists, "You will see the results of this in a very short time."

Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri organized an al-Qaeda congress on June 24, 1998.

The 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the major East African cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The attacks were linked to local members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to the attention of the United States public for the first time, and resulted in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation placing bin Laden on its Ten Most Wanted list.

In December 1998, the Director of Central Intelligence Counterterrorist Center reported to President Bill Clinton that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the United States of America, including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft.

At the end of 2000, Richard Clarke revealed that Islamic militants headed by bin Laden had planned a triple attack on January 3, 2000 which would have included bombings in Jordan of the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman and tourists at Mount Nebo and a site on the Jordan River, the sinking of the destroyer USS ''The Sullivans'' in Yemen, as well as an attack on a target within the United States. The plan was foiled by the arrest of the Jordanian terrorist cell, the sinking of the explosive-filled skiff intended to target the destroyer, and the arrest of Ahmed Ressam.

Yugoslav Wars

A former U.S. State Department official in October 2001 described Bosnia and Herzegovina as a safe haven for terrorists, after it was asserted that militant elements of the former Sarajevo government were protecting extremists, some with ties to Osama bin Laden. In 1997, ''Rzeczpospolita'', one of the largest Polish daily newspapers, reported that intelligence services of the Nordic-Polish SFOR Brigade suspected that a center for training terrorists from Islamic countries was located in the Bocina Donja village near Maglaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992, hundreds of volunteers joined an "all-mujahedeen unit" called El Moujahed in an abandoned hillside factory, a compound with a hospital and prayer hall.

According to Middle East intelligence reports, bin Laden financed small convoys of recruits from the Arab world through his businesses in Sudan. Among them was Karim Said Atmani who was identified by authorities as the document forger for a group of Algerians accused of plotting the bombings in the United States of America. He is a former roommate of Ahmed Ressam, the man arrested at the Canadian-U.S. border in mid-December 1999 with a car full of nitroglycerin and bomb-making materials. He was convicted of colluding with Osama bin Laden by a French court.

A Bosnian government search of passport and residency records, conducted at the urging of the United States, revealed other former mujahideen who were linked to the same Algerian group or to other groups of suspected terrorists, and had lived in the area north of Sarajevo, the capital, in the past few years. Khalil al-Deek, was arrested in Jordan in late December 1999 on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up tourist sites; a second man with Bosnian citizenship, Hamid Aich, lived in Canada at the same time as Atmani and worked for a charity associated with Osama bin Laden. In its June 26, 1997, report on the bombing of the Al Khobar building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ''The New York Times'' noted that those arrested confessed to serving with Bosnian Muslims forces. Further, the captured men also admitted to ties with Osama bin Laden.

In 1999 it was revealed that bin Laden and his Tunisian assistant Mehrez Aodouni were granted citizenship and Bosnian passports in 1993 by the government in Sarajevo. This information was denied by the Bosnian government following the September 11 attacks, but it was later found that Aodouni was arrested in Turkey and that at that time he possessed the Bosnian passport. Following this revelation, a new explanation was given that bin Laden "did not personally collect his Bosnian passport" and that officials at the Bosnian embassy in Vienna, which issued the passport, could not have known who bin Laden was at the time.

During his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević presented FBI documents that verified bin Laden's al-Qaeda had a presence in the Balkans and aided the Kosovo Liberation Army, which was identified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization shortly before the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Milošević had argued that the United States aided the terrorists which culminated in its backing of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War.

September 11, 2001 attacks

}}

After his denial, Osama bin Laden finally claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States in 2004. The attacks involved the hijacking of four commercial passenger aircraft, the subsequent destruction of those planes and the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, severe damage to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the deaths of 2,974 people and the nineteen hijackers. In response to the attacks, the United States launched a War on Terror to depose the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and capture al-Qaeda operatives, and several countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation to preclude future attacks. The CIA's Special Activities Division was given the lead in tracking down and killing or capturing bin Laden.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that classified evidence linking al-Qaeda and bin Laden to the September 11 attacks is clear and irrefutable. The UK Government reached a similar conclusion regarding al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's culpability for the September 11 attacks, although the government report notes that the evidence presented is not necessarily sufficient for a prosecutable case.

Bin Laden initially denied involvement in the attacks. On September 16, 2001, bin Laden read a statement later broadcast by Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite channel denying responsibility for the attack.

