- published: 20 Mar 2012
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- author: SolutionsOnlinePak
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- 2002 Bali bombings
- Abbottabad
- ABC News
- Abdallah bin Laden
- Abdallah Laden
- Abdullah Yusuf Azzam
- Abdurahman Khadr
- Abu Ayoub al-Iraqi
- Abu Dua
- Abu Faraj al-Libbi
- Abu Laith al-Libi
- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
- Abu Sayyaf
- Abu Yahya al-Libi
- Adam Yahiye Gadahn
- Aden
- Afghanistan
- Agence France-Presse
- Ahmed Ressam
- Aircraft hijacking
- Al Jazeera
- Al Jazeera English
- Al Neda
- Al Qaeda Handbook
- Al Quds Al Arabi
- Al-Aqsa Mosque
- Al-Jazeera
- Al-Qaeda
- Al-Qaeda in Iraq
- Al-Qaeda safe house
- Al-Quds Al-Arabi
- Al-Shabaab
- Al-Shabab
- Albania
- Algeria
- Algerian Civil War
- Ali Mohamed
- Ali Soufan
- Amman
- Ansar al-Sharia
- Antisemitism
- Anwar al-Awlaki
- Arabian Sea
- Arabic language
- Arabic name
- Arabic Name
- Arlington, Virginia
- Arrest warrant
- Arsenal F.C.
- As-Sahab
- Asif Ali Zardari
- Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
- Attrition warfare
- Ausaf
- Axis of evil
- Ayman al-Zawahiri
- Ayman Al-Zawahiri
- Ballistic trauma
- Barack Obama
- Battle of Tora Bora
- Bay'at
- BBC
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-
2002 Bali bombings
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people, (including 88 Australians, and 38 Indonesian citizens). A further 240 people were injured.
Various members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a violent Islamist group, were convicted in relation to the bombings, including three individuals who were sentenced to death. The attack involved the detonation of three bombs: a backpack-mounted device carried by a suicide bomber; a large car bomb, both of which were detonated in or near popular nightclubs in Kuta; and a third much smaller device detonated outside the United States consulate in Denpasar, causing only minor damage. An audio-cassette purportedly carrying a recorded voice message from Osama Bin Laden stated that the Bali bombings were in direct retaliation for support of the United States' war on terror and Australia's role in the liberation of East Timor.
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Abbottabad
Abbottabad /əˈbɒtəbɑːd/ (Urdu, Hindko: ایبٹ آباد Ābṭābād [aːbʈaːˈbaːd̪]) is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of the capital Islamabad and 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Peshawar at an altitude of 1,260 metres (4,134 ft) and is the capital of the Abbottabad District. It borders Azad Kashmir to the east. The city is well-known throughout Pakistan for its pleasant weather, high-standard educational institutions and military establishments.
The town of Abbottabad, under the British Raj, was the headquarters of the Hazara District during British rule of India. It was named after Major James Abbott who founded the town and district in January 1853 after the annexation of Punjab. He remained the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district from 1849 until April 1853. Major Abbott is noted for having written a poem titled "Abbottabad", before he went back to Britain, in which he wrote of his fondness for the town and his sadness at having to leave it. In the early 20th century, Abbottabad became an important military cantonment and sanatorium, serving as the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of the Northern Army Corps. The garrison consisted of four battalions of native infantry, of the Frontier Force (including the 5th Gurkha Rifles) and two native mountain batteries.
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Aden
Aden (/ˈɑːdɛn/ AH-den; Arabic: عدن ʻAdan) is a seaport city in South Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately a million people. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries BCE. The modern harbour is on the other side of the peninsula.
Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centers: Crater, the original port city; Ma'alla, the modern port; Tawahi, known as "Steamer Point" in the colonial period; and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Khormaksar, located on the isthmus that connects Aden proper with the mainland, includes the city's diplomatic missions, the main offices of Aden University, and Aden International Airport (the former British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen's second biggest airport. On the mainland are the sub-centres of Sheikh Othman, a former oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha'b (formerly Madinat al-Itihad), the site designated as the capital of the South Arabian Federation and now home to a large power/desalinization facility and additional faculties of Aden University.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan
i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and Greater Middle East, it is also considered to be part of a broader West Asia. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Sitting at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the land has been home to various peoples through the ages and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and in modern era Western forces. The land also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have risen to form major empires.
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Albania
Albania (i/ælˈbeɪniə/ al-BAY-nee-ə, Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë pronounced Albanian pronunciation: [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in Southern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.
Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009.
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeriai/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Amman
Amman (Arabic: عمان
/ɑːˈmɑːn/; ʿAmmān; Rabat Ammon) is the capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost 6.5 million by 2025 due to constant and rapid immigration. The recent economic growth experienced in Amman is unmatched by any other Arab city except those located in the Gulf. Amman is also the administrative seat of the homonymous governorate. Amman is also ranked a Gamma global city on the World city index.
Amman was named one of the MENA's best cities according to economic, labour, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. Amman is among the most popular locations for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. Furthermore, it is expected that in the next 10 years these three cities will capture the largest share of multinational corporation activity in the region. It is a major tourist destination in the region and the capital is especially popular among Gulf tourists. Amman is considered one of the richest and most Western-oriented cities in the Middle East.
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Chitral District
Chitral (Urdu: ضلع چترال) is a district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that contains the town of Chitral. It is the largest district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa covering an area of 14,850 km² and a population of 318,689 at the 1998 Census, which had subsequently risen to about 378,000 people by 2004. It has one of the highest mountains of the world, Tirich Mir.
Chitral District is the most northerly district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, to the west and north is Afghanistan - in the north the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip claimed by Pakistan, it separates Pakistan from Tajikistan. To the east of Chitral is the northernmost Pakistani area of Gilgit-Baltistan, and to the south are the Pakistani internal districts of Upper Dir and Swat. Chitral can be accessed by air via the Chitral Airport which is approximately 3 km from the town. Regular flights from Peshawar and Islamabad are run by the PIA.
The terrain of Chitral is quite mountainous, as part of the Pamir Mountains are situated there. Tirich Mir which at 25,289 feet (7,708 metres) is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, rises in the north of the district.
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Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (Arabic: دار السلام Dār as-Salām, "harbour of peace"), formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the centre of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974 (a move which was not complete until 1996), it remains the centre of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the surrounding Dar es Salaam Region.
On December 20, 2011, the heaviest rains in 57 years resulted in unprecedented flooding that devastated many areas of the city. As of December 23, the flooding had caused 13 casualties and left nearly 5,000 people homeless.
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Dhahran
Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān) is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation) drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now fully owned by the Saudi government as Saudi Aramco.
Dhahran is a short distance west of downtown Khobar. It is about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Dammam. Both are older Saudi port cities on coast of the Persian Gulf. Looking farther afield, Dhahran is northeast of Abqaiq, and southeast of Qatif and, further north, Ras Tanura, a major oil port. The island of Kingdom of Bahrain is also within easy driving distance to the east (about 20 miles (32 km)), across the King Fahd Causeway, from Khobar.
The patch of desert on which the city is built is hilly and rocky, and most of the earliest productive oil wells in Saudi Arabia were drilled in the area, such as Dammam Well #7: "Prosperity Well," the first commercially viable oil well in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. This well is still in production 70 years later. This later led to the selection of two barren nearby hills as the place for Aramco to construct its headquarters.[1]
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia (
/ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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Interpol
Coordinates: 45°46′56″N 4°50′54″E / 45.78219°N 4.84838°E / 45.78219; 4.84838 The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO), widely known as INTERPOL or Interpol, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923 and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 1956.
Its membership of 190 countries provides finance of around €59 million through annual contributions. The organization's headquarters is in Lyon, France. It is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, in terms of number of member states.
Its current Secretary-General is Ronald Noble, a former United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement. Its current President is Singapore's Senior Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and former Commissioner of Police Khoo Boon Hui; the President before that, Jackie Selebi, National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, held his term from 2004 till his resignation on 13 January 2008, after which he was charged in South Africa on three counts of corruption and one of defeating the course of justice, and replaced by Arturo Herrera Verdugo, current National Commissioner of Investigations Police of Chile and former vice president for the American Zone, who remained acting president until the organization meeting in October 2008.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or
i/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
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Islamic Courts Union
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) (Somali: Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga, Arabic: اتحاد المحاكم الإسلامية, Ittihād al-mahākim al-islāmiyya) was a group of Sharia Courts who united themselves to form a rival administration to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, with Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as head of the ICU. They are also known as the Joint Islamic Courts, Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SICC) or the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC). Western media often refer to the group as Somali Islamists.
Until the end of 2006, they controlled most of southern Somalia and the vast majority of its population, including most major cities such as Jowhar, Kismayo, Beledweyne, and the capital Mogadishu. The ICU was supported by warlord Yusuf "Indho Ade" Mohamed Siad who ruled Lower Shabelle but later became defense chief of the ICU, who aided in the defeat of the Mogadishu warlords. Only the Northern regions (Puntland, Somaliland), and the furthest interior regions of the south were outside their control. In December 2006, the ICU lost much territory after defeats at the battles of Baidoa, Bandiradley, and Beledweyne, retreating to the capital, Mogadishu. On December 28 they abandoned Mogadishu, leaving the city in chaos while they moved south towards Kismayo, which allowed the TFG and Ethiopian troops to take over the city. After a stand at the Battle of Jilib, the ICU abandoned the city of Kismayo on January 1, 2007. Stripped of almost all their territory, it was speculated the ICU would pursue guerrilla-style warfare against the government.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Jalalabad
Jalalabad (Pashto: جلال آباد Jalālābād), formerly called Adinapour (Pashto: آدينه پور) as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately 95 miles (153 km) of highway with Kabul to the west. Jalalabad is the second-largest city in eastern Afghanistan as well as the centre of its social and business activity. Major industries include papermaking, as well as agricultural products including oranges, rice and sugarcane. Jalalabad is one of the leading trading centres with neighbouring Pakistan.
In 630 Xuan Zang, the famous Chinese Buddhist monk, visited Jalalabad. The city was a major center of Gandhara's Greco-Buddhist culture in the past until it was conquered by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century. However, not everyone converted to Islam at that period as some still refused to accept it. In a book called Hudud-al-Alam, written in 982 CE, it mentions a village near Jalalabad where the local king used to have many Hindu, Muslim and Afghan wives.
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem ( /dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim ; Arabic: القُدس al-Quds and/or أورشليم Ûrshalîm) is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such, and one of the oldest cities in the world. It is located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea. If the area and population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area, with a population of 801,000 residents over an area of 125.1 km2 (48.3 sq mi). Jerusalem is also a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond its boundaries.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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Jordan River
The Jordan River (American English) or River Jordan (British English) (Hebrew: נהר הירדן Nehar haYarden, Arabic: نهر الأردن Nahr al-Urdun) is a 251 kilometres (156 mi) long river in West Asia flowing to the Dead Sea. Currently, the river serves as the eastern border of the State of Israel and of the disputed Palestinian Territories. In Christian tradition, Jesus was baptised in it by John the Baptist. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan takes its name from this river.
The river drops rapidly in a 75 kilometre run to swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly above sea level. Exiting the lake, it drops much more in 25 kilometres to the Sea of Galilee. The last section has less gradient, and the river meanders before entering the Dead Sea, about 422 metres below sea level, which has no outlet. Two major tributaries enter from the east during this last section: the Yarmouk River and Jabbok River.
Its section north of the Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: כינרת kinneret, Arabic: Bohayrat Tabaraya, meaning Lake of Tiberias) is within the boundaries of Israel, and forms the western boundary of the Golan Heights. South of the lake, it forms the border between the Kingdom of Jordan (to the east) and Israel and the West Bank (to the west).
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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.
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Khartoum
Khartoum (Arabic: الخرطوم al Ḫarṭūm) is the capital and second largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran", meaning the Confluence. The main Nile continues to flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
Divided by the Niles, Khartoum is a tripartite metropolis with an estimated overall population of over five million people consisting of Khartoum proper[clarification needed], and linked by bridges to Khartoum North called (al-Khartūm Bahrī) and Omdurman (Umm Durmān) to the west.
The origin of the word is uncertain. One tradition is that khartoum derives from Arabic kartūm الخرطوم meaning 'end of an elephant’s trunk', probably referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles. Captain J. A. Grant, who reached Khartoum in 1863 with Captain Speke’s expedition, thought that the derivation was most probably from the Arabic qurtum, safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), which was cultivated extensively in Egypt for its oil, used in burning.[citation needed]
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Khost
Khost or Khowst (Pashto/Persian: خوست) is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost Province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with neighboring Pakistan. The population of Khost City is about 160,000 people and the whole province has around a million.
During the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the town was besieged from July 1983 to November 1987. Khost Airfield, with its 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway, served as a base for helicopter operations for the Soviet military.
American forces have used the Khost Airfield since as early as at least January 2007[citation needed] during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) that commenced in October 2001.
Khost is the home of Khost University. The inhabitants of area are Pashto-speaking ethnic Pashtuns. Khost Mosque serves as the main mosque in the city.
Khost is located about 150 kilometres south of Kabul and 100 kilometres southeast of Gardēz, in Khost Province in eastern Afghanistan. The town of Khost is located on a plateau of minimally 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude that extends to the East for about 40 kilometres (25 mi) until the Pakistan border. Thirty km to the North the peaks start up to 2,500 to 3,000 metres (8,200 to 9,800 ft) right next to the frontier, while 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the South, near the border, the average is around 1,800 m. The valley of Khost is closed to the west with a long mountain chain with peaks that go over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Through this runs for about 90 kilometres (56 mi) the road to Gardez, which is considered extremely dangerous due to the risk of ambush.
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pashto: خیبر پښتونخوا [xaiˈbər pəxtunˈxwɑ]; Urdu: خیبر پختونخوا [ˈxɛːbər pəxˈtuːnxwaː]), locally called Pukhtunkhwa, and formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country. It borders Afghanistan to the north-west, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north-east, Azad Kashmir to the east, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the west and south, Balochistan to the south and Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory to the south-east. The main ethnic group in the province is the Pashtuns; other smaller ethnic groups include most notably the Hindkowanss, Gujjar's and Chitralis. The principal languages are Pashto (locally referred to as Pukhto) The provincial capital is Peshawar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sits primarily on the Iranian plateau and comprises the junction where the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains on the Eurasian plate give way to the Indus-watered hills approaching South Asia. This situation has led to seismic activity in the past. The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote Abbottabad is a major crossing point over the Jhelum River in the east.
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Kosovo
Kosovo ( /ˈkɒsəvoʊˌ ˈkoʊsəvoʊ/; Albanian: Kosovë, Kosova; Serbian: Косово or Косово и Метохија or Космет, Kosovo or Kosovo i Metohija or Kosmet) is a region in southeastern Europe. In antiquity, it was known as the independent kingdom, and later Roman province, of Dardania. Part of the medieval Serbia, it was then conquered by the Ottoman Empire, later incorporated into Serbia after the First Balkan War and before the constitution of Yugoslavia, later still it became the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija) within Serbia (Serbia then being one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia). Long-term severe ethnic tensions between Kosovo's Albanian and Serb populations have left Kosovo ethnically divided, resulting in inter-ethnic violence, including the Kosovo War of 1999. Following the Kosovo War, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) relinquished governance of this territory, whose governance was taken over by the United Nations, Kosovo remained legally the sovereign territory of the FRY after the transfer of authority. The partially recognised Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo), a self-declared independent state, has de facto control over most of the territory, while North Kosovo, the largest Kosovo Serb enclave, is under the control of institutions of the Republic of Serbia.Serbia does not recognise the unilateral secession of Kosovo and considers it a UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory.
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Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah (and often locally transliterated as Lattakia) (Arabic: اللَاذِقِيَّة al-Lādhiqīyah), is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages. According to the 2004 official census, the population of the city is 383,786. It is the 4th largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus and Homs.
Though the site has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, the modern-day city was first founded in the 4th century BC under the rule of the Seleucid empire. Latakia was subsequently ruled by the Romans, then the Ummayads and Abbasids in the 8th–10th centuries. Under their rule, the Byzantines frequently attacked the city, periodically recapturing it before losing it again to the Arabs, particularly the Fatimids. Afterward, Latakia was ruled by the Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, and Ottomans. Following World War I, Latakia was assigned to the French mandate of Syria, in which it served as the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites. This autonomous territory became the State of Alawites in 1922, proclaiming its independence a number of times until reintegrating into Syria in 1944.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Libyan government
The politics of Libya are currently in a phase of transition.
As a result of the collapse of the Gaddafi government in August 2011 due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya is under de facto administration of the National Transitional Council (NTC). The NTC pledged to organize democratic elections by April 2012, and expects Libya to develop into a constitutional democracy by 2013.
The transitional period is governed by the Constitutional Declaration issued on 3 August 2011.
The National Transitional Council (Arabic: المجلس الوطني الانتقالي, al-majlis al-waTanī al-intiqālī) is a body formed by anti-Gaddafi forces during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Its formation was announced in the city of Benghazi on 27 February 2011 and its intended purpose is to act as the "political face of the revolution". In some media outlets, it is referred to as the National Libyan Council or the Libyan National Council. On 5 March, the council issued a statement in which it declared itself to be the "sole representative all over Libya". The council formed an interim governing body on 23 March. As of 20 October, 100 countries declared full support to the council by severing all relations with Gaddafi's rule and recognizing the National Transitional Council as the rightful representative of Libya.
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Luxor massacre
The Luxor Massacre refers to the killing of 62 people, mostly tourists, that took place on 17 November 1997, at Deir el-Bahri, an archaeological site and major tourist attraction located across the River Nile from Luxor in Egypt.
The attack is thought to have been instigated by exiled leaders of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Egyptian Islamist organization, attempting to undermine the July 1997 "Nonviolence Initiative", devastate the Egyptian economy and provoke the government into repression that would strengthen support for anti-government forces. However, the attack led to internal divisions among the militants, and resulted in the declaration of a ceasefire to suspend hostilities.
Deir el-Bahri is one of Egypt's top tourist attractions, most notably for the spectacular mortuary temple of 18th-dynasty female pharaoh Hatshepsut, known as "Djeser-Djeseru."
In the mid-morning attack, terrorists from the Islamic Group and Jihad Talaat al-Fath ("Holy War of the Vanguard of the Conquest") massacred 62 people at the attraction. The six assailants were armed with automatic firearms and knives, and disguised as members of the security forces. They descended on the Temple of Hatshepsut at around 08:45. With the tourists trapped inside the temple, the killing went on systematically for 45 minutes, during which many bodies, especially of women, were mutilated with machetes. A note praising Islam was found inside one disemboweled body. The dead included a five-year-old British child and four Japanese couples on their honeymoons.
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Madrid
Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [ma'ðrid]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).
The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain. The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party (PP).
Madrid urban agglomeration has the 3rd largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the most touristic city of Spain, the fourth-most touristic of the continent, and is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2010 index. Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010. Madrid is currently a Candidate City for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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Maglaj
Maglaj is a town and municipality in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the Zenica-Doboj canton. The city lies 25 km (16 mi) south of the city of Doboj, the regional trade, education, culture, entertainment, and business centre. The municipality of Maglaj is one of 12 municiplaties in the Zenica-Doboj canton. The city has a population of 25,000. The whole municipality has a population of 43,000.
According to the 1910 census, the majority in the Maglaj municipality were Orthodox Christians (53.55%).
In 2005, 91% of population of the municipality were ethnic Bosniaks and another 6% were Croats.
The town is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated in territory where bosniaks, or Muslims, presently form a large majority. The old Maglaj, like numerous other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has an old town with mosques, traditional houses dating back from the Ottoman Empire, and a fortress that stands as a symbol of Maglaj. The new part of Maglaj, situated on the West side of the river Bosna, is made up of modern architecture that was started in the 1950s, and became massively developed until 1991.
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Mazar-e-Sharif
Mazār-i-Sharīf or Mazār-e Sharīf (Persian/Pashto: مزارِ شریف, ˌmæˈzɒːr ˌi ʃæˈriːf) is the fourth-largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 375,000 as of 2006. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north. The city is a major tourist attraction in Afghanistan because of its famous shrines as well as the Muslim and Hellenistic archeological sites. In 2006, the discovery of new Hellenistic remains was announced.