In a videotape recovered by U.S. forces in November 2001 in Jalalabad, bin Laden was seen discussing the attack with Khaled al-Harbi in a way that indicates foreknowledge. The tape was broadcast on various news networks on December 13, 2001. The merits of this translation have been disputed. Arabist Dr. Abdel El M. Husseini stated: "This translation is very problematic. At the most important places where it is held to prove the guilt of bin Laden, it is not identical with the Arabic."

In the 2004 Osama bin Laden video, bin Laden abandoned his denials without retracting past statements. In it he stated he had personally directed the nineteen hijackers. In the 18-minute tape, played on Al-Jazeera, four days before the American presidential election, bin Laden accused U.S. President George W. Bush of negligence on the hijacking of the planes on September 11.

According to the tapes, bin Laden claimed he was inspired to destroy the World Trade Center after watching the destruction of towers in Lebanon by Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.

Through two other tapes aired by Al Jazeera in 2006, Osama bin Laden announced, "I am the one in charge of the nineteen brothers. [...] I was responsible for entrusting the nineteen brothers [...] with the raids" (May 23, 2006). In the tapes he was seen with Ramzi bin al-Shibh, as well as two of the 9/11 hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, as they made preparations for the attacks (videotape broadcast September 7, 2006).

Identified motivations of the September 11 attacks include the support of Israel by the United States, presence of the U.S. military in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iraq.

Criminal charges

name	Usama Bin Laden
charge	* Murder of U.S. Nationals Outside the United States Conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals Outside the United States Attack on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death
reward	$25 million
alias	* Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin the Prince the Emir Abu Abdallah Mujahid Shaykh Hajj the Director
birth date	1957
birth place	Saudi Arabia
death date	May 02, 2011
death place	Abbottabad, Pakistan
cause	Ballistic trauma
nationality	Saudi Arabian
gender	Male
height	6'4" to 6'6"
weight	Approximately 160 pounds
occupation	Unknown
added date	June 7, 1999
remove date	May 2, 2011
number	456
status	Killed/Captured }}

On March 16, 1998, Libya issued the first official Interpol arrest warrant against bin Laden and three other people. They were charged for killing Silvan Becker, agent of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in the Terrorism Department, and his wife Vera in Libya on March 10, 1994. Bin Laden was still wanted by the Libyan government at the time of his death. Osama bin Laden was first indicted by the United States on June 8, 1998, when a grand jury indicted Osama bin Laden on charges of killing five Americans and two Indians in the November 14, 1995, truck bombing of a U.S.-operated Saudi National Guard training center in Riyadh. Bin Laden was charged with "conspiracy to attack defense utilities of the United States" and prosecutors further charged that bin Laden is the head of the terrorist organization called al-Qaeda, and that he was a major financial backer of Islamic fighters worldwide. Bin Laden denied involvement but praised the attack. On November 4, 1998, Osama bin Laden was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on charges of ''Murder of U.S. Nationals Outside the United States, Conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals Outside the United States, and Attacks on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death'' for his alleged role in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony by former al-Qaeda members and satellite phone records, from a phone purchased for him by al-Qaeda procurement agent Ziyad Khaleel in the United States.

Bin Laden became the 456th person listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, when he was added to the list on June 7, 1999, following his indictment along with others for capital crimes in the 1998 embassy attacks. Attempts at assassination and requests for the extradition of bin Laden from the Taliban of Afghanistan were met with failure prior to the bombing of Afghanistan in October 2001. In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton convinced the United Nations to impose sanctions against Afghanistan in an attempt to force the Taliban to extradite him.

Years later, on October 10, 2001, bin Laden appeared as well on the initial list of the top 22 FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, which was released to the public by the President of the United States George W. Bush, in direct response to the September 11 attacks, but which was again based on the indictment for the 1998 embassy attack. Bin Laden was among a group of thirteen fugitive terrorists wanted on that latter list for questioning about the 1998 embassy bombings. Bin Laden remains the only fugitive ever to be listed on both FBI fugitive lists.

Despite the multiple indictments listed above and multiple requests, the Taliban refused to extradite Osama bin Laden. They did however offer to try him before an Islamic court if evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the September 11 attacks was provided. It was not until eight days after the bombing of Afghanistan began in October 2001 that the Taliban finally did offer to turn over Osama bin Laden to a third-party country for trial in return for the United States ending the bombing. This offer was rejected by President Bush stating that this was no longer negotiable, with Bush responding "there's no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he's guilty."