The region around Mazar-e-Sharif has been historically part of Greater Khorasan and was controlled by the Tahirids followed by the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Ilkhanates, Timurids, and Khanate of Bukhara until the mid-18th century when it became part of the Durrani Empire after an agreement was signed between Amir Murad Beg and Amir Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Mazari Sharif Airport in the city has been heavily used during the 1980s Soviet war and the latest 2001-present war in Afghanistan.
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Mecca
Mecca ( /ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækːɐ]) is a city in the Hejaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory upon all able Muslims. The Hijaz was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger empires. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925. In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure. Because of this Mecca has lost many thousand years old buildings and archaeological sites. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj. As a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the Muslim world, although non-Muslims remain prohibited from entering the city.
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Medina
Medina (/mɛˈdiːnə/; Arabic: اَلْمَدِينَة اَلْمَنَوَّرَة, al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “the radiant city” (officially), or اَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Medina is historically significant for being Muhammad's home after the Hijrah. Before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib, but was personally renamed by Muhammad.
Medina is home to the three oldest mosques in Islam, namely Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque), Quba Mosque (the first mosque in Islam's history), and Masjid al-Qiblatain (the mosque where the qibla was switched to Mecca).
Because of the Saudi government's religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medina's Islamic physical heritage has been destroyed since the beginning of Saudi rule.[citation needed]
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Mount Nebo (Jordan)
Mount Nebo (Arabic: جبل نيبو, Jabal Nibu. Hebrew: הַר נְבוֹ, Har Nevo, ) is an elevated ridge that is approximately 817 meters (2680 feet) above sea level, in Jordan. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day.
According to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Mount Nebo is where the Hebrew prophet Moses was given a view of the promised land that God was giving to the Israelites.
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho.
According to Jewish and Christian tradition and the Bible, Moses was buried on this mountain by God Himself, and his final resting place is unknown. Scholars continue to dispute whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the mountain referred to in the Torah. According to the 2 Maccabees 2:4–7, the Prophet Jeremiah hid the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in a cave here.
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Nairobi
Nairobi ( /naɪˈroʊbi/) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cold water," the Maasai name of the Nairobi river, which in turn lent its name to the city. However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is surrounded by several expanding villa suburbs. Residents of Nairobi are known as Nairobians.
Founded by the British in 1899 as a simple rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to Uganda, the town quickly grew to become the capital of British East Africa in 1907 and eventually the capital of a free Kenyan republic in 1963. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry. Nairobi is also the capital of the Nairobi Province and of the Nairobi District. The city lies on the Nairobi River, in the south of the nation, and has an elevation of 1795 m above sea-level.
Nairobi is the most populous city in East Africa, with a current estimated population of about 3 million. According to the 2009 Census, in the administrative area of Nairobi, 3,138,295 inhabitants lived within 696 km2 (269 sq mi). Nairobi is currently the 12th largest city in Africa, including the population of its suburbs.
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NATO
Coordinates: 50°52′34.16″N 4°25′19.24″E / 50.8761556°N 4.4220111°E / 50.8761556; 4.4220111
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO ( /ˈneɪtoʊ/ NAY-toh; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)), also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. However, the Korean War galvanized the member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, which formed in 1955. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion—doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of the French from NATO's military structure in 1966.
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New Jersey
New Jersey (i/nuː ˈdʒɜrzi/) is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the U.S. state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the 4th least extensive, but the 11th most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies mostly within the sprawling metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia. It is also the third wealthiest by 2009–2010 median household income.
The area was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The British later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey. It was granted as a colony to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. At this time, it was named after the largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey, Carteret's birthplace. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Qatar
Qatar (i/ˈkɑːtɑr/ or i/kəˈtɑr/;Arabic: قطر [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain.
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.
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Riyadh
Riyadh (/rɨˈjɑːd/; Arabic: الرياض transliterated Ar Riyāḍ pronounced [ʔɑrːiˈjɑːdˤ], English: The Gardens) is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a region with a population of close to 7 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the Governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz. The current mayor of Riyadh is Abdul Aziz ibn Ayyaf Al-Miqrin, appointed in 1998. Riyadh has the largest female university in the world, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University.. It has been designated as Beta World City.
During the Pre-Islamic era, the settlement at the site was called Hajr (Arabic: حجر), and was reportedly founded by the tribe of Banu Hanifa. Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al Yamamah, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern Arabia during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Al-Yamamah broke away from the Abbasid Empire in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the Ukhaydhirites, who moved the capital from Hajr to nearby Al Kharj. The city then went into a long period of decline. In the 14th century North African traveller Ibn Battuta wrote of his visit to Hajr, describing it as "the main city of Al-Yamamah, and its name is Hajr". Ibn Battuta goes on to describe it as a city of canals and trees with most of its inhabitants belonging to Bani Hanifa, and reports that he continued on with their leader to Mecca to perform the Hajj.
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San Antonio
San Antonio ( /ˌsænænˈtoʊni.oʊ/) is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010, and the second from 1990-2000. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. San Antonio has characteristics of other western urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city limits. The city is one of the two principal municipalities of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area, the other being New Braunfels. Commonly referred to as Greater San Antonio, the metropolitan area has a population of 2.2 million based on the 2011 U.S. Census estimate, making it the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States and third-largest in the state of Texas.
The city was named for San Antonio de Padua, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl, Marriage Island and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
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Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms refers to a former Afghan training camp near Kandahar.
The camp is very near the Kandahar airport.
The Al-Qaeda camp is alleged to have offered training constructing bombs, using poisons, urban warfare, and assassination.[citation needed]American counter-terrorism analysts assert that their sources claim all the camp's trainees had to attend Al Qaeda's Al Farouq camp first.[citation needed]American counter-terrorism analysts assert that their sources claim that all trainees have to be prepared to serve as suicide bombers.[citation needed]
After the United States forces took over the airport they used the ruins for their own training exercises.
In 1998, Bin Laden moved his followers from Nazim Jihad to Tarnak Farms following Northern Alliance threats to attack Jalalabad.
It was widely reported that a visit to the Tarnak Farms in 2000 represented a rare opportunity to kill Osama Bin Laden. It was reported that Tarnak Farms was one of bin Laden's homes, but President Clinton was shown drone footage that reportedly showed a child's swingset at the camp and was "haunted" at the prospect of bombing innocent families.
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Tora Bora
Coordinates: 34°07′00″N 70°13′00″E / 34.116667°N 70.216667°E / 34.116667; 70.216667
Tora Bora (Pashto: توره بوړه, English: Black Cave), known locally as Spīn Ghar (Pashto: سپین غر, English: White Mountain), is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains (Safed Koh) (Safed Koh is the Dari form for Spin Ghar) of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately 50 km (31 mi) west of the Khyber Pass and 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan. Tora Bora was known to be an important area for the Taliban and insurgency against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Tora Bora and the surrounding White Mountain range had natural caverns formed by streams eating into the limestone.
During the US invasion of Afghanistan it was one of the strongholds of the Taliban and its Al-Qaeda allies. As the suspected hide-out of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, it was the location of the December 2001 Battle of Tora Bora.
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Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Tripoli-of-the-West (Arabic: طرابلس الغرب Ṭarābulus al-Gharb), to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean (Arabic: عروسة البحر ʼarūsat el-baḥr; lit: "bride of the sea"), describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli (English pronunciation: /ˈtrɪpɵli/) is a Greek name that means "Three Cities", introduced in Western European languages through the Italian Tripoli. In Arabic: طرابلس it is called Ṭarābulus ( pronunciation (help·info), Libyan Arabic: Ṭrābləs pronunciation (help·info), Berber: Ṭrables, from Ancient Greek: Τρίπολις Trípolis). As of 2011, the Tripoli metropolitan area (district area) had a population of 2.2 million. The city is located in the northwest part of the country on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean and forming a bay.
The city includes the Port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing centre. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. The vast Bab al-Azizia barracks, which includes the former family compound of Muammar Gaddafi, is also located in the city; Gaddafi largely ruled the country from his residence in this barracks.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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West Point
The United States Military Academy at West Point (also known as USMA, West Point, Army, The Academy or simply The Point) is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. The entire central campus is a national landmark and home to scores of historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The majority of the campus's neogothic buildings are constructed from gray and black granite. The campus is a popular tourist destination complete with a large visitor center and the oldest museum in the United States Army.
Candidates for admission must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Senator or Representative. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as cadets or collectively as the United States Corps of Cadets (USCC). Tuition for cadets is fully funded by the Army in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,300 cadets enter the Academy each July with about 1,000 cadets graduating.
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World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 in the September 11 attacks. The site is being rebuilt with five new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks. As of November 2011[update], only one skyscraper has been completed; the other four are expected to be completed before 2020. One World Trade Center will be the lead building for the new complex, reaching more than 100 stories at its completion. It became the tallest building in New York City on April 30, 2012, and is expected to be finished by 2013. A sixth tower is awaiting confirmation.
At the time of their completion, the original 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) and 2 World Trade Center (the South Tower), known collectively as the Twin Towers, were the tallest buildings in the world. The other buildings included 3 WTC (the Marriott World Trade Center), 4 WTC, 5 WTC, 6 WTC (which housed United States Customs), and 7 WTC. All of these buildings were built between 1975 and 1985.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Abdullah Yusuf Azzam
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941 – November 24, 1989) (Arabic عبد الله يوسف عزام) was a highly influential Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and theologian, who preached in favor of defensive jihad by Muslims to help the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet invaders and became the first leader of Al Qaeda. He raised funds, recruited, and organized the international Islamic volunteer effort of Afghan Arabs through the 1980s, and emphasised the political ascension of Islam.
He is also known as a teacher and mentor of Osama bin Laden, and persuaded bin Laden to come to Afghanistan and help the jihad, though the two differed as to where the next front in global jihad should be after the withdrawal of the Soviets from Afghanistan. He was also a co-founder of Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was killed by a bomb blast on November 24, 1989.
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam was born in 1941 in the village of as-Ba'ah al-Hartiyeh (Silat al-Harithiya village), a few kilometers northwest of the city of Jenin, in the Jenin Sanjak (District), then administered as the British Mandate of Palestine.
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Abdurahman Khadr
Abdurahman Khadr (Arabic: عبد الرحمن خضر, ʿAbd ar-Raḥman Ḫaḍr; born 1982) is the third child of the Egyptian Canadian Khadr family, and was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, after being detained in Afghanistan under suspicion of connections to Al-Qaeda.[citation needed] He later claimed to have been an informant for the CIA, which the agency declined to comment on when asked for confirmation by Frontline.
His younger brother Omar Khadr, captured separately, during a firefight, remains in Guantanamo.
Abdurahman Khadr was born in Manama, Bahrain, the son of Ahmed Khadr, an Egyptian immigrant to Canada. His father visited Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the early 1980s, and brought his family to Pakistan in 1985.
In his youth, Khadr was known as the "problem child" in the family, frequently running away and getting in trouble, refusing to follow any rules, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. In 1994, he was sent to Khalden training camp along with his brother Abdullah, where he was given the alias Osama. The two brothers fought constantly at the camp, one day their argument became so heated that Abdullah pointed his AK-47 and Abdurahman his PPK handgun, at each other screaming, before a trainer stepped between them. In 1997, a dispute between the brothers was mediated by Abu Laith al-Libi, who earned their confidence and respect telling them about Dubai and Ferraris, later described as "really cool" by Abdurahman.
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Abu Ayoub al-Iraqi
Abu Ayoub al-Iraqi has been credited with being one of the original founders of al-Qaeda, but he does not appear on public "wanted" lists and his status is apparently not known.
In the 2001 trial for the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Africa, Jamal al-Fadl testified that he first met Abu Ayoub al-Iraqi at a worldwide jihad group in a meeting in Khost, Afghanistan in 1989. Al-Fadl termed him the "emir" of al-Qaeda, but clarified that he was always second to Osama bin Laden.
Abu Ayoub was replaced by Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri as emir, apparently sometime before 1991, according to trial testimony from both al-Fadl and L'Houssaine Kherchtou. Al-Banshiri died in an accidental drowning in 1996. as L'Houssaine Kherchtou described Abu Ubaidah as al-Qaeda's second-in-command at that time. Other material suggests, however, that he was #3, since he was replaced by Mohammed Atef.
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Abu Laith al-Libi
Abu Laith al-Libi (Arabic: أبو الليث الليبي, b. approx. 1967 – d. January 29, 2008(2008-01-29), Mir Ali ) was a senior leader of the al-Qaeda movement in Afghanistan who appeared in several al-Qaeda videos. He was believed to have been active in the tribal regions of Waziristan. He also served as an al Qaeda spokesman. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, he was an "expert in guerilla warfare."
The Defense Intelligence Agency says he was 41 at the time of his death, putting his birth date around 1967. In the 1980s he was one of the Afghan Arabs who came to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union during the Soviet-Afghan War. He returned to Libya in 1994 and took part in a failed attempt to oust Muammar al-Gaddafi. In the wake of this attempt al-Libi escaped to Saudi Arabia, where he was imprisoned in Riyadh following the Khobar Towers bombing. Sometime thereafter he was either released or managed to escape, and came to Afghanistan to collaborate with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In 1997, a dispute between the two oldest brothers of the Canadian Khadr family, Abdullah and Abdurahman, was mediated by al-Libi, who earned their confidence and respect telling them about Dubai and Ferraris, and they later referred to him as a "really cool" person. In 2002, he approached the father Ahmed Khadr about letting the 15-year old Omar serve as a translator for some Arab "visitors" in the region. When a gun-battle resulted in the young translator being sent to Guantanamo Bay, al-Libi tried to placate the family with gifts and apologies, but Khadr remained furious and refused to associate with al-Libi, whom he blamed for not taking care of his son.
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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (Arabic: أبومصعب الزرقاوي, ’Abū Muṣ‘ab az-Zarqāwī, Abu Musab from Zarqa); October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (Arabic: أحمد فضيل النزال الخلايله, ’Aḥmad Faḍīl an-Nazāl al-Ḫalāyla) was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War.
He formed al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in the 1990s, and led it until his death in June 2006. Zarqawi took responsibility, on several audio- and videotapes, for numerous acts of violence in Iraq including suicide bombings and hostage executions. Zarqawi opposed the presence of US and Western military forces in the Islamic world, as well as the West's support for the existence of Israel. In late 2004 he joined al-Qaeda, and pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden. After this al-Tawhid wal-Jihad became known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and al-Zarqawi was given the Al-Qaeda title, "Emir of Al Qaeda in the Country of Two Rivers".
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Abu Yahya al-Libi
Abu Yahya al-Libi (Arabic: أبو يحيى الليبي), c. 1963, is an Islamist ideologue and leading high-ranking official within al-Qaeda, and an alleged member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. and is believed to be able to speak Urdu, Pashto and Arabic.
It is believed that he has also used the aliases Hasan Qaiid (Hasan Qayad or Hassan Qayid) and Yunis al-Sahrawi. Also Hassan Qaed al-Far
Al-Libi is a citizen of Libya, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram interim detention facility. whom at the time American counter-terrorism analysts assert that al-Libi was a member of al Qaeda. al-Libi was one of several high-profile Bagram captives who escaped on the night of July 10, 2005.
Jarret Brachman, a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), states of al-Libi:
"He’s a warrior. He’s a poet. He’s a scholar. He’s a pundit. He’s a military commander. And he’s a very charismatic, young, brash rising star within Al-Qaeda, and I think he has become the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden in terms of taking over the entire global jihadist movement."
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Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn (Arabic: آدم يحيى غدن, Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan; born Adam Pearlman, September 1, 1978) is an American who is a senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the islamist group Al-Qaeda. Since 2004, he appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American" ('Azzām al-Amrīki, عزام الأمريكي, sometimes transcribed as Ezzam Al-Amerikee). Gadahn converted to Islam in 1995, at the age of 17, at a California mosque and is described as a "homegrown," meaning that he has converted to an ideology so firmly that he is now willing to harm his country of origin. He is believed to have inspired the 2007 Osama bin Laden video.
In 2004, he was added to the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. On October 11, 2006 he was removed from that list, and placed on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals. On the same day, Gadahn was indicted based on the testimony of the FBI case agent E.J. Hilbert II, in the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States (i.e. Al-Qaeda). Gadahn is the first American charged with treason since Tomoya Kawakita in 1952.
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Ahmed Ressam
Ahmed Ressam (Arabic: احمد رسام; also Benni Noris or the Millennium Bomber; born (1967-05-09)May 9, 1967, in Bou Ismaïl, Algeria) is an Algerian al-Qaeda member who lived in Montreal, Canada.
He was convicted of attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on New Year's Eve 1999, as part of the foiled 2000 millennium attack plots. He was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison, but in February 2010 an appellate court held his sentence to be too lenient, and ordered that it be extended.
The eldest of seven children, he grew up in a town west of Algiers, and graduated from high school in 1988. In 1984 Ressam traveled to Paris, France, for special medical treatments and it was his first time out of Algeria. Ressam failed the exams to college and applied for jobs with police or security forces but was turned down. Over the next four years he worked with his father in a coffee shop.
He left Algeria on September 5, 1992 due to the civil war outrage in the country, entering France on a forged Moroccan passport in the name of "Nassar Ressam". He was arrested on immigration violations in Corsica, a territorial collectivity of France, in November 1993, and France deported him to Morocco on November 8, 1993, and banned him from returning for three years.Morocco determined that he was not in fact Moroccan, however, and returned him to France. Faced with a March 1994 hearing, he instead flew to Montreal, Canada.
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Algerian Civil War
The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.
More than 70 journalists were assassinated, either by security forces or by Islamists. The conflict effectively ended with a government victory, following the surrender of the Islamic Salvation Army and the 2002 defeat of the Armed Islamic Group. However, low-level fighting still continues in some areas.
The conflict began in December 1991, when the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party gained popularity amongst the Algerian people and the National Liberation Front (FLN) party, fearing the former's victory, cancelled elections after the first round. At this time the country's military effectively took control of the government, and president Chadli Bendjedid was forced from office. After the FIS was banned and thousands of its members arrested, Islamist guerrillas rapidly emerged and began an armed campaign against the government and its supporters.
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Ali Mohamed
Ali Abdul Saoud Mohamed, (علي محمد) (born June 3, 1952) is a double agent who worked for both the CIA and Egyptian Islamic Jihad simultaneously, reporting on the workings of each for the benefit of the other.
He came to the United States working as a translator for Ayman al-Zawahiri, who toured California mosques to raise money to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. While there, Zawahiri encouraged him to infiltrate the United States, to whom he later presented himself as defecting. Since he simply walked into the CIA office in Cairo and asked to speak to the station chief and offered his services, the Americans assumed he was an Egyptian spy, but nevertheless recruited him to be a junior intelligence officer. When tasked to infiltrate a mosque with ties to Hezbollah, he simply informed the leadership he was an American spy intending to collect information; since a loyal American spy was also in the congregation, he reported Mohamed's bizarre behaviour to the CIA, who dismissed him and sought to ban him from entering the United States. Ironically however, he was simply picked up by the Special Forces in the American army, who sent him to the Special Warfare school and encouraged him to pursue a doctorate in Islamic Studies and teach courses on the Middle East.
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Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi; Arabic: أنور العولقي Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. With a blog, a Facebook page, and many YouTube videos, the Saudi news station Al Arabiya described him as the "bin Laden of the Internet", though Bin Laden himself reportedly held Awlaki in low esteem. Many of his videos have subsequently been removed from YouTube after a request from the US Congress.
U.S. officials say that Al-Awlaki spoke with and preached to a number of al-Qaeda members and affiliates, including three of the 9/11 hijackers, alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, and "Underwear Bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab; he was also allegedly involved in planning the latter's attack. The Yemeni government began trying him in absentia in November 2010, for plotting to kill foreigners and being a member of al-Qaeda, and a Yemenite judge ordered that he be captured "dead or alive".
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Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari (Urdu: آصف علی زرداری, Sindhi: آصف علي زرداري; born 26 July 1955) is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister.
A Balochi from a tribe based in Sindh, Zardari rose to prominence after his marriage to Bhutto in 1987. Between 1993 and 1996, he held various cabinet positions in the second Bhutto administration.
He was arrested on the charges of corruption in late 1996, following the collapse of the Bhutto government. Although incarcerated, he nominally served in Parliament after being elected to the National Assembly in 1990 and Senate in 1997. He was released from jail in 2004. He subsequently went into self-exile in Dubai, but returned in December 2007 after Bhutto's assassination. As the Co-Chairman of the PPP, he led his party to victory in the 2008 general elections. He spearheaded a coalition that forced Musharraf to resign and was elected President on 6 September 2008.
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Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri,MB BCh (Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري ʾAyman Muḥammad Rabīʿ aẓ-Ẓawāhirī, born June 19, 1951) is an Egyptian physician,Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life imprisonment. His wife and three of his six children were killed in an air strike on Afghanistan by US forces in late 2001, following the September 11 attacks on the USA. As of May 2, 2011, he became the leader of al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden. This was confirmed by a press release from al-Qaeda's general command on June 16. After the 9/11 attacks the U.S. State Department offered a US$25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's apprehension.
Al-Zawahiri is reportedly a qualified surgeon; when his organization merged with bin Laden's al-Qaeda, he became bin Laden's personal advisor and physician. He had first met bin Laden in Jeddah in 1986. al-Zawahiri has shown a radical understanding of Islamic theology and Islamic history.[citation needed] He speaks Arabic, English and French. He is under worldwide sanctions by the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda.
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Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri,MB BCh (Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري ʾAyman Muḥammad Rabīʿ aẓ-Ẓawāhirī, born June 19, 1951) is an Egyptian physician,Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life imprisonment. His wife and three of his six children were killed in an air strike on Afghanistan by US forces in late 2001, following the September 11 attacks on the USA. As of May 2, 2011, he became the leader of al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden. This was confirmed by a press release from al-Qaeda's general command on June 16. After the 9/11 attacks the U.S. State Department offered a US$25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's apprehension.
Al-Zawahiri is reportedly a qualified surgeon; when his organization merged with bin Laden's al-Qaeda, he became bin Laden's personal advisor and physician. He had first met bin Laden in Jeddah in 1986. al-Zawahiri has shown a radical understanding of Islamic theology and Islamic history.[citation needed] He speaks Arabic, English and French. He is under worldwide sanctions by the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda.
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Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (i/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005, Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In April 2011, he announced that he would be running for re-election in 2012.
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Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III; August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation. Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. Many of his policies have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance.
Born and raised in Arkansas, Clinton became both a student leader and a skilled musician. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University where he was Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. He is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has served as the United States Secretary of State since 2009 and was a Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. Both Clintons received law degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the state's education system, and served as Chair of the National Governors Association.
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Billy Waugh
Sergeant Major (SGM) William "Billy" Waugh (US Army-Ret.) (born December 1, 1929), is a highly decorated American Special Forces soldier and a Central Intelligence Agency Paramilitary Operations Officer who served in the United States military and CIA special operations for more than fifty years. SGM Waugh served in the U.S. Army's elite Green Berets and the CIA's famed Special Activities Division.
Waugh was born in Bastrop, Texas on December 1, 1929. In 1945, upon meeting two local Marines who returned from the fighting in World War II, the then-15 year-old Waugh was inspired to enlist in the Marine Corps. Knowing that it was unlikely that he would be admitted in Texas because of his young age, Waugh devised a plan to hitchhike to Los Angeles, where he believed a person had to only be 16 to enlist. He got as far as Las Cruces, New Mexico before he was arrested for having no identification and refusing to give his name to a local police officer. He was later released after securing enough money for a bus ticket back to Bastrop. Now committed to serving in the military once he finished school, Waugh became an excellent student at Bastrop High, graduating in 1947 with a 4.0 grade point average.
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Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (/ˈtʃɑrlz/ or /ˈʃɑrl dəˈɡɔːl/; French: [ʃaʁl də ɡol] ( listen); 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.
A veteran of World War I, in the 1920s and 1930s de Gaulle came to the fore as a proponent of mobile armoured divisions, which he considered would become central in modern warfare. During World War II, he earned the rank of brigadier general (retained throughout his life), leading one of the few successful armoured counter-attacks during the 1940 Battle of France in May in Montcornet, and then briefly served in the French government as France was falling. De Gaulle was the most senior French military officer to reject the June 1940 armistice to Nazi Germany right from the outset.
He escaped to Britain and gave a famous radio address, broadcast by the BBC on 18 June 1940, exhorting the French people to resist Nazi Germany and organised the Free French Forces with exiled French officers in Britain. As the war progressed de Gaulle gradually gained control of all French colonies except Indochina most of which had at first been controlled by the pro-German Vichy regime. Despite earning a reputation for being a difficult man to do business with, by the time of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 he was heading what amounted to a French government in exile, but although he insisted that France be treated as a great independent power by the other Allies, the Americans in particular remained deeply suspicious of his motives. De Gaulle became prime minister in the French Provisional Government, resigning in 1946 because of political conflicts.
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Dale Van Atta
Dale Van Atta is a speaker, novelist, and journalist. He was a personal friend of and co-author with fellow journalist Jack Anderson and borrowed money to help him when he was in financial trouble. In 2008 his book With Honor was released about Melvin Robert Laird, Richard Nixon's Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973.
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El Sayyid Nosair
El Sayyid Nosair (born November 16, 1955) is an Egyptian-born American citizen, convicted of involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He was also tried for, but not convicted of, the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane a Jewish religious figure and right-wing Israeli politician in November 1990; a crime to which he later admitted his guilt.
In 1994, Nosair was convicted in Federal Court of nine counts, including seditious conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder of a postal police officer, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, use of a firearm during an attempted murder, and possession of a firearm.
El Sayyid Nosair was born in 1955 in Port Said, Egypt and immigrated to the United States in 1981. He became an American citizen in 1989. In the United States, Nosair worked various jobs in New Jersey and New York City. Nosair was employed by the City of New York, to repair air conditioning at the criminal courts building.
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Fahd al-Quso
Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso (November 12, 1974 – May 6, 2012), also known as Abu Huthaifah, Abu Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, Abu Al-Bara', Abu Hathayfah Al-Adani, Abu Huthaifah Al-Adani, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Awlaqi, Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, or Abu Huthaifah Al-Abu Al-Bara, was alleged to be a terrorist by American and Yemeni officials, and on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.He was wanted by the FBI, Interpol, and the United States Department of State, which had offered 5 million dollars (approximately 1 billion Yemeni Rials) to anyone with information about him or someone matching his description. He was killed by a US airstrike on May 6, 2012.
In January 2000 al-Quso planned to meet co-conspirators of the USS Cole bombing in Singapore but he failed to get the proper travel visa and went to Bangkok, Thailand to meet instead. In Bangkok he met with Tawfiq bin Attash (a.k.a. Kallad Bin Attash), and he also met with September 11 hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khaled al-Mihdhar in Malaysia. Tawfiq bin Attash was known as Osama bin Laden’s “run boy” although he had a peg leg, he acted as an intermediary for bin Laden. Al-Quso confessed to acting as a bag-man and reported giving Attash 36,000 dollars for a “new prosthetic leg” although it was probably used instead to pay al-Mihdhar’s and al-Hazmi’s travel expenses to the US. However, according to the “run boy” Attash, that amount was much less, about 10,000-12,000.
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Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Fahd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (16 March 1920 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005.
King Fahd is the eighth son of Ibn Saud and is the fifth king of Saudi Arabia. Fahd ascended to the throne on the death of his half-brother, King Khalid, on 13 June 1982. He was a member of Sudairi Seven. In fact, he was the eldest of Sudairi Brothers.
Fahd was appointed Crown Prince when Khalid succeeded their half-brother King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. Fahd was viewed as the de facto prime minister during King Khalid's reign in part due to the latter's ill health.
Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on 29 November 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties. His half-brother, Abdullah, then-Crown Prince, served as de facto regent of the kingdom and succeeded Fahd as monarch upon his death on 1 August 2005.
King Fahd is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992.
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George H.W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–93). He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–89), a congressman, an ambassador, a Director of Central Intelligence, and is currently the oldest surviving president.
Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush postponed going to college, enlisted in the US Navy on his 18th birthday, and became the youngest aviator in the Navy at the time. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee, and the two were subsequently elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting drug abuse.
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of Barbara Bush and George H. W. Bush, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush worked in oil businesses. He married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election. In a close and controversial election, Bush was elected President in 2000 as the Republican candidate, defeating Vice President Al Gore in the Electoral College. Bush is the second American president to have been the son of a former president. He is also the brother of Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.
Terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bush's first term as president on September 11, 2001. In response, Bush announced the War on Terror, an international military campaign which included the war in Afghanistan launched in 2001 and the war in Iraq launched in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, and social security reform. He signed into law broad tax cuts, the PATRIOT Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors. His tenure saw national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and enhanced interrogation techniques. His administration also withdrew the U.S. from a some international treaty processes, including the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
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Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Urdu: حافظ محمد سعید; born 1950) is the amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, a charity organization that is widely considered to be a cover organization for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), one of the largest and most active Islamic terrorist organizations in the world, operating mainly from Pakistan.
The organization is banned as a terrorist organization by India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union,Russia and Australia.India considers him one of its most wanted terrorists because of his alleged ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba and its involvement in attacks against India. The United Nations declared Jama'at-ud-Da'wah a terrorist organization in December 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. In April 2012 the United States announced a bounty of $10 million on Hafiz Saeed, for his alleged role in 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
According to Hafiz Saeed, he has no links with LeT.
In 1950, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was born in Sargodha, Punjab. His family lost 36 of its members when migrating from Shimla to Lahore during the Partition of India. He is married and his wife's name is Maimoona.
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Hamid Gul
Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul (Urdū:حمید گل; born 20 November 1936) HI(M), SBt, is a retired high-ranking general officer in the Pakistan Army, famous for serving as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, between 1987 and 1989 during the late stages of and post-stages of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
Gul is widely known and credited for pressing the hard-line policies on India after starting the insurgency in Kashmir against India in 1989 by diverting the Mujahideen who participated in the Soviet war to Indian-held Kashmir. Gul was also instrumental in the establishment of the Taliban and was once known as the "father of the Taliban". Apart from the Kashmir militancy in India and the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, Gul is also accused by the United States of having ties to Islamic terrorist organizations such as the Al Qaeda.
Gul's tenure as the director of the ISI coincided with Benazir Bhutto's term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Later, Gul established the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA), a far-right conservative wing against the secular MQM and the democratic socialists, the Pakistan Peoples Party.[citation needed]
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Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG (Pashto: حامد کرزی, Hāmid Karzay; born 24 December 1957) is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001. During the December 2001 International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany, Karzai was selected by prominent Afghan political figures to serve a six month term as Chairman of the Interim Administration.
He was then chosen for a two year term as Interim President during the 2002 loya jirga (grand assembly) that was held in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the 2004 presidential election, Karzai was declared winner and became President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He won a second five-year-term in the 2009 presidential election.
Karzai was born on 24 December 1957 in the Karz area of Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Pashtun of the Popalzai tribe. His father, Abdul Ahad Karzai, served as the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament during the 1960s. His grandfather, Khair Mohammad Khan, had served in the 1919 Afghanistan's war of independence and as the Deputy Speaker of the Senate. Karzai's family were strong supporters of Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan. His uncle, Habibullah Karzai, served as representative of Afghanistan at the UN and is said to have accompanied King Zahir Shah in the early 1960s to the United States for a special meeting with U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
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Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir (Urdu: حامد مير, born July 23, 1966) is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo TV with the name of Capital Talk. He was banned from TV by the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf in 2007. He was again banned by the Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) government in June 2008.
Mir was born in Lahore, Punjab. He educated there and completed his Matric examination from University Laboratory School New Campus and Government Central Model School. He received his intermediate degree from Government Science College and his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree from Government College. He earned his Master of Arts (M.A) in mass communications from the University of Punjab in 1989. He played cricket but left the sport after the sudden death of his father.
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Hamida al-Attas
Hamida al-Attas (Arabic: حميدة العطاس, Ḥamīdah āl-ʿAṭṭās; born 1934), born Alia Ghanem (Arabic: عالية غانم, Aʿāliyah Ġānem), is the mother of Osama bin Laden. She came from a Sunni Syrian family of two brothers and another sister, although it has been rumoured that her family are Alawites. She married Mohammed bin Laden in Latakia in 1956 and moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband. She was the tenth wife of Mohammed bin Laden. (Her husband had at least 22 wives but divorced many, having only four wives at once, in accordance with Muslim law.) It has been reported that she was a concubine rather than wife of Mohammed bin Laden. She was more cosmopolitan than Mohammed's first three Wahhabi Saudi wives.
Osama bin Laden was her only child with Mohammad bin Laden. She often spent summers at her brother Naji's home in Latakia and Osama went with her until he was 17. In 1974, when Osama was 18, he married her brother's daughter, 14-year-old Najwa Ghanem, who had been promised to him.
Hamida later[when?] married Mohammed al-Attas and had 4 other children, including Ahmad Mohammed.
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Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi (Arabic: حمزة الغامدي, Ḥamzah al-Ghāmdī, also transliterated as Alghamdi) (November 18, 1980 – September 11, 2001) was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks.
Born in Saudi Arabia, Ghamdi left his family to fight in Chechnya and was probably sent to al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan where he was chosen to participate in the 9/11 attacks.
He arrived in the United States in May 2001 on a tourist visa. On September 11, 2001, Ghamdi boarded United Airlines Flight 175 and hijacked the plane along with four other terrorists so that the plane could be crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Ghamdi was from the Al Bahah Province of Saudi Arabia, an isolated and underdeveloped area, and shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saeed al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Haznawi. This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers, and they are thought to have met each other some time in 1999.
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Hamza bin Laden
Hamza bin Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: حمزة بن أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن; born c. 1991) better known as Hamza bin Laden or "Hamza Laden", is a son of Osama bin Laden, and a senior member of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. His brother Khalid was killed in the 2011 Navy SEAL raid which killed his father.
In January 2001, Hamza (then 10-years-old), his father and other family members attended the wedding of his brother Mohammed bin Laden in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Video footage shot in Ghazni province in November of the same year shows Hamza and some of his siblings handling U.S. helicopter wreckage and working alongside Taliban resistance.
In March 2003, it was claimed that Hamza and his brother Saad bin Laden had been wounded and captured in Ribat, Afghanistan. This claim eventually proved false.
In a 2005 video titled The Mujahideen of Waziristan, Hamza is shown participating in an al-Qaeda assault on Pakistani security forces in the south Waziristan tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In September 2007, it was reported that he was again in the tribal belt that encompasses the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region taking a senior role with al-Qaeda forces.
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Hazaras
Hazāra (Persian: هزاره) are a Persian-speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan and in Pakistan. They are overwhelmingly Shiite Muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 9% (according to other sources up to 18%) of the total population. Over half a million Hazaras live in neighbouring Pakistan (mostly in Quetta) and a similar number in Iran.
Babur, the founder of the Mughal reign in India, used the name Hazara in his records during the early 16th century for the first time. He, for the most part, referred to the populace of the mountainous region located west of Kabul, as far as Ghor and Ghazni. The word Hazara most likely derives from the Persian word for Thousand (Persian: هزار - hazār). It may be the translation of the Mongol word ming (or minggan), a military unit of 1000 soldiers at the time Gengis Khan. In the passage of time the term Hazar could have substituted the Mongol word and now stands for the group of people.
The origins of the Hazaras have not been fully reconstructed. At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras have Mongolian ancestry, especially after genetic testing showed Hazaras carried the highest frequency of the Y chromosome attributed to Genghis Khan anywhere. Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, for example the Tulai Khan Hazara who are named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, the majority of the Hazaras adhere to Shi'ism, whereas Afghanistan's other major ethnic groups are mostly Sunni. However, the Sunni and Ismaili Hazara population, while existent, have not been extensively researched by scholars.
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Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسني السيد مبارك, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmːæd ˈħosni ˈsæjjed moˈbɑːɾˤɑk], Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born 4 May 1928) is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Mubarak was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975, and assumed the presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. His almost thirty-year presidency made him Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rising to the rank of air chief marshal.
Mubarak was ousted after 18 days of demonstrations during the 2011 Egyptian revolution when, on 11 February, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned as president and transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. On 13 April, a prosecutor[which?] ordered Mubarak and both his sons to be detained for 15 days of questioning about allegations of corruption and abuse of power. He was then ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protestors during the revolution. These trials officially began on 3 August 2011. Egypt’s military prosecutors then also proclaimed that they are investigating Mubarak's role in the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat.
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Husain Haqqani
Husain Haqqani or Hussain Haqqani (Urdu: حسین حقّانی) (born July 1, 1956) is the formerPakistan Ambassador to the United States, appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in April 2008 and was resigned on November 22, 2011. Previously, he has held numerous high-ranking positions in and out of government, including as adviser to three former Pakistani prime ministers and as envoy to Sri Lanka, and has been a prominent journalist, scholar and educator. His appointment in 2008 marked a return to government service after being exiled in 1999 following criticisms against the government of then-President Pervez Musharraf.
Haqqani was born in Karachi and was raised in a conservative but educated middle-class family in Malir outside Karachi.
He began his interest in journalism while in high school. Year 1972 in Government National Science College (Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi), he became president of the student union of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami). In 1973 he joined Karachi University. He would frequently visit the library at the U.S. consulate, reading volumes of American history. Later, when students wanted to attack the consulate as part of a protest against the United States, Haqqani refused.
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Ilyas Kashmiri
Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri (10 February 1964 – 3 June 2011), was a senior al-Qaeda member and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI) He was also connected with the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India, Pakistan and the United States. In August 2010, the US and the United Nations designated him a terrorist. NBC News reported that United States officials had mentioned him as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda.
Kashmiri hailed from the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. According to several sources, he became a member of the elite Pakistani Special Service Group, although in an interview he denied this. Kashmiri also spent a year studying communications at the Allama Iqbal Open University.
He was an active participant in the 1980s Soviet-Afghan War, training the Afghan mujahideen in mine warfare in Miranshah on behalf of Pakistan. During the fighting he lost an eye and an index finger. He continued his militant activities in Kashmir after the war as a member of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), though disagreements with leader Qari Saifullah Akhtar several years after initially joining in 1991 led Kashmiri to establish his own new unit within HuJI known as the 313 Brigade.
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Interpol
Coordinates: 45°46′56″N 4°50′54″E / 45.78219°N 4.84838°E / 45.78219; 4.84838 The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO), widely known as INTERPOL or Interpol, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923 and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 1956.
Its membership of 190 countries provides finance of around €59 million through annual contributions. The organization's headquarters is in Lyon, France. It is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, in terms of number of member states.
Its current Secretary-General is Ronald Noble, a former United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement. Its current President is Singapore's Senior Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and former Commissioner of Police Khoo Boon Hui; the President before that, Jackie Selebi, National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, held his term from 2004 till his resignation on 13 January 2008, after which he was charged in South Africa on three counts of corruption and one of defeating the course of justice, and replaced by Arturo Herrera Verdugo, current National Commissioner of Investigations Police of Chile and former vice president for the American Zone, who remained acting president until the organization meeting in October 2008.
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Jean Sasson
Jean P. Sasson (born 1947, Troy, Alabama; "Sasson" is Hebrew for "happiness"), is an American writer whose work mainly centers around women in the Middle East and the injustices that they suffer at the hands of a patriarchal society.
Born into a small town life, Sasson found adventure between the pages of books. Her strong desire to uproot herself from her rural surroundings led her to jump at the opportunity to work and travel abroad. In 1978 she traveled to Saudi Arabia to work in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh as an administrative coordinator in Medical Affairs. It was there that she met Peter Sasson, her future husband. They married in 1982 and Sasson left the hospital after four years of service, but the couple remained in Saudi Arabia until 1990.
During their time in the Middle East, the Sassons made many friends, including members the royal Al-Saud family, who visited the hospital. The most notable of these friendships was between Sasson and Princess Sultana, the princess about whom The Princess Trilogy surrounds.