On June 15, 2011, federal prosecutors of the United States of America officially dropped all criminal charges against Osama Bin Laden following his death in May.

Attempted capture by the United States

Clinton administration

Capturing Osama bin Laden had been an objective of the United States government since the presidency of Bill Clinton. Shortly after the September 11 attacks it was revealed that President Clinton had signed a directive authorizing the CIA (and specifically their elite Special Activities Division) to apprehend bin Laden and bring him to the United States to stand trial after the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa; if taking bin Laden alive was deemed impossible, then deadly force was authorized. On August 20, 1998, 66 cruise missiles launched by United States Navy ships in the Arabian Sea struck bin Laden's training camps near Khost in Afghanistan, narrowly missing him by a few hours. In 1999 the CIA, together with Pakistani military intelligence, had prepared a team of approximately 60 Pakistani commandos to infiltrate Afghanistan to capture or kill bin Laden, but the plan was aborted by the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état; in 2000, foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.

In 2000, prior to the September 11 attacks, Paul Bremer characterized the Clinton administration as "correctly focused on bin Laden", while Robert Oakley criticized their "obsession with Osama".

Bush administration

Immediately after the September 11 attacks, U.S. government officials named bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organization as the prime suspects and offered a reward of $25 million for information leading to his capture or death. On July 13, 2007, this figure was doubled to $50 million. The Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association offered an additional $2 million reward.

According to ''The Washington Post'', the U.S. government concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the Battle of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in late 2001, and according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge, failure by the United States to commit enough U.S. ground troops to hunt him led to his escape and was the gravest failure by the United States in the war against al-Qaeda. Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the Battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border.

''The Washington Post'' also reported that the CIA unit composed of their special operations paramilitary forces dedicated to capturing bin Laden was shut down in late 2005. Bush had previously defended this scaling back of the effort several times, saying, "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."

U.S. and Afghanistan forces raided the mountain caves in Tora Bora between August 14–16, 2007. The military was drawn to the area after receiving intelligence of a pre-Ramadan meeting held by al-Qaeda members. After killing dozens of al-Qaeda and Taliban members, they did not find either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Obama administration

On October 7, 2008, in the second presidential debate, on foreign policy, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged, "We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority." Upon being elected, then President-elect Obama expressed his plans to "renew U.S. commitment to finding al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to his national security advisers" in an effort to ratchet up the hunt for the terrorist. President Obama rejected the Bush administration's policy on bin Laden that "conflated all terror threats from al-Qaeda to Hamas to Hezbollah," replacing it with "with a covert, laserlike focus on al-Qaeda and its spawn."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in December 2009 that officials had had no reliable information on bin Laden's whereabouts for years. One week later, General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said in December 2009 that al-Qaeda will not be defeated unless its leader, Osama bin Laden, is captured or killed. Testifying to the U.S. Congress, he said bin Laden had become an "iconic figure, whose survival emboldens al-Qaeda as a franchising organization across the world", and that Obama's deployment of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan meant that success would be possible. "I don't think that we can finally defeat al-Qaeda until he's captured or killed", McChrystal said of bin Laden. "Killing or capturing bin Laden would not spell the end of al-Qaeda, but the movement could not be eradicated while he remained at large."

In April 2011, President Obama ordered a covert operation to kill or capture bin Laden. On May 1, 2011, the White House announced that U.S. Navy SEALs had carried it out, killing him in his Abbottabad, Pakistan compound.

Activities and whereabouts after the September 11 attacks

While referring to Osama bin Laden in a CNN film clip on September 17, 2001, then President George W. Bush stated, "I want justice. There is an old poster out west, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted dead or alive'. Subsequently, bin Laden retreated further from public contact to avoid capture. Numerous speculative press reports were issued about his whereabouts or even death; some placed bin Laden in different locations during overlapping time periods. None were ever definitively proven. After military offensives in Afghanistan failed to uncover his whereabouts, Pakistan was regularly identified as his suspected hiding place. Some of the conflicting reports regarding bin Laden’s continued whereabouts and mistaken claims about his death follow:

In December 11, 2005, a letter from Atiyah Abd al-Rahman to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi indicated that bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership were based in the Waziristan region of Pakistan at the time. In the letter, translated by the United States military's Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, "Atiyah" instructs Zarqawi to "send messengers from your end to Waziristan so that they meet with the brothers of the leadership [...] I am now on a visit to them and I am writing you this letter as I am with them..." Al-Rahman also indicates that bin Laden and al-Qaeda are "weak" and "have many of their own problems." The letter has been deemed authentic by military and counterterrorism officials, according to The Washington Post. Al-Qaeda continued to release time-sensitive and professionally-verified videos demonstrating bin Laden's continued survival as recently as August 2007. In 2009, a research team led by Thomas W. Gillespie and John A. Agnew of UCLA used satellite-aided geographical analysis to pinpoint three compounds in Parachinar as bin Laden's likely hideouts. . In March 2009, the New York Daily News reported that the hunt for bin Laden had centered in the Chitral District of Pakistan, including the Kalam Valley. Author, Rohan Gunaratna, stated that captured al-Qaeda leaders had confirmed that bin Laden was hiding in Chitral. In the first week of December 2009, a Taliban detainee in Pakistan said he had information that bin Laden was in Afghanistan in 2009. The detainee reported that in January or February (2009) he met a trusted contact who had seen bin Laden in Afghanistan about 15 to 20 days earlier. However, on December 6, 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that the United States had had no reliable information on the whereabouts of bin Laden in years. Pakistan's Prime Minister Gillani rejected claims that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan. On Dec. 9, 2009 BBC News reported that U.S. Army General Stanley A. McChrystal, who served as Commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan from June 15, 2009 until June 23, 2010 emphasized the continued importance of the capture or killing of bin Laden, thus indicating that the U.S. high command believed that bin Laden was still alive On February 2, 2010, Afghan president, Hamid Karzai arrived in Saudi Arabia for an official visit. The agenda included discussion of a possible Saudi role in Karzai’s plan to reintegrate Taliban militants. During the visit an anonymous official of the Saudi Foreign Ministry declared that the kingdom had no intention of getting involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban severed ties with extremists and expelled Osama bin Laden. On June 7, 2010, the Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Siyassa reported that bin Laden was hiding out in the mountainous town of Savzevar, in north eastern Iran. The Australian News,online edition published the claim on June 9. On June 9, The Australian News, online edition repeated the claim. On October 18, 2010, an unnamed NATO official suggested that bin Laden was "alive and well and living comfortably" in Pakistan, protected by elements of the country's intelligence services. A senior Pakistani official denied the allegations and said the accusations were designed to put pressure on the Pakistani government ahead of talks aimed at strengthening ties between Pakistan and the United States. On April 16, 2011, a leaked Al Jazeera report claimed that bin Laden had been captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Whereabouts just prior to his death

In July 2010, CIA operatives spotted Bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti driving through the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. In August 2010, Al-Kuwaiti drives into a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. About 35 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, and just yards from a military academy. It was originally believed that bin Laden was hiding near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, but he was found away in a three-story mansion in Abbottabad at . Bin Laden's mansion was located southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy, the country's "West Point". Google Earth maps show that the compound was not present in 2001, but was present on images taken in 2005.

Death

Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit. The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, was ordered by United States President Barack Obama and carried out in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation by a team of United States Navy SEALs from the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as DEVGRU or informally by its former name, SEAL Team Six) of the Joint Special Operations Command, with support from CIA operatives on the ground. The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan was launched from Afghanistan. After the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden's body to Afghanistan for identification, then buried it at sea within 24 hours of his death.

Critics accused Pakistan's military and security establishment of protecting bin Laden. For example, Mosharraf Zaidi, a leading Pakistani columnist, stated, "It seems deeply improbable that bin Laden could have been where he was killed without the knowledge of some parts of the Pakistani state." Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari denied that his country's security forces sheltered bin Laden, and called any supposed support for bin Laden by the Pakistani government "baseless speculation".

It was speculated that the issue might further strain U.S. ties with Pakistan. Bin Laden was killed in what some suggest was his residence for five years. It was an expensive compound located less than a mile from Pakistan's version of West Point, probably built for him and less than 100 kilometers' drive from the capital.

The Pakistani government's foreign office issued a statement that "categorically denies" any reports by the media that the country's leadership, "civil as well as military, had any prior knowledge of the U.S. operation against Osama bin Laden".

Pakistan's United States envoy, ambassador Husain Haqqani, promises a "full inquiry" into how Pakistani intelligence services failed to find bin Laden in a fortified compound, just a few hours drive from Islamabad, and stated that "obviously bin Laden did have a support system; the issue is, was that support system within the government and the state of Pakistan or within the society of Pakistan?"