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John A. Agnew
John A. Agnew (born Millom, England, August 29, 1949) is a prominent British-American political geographer. Agnew was educated at the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool in England and Ohio State in the United States.
Agnew is currently Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). From 1975 until 1995 he was a professor at Syracuse University in New York. Dr. Agnew teaches courses on political geography, the history of geography, European cities, and the Mediterranean World. From 1998 to 2002 he chaired the Department of Geography at UCLA. He has written widely on questions of territory, place, and political power. He has also worked on issues of "science" in geography and how knowledge is created and circulates in and across places. He is best known for his work completely reinventing "geopolitics" as a field of study and for his theoretical and empirical efforts at showing how national politics is best understood in terms of the geographical dynamics of "places" and how they are made out of both local and long-distance determinants. One of his best known books is "Place and Politics" (1987). Another is "Geopolitics: Re-Visioning World Politics" (2003). Much of his empirical research involves Italy, Greece, and the United States. For the year 2008–9, John Agnew was President of the Association of American Geographers, the main professional organization for academic geography in the United States. He was associate editor of the flagship journal of the association, Annals of the Association of American Geographers and was co-editor of the international journal Geopolitics with David Newman from 1998 to 2009. He is now editor in chief of the forthcoming journal, "Territory, Politics, Governance" published by Routledge.
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Karim Said Atmani
A Moroccan living illegally in Montreal since 1995,Karim Said Atmani (also Abu Isham,Abu Hisham) was alleged to be a document-forger for the Groupe Islamique Armé, and shared an apartment with Ahmed Ressam.
He frequently travelled to Bosnia, and held both Bosnian and Moroccan passports. In Bosnia he fought in an Arab brigade led by Abdelkader Mokhtari, another veteran of the GIA.
He was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Niagara on the Lake, along with an associate believed to be smuggling guns.
After being convicted of colluding with Osama bin Laden by a French court, he was released early for good behavior. He is believed to have returned to Bosnia following his release.
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Khadr family
The Khadr family (أسرة خضر) is a Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and alleged connections to al Qaeda. The family maintains that they have not broken any Canadian laws, and they have never been charged with any crimes by Canadian authorities.
The Khadr family comprises:
In 1986, the family was living in an apartment in Peshawar on an $800 monthly allowance.
The family returned to Canada and rented an apartment near Bloor/Dundas in 1992 following an incident in Afghanistan that left Ahmed disabled, and later moved into the Bloor/Lansdowne area.[citation needed]
After leaving Canada a year and a half later, the family moved into a three-room house in September 1997. During this time, the family visited Nazim Jihad, the family home of Osama bin Laden in Jalalabad which the children nicknamed "Star Wars", and stayed at the compound the following year during the father's absence. The family say they stayed two days, while the FBI says it was a month. They subsequently moved to the Karte Parwan neighbourhood of Kabul and lived there from 1999-2001. The Khadrs were registered as operators of a Canadian charity, and closed their office in the upscale Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood to bring work in their own home.
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Khaled al-Harbi
Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi, (Arabic: خالد بن عودة بن محمد الحربي, Khālid bin ‘Ūdah bin Muḥammad al-Ḥarbī) (c.1963 - present) is a Saudi national who was associated with Osama bin Laden's mujahadeen group in the 1980s, and is thought to have rejoined bin Laden and al-Qaeda in the mid-1990s. Also known as Abu Suleiman al-Makki (Arabic: ابوسليمان المكي), he has a thick beard and requires the use of a wheelchair.
The BBC reports that Al-Harbi was Ayman Al-Zawahiri's son-in-law.
Al-Harbi volunteered to fight against the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan during the 1980s.
According to the web-site Global Terror Alert Al-Harbi volunteered to fight in Bosnia in 1992. Al-Harbi lost the use of his legs during a skirmish in Bosnia.
Following their successful war of liberation, in 1995, the new Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina offered citizenship to all foreign volunteers who had fought on their behalf.
Al-Harbi settled in Bosnia, until arrest warrants were issued against him, and eighteen other men, in 1997. The allegation against Al-Harbi was that he had provided a safehouse for terrorists.
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Khalil al-Deek
Khalil Said al-Deek – (born 1957 – died April 2005), aka Joseph Adams after 1996 was a dual US-Jordanian citizen who came to USA to study computer science. He became a naturalized US citizen living in Los Angeles, California where he worked as computer engineer and Charity Without Borders staffer, where it is now believed that Adam Yahiye Gadahn worked around that same time in 1997. The Charity was discovered to be an Al-Qaida organization used to funnel money overseas and wasn't shut down until after September 11, 2001. Hisham Diab was running this organization at the time and it was confirmed by his ex-wife Saraah Olson that Hisham and Khalil Said al-Deek recruited Adam Yahiye Gadahn and transformed him into an American-hating fanatic. This was also confirmed by the imam Haitham Bundakji of the Islamic Society of Orange County who described Hisham and members of his cell as "disruptive troublemakers" and places blame on himself for not reaching out to Gadahn.
Carrying a US passport, he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he is believed to have met several times with Osama bin Laden. He was arrested on December 17, 1999 in Peshawar and extradited to Jordan for conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks in Jordan.CNN reports that al-Deek is described as the leader of his group.
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King Fahd
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Fahd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (16 March 1920 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005.
King Fahd is the eighth son of Ibn Saud and is the fifth king of Saudi Arabia. Fahd ascended to the throne on the death of his half-brother, King Khalid, on 13 June 1982. He was a member of Sudairi Seven. In fact, he was the eldest of Sudairi Brothers.
Fahd was appointed Crown Prince when Khalid succeeded their half-brother King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. Fahd was viewed as the de facto prime minister during King Khalid's reign in part due to the latter's ill health.
Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on 29 November 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties. His half-brother, Abdullah, then-Crown Prince, served as de facto regent of the kingdom and succeeded Fahd as monarch upon his death on 1 August 2005.
King Fahd is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992.
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Lebanese people
The Lebanese people (Arabic: الشعب اللبناني el shaab el libnene, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [eʃˈʃaʕb ellɪbˈneːne]) are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state.
The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Lebanese people is a rich blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years.
Lebanon does not collect official census data on ethnic background and therefore is difficult to have an exact demographic analysis of Lebanese society, with the last census conducted by the French Mandate government in 1932. The largest concentration or people of Lebanese ancestry is in Brazil having an estimated population of 6 to 7 million. As with their predecessors, the Lebanese have always travelled the world, many of them settling permanently, most notably in the last two centuries.
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Marc Sageman
Marc Sageman , M.D., Ph.D., is a former CIA Operations Officer (covered as a Foreign Service officer) who was based in Islamabad from 1987 to 1989, where he worked closely with Afghanistan's mujahedin. He has advised various branches of the U.S. government in the War on Terror. He is also a forensic psychiatrist and a counter-terrorism consultant.
He first drew wide attention for his book Understanding Terror Networks, a book that The Economist called "influential." "The most sophisticated analysis of global jihadis yet published. . . . His conclusions have demolished much of the conventional wisdom about who joins jihadi groups."
In Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century, Sageman "suggests that radicalization is a collective rather than an individual process in which friendship and kinship are key components." After the book was negatively reviewed by Bruce Hoffman in Foreign Affairs, a debate, which was covered by The New York Times, ensued between him and Sageman.
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Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane (1 August 1932 – 5 November 1990), also known as Meir Kahane (Hebrew: הרב מאיר דוד כהנא), was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure, whose work became either the direct or indirect foundation of most modern Jewish terrorist groups. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset. Kahane also used the pen names Benyac and David Sinai and the pseudonyms Michael King, David Borac, and Martin Keene.
Kahane gained recognition as an activist for Jewish causes, such as organizing Jewish self-defense groups in deteriorating neighborhoods and the struggle for the right of Soviet Jews to immigrate. He later became known in the United States and Israel for political and religious views that included proposing emergency Jewish mass-immigration to Israel due to the imminent threat of a "second Holocaust" in the United States, advocating that Israel's democracy be replaced by a state modeled on Jewish religious law, and promoting the idea of a Greater Israel in which Israel would annex the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In order to keep Arabs, whom he stated would never accept Israel as a Jewish state, from becoming a numerical majority in Israel, he proposed a plan allowing Arabs to voluntarily leave Israel and receive compensation for their property, and forcibly removing Arabs who refused.
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Michael Scheuer
Michael F. Scheuer (born 1952) is a former CIA intelligence officer, American blogger, historian, foreign policy critic, and political analyst. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies and an Expert at Wikistrat. In his 22-year career, he served as the Chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station (aka "Alec Station"), from 1996 to 1999, the Osama bin Laden tracking unit at the Counterterrorist Center. He then worked again as Special Advisor to the Chief of the bin Laden unit from September 2001 to November 2004.
Scheuer became a public figure after being outed as the anonymous author of the 2004 book Imperial Hubris, in which he criticized many of the United States' assumptions about Islamist insurgencies and particularly Osama bin Laden. He depicts bin Laden as a rational actor who is fighting to weaken the United States by weakening its economy, rather than merely combating and killing Americans. He challenges the common assumption that terrorism is the threat that the United States is facing in the modern era, arguing rather that Islamist insurgency (and not "terrorism") is the core of the conflict between the U.S. and Islamist forces, who in places such as Kashmir, Xinjiang, and Chechnya are "struggling not just for independence but against institutionalized barbarism." Osama bin Laden acknowledged the book in a 2007 statement, suggesting that it revealed "the reasons for your losing the war against us".
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Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta (Arabic: محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا, Muḥammad Muḥammad al-Āmir ‘Awaḍ as-Sayyid ‘Aṭā) (September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and one of the ringleaders of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.
Born in 1968 in a small town in Egypt's Nile Delta, Atta moved with his family to the Abdeen section of Cairo at the age of 10. Atta studied architecture at Cairo University, graduating in 1990, and continued his studies in Hamburg, Germany at the Technical University of Hamburg. In Hamburg, Atta became involved with the al-Quds Mosque, where he met Marwan al-Shehhi, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Ziad Jarrah, together forming the Hamburg cell. Atta disappeared from Germany for periods of time, spending some time in Afghanistan, including several months in late 1999 and early 2000 when he met Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders. Atta and the other Hamburg cell members were recruited by bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for the "planes operation" in the United States. Atta returned to Hamburg in February 2000, and began inquiring about flight training in the United States.
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Mohammed Atef
Atef Al-Masri (Arabic: عاطف المصرى, Atef Al-Masri) (born Sobhi Abu Setta, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri) was the alleged military chief of al-Qaida, although his role in the organization was not well known by intelligence agencies for years. His death was in November 2001 .
Atef served two years in the Egyptian Air Force and became an agricultural engineer. He was a police officer and a member of the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad before he moved to Afghanistan to repel the Soviet invasion, while operating from Peshawar. He has been credited as having convinced Abdullah Azzam to abandon his life and devote himself to preaching jihad at this time.
Atef was sent to an Afghan training camp where he met Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later introduced him to Osama bin Laden.
He attended two meetings from August 11–20 in 1988, along with Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Jamal al-Fadl, Wael Hamza Julaidan, and Mohammed Loay Bayazid and eight others, to discuss the founding of "al-Qaeda". Bin Laden later sent a letter to Mohammed Loay Bayazid informing him that Atef and Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri were to each be given 6,500 Saudi riyals monthly, the same as they had been given for their work in Maktab al-Khidamat.
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Mohammed bin Laden
Sheikh Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: محمد بن عوض بن لادن, Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin; 1908 – September 3, 1967) was a wealthy investor, businessman, and patriarch of the bin Laden family. He was a Yemeni emigrant to Saudi Arabia, and married 22 times, fathering at least 54 children.Osama bin Laden is believed to be his 17th son and his only son by his tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas, who is reportedly of Syrian descent.
Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born in 1908 on the Shafi'i (Sunni) Hadhramaut coast of south Yemen to Awad bin Aboud bin Laden (died 1919), a Kindite Hadhrami tribesman from al-Rubat, a village in the Wadi Doan in the Tarim Valley; Mohammed's paternal grandfather was Aboud bin Laden, the grandson of Ali bin Laden, one of four brothers (the others being Ahmed, Mansour, and Zaid) from whom the four bin Laden clans trace their ancestry.
Poor and uneducated, Mohammed bin Laden emigrated to Hijaz before World War I, initially working as a porter in Jeddah. In 1930, he started his own construction business and after coming to the attention of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, first monarch of Saudi Arabia, he eventually achieved such success that his family became known as "the wealthiest non-royal family in the kingdom."
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Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar (Pashto: ملا محمد عمر; born c. 1959), often simply called Mullah Omar, is the spiritual leader of the Taliban. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council". He held the title Commander of the Faithful of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was recognized by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Mullah Omar has been wanted by the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program since October 2001, for sheltering Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda militants in the years prior to the September 11 attacks. Those who were close to him say that he requested evidence from the United States regarding Osama and his alleged hand in the 9/11 attacks but did not receive any. He is believed to be directing the Taliban insurgency against the U.S.-led NATO forces and the Government of Afghanistan.
Despite his political rank and his high status on the Rewards for Justice most wanted list, not much is publicly known about him. Few photos exist of him, none of them official, and a picture used in 2002 by many media outlets has since been established to be someone other than him. The authenticity of the existing images is debated. Apart from the fact that he is missing one eye, accounts of his physical appearance are contradictory: Omar is described as very tall (some say 2 m). Mullah Omar has been described as shy and non-talkative with foreigners.
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Mullah Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar (Pashto: ملا محمد عمر; born c. 1959), often simply called Mullah Omar, is the spiritual leader of the Taliban. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council". He held the title Commander of the Faithful of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was recognized by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Mullah Omar has been wanted by the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program since October 2001, for sheltering Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda militants in the years prior to the September 11 attacks. Those who were close to him say that he requested evidence from the United States regarding Osama and his alleged hand in the 9/11 attacks but did not receive any. He is believed to be directing the Taliban insurgency against the U.S.-led NATO forces and the Government of Afghanistan.
Despite his political rank and his high status on the Rewards for Justice most wanted list, not much is publicly known about him. Few photos exist of him, none of them official, and a picture used in 2002 by many media outlets has since been established to be someone other than him. The authenticity of the existing images is debated. Apart from the fact that he is missing one eye, accounts of his physical appearance are contradictory: Omar is described as very tall (some say 2 m). Mullah Omar has been described as shy and non-talkative with foreigners.
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Najwa bin Laden
Najwa bin Laden (born c. 1959), née Ghanem, is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden. Her father is the brother of Osama's mother, Hamida al-Attas (born Alia Ghanem). Najwa was "promised" in marriage to Osama. She is the mother of Saad bin Laden, as well as at least 10 more children. She co-authored Growing Up bin Laden with her son Omar.
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Omar bin Laden
Omar bin Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: عمر بن أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, ʿUmar bin ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin; born 1981), better known as Omar bin Laden, is one of the sons of Osama bin Laden and his first wife and first cousin Najwa Ghanem (see Bin Laden family). He is the 4th eldest son among twenty children of Osama bin Laden. Older reports have described him and his brother Abdullah bin Laden as nephews or cousins of Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden was born the grandson of Muhammed bin Awad bin Laden, the founder of one of the wealthiest non-royal families in Saudi Arabia, and the son of Osama bin Laden, whose partisan activities shaped his childhood. Bin Laden accompanied his father on his exile to Sudan from 1991 to 1996, and then to Afghanistan after that. He has said that he trained in al-Qaeda camps beginning at the age of 14, but after training with al-Qaeda for 6 years and sharing a house with al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, he left al-Qaeda in 2000 because he didn't want to be associated with killing civilians and his father Osama didn't object.
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Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( /oʊˈsɑːmə bɪn moʊˈhɑːmɨd bɪn əˈwɑːd bɪn ˈlɑːdən/; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin; March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011), was the founder of 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 US$25 million bounty by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 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.
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Paul Bremer
Lewis Paul "Jerry" Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He is most notable for his role as the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority charged with overseeing Iraq's occupation after the 2003 invasion. He reported primarily to the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and exercised authority over Iraq's civil administration. He served in this capacity from May 11, 2003, until June 28, 2004.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Bremer was educated at New Canaan Country School, Kent School and Phillips Academy. Bremer's father was president of the Christian Dior Perfumes Corporation in New York. His mother was a lecturer in art history at the University of Bridgeport. Bremer graduated from Yale University in 1963 and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard University in 1966. He later continued his education at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, where he earned a Certificate of Political Studies (CEP).
That same year he joined the Foreign Service, which sent him first to Kabul, Afghanistan, as a general services officer. He was assigned to Blantyre, Malawi, as economic and commercial officer from 1968 to 1971.
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Peter Bergen
Peter Bergen (born December 12, 1962 in Minneapolis) is a British-American print and broadcast journalist, author, and CNN's national security analyst. In 1997, Bergen produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden. The interview, which aired on CNN, marked the first time that bin Laden declared war against the United States to a Western audience. Bergen has written four books: Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (2001), The Osama bin Laden I Know (2006), The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and al-Qaeda (2011) and Man Hunt: The Ten Year Search for Bin Laden From 9/11 to Abottabad (2012).
Bergen was born in Minneapolis but grew up in London. He attended Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire before receiving an Open Scholarship to New College, Oxford, in 1981, where he earned a Master of Arts in Modern History.
Bergen is the director of the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. He is also a research fellow at New York University's Center on Law and Security and CNN's national security analyst. In 2008, he was an adjunct lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an Adjunct Professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (2003-07).
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Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Ramzi bin al-Shibh (Arabic: رمزي بن الشيبة, Ramzī bin ash-Shībah; also transliterated as bin al-Shaibah) (born May 1, 1972) is a detainee at Guantanamo Bay and stands accused of being a "key facilitator for the September 11 attacks."
In the mid-1990s, bin al-Shibh moved as a student to Hamburg, where he soon became close friends with Mohamed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi. Together, they became the masterminds of the September 11 attacks, forming the Hamburg cell. He was the only one out of the four who failed to obtain a US Visa and therefore acted as an intermediary for the hijackers in the United States, by wiring money and passing on information from key al-Qaeda figures. After the attacks, bin al-Shibh was the first to be publicly identified as the "20th hijacker", of whom there were several more likely candidates thought to have been tasked to fill out the single missing slot among the United 93 hijacking.
Bin al-Shibh has been in custody since he was captured on September 11, 2002, in Karachi, Pakistan.
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Richard A. Clarke
Richard Alan Clarke (born October 27, 1950) was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National Security Council. President Bill Clinton retained Clarke and in 1998 promoted him to be the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, the chief counter-terrorism adviser on the National Security Council. Under President George W. Bush, Clarke initially continued in the same position, but the position was no longer given cabinet-level access. He later became the Special Advisor to the President on cybersecurity, before leaving the Bush administration in 2003.
Clarke came to widespread public attention for his role as counter-terrorism czar in the Clinton and Bush administrations in March 2004, when he appeared on the 60 Minutes television news magazine, released his memoir about his service in government, Against All Enemies, and testified before the 9/11 Commission. In all three instances, Clarke was sharply critical of the Bush administration's attitude toward counter-terrorism before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and of the decision to go to war with Iraq. Following Clarke's strong criticisms of the Bush administration, Bush administration officials and other Republicans attempted to discredit him or rebut his criticisms, making Clarke a controversial figure.
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Robert Gates
Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is the 24th Chancellor of the College of William and Mary and a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W. Bush as Director of Central Intelligence. Gates was also an officer in the United States Air Force and during the early part of his military career, he was recruited by the CIA. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates also served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, that has studied the Iraq War. He was also the first pick to serve as the first Director of National Intelligence (DNI), but he declined the appointment in order to remain President of Texas A&M University.
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Robert Oakley
Robert Bigger Oakley (born March 12, 1931) is a retired American diplomat. Ambassador Oakley is a 1948 graduate of The South Kent School in Kent, CT. During his career as a Foreign Service Officer, Oakley served as United States Ambassador to Zaire, Somalia, and Pakistan, and later as a special envoy during the American involvement in Somalia in the early 1990s.