See also

Afghan civil war

Childhood, education and personal life of Osama bin Laden

Fatawā of Osama bin Laden

Islamic fundamentalism

Islamic mujahid movement

Islamic terrorism

Osama bin Laden in popular culture

Pakistan and state terrorism

The Golden Chain

War against Islam

Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad

References

;Footnotes ;Additional notes # The date according to Pakistan Standard Time (UTC+05:00). ;Bibliography }} }} }}

Further reading

}} }} }}

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (2006) – Compilation of Usama Bin Laden Statements 1994 – January 2004

External links

Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at ''Dawn''

Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America', ''The Observer'', November 24, 2002

Hunting Bin Laden, ''PBS Frontline'', (November 2002)

Young Osama, Steve Coll, ''The New Yorker'', December 12, 2005

How the World Sees Osama bin Laden, slideshow by ''Life''

The Osama bin Laden File from The National Security Archive, posted May 2, 2011

Category:1957 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century criminals Category:21st-century criminals Category:Abdullah Yusuf Azzam Category:Afghan Civil War Category:Al-Qaeda founders Category:Al-Qaeda propagandists Category:Bin Laden family Category:Burials at sea Category:Civil engineers Category:Deaths by firearm in Pakistan Category:FBI Most Wanted Terrorists Category:FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Category:Islamic terrorism Category:People from Abbottabad Category:People of the Soviet war in Afghanistan Category:People of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Category:Salafis Category:Saudi Arabia expatriates Category:Saudi Arabian expatriates in Pakistan Category:Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members Category:Saudi Arabian anti-communists Category:Saudi Arabian poets Category:September 11 attacks Category:Stateless persons Category:War on Terror Category:People designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee

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Name	The Summit League
Established	1982
Logo	Summit League logo.png
Logo size	200
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I
Subdivision	non-football
Members	10
Sports	19
Mens	9
Womens	10
Region	Midwestern United States
Former names	Association of Mid-Continent Universities (1982–1989)Mid-Continent Conference (1989–2007)
Hq city	Elmhurst
Hq state	Illinois
Commissioner	Tom Douple
Since	2005
Website	http://www.thesummitleague.org
Map	The Summit League conference map.png
Map size	250 }}

The Summit League (or The Summit) is an NCAA Division I college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. On June 1, 2007, the conference changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference.

Current membership

!Institution	!Location	!Founded	!Type	!Enrollment	!Joined	!Nickname
Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, Indiana	1917	Public	14,300	2007
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis	Indianapolis, Indiana	1969	Public	27,184	1998
University of Missouri–Kansas City	Kansas City, Missouri	1933	Public	14,499	1994
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	1890	Public	14,186	2007
Oakland University	Rochester, Michigan	1957	Public	17,737	1998
Oral Roberts University	Tulsa, Oklahoma	1963	Private	3,417	1997
University of South Dakota	Vermillion, South Dakota	1882	Public	10,151	2011
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	12,851	2007
Southern Utah University	Cedar City, Utah	1897	Public	7,509	1997
Western Illinois University	Macomb, Illinois	1899	Public	13,602	1982

Southern Utah will leave the Summit League in 2012 to move to the Big Sky Conference.

Future members

!Institution	!Location	!Founded	!Type	!Enrollment	!Year Joins	!Nickname
University of Nebraska at Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska	1908	Public	15,448	2012

The University of Nebraska-Omaha has said it would switch from Division II to Division I join the league in the fall of 2012.

Associate members

Eastern Illinois University (Swimming and diving, men's soccer)

Former members

!Institution	!Years	!Moved To
University of Akron	1990–1992	Mid-American Conference
	1994–1998	Mid-American Conference
Centenary College of Louisiana	2003-2011	American Southwest Conference
Central Connecticut State University	1994–1997	Northeast Conference
Chicago State University	1994–2006
Cleveland State University	1982–1994	Horizon League
Eastern Illinois University	1982–1996	Ohio Valley Conference
University of Illinois at Chicago	1982–1994	Horizon League
Northeastern Illinois University	1994–1998	Disbanded sports
Northern Illinois University	1990–1994	Horizon League (now in Mid-American Conference)
University of Northern Iowa	1982–1991	Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri State University	1982–1990	Missouri Valley Conference
Troy University	1994–1997
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay	1982–1994	Horizon League
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee	1993–1994	Horizon League
Valparaiso University	1982–2007	Horizon League
Wright State University	1991–1994	Horizon League
Youngstown State University	1992–2001	Horizon League

History

Foundation

The conference was created in 1982 as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (or AMCU or AMCU-8, pronounced Am-cue), which it was known as until 1989. The conference sponsored football from 1982 until 1984 at the Division II level, and current members North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, and Western Illinois have Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) football programs.