Oakley joined the Foreign Service in 1957 and was assigned to Khartoum, Sudan, in 1958. He first served in the Office of United Nations Political Affairs, Department of State, and later served in American Embassies in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Saigon, Vietnam, Paris, France, and Beirut, Lebanon. He also served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and as Senior Director for Middle East and South Asia on the staff of the National Security Council.
In February 1977, he became Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs. He later became U.S. Ambassador to Zaire in November 1979, and U.S. Ambassador to Somalia in August 1982. In September 1984, he was appointed Director of the State Department Office of Combating Terrorism. He again joined the National Security Council Staff on January 1, 1987, as Assistant to the President for Middle East and South Asia. He was named as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan in August 1988, succeeding the late Arnold Lewis Raphel, who was killed in an airplane crash along with Pakistan's President, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
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Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna (born 1961) is an international terrorism expert. He is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)] at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. By its size, ICPVTR is one of the largest counterterrorism research and training centres in the world.
A Member of the Steering Committee of George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute, Gunaratna is also Senior Fellow both at Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy's Jebsen Centre for Counter Terrorism Studies and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Oklahoma. A former Senior Fellow at the United States Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Centre at West Point, he holds a masters in international peace studies from Notre Dame, US, where he was Hesburgh Scholar and a doctorate in international relations from St Andrews, Scotland, where he was British Chevening Scholar.
Invited to testify before the 9-11 Commission on the structure of al Qaeda, Gunaratna led the specialist team that built the UN Database on al Qaeda, Taliban and their Entities. He debriefed detainees in the U.S., Asia, Middle East, including high value al Qaeda detainees in Iraq. He served as trainer for law enforcement, the intelligence community, and the military. He served as counter terrorism instructor for GIGN, CTSO, D88, US NAVY SEALS, Swiss Federal Police, NYPD, and the Australian Federal Police. He conducted field research in conflict zones including in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
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Saad bin Laden
Sa'ad bin Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden (Arabic: سعد بن أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن; 1979 - allegedly 2009), better known as Saad bin Laden, is one of the sons of Osama bin Laden. He continued in his father's footsteps by occupying a position within Al-Qaeda. He is reported to have died in an airstrike in 2009.
Saad accompanied his father and his brothers on his exile to Sudan from 1991–96, and followed him to Afghanistan after that. When Hamid Mir interviewed Osama, he noted that the 16-year old Saad was carrying a gun and asked him whether he was following in the footsteps of his father, to which Saad replied "No, I am following in the footsteps of my prophet".
He was believed to be married to a woman from Yemen. Iran has stated that a number of al-Qaeda leaders and members are in their custody, possibly including the son of Osama bin Laden, Saad bin Laden.
Saad was believed to have been involved in the bombing of a Tunisian synagogue on April 11, 2002, which killed 19. The following year, there were disputed claims of his capture by Pakistan in March, though these proved false, and he was implicated in the May 12th suicide bombing in Riyadh, and the Morocco bombing four days later.
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Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (Arabic: صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي Ṣaddām Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Maǧīd al-Tikrītī; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organisation Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region, which espoused ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup, later referred to as the 17 July Revolution, that brought the party to long-term power of Iraq.
As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalized oil and other industries. The state-owned banks were put under his control, leaving the system eventually insolvent mostly due to the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, and UN sanctions. Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraq's economy to grow at a rapid pace. Positions of power in the country were filled with Sunnis, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population.
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Saif al-Adel
Saif al-Adel (Arabic: سيف العدل) is an Egyptian explosives expert and a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.
Adel is under indictment for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa. According to the indictment, Adel is a member of the majlis al shura of al-Qaeda and a member of its military committee, and he provided military and intelligence training to members of al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan, and to anti-UN Somali tribes. It is possible that his trainees included the Somalis of the first Battle of Mogadishu. He established the al-Qaeda training facility at Ras Kamboni in Somalia near the Kenyan border.
He was one of the masterminds of the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat, and left the country in 1988 to join the mujahideen in repelling the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He is then believed to have traveled to southern Lebanon along with Abu Talha al-Sudani, Sayful Islam al-Masri, Abu Ja`far al-Masri, and Abu Salim al-Masri, where he trained alongside Hezbollah Al-Hejaz.
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Salem bin Laden
Salem bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: سالم م. بن لادن) (1946–May 29, 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor and businessman.
Considered the eldest son of Mohammed bin Laden, the founder of Saudi Binladin Group and a half-brother and cousin of the infamous terrorist (Osama bin Laden). Bin Laden was educated at Millfield and acted as the patriarch of the bin Laden family after the 1967 death of his father. Salem managed the family's extensive investment portfolio (thought to be valued at around $16 billion) and was in charge of family income distribution. He also oversaw the individual education plans for each of his (half-) brothers and (half-) sisters. Just like his father, he highly valued close relationship of the bin Ladens with the Saudi royal family. He provided means and support to the family during the Mecca uprising of 1979.
He owned a house in Orlando, Florida and often used it for vacation stays.
Salem bin Laden died on May 29, 1988 when he accidentally drifted into high voltage electrical power lines adjacent to the Kitty Hawk Field of Dreams Ultra-Lite Flying Field at the edge of Schertz, a northeastern San Antonio suburb. The Sprint ultralight aircraft he was flying fell 115 feet to the ground after the wire strike. Salem, who was not wearing a safety helmet, died of head injuries from the resulting fall. The National Transportation Safety Board did not conduct an accident investigation since the aircraft was an ultralight aircraft, which was not covered under their mandate due to exemption while operating under FAR Part 103 Provisions required by Federal law. The Schertz Police, who attended to the incident, stated in the report that Salem died in a freak accident.
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Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb (Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈsæjjed ˈʔotˤb], Arabic: [ˈsæjjed ˈqotˤb]) (also Said, Syed, Seyyid, Sayid, or Sayed; Koteb, Qutub, Kotb, or Kutb) (Arabic: سيد قطب; October 9, 1906 – August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s.
Author of 24 books, including novels, literary arts’ critique and works on education, he is best known in the Muslim world for his work on what he believed to be the social and political role of Islam, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His magnum opus, Fi Zilal al-Qur'an (In the shade of the Qur'an), is a 30-volume commentary on the Qur'an.
During most of his life, Qutb's inner circle mainly consisted of influential politicians, intellectuals, poets and literary figures, both of his age and of the preceding generation. By the mid-1940s, many of his writings were officially among the curricula of schools, colleges and universities.
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Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (sometimes transliterated as Miloshevich[citation needed]; Serbian pronunciation: [slɔbɔ̌dan milɔ̌ːʃɛʋitɕ] ( listen); Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Милошевић; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was the President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000. He also led the Socialist Party of Serbia from its foundation in 1990. His presidency was marked by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Yugoslav Wars. In the midst of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Milošević was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Milošević resigned the Yugoslav presidency amid demonstrations, following the disputed presidential election of 24 September 2000. He was arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities on Saturday, 31 March 2001, on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. The initial investigation into Milošević faltered for lack of evidence, prompting the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić to send him to The Hague to stand trial for charges of war crimes instead. Milošević conducted his own defense in the five-year long trial, which ended without a verdict when he died on 11 March 2006 in his prison cell in The Hague. Milošević, who suffered from heart ailments and high blood pressure, died of a heart attack. The Tribunal denies any responsibility for Milošević's death. They claim that he refused to take prescribed medicines and medicated himself instead.
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Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. It began in 1991, when a coalition of clan-based armed opposition groups ousted the nation's long-standing military government.
Various factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed, which precipitated an aborted UN peacekeeping attempt in the mid-1990s. A period of decentralization ensued, characterized by a return to customary and religious law in many areas as well as the establishment of autonomous regional governments in the northern part of the country. The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations, culminating in the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004. In 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups, notably Al-Shabaab, which have since been fighting the Transitional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies for control of the region. In 2011, a coordinated military operation between the Somali military and multinational forces began, which is believed to represent one of the final stages in the war's Islamist insurgency.
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Viktor Bout
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout (Russian: Виктор Анатольевич Бут) (born 13 January 1967, near Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union) is a convicted arms smuggler. A citizen of Russia, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 before being extradited in 2010 to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges after being accused of smuggling arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to use against US forces. On 2 November 2011, he was convicted by a jury in a Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to kill US citizens and officials, deliver anti-aircraft missiles and provide aid to a terrorist organization.
A former Soviet military translator, Bout had reportedly made a significant amount of money through his multiple air transport companies shipping cargo mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s (decade). Reportedly as willing to work for Charles Taylor in Liberia as he was for the United Nations in Sudan and the United States in Iraq, Bout may have facilitated huge arms shipments into various civil wars in Africa with his private air cargo fleets during the 1990s.
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Wail al-Shehri
Wail Mohammed al-Shehri (Arabic: وائل الشهري, Wāīl ash-Shehrī; also transliterated as Alshehri) (July 31, 1973 – September 11, 2001) was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks.
Shehri was an elementary school teacher from Khamis Mushait in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. In early 2000 he traveled to Medina to seek treatment for mental problems. He and his younger brother Waleed traveled to Afghanistan in March 2000 and joined an Al-Qaeda training camp. The brothers were chosen, along with others from the same region of Saudi Arabia, to participate in the September 11 attacks. Once selected, Shehri returned to Saudi Arabia in October 2000 to obtain a clean passport, then returned to Afghanistan. In March 2001, he recorded his last will and testament on video.
Shehri arrived in the United States in early June 2001, staying in budget motels in the Boynton Beach area of south Florida. On September 5, 2001, Shehri traveled to Boston and checked into a motel with his brother. Six days later, Shehri arrived early in the morning at Boston's Logan International Airport and boarded American Airlines Flight 11. Fifteen minutes after take off, the flight was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.
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Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yousuf Raza Gillani, also spelled Gilani,MP (Urdu, Saraiki: یوسف رضا گیلانی; English IPA: jusæf ɾæzə ɡillɑnɪ̈ ; b. June 9, 1952) is the 16th and current Prime Minister of Pakistan and the vice-chairman of the democratic socialist party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Gillani was nominated for the office of prime minister and became prime minister when his party formed the coalition government with Pakistan Muslim League, Awami National Party, Assembly of Islamic Clergy and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), after his party secured a considerable victory on 2008 parliamentary elections. He is the first prime minister from the Saraiki-speaking belt, and also the longest serving prime minister with a period span of 45 months, chairing more than 100 cabinet and parliamentary sessions; the most any successive democratic government in the political history of the country.
He first successfully contested 1988 parliamentary elections and has been a senior member of parliament for the Multan-IV constituency since 1988, heading the Ministry of Tourism under the government of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. After his party wining the plurality in 1990 parliamentary elections, Gillani was nominated by Benazir Bhutto to become the 15th Speaker of the National Assembly, serving until 16 February 1997. On 11 February 2001, Gillani was imprisoned by military court instituted under by then-CMLA and President Pervez Musharraf on the accusations and charges on corruption in infamous Adiala Jail, and released on 7 October 2006.
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Ziyad Khaleel
Ziyad Khaleel, also known as Khalil Ziyad, Ziyad Sadaqa, and Ziyad Abdulrahman, was a Palestinian-American al-Qaeda member, based in the United States, primarily in Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Missouri. He had been identified as a "procurement agent" for Osama bin Laden, arranging the purchase and delivery of "computers, satellite telephones, and covert surveillance equipment" for the leadership of al-Qaeda,as well as administering a number of radical Islamic websites as webmaster, including the website of the terrorist group Hamas. Among the cities in which he resided at various times were Denver, Detroit, Columbia and Orlando.
In 1991, while living in Denver, he was vice president of the Denver Islamic Society. By 1994 he was residing in Detroit and his name and address were reflected in ledgers taken from the Al Kifah Refugee Center, a financial and strategic arm of al-Qaeda.
Upon moving to Columbia, Missouri, he was known as Ziyad Khaleel, but began using the surname Sadaqa as early as 1996. That year he was a fundraiser and one of eight regional directors of the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA), which the government later determined was a front for al-Qaeda and Hamas.
wn.com/Ziyad_Khaleel
bin Laden, Osama Filmography
- Top Priority: The Terror Within (2012)
- The Hunt for Bin Laden (2012)
- The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden (2011)
- Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill (2011)
- The Oath (2010)
- Kriegsversprechen (2009)
- Iran, une puissance dévoilée (2009)
- Superpower (2008)
- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
- William F. Buckley: Right from the Start (2008)
- Being W (2008)
- Blood and Oil (2008)
- Religulous (2008)
- The Kingdom (2007)
- 11-M, la derrota de los embusteros (2007)
- 9/11: The Conspiracy Files (2007)
- American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007)
- Loose Change: Final Cut (2007)
- Unter falscher Flagge (2007)
- Zeitgeist (2007)
- Knowledge is for Acting Upon: The Manhattan Raid (2006)
- Freedom Fries: And Other Stupidity We'll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren (2006)
- The Road to Guantanamo (2006)
- The Path to 9/11 (2006)
- Civic Duty (2006)
- ...So Goes the Nation (2006)
- 911 Mysteries Part 1: Demolitions (2006)
- Why We Fight (2005)
- Martial Law 9/11: Rise of the Police State (2005)
- Fahrenhype 9/11 (2004)
- In the Shadow of Bin Laden (2004)
- Michael Moore, el gran agitador (2004)
- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
- Celsius 41.11: The Temperature at Which the Brain... Begins to Die (2004)
- Bush's Brain (2004)
- Le 11 septembre n'a pas eu lieu... (2004)
- Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (2004)
- Without Fear or Favor: The Best in Broadcast Journalism (2004)
- Greendale (2003)
- National Geographic: The FBI (2003)
- CIA: Guerres secrètes (2003)
- The Real Room 101 (2003)
- History Now: The Hunt for Osama and Saddam - Tracking Down the Killers (2003)
- Osama Bin Laden: Behind the Madness (2002)
- Naqoyqatsi (2002)
- Afghanistan: Land in Crisis (2002)
- The Secret KGB Sex Files (2001)
- America Under Siege (2001)
Famous quotes by Osama bin Laden:
"We treat them in the same way. Those who kill our women and innocent, we kill their women and innocent, until they refrain."
"We do not mind establishing a long-term truce between us and you."
"worse than the Jews."
"We love death. The US loves life. That is the difference between us two."
"Bush the father did well in placing his sons as governors and did not forget to pass on the expertise in fraud from the leaders of the region to Florida to use it in critical moments."
"to go out and murder innocent civilians."
"America is a great power possessed of tremendous military might and a wide-ranging economy, but all this is built on an unstable foundation which can be targeted, with special attention to its obvious weak spots. If America is hit in one hundredth of these weak spots, God willing, it will stumble, wither away and relinquish world leadership."
"Even as you enter the fourth year after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush is still misleading and deluding you and hiding the real reason from you."
"We did not find it difficult to deal with Bush and his administration, because it is similar to regimes in our countries - both types include many who are full of arrogance and greed."
"And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act under the disguise of fighting terrorism."
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THE LAST DAYS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN Worlds Most Wanted Terrorist National Geographic Natgeo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 44:51
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
THE LAST DAYS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN Worlds Most Wanted Terrorist National Geographic Natgeo
http://wn.com/THE_LAST_DAYS_OF_OSAMA_BIN_LADEN_Worlds_Most_Wanted_Terrorist_National_Geographic_Natgeo
THE LAST DAYS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN Worlds Most Wanted Terrorist National Geographic Natgeo
Obama: Osama bin Laden Dead - Full Video
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:46
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
President Obama announces that Osama bin Laden has been killed by US special operation forces. Key quotes from the President: "Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body. "As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not --- and never will be --- at war with Islam. I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."
http://wn.com/Obama_Osama_bin_Laden_Dead_Full_Video
President Obama announces that Osama bin Laden has been killed by US special operation forces. Key quotes from the President: "Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body. "As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not --- and never will be --- at war with Islam. I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 4205025
- author: UpTakeVideo
BBC: Osama Bin Laden; Dead or Alive (1/6)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:16
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
BBC Conspiracy Files: Osama Bin Laden Dead or Alive - tardid.net Broadcast on 10 January 2010 - Examining what has happened to the world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden. Despite one of the biggest manhunts in history, Osama Bin Laden remains as elusive as ever. Rooted in the facts around Bin Laden's disappearance and the continuing threat of Al Qaeda, The Conspiracy Files looks at the claims that the video messages of Bin Laden are being faked and that he is really dead.
http://wn.com/BBC_Osama_Bin_Laden;_Dead_or_Alive_1_6
BBC Conspiracy Files: Osama Bin Laden Dead or Alive - tardid.net Broadcast on 10 January 2010 - Examining what has happened to the world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden. Despite one of the biggest manhunts in history, Osama Bin Laden remains as elusive as ever. Rooted in the facts around Bin Laden's disappearance and the continuing threat of Al Qaeda, The Conspiracy Files looks at the claims that the video messages of Bin Laden are being faked and that he is really dead.
- published: 28 Jan 2010
- views: 1642011
- author: tardidnet
Osama Bin Laden's Driver - US Interrogation techniques in action first time released!!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 50:08
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
People say so much about US interrogation tecniques, well here it is in action. Listen, watch and learn how "terrible" we are. First ever released footage of an interrogation at GITMO. Hamdan was captured in southern Afghanistan on November 24, 2001. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, he was captured in a car with four other alleged al-Qaeda associates, including Osama bin laden's son-in-law, three of whom were killed in a firefight with Afghan forces. Hamdan and the other surviving associate in the car were later turned over to US forces. He was released January 8, 2009 to live with his family in Sana.
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden's_Driver_US_Interrogation_techniques_in_action_first_time_released!!
People say so much about US interrogation tecniques, well here it is in action. Listen, watch and learn how "terrible" we are. First ever released footage of an interrogation at GITMO. Hamdan was captured in southern Afghanistan on November 24, 2001. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, he was captured in a car with four other alleged al-Qaeda associates, including Osama bin laden's son-in-law, three of whom were killed in a firefight with Afghan forces. Hamdan and the other surviving associate in the car were later turned over to US forces. He was released January 8, 2009 to live with his family in Sana.
- published: 14 Apr 2012
- views: 158018
- author: 3rdID8487
1998 - Osama Bin Laden Interview with ABC John Miller
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:43
- Updated: 30 Oct 2012
1998 - Osama Bin Laden Interview with ABC John Miller;
http://wn.com/1998_Osama_Bin_Laden_Interview_with_ABC_John_Miller
1998 - Osama Bin Laden Interview with ABC John Miller;
- published: 07 May 2011
- views: 195871
- author: NightWoLF19841234
KIDS REACT to Osama bin Laden's Death
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:57
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
New React Every Sunday. Subscribe: bit.ly Watch all the episodes of Kids React: bit.ly THIS WEEK'S EPISODE: KIDS REACT SPECIAL - Osama Bin Laden's Death This is a special episode of KIDS REACT - It is important to take pause when historical events occur and to reflect on how the next...
http://wn.com/KIDS_REACT_to_Osama_bin_Laden's_Death
New React Every Sunday. Subscribe: bit.ly Watch all the episodes of Kids React: bit.ly THIS WEEK'S EPISODE: KIDS REACT SPECIAL - Osama Bin Laden's Death This is a special episode of KIDS REACT - It is important to take pause when historical events occur and to reflect on how the next...
- published: 08 May 2011
- views: 3656825
- author: TheFineBros
Osama Bin Laden dead- body identified
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:17
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
The founder and spiritual figurehead for al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is dead. Mark Phillips reports.
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_dead_body_identified
The founder and spiritual figurehead for al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is dead. Mark Phillips reports.
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 2038948
- author: CBSNewsOnline
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Osama Bin Laden Is in Washington, DC
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:06
- Updated: 27 Oct 2012
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Osama Bin Laden Is in Washington, DC
http://wn.com/Iran_President_Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_Osama_Bin_Laden_Is_in_Washington,_DC
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Osama Bin Laden Is in Washington, DC
- published: 05 May 2010
- views: 568291
- author: clmoss1981
NYC reacts to Osama bin Laden's death
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:40
- Updated: 30 Oct 2012
Across America, celebrations broke out as news spread of Osama Bin Laden's death. In New York City, crowds chanted and cheered through the night. Randall Pinkston reports with the reactions at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
http://wn.com/NYC_reacts_to_Osama_bin_Laden's_death
Across America, celebrations broke out as news spread of Osama Bin Laden's death. In New York City, crowds chanted and cheered through the night. Randall Pinkston reports with the reactions at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 122832
- author: CBSNewsOnline
First Announcement Death of Osama Bin Laden 10:40pm Fox News Geraldo Rivera Live Breaking News Dead
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:37
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
skip to 2:40 Recorded 10:40pm, May 1, 2011 All copyrights belong to Fox News. No copyright infringement intended.
http://wn.com/First_Announcement_Death_of_Osama_Bin_Laden_1040pm_Fox_News_Geraldo_Rivera_Live_Breaking_News_Dead
skip to 2:40 Recorded 10:40pm, May 1, 2011 All copyrights belong to Fox News. No copyright infringement intended.
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 151920
- author: rob4354343
Breitbart, Wikileaks the Osama Bin Laden Fraud
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 21:47
- Updated: 10 Oct 2012
atlah.org Dr. James David Manning believes Andrew Breitbart was murder because of info he have on Osama Bin Laden. Recorded on 6 March 2012. ATLAH THAT'S WHAT GOD SAID." Anointed to establish families, churches and businesses, unlike any the world hath seen. Indeed the final product of the land, ATLAH, will boast of being the seat of the world's banking, business, and education centers. Love us or hate us? Please Support Us bit.ly atlah.org The Manning Report
http://wn.com/Breitbart,_Wikileaks_the_Osama_Bin_Laden_Fraud
atlah.org Dr. James David Manning believes Andrew Breitbart was murder because of info he have on Osama Bin Laden. Recorded on 6 March 2012. ATLAH THAT'S WHAT GOD SAID." Anointed to establish families, churches and businesses, unlike any the world hath seen. Indeed the final product of the land, ATLAH, will boast of being the seat of the world's banking, business, and education centers. Love us or hate us? Please Support Us bit.ly atlah.org The Manning Report
- published: 07 Mar 2012
- views: 5350
- author: ATLAHWorldwide
Frost over the World - Benazir Bhutto - 02 Nov 07
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:38
- Updated: 21 Oct 2012
Sir David speaks to former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto about her controversial return to Pakistan, who she thinks is behind the deadly bombing of her convoy in Karachi last month, and whether she and Musharraf can forge a powersharing agreement.
http://wn.com/Frost_over_the_World_Benazir_Bhutto_02_Nov_07
Sir David speaks to former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto about her controversial return to Pakistan, who she thinks is behind the deadly bombing of her convoy in Karachi last month, and whether she and Musharraf can forge a powersharing agreement.
- published: 03 Nov 2007
- views: 692126
- author: AlJazeeraEnglish
Osama Bin Laden, The Story They don't Want You to Know
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:59
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
T-Shirts! hotdamnirock.weebly.com THE DOCUMENTARY MAC store.payloadz.com PC store.payloadz.com COMEDY DVD MAC store.payloadz.com PC store.payloadz.com Facebook www.facebook.com Fan Page www.facebook.com Twitter twitter.com 92q Radio Vlog www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden,_The_Story_They_don't_Want_You_to_Know
T-Shirts! hotdamnirock.weebly.com THE DOCUMENTARY MAC store.payloadz.com PC store.payloadz.com COMEDY DVD MAC store.payloadz.com PC store.payloadz.com Facebook www.facebook.com Fan Page www.facebook.com Twitter twitter.com 92q Radio Vlog www.youtube.com
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 1561355
- author: hotdamnirock
Osama Bin Laden Wife Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:15
- Updated: 26 Oct 2012
Via The New York Times: "Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, during which time he moved among five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a government hospital, his youngest wife has told Pakistani investigators. The testimony of Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, Bin Laden's 30-year-old wife, offers the most detailed account yet of life on the run for the Bin Laden family in the years preceding the American commando raid in May 2011 that killed the leader of Al Qaeda at the age of 54...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares his take. * www.nytimes.com Subscribe to The Young Turks: bit.ly Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com The Largest Online New Show in the World. Google+: www.gplus.to Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_Wife_Interview
Via The New York Times: "Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, during which time he moved among five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a government hospital, his youngest wife has told Pakistani investigators. The testimony of Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, Bin Laden's 30-year-old wife, offers the most detailed account yet of life on the run for the Bin Laden family in the years preceding the American commando raid in May 2011 that killed the leader of Al Qaeda at the age of 54...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares his take. * www.nytimes.com Subscribe to The Young Turks: bit.ly Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com The Largest Online New Show in the World. Google+: www.gplus.to Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
- published: 01 Apr 2012
- views: 81454
- author: TheYoungTurks
Obama did NOT kill Osama Bin Laden
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:22
- Updated: 23 Oct 2012
BBC interviewed residents in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Bin Laden's compound was located, and found most local residents share suspicions about whether the former Al Qaida leader was actually killed. "Are there any facts? Is there any proof provided by America to the whole world to prove this thing true? We have never seen any video, we have never seen any picture of bin Laden, and we have never seen a dead body," Rashid said. All credits to: BBC News FBI -- WARNING -- Federal law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute or exhibit portions of copyright motion pictures, video tapes, or video disks under certain circumstances without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called fair use and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching and parody.
http://wn.com/Obama_did_NOT_kill_Osama_Bin_Laden
BBC interviewed residents in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Bin Laden's compound was located, and found most local residents share suspicions about whether the former Al Qaida leader was actually killed. "Are there any facts? Is there any proof provided by America to the whole world to prove this thing true? We have never seen any video, we have never seen any picture of bin Laden, and we have never seen a dead body," Rashid said. All credits to: BBC News FBI -- WARNING -- Federal law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute or exhibit portions of copyright motion pictures, video tapes, or video disks under certain circumstances without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called fair use and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching and parody.
- published: 10 Sep 2012
- views: 2342
- author: djgabrielpresents
Osama Bin Laden's Compound: New Details Revealed
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:34
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
Exclusive footage reveals conditions inside Abbottabad mansion. For more on this story, click here: abcnews.go.com For the FULL 'GMA' Episode: abcnews.go.com
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden's_Compound_New_Details_Revealed
Exclusive footage reveals conditions inside Abbottabad mansion. For more on this story, click here: abcnews.go.com For the FULL 'GMA' Episode: abcnews.go.com
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 874052
- author: ABCNews
OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD! AGAIN!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:47
- Updated: 26 Oct 2012
The media finally decided to kill Bin Laden for good. www.telegraph.co.uk montreal.ctv.ca whatreallyhappened.com news.bbc.co.uk www.youtube.com www.reuters.com
http://wn.com/OSAMA_BIN_LADEN_IS_DEAD!_AGAIN!
The media finally decided to kill Bin Laden for good. www.telegraph.co.uk montreal.ctv.ca whatreallyhappened.com news.bbc.co.uk www.youtube.com www.reuters.com
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 21631
- author: thetruthergirls
Osama Bin Laden Raid: 'No Easy Day' Gives Details
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:19
- Updated: 28 Oct 2012
"The much-anticipated firsthand account of the Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden reveals the terrorist leader was unarmed and was already dead with a bullet to the brain when the SEALs entered his bedroom in the compound at Abbottabad, Pakistan...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares more details on The Young Turks. *Read more here from Marcus Baram on The Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com Support The Young Turks by Subscribing bit.ly Like Us on Facebook: www.fb.com Follow Us on Twitter: bit.ly Buy TYT Merch: theyoungturks.spreadshirt.com Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_Raid_'No_Easy_Day'_Gives_Details
"The much-anticipated firsthand account of the Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden reveals the terrorist leader was unarmed and was already dead with a bullet to the brain when the SEALs entered his bedroom in the compound at Abbottabad, Pakistan...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares more details on The Young Turks. *Read more here from Marcus Baram on The Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com Support The Young Turks by Subscribing bit.ly Like Us on Facebook: www.fb.com Follow Us on Twitter: bit.ly Buy TYT Merch: theyoungturks.spreadshirt.com Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com
- published: 30 Aug 2012
- views: 69800
- author: TheYoungTurks
When Bill Clinton Heard About Bin Laden's Death
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:34
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
President Bill Clinton told Ellen the story of when he heard the news of Bin Laden's death. Ellen asked him what information he had ahead of time from his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
http://wn.com/When_Bill_Clinton_Heard_About_Bin_Laden's_Death
President Bill Clinton told Ellen the story of when he heard the news of Bin Laden's death. Ellen asked him what information he had ahead of time from his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- published: 03 May 2012
- views: 215612
- author: TheEllenShow
Pentagon: NO PROOF of Killing Osama Bin Laden!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:54
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
In addition to images of President Obama's address to the American public on Sunday night, it has emerged that the dramatic photos of Obama, Biden, Hillary Clinton and members of the White House security team watching the assassination of Bin Laden "live" were in fact completely staged, casting further doubt on the ever-changing official account of the operation. On Tuesday, the White House released provocative images that purported to show, "US President Barack Obama watching live footage of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden." In one particularly dramatic photo, Hillary Clinton is seen with her hand anxiously clasped over her mouth as if reacting to a crucial event. Other photos show Obama and his staff with stern faces as they discuss the operation while it unfolds. The photos were described by many as having "historical significance," forming a "captivating" record of Obama's greatest success and being the "defining moment" of his Presidency. We were also told by the media that, "The leader of the free world saw the terror chief shot in the left eye." "US president Barack Obama along with his high-level team, watched live coverage in the White House, as the commandos gunned down the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden Via a video camera fixed to the helmet of a US Navy Seal," it was also reported. US chief counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan claimed that the head cameras that fed audio and video back to the White House, allowed Obama and his staff ...
http://wn.com/Pentagon_NO_PROOF_of_Killing_Osama_Bin_Laden!
In addition to images of President Obama's address to the American public on Sunday night, it has emerged that the dramatic photos of Obama, Biden, Hillary Clinton and members of the White House security team watching the assassination of Bin Laden "live" were in fact completely staged, casting further doubt on the ever-changing official account of the operation. On Tuesday, the White House released provocative images that purported to show, "US President Barack Obama watching live footage of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden." In one particularly dramatic photo, Hillary Clinton is seen with her hand anxiously clasped over her mouth as if reacting to a crucial event. Other photos show Obama and his staff with stern faces as they discuss the operation while it unfolds. The photos were described by many as having "historical significance," forming a "captivating" record of Obama's greatest success and being the "defining moment" of his Presidency. We were also told by the media that, "The leader of the free world saw the terror chief shot in the left eye." "US president Barack Obama along with his high-level team, watched live coverage in the White House, as the commandos gunned down the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden Via a video camera fixed to the helmet of a US Navy Seal," it was also reported. US chief counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan claimed that the head cameras that fed audio and video back to the White House, allowed Obama and his staff ...
- published: 16 Aug 2012
- views: 41854
- author: TheAlexJonesChannel
Osama Bin Laden Dead: Inside Navy SEALs Team Six, Training
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:54
- Updated: 28 Oct 2012
abcn.ws Chris Cuomo takes you inside the world of the elite team of "survivors." For more "World News" stories go here: abcnews.go.com
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_Dead_Inside_Navy_SEALs_Team_Six,_Training
abcn.ws Chris Cuomo takes you inside the world of the elite team of "survivors." For more "World News" stories go here: abcnews.go.com
- published: 04 May 2011
- views: 899736
- author: ABCNews
Osama Bin Laden Dead (CARTOON PARODY by FILNOBEP)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
FILNOBEP.net Osama Bin Laden Dead! (Created by Broken Equipment Productions) Beat produced by Fly Creativity Subscribe to us for more funny parodies.
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_Dead_CARTOON_PARODY_by_FILNOBEP
FILNOBEP.net Osama Bin Laden Dead! (Created by Broken Equipment Productions) Beat produced by Fly Creativity Subscribe to us for more funny parodies.
- published: 03 May 2011
- views: 1320502
- author: filnobep
Osama Bin Laden: How did they get him?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:03
- Updated: 27 Oct 2012
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports on the details of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
http://wn.com/Osama_Bin_Laden_How_did_they_get_him?
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports on the details of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 286347
- author: CBSNewsOnline
photo: UN / Eric Kanalstein
29 Nov 2012
Just before she leapt from her roof into the streets of Kabul, Farima thought of the wedding that would never happen and the man she would never marry. Her fiance would be pleased to see her die, she later recalled thinking. It would offer relief to them both. Farima, 17, had resisted her engagement to Zabiullah since it was ordained by her grandfather when she was 9 ... He ran outside. His daughter's torso was contorted ... Her skin was pallid....(size: 12.8Kb)
photo: AP / Sepahnews
27 Nov 2012
WASHINGTON -- The drone wars are here. While President Obama ponders new legal and moral guidelines to govern America's growing use of armed robot aircraft, the world outside the White House is engaged in a revolutionary frenzy of building, arming and flying killer drones ... More than 50 countries operate surveillance drones and, increasingly, are fitting them with weapons. The U.S ... spy drone was shot down last December ... On Oct ... 988 miles ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)
photo: UN / Jan Golinski
27 Nov 2012
Doha conference is warned that climate models do not yet take account of methane in thawing permafrost. Frozen ground in Siberia. Permafrost covers nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere. Photograph. Francis Latreille/Corbis. The United Nations sounded a stark warning on the threat to the climate from methane in the thawing permafrost as governments met for the second day of climate change negotiations in Doha, Qatar ... ....(size: 5.3Kb)
photo: AP / Jerome Delay
27 Nov 2012
M23 rebels controlling the eastern city of Goma in the DR Congo have said they are not about to withdraw as demanded by regional leaders ... "We met last night and I communicated to him the decision of regional leaders reached on Saturday and he accepted to pull back his forces out of Goma and Sake and also stop any further advances southward," Nyakayirima said ... 276 Source. ... Share. Send Feedback ... Secret details of Bin Laden burial revealed ... ....(size: 17.7Kb)
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas
28 Nov 2012
By Victor Kotsev. Thursday is shaping up as a big day in Palestinian history. Exactly 65 years after the United Nations resolution partitioning British Mandatory Palestine was adopted (and rejected at the time by the Arabs), the General Assembly will vote on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's proposal for non-member state status for Palestine within the borders of the period between the 1948 and the 1967 wars ... Â. Palestinian horizon....(size: 16.8Kb)
New York Magazine
29 Nov 2012
Pretrial hearings in the case against accused WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning are underway and could be complicated by newly declassified evidence from the computer of Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors announced today that digital media obtained in the raid of bin Laden's Abbottabad compound will be used, according to Washington Post researcher Julie Tate ... mission to kill bin Laden....(size: 2.9Kb)
Indian Express
29 Nov 2012
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... officials have hailed Afridi, aged in his 40s, as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden's location before the May 2011 raid ......(size: 1.6Kb)
IMDb
29 Nov 2012
From director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), "Zero Dark Thirty" tells the story behind the international search for the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden ... - Alex Suskind. ....(size: 1.0Kb)
IBN Live
29 Nov 2012
Peshawar. The Pakistani doctor who helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... Six prison guards have been suspended. Video Photo Gallery ....(size: 1.4Kb)
The Guardian
29 Nov 2012
US officials hailed him as a hero for helping pinpoint Osama bin Laden’s location ... The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said ... US officials have hailed Afridi as a hero for helping pinpoint Bin Laden's location before the raid in May 2011 that killed the al-Qaida leader....(size: 3.0Kb)
Newstrack India
29 Nov 2012
Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, who helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden, has started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions and the ban on meeting his family and lawyers, prison officials have ... Osama Bin Laden....(size: 3.2Kb)
Newstrack India
29 Nov 2012
The book dwells on various trends over a period of nearly a decade that resulted in the elimination of Osama bin Laden when the Seals of the US Marines struck at Abbottabad in Pakistan, incidentally a locale that is in the heart of a vital cantonment, including the Pakistan Army's premier military academy ... Osama Bin Laden ....(size: 4.5Kb)
BBC News
29 Nov 2012
The Pakistani doctor jailed for his role in the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden is on hunger strike, sources including a relative told the BBC ... He is alleged to have used a fake vaccination campaign to try to get DNA samples from the Bin Laden family, but Dr Afridi has been quoted as saying that he was unaware of his role in Bin Laden's death....(size: 2.3Kb)
The Washington Times
29 Nov 2012
Osama bin Laden was taught and accepted the extreme radical interpretation of the Koran that calls for us infidels to submit, convert to Islam or be killed ... Bin Laden began his crusade by telling us he had found our Achilles heel ... We must all guard against falling into bin Laden’s fatal trap of fear-to-anger-to-hate....(size: 1.9Kb)
Deccan Chronicle
29 Nov 2012
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... officials have hailed Afridi, aged in his 40s, as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden's location before the May 2011 raid that killed the al Qaeda leader....(size: 2.3Kb)
DNA India
29 Nov 2012
The Pakistani doctor who helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... US officials have hailed Afridi, aged in his 40s, as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden's location before the May 2011 raid that killed the al Qaeda leader....(size: 2.4Kb)
DNA India
29 Nov 2012
The Pakistani doctor who helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... US officials have hailed Afridi, aged in his 40s, as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden's location before the May 2011 raid that killed the al Qaeda leader....(size: 2.4Kb)
Khaleej Times
29 Nov 2012
The Pakistani doctor who helped the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hunt down Osama bin Laden started a hunger strike in his jail cell this week to protest against his living conditions, prison officials said on Thursday ... Afridi had been working with the CIA for years before the bin Laden raid, providing intelligence on militant groups in Pakistan’s unruly tribal region....(size: 2.3Kb)
"Osama" and "bin Laden" redirect here. For other uses, see Osama (disambiguation) and bin Laden (disambiguation).
| Osama bin Laden أسامة بن لادن |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (1957-03-10)March 10, 1957 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Died | May 2, 2011(2011-05-02) (aged 54) Abbottabad, Pakistan 34°10′9″N 73°14′33″E / 34.16917°N 73.2425°E / 34.16917; 73.2425 |
| Resting place | Arabian Sea |
| Nationality | Saudi Arabian (1957–1994) None (Stateless) (1994–2011)[1] |
| Years active | 1979–2011 |
| Successor | Ayman Al-Zawahiri[2] |
| Religion | Sunni Islam (Qutbism)[3][4] |
| Children | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Al-Qaeda |
| Years of service | 1988–2011 |
| Battles/wars | |
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( /oʊˈsɑːmə bɪn moʊˈhɑːmɨd bɪn əˈwɑːd bɪn ˈlɑːdən/; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin; March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011a), was the founder of 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.[5][6][7] He was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family, and an ethnic Yemeni Kindite.[8]
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.[9][10][11] From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, with a US$25 million bounty by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[12] 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.[13][14]
Contents |
Early life and education[link]
Main article: Personal life of Osama bin Laden
See also: Bin Laden family
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,[15] a son of Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a billionaire construction magnate with close ties to the Saudi royal family,[16] and Mohammed bin Laden's tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas (then called Alia Ghanem).[17] In a 1998 interview, bin Laden gave his birth date as March 10, 1957.[18]
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.[19] The couple had four children, and bin Laden lived in the new household with three half-brothers and one half-sister.[17] The bin Laden family made $5 billion in the construction industry, of which Osama later inherited around $25–30 million.[20]
Bin Laden was raised as a devout Wahhabi Muslim.[21] From 1968 to 1976, he attended the élite secular Al-Thager Model School.[17][22] He studied economics and business administration[23] at King Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest he earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979,[24] or a degree in public administration in 1981.[25] One source described him as "hard working",[26] another said he left university during his third year without completing a college degree.[27] At university, bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work.[28] Other interests included writing poetry;[29] 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 English club Arsenal F.C.[30]
Personal life[link]
In 1974, at the age of 17, bin Laden married Najwa Ghanem at Latakia, Syria;[31] 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.[32] Bin Laden fathered between 20 and 26 children with his wives.[33][34] Many of bin Laden's children fled to Iran following the September 11 attacks and as of 2010[update] Iranian authorities reportedly continue to control their movement.[35]
Bin Laden's father Mohammed died in 1967 in an airplane crash in Saudi Arabia when his American pilot misjudged a landing.[36] 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.[37]
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). 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.[38] Bin Laden was described as soft-spoken and mild-mannered in demeanor.[39]
Name[link]
There is no universally accepted standard for transliterating Arabic words and Arabic names into English;[40] 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". 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" (Arabic: القحطاني, āl-Qaḥṭānī), but bin Laden's father Mohammed bin Laden never officially registered the name.[41]
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".[42] The word ʾusāmah (أسامة) means "lion",[43] earning him the nicknames "Lion" and "Lion Sheik".[44]
Beliefs and ideology[link]
Main article: Beliefs and ideology of Osama bin Laden
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,[45] 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.[46] This belief, in conjunction with violent jihad, has sometimes been called Qutbism after being promoted by Sayyid Qutb.[47] Bin Laden believed that Afghanistan, under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban, was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world.[48] 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,[49] 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.[50]
Bin Laden's ideology included the idea that civilians, including women and children, are legitimate targets of jihad.[51][52] 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."[53] 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.[54]
Bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds,[55] 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.[56]
His viewpoints and methods of achieving them had led to him being designated as a terrorist by scholars,[57][58] journalists from The New York Times,[59][60] the BBC,[61] and Qatari news station Al Jazeera,[62] analysts such as Peter Bergen,[63] Michael Scheuer,[64] Marc Sageman,[65] and Bruce Hoffman[66][67] and he was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid, New York City, and Tripoli.[68]
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.[69] Al-Qaeda manuals clearly outline this strategy. In a 2004 tape broadcast by al-Jazeera, bin Laden spoke of "bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy".[70]
Militant activity[link]
Main article: Militant activity of Osama bin Laden
See also: CIA-Osama bin Laden controversy
Mujahideen in Afghanistan[link]
After leaving college in 1979, bin Laden went to Pakistan, joined Abdullah Azzam and used money and machinery from his own construction company to help the mujahideen resistance in the Soviet war in Afghanistan.[71][72] He later told a journalist: "I felt outraged that an injustice had been committed against the people of Afghanistan."[73] Under Operation Cyclone from 1979 to 1989, the United States provided financial aid and weapons to the mujahideen[74] 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[75] 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 trained volunteers from across the Muslim world to fight against the Soviet puppet regime; the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. It was during this time that he became idolised by many Arabs.[76]
Formation and structuring of Al-Qaeda[link]
Main article: 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.[77] 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.[78]
According to Wright, the group's real name was not used in public pronouncements because "its existence was still a closely held secret".[79] 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.[80] 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.[81] However, he was angry at the outbreak of internecine tribal fighting among the Afghans.[82]
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 Arab legion. Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. forces in Saudi territory.[83] Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi dependence on the U.S. military, arguing the two holiest shrines of Islam, Mecca and Medina, the cities in which the Prophet Mohamed received and recited God's message, should only be defended by Muslims. Bin Laden's criticism of the Saudi monarchy led them to attempt to silence him. The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division landed in north-eastern Saudi city of Dhahran and was deployed in the desert barely 400 miles from Medina.[82]
Meanwhile, 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.[84] 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 City on November 5, 1990.