Horizon and ECC transitions

In 1994, charter members Cleveland State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, as well as newer members University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Northern Illinois University, and Wright State University left the conference to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League.

In response, the Mid-Continent absorbed Central Connecticut State University, Chicago State University, the University at Buffalo, Troy State University (now Troy University), and Northeastern Illinois University from the collapsed East Coast Conference. None of these institutions remain in the league.

Missouri-Kansas City, formerly an independent, also joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994.

Declining membership

Eastern Illinois moved to the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996, reducing membership to nine programs. Troy State departed for the Trans America Athletic Conference while Central Connecticut went to the Northeast Conference in 1997. Buffalo joined the Mid-American Conference in 1998 while Northeastern Illinois ceased athletic operations at that time. Oral Roberts University and Southern Utah University replaced the former pair while IUPUI and Oakland University moved into the latter duo's spots a year later.

Youngstown State University switched to the Horizon League in 2001, followed by founding member Valparaiso University in 2007, and seven of the ten current Horizon League programs are former Summit League members. Centenary College stepped into Youngstown State's place in 2003, but Chicago State University announced in the spring of 2006 that it would withdraw from the conference to compete as an independent starting in the 2006-07 school year, dropping membership to seven programs.

Renewed expansion

At the Mid-Continent Conference annual Presidents Council meeting in 2006, conference expansion was discussed at length, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), North Dakota State, and South Dakota State were approved for site visits. On August 30, 2006, IPFW accepted an invitation to join the Mid-Continent Conference as a full member starting July 1, 2007. The following day, North Dakota State and South Dakota State also accepted invitations to join the conference.

The Summit League has continued its renewed expansion push with the admission of the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes will begin conference play in the 2011–2012 academic year and become eligible for all championships the following season. Centenary College subsequently announced that it will leave the Summit League following the 2010–2011 campaign.

The University of North Dakota had also been openly rumored to have been courted by the Summit League, but uncertainty over the Fighting Sioux nickname in all likelihood prevented UND's admission. Expectations that UND would join the Summit League came to an end on November 1, 2010, as North Dakota instead accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference, along with current Summit League member Southern Utah. The University of South Dakota entered into very brief negotiations to join the Big Sky as well, rather than continuing their plans to join the Summit. However, South Dakota chose instead to remain with the more compact Summit League (along with other Dakota schools, NDSU and SDSU). Additionally the University of Nebraska at Omaha has announced that it will transition to Division I athletics and join the Summit League July 1, 2012. With the departure of Centenary College to Division III (at the end of the 2010-11 athletic year) and Southern Utah University leaving for the Big Sky Conference (at the end of the 2011-12 athletic year) the Summit League will continue with ten institutions, all within the Midwest geographical region. The Summit League has not announced publicly its intentions for continued expansion or to remain at 10 schools.