Bin Laden continued to speak publicly against the Saudi government, for which the Saudis banished him. He went to live in exile in Sudan, in 1992, in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamed.[85]
Sudan and return to Afghanistan[link]
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.[86][87] During his time in Sudan, he heavily invested in the infrastructure, in agriculture and businesses. He built roads using the same bulldozers he had employed to construct mountain tracks in Afghanistan. Many of his labourers were the same fighters who had been his comrades in the war against the Soviet Union. He was generous to the poor and popular with the people.[88][89] He continued to criticize King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and in response, in 1994, Fahd stripped bin Laden of his Saudi citizenship and persuaded his family to cut off his $7 million a year stipend.[90][1] By now bin Laden was being linked 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.
The U.S. State Department accused Sudan of being a 'sponsor of international terrorism' and bin Laden himself of operating 'terrorist training camps in the Sudanese desert. Sudan therefore 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.[91] 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 against bin Laden in any country.[92]
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, and paid for by the CIA.
In May 1996, due to increasing pressure on Sudan, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States, bin Laden was permitted to leave for a country of his choice. He chose to return to Jalalabad, Afghanistan aboard a chartered flight, and there forged a close relationship with Mullah Mohammed Omar.[93][94] Despite his ambitions and organizational skills, when bin Laden left Sudan, he and his organization were significantly weakened.[95]
In August, 1996, bin Laden declared war against the United States. Despite the assurance of President George H.W. Bush to King Fahd in 1990, that all U.S. forces based in Saudi Arabia would be withdrawn once the Iraqi threat had been dealt with, by 1996 the Americans were still there, citing the continued existence of Saddam's regime (which Bush had chosen not to destroy). Bin Laden's view was that "the 'evils' of the Middle East arose from America's attempt to take over the region and from its support for Israel. Saudi Arabia had been turned into 'an American colony".[96] The fatwā was first published in Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based newspaper. It was entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places."[97] 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 referred to US forces based 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.[98] Bin Laden effectively took over 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.[99] 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".[100]
Early attacks and aid for attacks[link]
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.[101]
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.[102] 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,[103][104][105] 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.[106]
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.[107]
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".[108][109] 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."[110]
Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri organized an al-Qaeda congress on June 24, 1998.[111]
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.[112]
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.[113]
Yugoslav Wars[link]
See also: Bosnian mujahideen
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.[114] 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.[115] 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.[116][117] He was convicted of colluding with Osama bin Laden by a French court.[118]
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 60 miles (97 km) 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.[119][120][121]
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.[119][120][121] The Bosnian daily Oslobođenje published in 2001 that three men, believed to be linked to bin Laden, were arrested in Sarajevo in July 2001. The three, one of whom was identified as Imad El Misri, were Egyptian nationals. The paper said that two of the suspects were holding Bosnian passports.[119]
In 1998 it was reported that bin Laden was operating his al-Qaeda network out of Albania. The Charleston Gazette quoted Fatos Klosi, the head of the Albanian intelligence service, as saying a network run by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden sent units to fight in the Serbian province of Kosovo. Confirmation of these activities came from Claude Kader, a French national who said he was a member of bin Laden's Albanian network.
By 1998 four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) were arrested in Albania and extradited to Egypt.[122]
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.[123]
September 11, 2001 attacks[link]
"God knows it did not cross our minds to attack the Towers, but after the situation became unbearable—and we witnessed the injustice and tyranny of the American-Israeli alliance against our people in Palestine and Lebanon—I thought about it. And the events that affected me directly were that of 1982 and the events that followed—when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way: to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women."
— Osama bin Laden, 2004[124]
After his denial,[125][126][Full citation needed] Osama bin Laden finally claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States in 2004.[127][128][129] The attacks involved the hijacking of four commercial passenger aircraft,[130] 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,[131] and the deaths of 2,973 people[132] and the nineteen hijackers.[133] 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.[134]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that classified[135] evidence linking al-Qaeda and bin Laden to the September 11 attacks is clear and irrefutable.[136] 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.[137]
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.[138]
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.[139] 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."[140]
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.[128][141] 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.[128]
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.[142]
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).[143] 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).[144]
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[link]
| Osama Bin Laden | |
|---|---|
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives | |
| Charges |
|
| Reward | $25 million |
| Alias |
|
| Description | |
| Born | 1957 Saudi Arabia |
| Died | May 2, 2011(2011-05-02) (aged 54) Abbottabad, Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Ballistic trauma |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6'4" to 6'6" |
| Weight | Approximately 160 pounds |
| Occupation | Unknown |
| Criminal Status | |
| Added | June 7, 1999 |
| Number | 456 |
| Killed During Attempt to Capture | |
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.[68][145] Bin Laden was still wanted by the Libyan government at the time of his death.[146][147] 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.[148] 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.[148] 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[149] 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.[150][151] However the Taliban ruled not to extradict Bin Laden on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence published in the indictments and that non-Muslim courts lacked standing to try Muslims[152]
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.[153] 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.[154]
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."[155] In June 2006 FBI's chief of investigative publicity, Rex Tomb, saw no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.[156][157]
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.[158]
Pursuit by the United States[link]
Clinton administration[link]
Capturing Osama bin Laden had been an objective of the United States government since the presidency of Bill Clinton.[159] 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.[160] 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.[161] 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;[161] 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 in.[160]
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".[113]
Bush administration[link]
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.[42][162] On July 13, 2007, this figure was doubled to $50 million.[163] The Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association offered an additional $2 million reward.[164]
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.[165]
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.[166] 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."[167]
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.[168]
Obama administration[link]
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."[169] 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.[169] 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."[170][171]
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."[172]
In April 2011, President Obama ordered a covert operation to kill or capture bin Laden. On May 2, 2011, the White House announced that U.S. Navy SEALs had carried it out, killing him in his Abbottabad, Pakistan compound.[173]
Activities and whereabouts after the September 11 attacks[link]
Main article: Location of Osama bin Laden
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'.[174] 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.[175][176]
- Al-Qaeda continued to release time-sensitive and professionally verified videos demonstrating bin Laden's continued survival as recently as August 2007.[177]
- 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.[178]
- 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.[179]
- 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.[180] Pakistan's Prime Minister Gillani rejected claims that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan.[181]
- On December 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.[182]
- 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.[183]
- 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.[184] The Australian News,online edition published the claim on June 9.[185] 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.[186]
- On April 16, 2011, a leaked Al Jazeera report claimed that bin Laden had been captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.[187]
On March 29, 2012 Pakistani newspaper Dawn acquired a report produced by Pakistani security officials, based on interrogation of his three surviving wives, that detailed his movements while living underground in Pakistan.[188]
In a letter Bin Laden wrote in 2010 he chastised followers who had reinterpreted al-tatarrus — an Islamic doctrine meant to excuse the unintended killing of non-combatants in unusual circumstances — to justify routine massacres of Muslim civilians which had turned Muslims against the jihadi movement. Of the groups affiliated with al-Qaida, Bin Laden condemned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan for an attack on members of a hostile tribe, declaring that “the operation is not justified, as there were casualties of noncombatants.” Bin Laden wrote that the tatarrus doctrine “needs to be revisited based on the modern-day context and clear boundaries established.” He asked a subordinate to draw up a jihadist code of conduct that would constrain military operations in order to avoid civilian casualties. In Yemen, Bin Laden urged his allies to seek a “truce” that would bring the country “stability” or would at least “show the people that we are careful in keeping … the Muslims safe on the basis of peace.” In Somalia, he called attention to the extreme poverty caused by constant warfare, and he advised al-Shabab to pursue economic development. He instructed his followers around the world to focus on education and persuasion rather than “entering into confrontations” with Islamic political parties.[189]
Whereabouts just prior to his death[link]
In April 2011, various intelligence outlets were able to pinpoint bin Laden's suspected location near Abbottabad, Pakistan. 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 100 miles (160 km) away in a three-story mansion in Abbottabad at 34°10′9.51″N 73°14′32.78″E / 34.1693083°N 73.2424389°E / 34.1693083; 73.2424389.[190][191][192] Bin Laden's mansion was located 0.8 miles (1.3 km) southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy, the country's "West Point".[193][194][195][196] Google Earth maps show that the compound was not present in 2001, but was present on images taken in 2005.[original research?]
Death[link]
Main article: Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 am local time[197][198] 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.[199][200] The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan was launched from Afghanistan.[201] After the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden's body to Afghanistan for identification, then buried it at sea within 24 hours after his death.[202]
Critics accused Pakistan's military and security establishment of protecting bin Laden.[203] 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."[204] Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari denied that his country's security forces sheltered bin Laden,[205][206] 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.[207][208] Bin Laden was killed in what some suggest was his residence for five years.[209][210] It was an expensive compound located less than a mile from Pakistan Military Academy,[211][212][213] probably built for him[214] 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".[215][216]
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?"[217]
See also[link]
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References[link]
Footnotes[link]
- ^ a b Dan Ackman. "The Cost Of Being Osama Bin Laden". 2001-09-14. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "Ayman al-Zawahiri appointed as al-Qaeda leader". BBC News. June 16, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13788594. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ Osama Bin Laden (2007) Suzanne J. Murdico
- ^ Armstrong, Karen (July 11, 2005). "The label of Catholic terror was never used about the IRA". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/jul/11/northernireland.july7.
- ^ "Death of Osama bin Ladin". Pakistani Ministry Of Foreign Affairs. May 1, 2011. http://www.mofa.gov.pk/Press_Releases/2011/May/PR_150.htm. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ^ Baker, Peter; Cooper, Helene; Mazzetti, Mark (May 1, 2011). "Bin Laden Dead, US Officials Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html.
- ^ Aleem Maqbool. "Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead - Barack Obama". May 1, 2011. BBC News Online. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ Scheuer, Michael (February 7, 2008). "Yemen still close to al-Qaeda's heart". Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JB07Ak01.html. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives". FBI.gov. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Dan Eggen (August 28, 2006). "Bin Laden, Most Wanted For Embassy Bombings?". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700687.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Most wanted terrorists list released". CNN. October 10, 2001. http://articles.cnn.com/2001-10-10/us/inv.mostwanted.list_1_saif-al-adel-abdul-rahman-yasin-ahmed-khalfan-ghailani. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Fbi – Usama Bin Laden". Fbi.gov. August 7, 1998. http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/usama-bin-laden. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ^ "USS Carl Vinson: Osama Bin Laden's Burial at Sea". ABC News. USA. May 1, 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/uss-carl-vinson-osama-bin-ladens-burial-sea/story?id=13510831. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ Quigley, Rachel (May 6, 2011). "Your happiness will turn to sadness: Al Qaeda admits Bin Laden IS dead – but vows bloody revenge". Daily Mail (UK). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384260/Al-Qaeda-confirm-Osama-Bin-Laden-death-vow-continue-US-terrorist-attacks.html. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ^ "Frontline: Hunting Bin Laden: Who is Bin Laden?: Chronology". PBS. Archived from the original on February 10, 2006. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ David Johnson. "Osama bin Laden infoplease". Infoplease. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/osamabinladen.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ a b c Steve Coll (December 12, 2005). "Letter From Jedda: Young Osama- How he learned radicalism, and may have seen America". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/12/051212fa_fact. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden". GlobalSecurity.org. January 11, 2006. http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/osama_bin_laden.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "The Mysterious Death of Osama Bin Laden". August 3, 2011. http://votebits.com/tag/osama-bin-laden-histery. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ The Economist, "Osama bin Laden", May 5, 2011, p. 93.
- ^ Beyer, Lisa (September 24, 2001). "The Most Wanted Man In The World". Time. http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/wosama.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Bergen 2006, pp. 52
- ^ Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden, Verso, 2005, p. xii.
- ^ Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 22. Gale Group, 2002. (link requires username/password)
- ^ "A Biography of Osama Bin Laden". PBS Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/bio.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Aziz Hug (January 19, 2006). "The Real Osama". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080430133236/http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10855. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ Gunaratna, Rohan (2003). Inside Al Qaeda (3rd ed.). Berkley Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-231-12692-1.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 79
- ^ Michael Hirst (September 24, 2008). "Analysing Osama's jihadi poetry". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7630934.stm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden's bodyguard: I had orders to kill him if the Americans tried to take him alive". Daily Mirror. May 4, 2011. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/osama-bin-ladens-bodyguard-i-had-orders-126430. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
- ^ Michael Slackman (November 13, 2001). "Osama Kin Wait and Worry". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2001/nov/13/news/mn-3564. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Brian Todd, Tim Lister (May 5, 2011). "Bin Laden's wives – and daughter who would 'kill enemies of Islam'". CNN Edition: International. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/05/osama.many.wives. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ "Osama's Women". CNN. March 12, 2002. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0203/12/ltm.10.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Amy Zalman, PhD. "Profile: Osama bin Laden". About.com. http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/p/OsamabinLaden.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Osama bin Laden's family 'stranded' in Iran, son says. The Telegraph. July 19, 2010.
- ^ "Interview with US Author Steve Coll: 'Osama bin Laden is Planning Something for the US Election'". Der Spiegel. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,544921,00.html. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Best of the Web: Osama's Brother Died in San Antonio, Red Velvet Onion Rings|WOAI: San Antonio News
- ^ "Most Wanted Terrorist – Usama Bin Laden". FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm. Retrieved June 8, 2006.
- ^ "I met Osama Bin Laden". BBC News. March 26, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3570751.stm. Retrieved May 15, 2006.
- ^ Whitaker, Brian. "Arabic words and the Roman alphabet". Al-Bab.com. http://www.al-bab.com/arab/language/roman1.htm. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ bin Laden, Najwa; bin Laden, Omar; Sasson, Jean (2009). Growing up Bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-312-56016-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=RcBwm5b8VbAC.
- ^ a b "Most Wanted Terrorist – Usama Bin Laden". FBI. Archived from the original on March 10, 2006. http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Meaning of Usama". English–Arabic Almaany Dictionary. 2011. http://www.almaany.com/home.php?language=english&lang_name=English&category=Names+Meanings&word=USAMA. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ^ Warrick, Joby (September 8, 2007). "In a New Video, Bin Laden Predicts U.S. Failure in Iraq". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090700279.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Scheuer, Michael (2004). Imperial Hubris. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's, Inc.. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-9655139-4-4. "The focused and lethal threat posed to U.S. national security arises not from Muslims being offended by what America is, but rather from their plausible perception that the things they most love and value—God, Islam, their brethren, and Muslim lands—are being attacked by America."
- ^ Messages, 2005, p. 218. "Resist the New Rome", audiotape delivered to al-Jazeera and broadcast by it on January 4, 2004.
- ^ Dale C. Eikmeier (Spring 2007). "Qutbism: An Ideology of Islamic-Fascism". Parameters. pp. 85–98. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070609120804/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/07spring/eikmeier.htm. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Messages, (2005), p. 143. from an interview published in Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London November 12, 2001 (originally published in Pakistani daily, Ausaf, Nov. 7)
- ^ Messages to the World, (2005), pp. xix–xx, editor Bruce Lawrence.
- ^ October 6, 2002. Appeared in Al-Qala'a website and then The Observer November 24, 2002.
- ^ Messages, (2005) p. 70. Al Jazeera interview, December 1998, following Kenya and Tanzania embassy attacks.
- ^ Messages, (2005), p. 119, October 21, 2001, interview with Taysir Alluni of Al Jazeera.
- ^ Messages, (2005), p. 190. from 53-minute audiotape that "was circulated on various websites" dated February 14, 2003. "Among a Band of Knights"
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 303 "From interview with Ali Soufan – a Lebanese Sunni FBI agent"
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 167
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 172
- ^ Osama: The Making of a Terrorist John Randal I B Tauris & Co Ltd (October 4, 2005).
- ^ A Capitol Idea Donald E. Abelson p. 208.
- ^ Abby Goodnough (July 8, 2007). "Mysteries, Legal and Sartorial, at Padilla Trial". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/us/nationalspecial3/08padilla.html. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ Michael R. Gordon (September 17, 2001). "After the attacks: the strategy; A New War And Its Scale". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/world/after-the-attacks-the-strategy-a-new-war-and-its-scale.html. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "Is global terror threat falling?". BBC News. May 21, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7412036.stm. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ ""Osama bin Laden's operation" has "perpetrated the worst act of terrorism ever witnessed on U.S. soil". Aljazeera. August 17, 2008. http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2008/08/20088161083773835.html. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ Bergen 2006
- ^ Scheuer 2002
- ^ Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century Marc Sageman University of Pennsylvania Press January 3, 2008.
- ^ Bruce Hoffman (Spring 2004). "Redefining Counterterrorism: The Terrorist Leader as CEO". RAND Review.
- ^ A Devil's Triangle: Terrorism, Weapons Of Mass Destruction, And Rogue States Peter Brookes Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
- ^ a b "Wanted: Bin Laden, Usama". Interpol. Archived from the original on November 12, 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20041211102312/http://www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted/notices/data/1998/32/1998_20232.asp. Retrieved September 3, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ "Bin Laden: Goal is to bankrupt U.S.". CNN. November 2, 2004.