Membership timeline

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bar:1 color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:Cleveland State University (1982–1994) bar:2 color:orange from:1982 till:1996 text:Eastern Illinois University (1982–1996) bar:3 color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:University of Illinois at Chicago (1982-–) bar:4 color:orange from:1982 till:1991 text:University of Northern Iowa (1982–1991) bar:5 color:orange from:1982 till:1990 text:Southwest Missouri State University (1982–1990) bar:6 color:orange from:1982 till:1994 text:University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (1982–1994) bar:7 color:orange from:1982 till:2007 text:Valparaiso University (1982–2007) bar:8 color:orange from:1982 till:end text:Western Illinois University (1982–present) bar:9 color:orange from:1990 till:1992 text:University of Akron (1990–1992) bar:10 color:orange from:1990 till:1994 text:Northern Illinois University (1990–1994) bar:11 color:orange from:1991 till:1994 text:Wright State University (1991–1994) bar:12 color:orange from:1992 till:2001 text:Youngstown State University (1992–2001) bar:13 color:orange from:1993 till:1994 text:University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1993–1994) bar:14 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:University at Buffalo (1994–1998) bar:15 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:Central Connecticut State University (1994–1998) bar:16 color:orange from:1994 till:2006 text:Chicago State University (1994–2006) bar:17 color:orange from:1994 till:1998 text:Northeastern Illinois University (1994–1998) bar:18 color:orange from:1994 till:1997 text:Troy State University (1994–1997) bar:19 color:orange from:1994 till:end text:University of Missouri–Kansas City (1994–present) bar:20 color:orange from:1997 till:end text:Oral Roberts University (1997–present) bar:21 color:orange from:1997 till:2012 text:Southern Utah University (1997–2012) bar:22 color:orange from:1998 till:end text:Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (1998–present) bar:23 color:orange from:1998 till:end text:Oakland University (1998–present) bar:24 color:orange from:2003 till:2011 text:Centenary College of Louisiana (2003–2011) bar:25 color:orange from:2007 till:end shift:(-303,-5) text:Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (2007–present) bar:26 color:orange from:2007 till:end shift:(-209,-5) text:North Dakota State University (2007–present) bar:27 color:orange from:2007 till:end shift:(-209,-5) text:South Dakota State University (2007–present) bar:28 color:orange from:2011 till:end shift:(-195,-5) text:University of South Dakota (2011–present) bar:29 color:orange from:2012 till:end shift: (-195,-5) text:University of Nebraska at Omaha (2012–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1982

TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"Membership History"

Football

Men's basketball

Men's basketball in the NCAA tournament

!Year	!Team	!Seed	!Results
1983
1984
1985
1986		14*	defeated Indianadefeated Saint Joseph'slost to Navy
1987		13	defeated [[Clemson Tigers
1988	Southwest Missouri State	13
1989	Southwest Missouri State	14
	Southwest Missouri State	9
	14	defeated [[Missouri Tigers
		12
	13*
1992		15
1993		16
1994	Wisconsin–Green Bay	12	defeated [[California Golden Bears
1995
1996		14
1997	Valparaiso	12
1998	Valparaiso	13	defeated Ole Missdefeated Florida Statelost to Rhode Island
1999	Valparaiso	15
2000	Valparaiso	16
2001		14
2002	Valparaiso	13
2003		16
2004	Valparaiso	15
2005		16	defeated
!School	!Basketball arena	!Capacity	!Football stadium	!Capacity	!Baseball stadium	!Capacity	!Soccer stadium	!Capacity
IPFW	[[Allen County War Memorial Coliseum">Alabama A&M; University
2006		16
2007		14
2008		13
2009		14
2010		14
2011		13

* ''At-large bid'' ** ''Opening round game''

Conference facilities

!School	!Basketball arena	!Capacity	!Football stadium	!Capacity	!Baseball stadium	!Capacity	!Soccer stadium	!Capacity
IPFW	[[Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (men)Hilliard Gates Sports Center (women)	13,0002,800		Outdoor Sports Complex		Hefner Soccer Complex	2,000
IUPUI	IUPUI Gymnasium	2,215				12,100
UMKC		10,7212,000			Stanley H. Durwood Soccer Stadium	850
UNO	Omaha Civic Auditorium	9,300	Al F. Caniglia Field	9,500	Ballpark at Boys Town		UNO Soccer Field
North Dakota State	Bison Sports Arena	6,000	Fargodome	19,500	Newman Outdoor Field	4,600	Schlanser Track
Oakland	Athletics Center O'Rena	4,005		OU Baseball Field	500	OU Soccer Field
Oral Roberts	Mabee Center	10,575		J. L. Johnson Stadium		ORU Soccer Complex
South Dakota	DakotaDome	10,000	DakotaDome	10,000		USD Soccer Field
South Dakota State	Frost Arena	6,500	Coughlin-Alumni Stadium	15,000	Erv Huether Field		Fishback Soccer Park	1,500
Southern Utah		5,300	Eccles Coliseum	11,000			Thunderbird Soccer Field	600
Western Illinois	Western Hall	5,139	Hanson Field	17,168	Alfred D. Boyer Stadium	500	MacKenzie Alumni Field	1,000

Future members in grey. Members leaving in pink.

See also

List of The Summit League championships

The Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament

The Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament

Association of Mid-Continent Universities football

References

External links

Official website

* Category:College soccer competitions in the United States

de:The Summit League es:The Summit League