- ^ "Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech". Al-Jazeera. November 1, 2004. http://english.aljazeera.net/archive/2004/11/200849163336457223.html. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
- ^ "Who is Osama Bin Laden?". BBC News. September 18, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/155236.stm. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "Photo: Zbigniew Brzezinski & Osama bin Laden". March 23, 2006. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090602052000/http://fufor.twoday.net/stories/2302873. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ Interview with Robert Fisk, 22/3/97, 'The Great War For Civilisation', 2005, p.7.
- ^ "How the CIA created Osama bin Laden". Green Left Weekly. September 19, 2001. http://www.greenleft.org.au/2001/465/25199. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 145 "Lawrence Wright estimates his share of the Saudi Binladin Group circa fall 1989 as amounted to 27 million Saudi riyals – a little more than [US]$ 7 million."
- ^ Robert Fisk, 'The Great War For Civilisation', 2005, p.4
- ^ Bergen 2006, pp. 74–88
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Wright 2006, p. 260.
- ^ Asthana, N. C (January 1, 2009). Urban Terrorism : Myths And Realities. Pointer Publishers. p. 108. ISBN 978-81-7132-598-6. http://books.google.com/?id=8EqWnqdsgZMC&pg=PA108&dq=August+11,+1988,+meeting+between+%22several+senior+leaders%22+of+Egyptian+Islamic+Jihad,+Abdullah+Azzam,+and+bin+Laden.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 146
- ^ a b 'The Great War for Civilisation', Robert Fisk, 2005, p4.
- ^ Jehl, Douglas (December 27, 2001). "A Nation Challenged: Holy war lured Saudis as rulers looked Away". The New York Times: pp. A1, B4. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/27/world/a-nation-challenged-saudi-arabia-holy-war-lured-saudis-as-rulers-looked-away.html. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "USA v. Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel-Rahman et al: 93-CR-181-KTD". MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080109221029/http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332. Retrieved May 28, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ Steve Emerson. "Abdullah Assam: The Man Before Osama Bin Laden". http://www.iacsp.com/itobli3.html. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ Reeve, Simon (June 27, 2002). The new jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama Bin Laden and the future of terrorism. UPNE. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-55553-509-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=VQjpziNmoE4C&pg=PA172. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ Shay, Shaul; Liberman, Rachel (October 13, 2006). The Red Sea terror triangle: Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Islamic terror. Transaction Publishers. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4128-0620-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=v2ss0vor_DkC&pg=PA43. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ Gallab, Abdullahi A. (2008). The first Islamist republic: development and disintegration of Islamism in the Sudan. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-7546-7162-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=s1XdRfAJwLIC&pg=PA127. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ 'The Great War for Civilisation', Robert Fisk, 2005, p5.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 195
- ^ Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism, 2004.
- ^ "Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults" (PDF). 9/11 Commission. http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch4.pdf. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ Megan K. Stack (December 6, 2001). "Fighters Hunt Former Ally". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/06/news/mn-12224. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "Profile: Mullah Mohamed Omar". BBC News. September 18, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1550419.stm. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ "The Foundation of the New Terrorism" (PDF). 9/11 Commission. http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.pdf. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
- ^ 'The Great War for Civilisation', Robert Fisk, 2005, p22
- ^ "Bin Laden's Fatwa". Pbs.org. August 20, 1998. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ Wright 2006, pp. 250
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- ^ Westhead, Rick (April 1, 2011). "Questions about bin Laden embarrassing to Pakistan". Toronto Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/984289. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ Ross, Brian. "Osama Bin Laden Killed: U.S. Intelligence Probes Possible Pakistani Support System". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed-us-probes-pakistan-support/story?id=13516775. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ 'Osama raid took Pakistan Army by surprise'. PTI. July 26, 2011. rediff.com
- ^ "Death of Bin Laden: Live report". Yahoo!. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/death-bin-laden-live-report-013459906.html.
Additional notes[link]
- ^ The date according to Pakistan Standard Time (UTC+05:00).
Bibliography[link]
- Bergen, Peter (2006). The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-9592-7. http://books.google.com/?id=_XkM92XMlQ4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Osama+bin+Laden#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Wright, Lawrence (2006). The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda And The Road To 9/11. New York: Knopf. ISBN 1-4000-3084-6. http://books.google.com/?id=RNkj-mO-Nt8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Looming+Tower:+Al-Qaeda+And+The+Road+To+9/11#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Scheuer, Michael (2002). Through Our Enemies' Eyes. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-553-7. http://books.google.com/?id=sK0n1UoN9gAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Through+Our+Enemies%27+Eyes#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Further reading[link]
- Berner, Brad K (2007). Quotations from Osama Bin Laden. Peacock Books. ISBN 81-248-0113-4. http://books.google.com/?id=ytwlNcIqYs0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Osama+bin+Laden#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Bin Laden, Osama; Bruce Lawrence (2005). Messages to the world: the statements of Osama Bin Laden. Verso. ISBN 1-84467-045-7. http://books.google.com/?id=3_fRlEZoaioC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Osama+bin+Laden#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Scheuer, Michael (2011). Osama Bin Laden. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-973866-1. http://books.google.ca/books?id=Vt-a30Z4_UUC&lpg=PP1&dq=Osama%20bin%20Laden&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (2006) – Compilation of Usama Bin Laden Statements 1994 – January 2004
- Ibrahim, Raymond (2007). The Al Qaeda Reader. Broadway Books. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-7679-2262-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=Tdx3M-bHj34C&dq=raymond+ibrahim&hl=en&ei=_EsCTtq3KYOwuAPQkfj1DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA.
External links[link]
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- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at Dawn
- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
- Works by or about Osama bin Laden in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Osama bin Laden collected legal news at JURIST
- 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[dead link], slideshow by Life
- The Osama bin Laden File from The National Security Archive, posted May 2, 2011
- Letters from Abbottabad from Combating Terrorism Center
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | bin Laden, Osama |
| Alternative names | Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden (full name); أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن (Arabic); Laden, Osama bin (alternate form); Bin Laden, Usama (alternate transliteration); UBL (common referent); Bin Ladin, Ussamah (alternate transliteration); Ben Laden, Oussama (alternate transliteration); Binladen, Osama (alternate transliteration); Binladin, Osama (alternate transliteration); Al-Amir (alias); Abu Abdallah (alias); Mujahid, Sheikh Al- (alias) |
| Short description | Al-Qaeda leader |
| Date of birth | 1957-03-10 |
| Place of birth | Riyadh, Saudi Arabi |
| Date of death | 2011-05-02 |
| Place of death | Abbottabad, Pakistan |
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| Death of Osama bin Laden | |
|---|---|
 Osama bin Laden in 2010 |
|
| Participants | Osama bin Laden Central Intelligence Agency United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) |
| Location | Osama bin Laden's compound in Bilal Town, Abbottabad, Pakistan |
| Date | May 2, 2011 (2011-05-02) |
| Deaths | Osama bin Laden a.k.a. Abu Hamza, 54; Khalid bin Laden, 23; Arshad Khan, a.k.a. Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, 33; Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, 30; Bushra, Abrar's wife, age unknown. |
| Result | Osama bin Laden's body buried in North Arabian Sea |
Osama bin Laden, the former head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda known for the September 11 attacks, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 am local time[1][2] by Navy SEALs of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group. The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, was ordered by United States President Barack Obama and carried out in a Central Intelligence Agency-led operation. Participating units included the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (also known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six), the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), and CIA operatives.[3][4] The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan was launched from Afghanistan.[5] 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.[6]
Al-Qaeda confirmed the death on May 6 with posts made on militant websites, vowing to avenge the killing.[7] Other Pakistani militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also vowed retaliation against the U.S. and against Pakistan for not preventing the operation.[8] Bin Laden's killing was generally favorably received by U.S. public opinion;[9][10] was welcomed by the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and a large number of governments;[11] but was condemned by some, including Fidel Castro of Cuba[12] and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas administration of the Gaza Strip.[13] Legal and ethical aspects of the killing, such as his not being taken alive despite being unarmed, were questioned by others, including Amnesty International.[14] Also controversial was the decision to not release any photographic or DNA evidence of bin Laden's death to the public.[15]
Contents
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Locating bin Laden[link]
See also: Location of Osama bin Laden
The U.S. intelligence community effort to determine the current location of Osama bin Laden, which eventually resulted in the Abbottabad operation, began with a fragment of information unearthed in 2002, resulting in years of consequent investigation, followed by intensive multiplatform surveillance on the compound beginning in September 2010.
Identity of his courier[link]
Identification of al-Qaeda couriers was an early priority for interrogators at CIA black sites and Guantanamo Bay detention camp, because bin Laden was believed to communicate through such couriers while concealing his whereabouts from al-Qaeda foot soldiers and top commanders.[16] Bin Laden was known not to use phones, as the U.S. launched missile strikes against his bases in Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998 (Operation Infinite Reach) after tracking an associate's satellite phone.[17]
By 2002, interrogators had heard uncorroborated claims about an al-Qaeda courier with the nom de guerre Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti (sometimes referred to as Sheikh Abu Ahmed from Kuwait).[16] In 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged operational chief of al-Qaeda, revealed under interrogation that he was acquainted with al-Kuwaiti but that he was not active in al-Qaeda.[18]
In 2004, a prisoner named Hassan Ghul told interrogators that al-Kuwaiti was close to bin Laden as well as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Mohammed's successor Abu Faraj al-Libi. Ghul further revealed that al-Kuwaiti had not been seen in some time, which led U.S. officials to suspect he was traveling with bin Laden. When confronted with Ghul's account, Khalid Sheik Mohammed maintained his original story.[18] Abu Faraj al-Libi was captured in 2005 and transferred to Guantánamo in September 2006.[19] He told CIA interrogators that bin Laden's courier was a man named Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti. Because both Mohammed and al-Libi had minimized al-Kuwaiti's importance, officials speculated that he was part of bin Laden's inner circle.[18]
In 2007, officials learned al-Kuwaiti's real name,[20] though they will not disclose the name nor how they learned it.[18] Since the name Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan appears in the JTF-GTMO detainee assessment for Abu Faraj al-Libi released by WikiLeaks on April 24, 2011,[21] there was speculation that the U.S. assault on the Abbottabad compound was expedited as a precaution.[22] The CIA never found anyone named Maulawi Jan and concluded that the name was an invention of al-Libi.[18]
A 2010 wiretap of another suspect picked up a conversation with al-Kuwaiti. CIA paramilitary operatives located al-Kuwaiti in August 2010 and followed him back to bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.[16] The courier and a relative (who was either a brother or a cousin) were killed in the May 2, 2011 raid.[18] Afterward, some locals identified the men as Pashtuns named Arshad and Tareq Khan.[23] Arshad Khan was carrying an old, noncomputerized Pakistani identification card which said he was from Khat Kuruna, a village near Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan. Pakistani officials have found no record of an Arshad Khan in that area and suspect the men were living under false identities.[24]
In June 2011, Pakistani officials revealed the courier's name as Ibrahim Saeed Ahmed from Pakistan's Swat Valley. He and his brother Abrar and their families were living at bin Laden's compound.[25]
Bin Laden's compound[link]
Main article: Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad
The CIA used surveillance photos and intelligence reports to determine the identities of the inhabitants of the Abbottabad compound to which the courier was traveling. In September 2010, the CIA concluded that the compound was custom-built to hide someone of significance, very likely bin Laden.[26][27] Officials surmised that he was living there with his youngest wife.[27]
Built in 2004, the three-story[28] compound was located at the end of a narrow dirt road.[29] Google Earth maps made from satellite photographs show that the compound was not present in 2001 but did exist on images taken in 2005.[30] It is located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of the city center of Abbottabad.[26] Abbottabad is about 100 miles (160 km) from the Afghanistan border on the far eastern side of Pakistan (about 20 miles (32 km) from India). The compound is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), a prominent military academy that has been compared with West Point in the United States and Sandhurst in Britain.[3] Located on a plot of land eight times larger than those of nearby houses, it was surrounded by a 12-to-18-foot (3.7–5.5 m)[27] concrete wall topped with barbed wire.[26] There were two security gates, and the third-floor balcony had a seven-foot-high (2.1 m) privacy wall, tall enough to hide the 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) bin Laden.
There was no Internet or landline telephone service to the compound, and its residents burned their refuse, unlike their neighbors who set their garbage out for collection.[28] Local residents called the building the Waziristan Haveli, because they believed the owner was from Waziristan.[31] The compound was demolished in February 2012.[32]
Intelligence gathering[link]
The CIA led the effort to surveil and gather intelligence on the compound; other critical roles in the operation were played by other American government agencies, including the National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and US Defense Department.[33] According to The Washington Post, "The [intelligence-gathering] effort was so extensive and costly that the CIA went to Congress in December [2010] to secure authority to reallocate tens of millions of dollars within assorted agency budgets to fund it," U.S. officials said.[1]
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency rented a home in Abbottabad from which a team staked out and observed the compound over a number of months. The CIA team used informants and other techniques to gather intelligence on the compound. The safe house was abandoned immediately after bin Laden's death.[1] The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency helped the Joint Special Operations Command create mission simulators for the pilots and analyzed data from an RQ-170 drone before, during and after the raid on the compound. The NGA created three-dimensional renderings of the house, created schedules describing residential traffic patterns, and assessed the number, height and gender of the residents of the compound.[34]
The design of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad may have ultimately contributed to his discovery. A former CIA official involved in the manhunt told The Washington Post, "The place was three stories high, and you could watch it from a variety of angles."[1]
The CIA used a process called "red teaming" on the collected intelligence to independently review the circumstantial evidence and available facts of their case that bin Laden was living at the Abbottabad compound.[35] An administration official stated, "We conducted red-team exercises and other forms of alternative analysis to check our work. No other candidate fit the bill as well as bin Laden did."[36] This duplicate analysis was necessary because "Despite what officials described as an extraordinarily concentrated collection effort leading up to the operation, no U.S. spy agency was ever able to capture a photograph of bin Laden at the compound before the raid or a recording of the voice of the mysterious male figure whose family occupied the structure's top two floors."[1]
Operation Neptune Spear[link]
| Operation Neptune Spear | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War on Terror | |||||||
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Map of Pakistan. Abbottabad is 34 miles (55 km) from the capital Islamabad, 167 miles (269 km) from Jalalabad Airfield, and 232 miles (373 km) from Bagram Airfield. Bagram is about 850 miles (1,370 km) from the North Arabian Sea. (Straight line distances. Travel distances significantly more.) |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |
 al-Qaeda |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Barack Obama
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Osama bin Laden (†)
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| Strength | |||||||
| 79 6 helicopters 1 Belgian Malinois (military working dog) |
22 (number of residents, including children) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 helicopter lost to malfunction | 5 killed 17 captured (3 injured) 1 escaped |
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The official mission code name was Operation Neptune Spear.[3] Neptune's spear is the trident, which appears on Navy Special Warfare insignia, with the three prongs of the trident representing the operational capacity of SEALs on sea, air and land.
Objective[link]
The Associated Press cited two U.S. officials as stating the operation was "a kill-or-capture mission, since the U.S. doesn't kill unarmed people trying to surrender", but that "it was clear from the beginning that whoever was behind those walls had no intention of surrendering".[37] White House counterterrorism advisor John O. Brennan stated after the raid: "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that."[38] CIA Director Leon Panetta stated on PBS NewsHour: "The authority here was to kill bin Laden...Obviously under the rules of engagement, if he in fact had thrown up his hands, surrendered and didn't appear to be representing any kind of threat, then they were to capture him. But, they had full authority to kill him."[39]
However, a U.S. national security official, who was not named, told Reuters that "'this was a kill operation', making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan".[40] Another source referencing a kill (rather than capture) order states, "Officials described the reaction of the special operators when they were told a number of weeks ago that they had been chosen to train for the mission. 'They were told, "We think we found Osama bin Laden, and your job is to kill him",' an official recalled. The SEALs started to cheer."[41]
Planning[link]
The CIA briefed Vice Admiral William H. McRaven, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), about the compound in January 2011. McRaven said a commando raid would be fairly straightforward but he was concerned about the Pakistani response. He assigned a captain from the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) to work with a CIA team at their campus in Langley, Virginia. The captain, named "Brian", set up an office in the printing plant in the CIA's Langley compound and, with six other JSOC officers, began to plan the raid.[42]
In addition to a helicopter raid, planners considered attacking the compound with B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. They considered a joint operation with Pakistani forces. President Obama, however, decided that the Pakistani government and military could not be trusted to maintain operational security for the operation against bin Laden. "There was a real lack of confidence that the Pakistanis could keep this secret for more than a nanosecond," a senior adviser to the President told The New Yorker.[42]
President Obama met with the National Security Council on March 14 to review the options. The president was concerned that the mission would be exposed and wanted to proceed quickly. For that reason he ruled out involving the Pakistanis. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military officials expressed doubts as to whether bin Laden was actually in the compound, and whether a commando raid was worth the risk. At the end of the meeting the president seemed to be leaning toward a bombing mission. Two US Air Force officers were tasked with exploring that option further.[43]
The CIA was unable to rule out the existence of an underground bunker below the compound. Presuming that one existed, 32 2,000-pound (910 kg) bombs fitted with JDAM guidance systems would be required to destroy it.[44] With that amount of ordnance, at least one other house was in the blast radius. Estimates were that up to a dozen civilians would be killed in addition to those in the compound. Furthermore it was unlikely there would be enough evidence remaining to prove that bin Laden was dead. Presented with this information at the next Security Council meeting on March 29, President Obama put the bombing plan on hold. Instead he directed Admiral McRaven to develop the idea of a helicopter raid.
McRaven assembled a team drawing from Red Squadron, one of four that make up DEVGRU. Red Squadron was coming home from Afghanistan and could be redirected without attracting attention. The team had language skills and experience with cross-border operations into Pakistan.[43] Without being told the exact nature of their mission, the team performed two rehearsals in the U.S. on April 10 in North Carolina and April 18 in Nevada.[42][44]
Planners believed the SEALs could get to Abbottabad and back without being challenged by the Pakistani military. The helicopters to be used in the raid had been designed to be quiet and to have low radar visibility. Since the U.S. had helped equip and train the Pakistanis, their defensive capabilities were known. Furthermore the U.S. had supplied F-16 Fighting Falcons to Pakistan on the condition they were kept at a Pakistani military base under 24-hour U.S. surveillance.[45] The U.S. would know immediately if the Pakistanis scrambled their jets.
If bin Laden surrendered he would be held near Bagram Air Base. If the SEALs were discovered by the Pakistanis in the middle of the raid, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen would call Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and try to negotiate their release.[46]
When the Security Council met again on April 19, President Obama gave provisional approval for the helicopter raid. But he worried that the plan for dealing with the Pakistanis was too uncertain. Obama asked Adm. McRaven to equip the team to fight its way out if necessary.[43]
McRaven and the SEALs left for Afghanistan to practice at a one acre full-scale replica of the compound built on a restricted area of Bagram known as Camp Alpha.[47][48] The team departed the U.S. from Naval Air Station Oceana on April 26 in a C-17 aircraft, refueled on the ground at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, landed at Bagram Air Base, then moved to Jalalabad on April 27.[42]
On April 28 Admiral Mullen explained the final plan to the Security Council. To bolster the "fight your way out" scenario, Chinook helicopters with additional troops would be positioned nearby. Obama said he wanted to speak directly to Admiral McRaven before he gave the order to proceed. The president asked if McRaven had learned anything since arriving in Afghanistan that caused him to lose confidence in the mission. McRaven told him the team was ready and that the next few nights would have little moonlight over Abbottabad, good conditions for a raid.[42]
On April 29 at 8:20 a.m., Obama conferred with his advisers and gave the final go-ahead. The raid would take place the following day. That evening the president was informed that the operation would be delayed one day due to cloudy weather. On April 30 Obama called McRaven one more time to wish the SEALs well and to thank them for their service.[42]
On May 1 at 1:22 p.m., Panetta, acting on the president's orders, directed McRaven to move forward with the operation. Shortly after 3 p.m., the president joined national security officials in the Situation Room to monitor the raid. They watched night-vision images taken from a drone while Panetta, appearing in a corner of the screen from CIA headquarters, narrated what was happening.[46] Video links with Panetta at CIA headquarters and McRaven in Afghanistan were set up in the Situation Room. In an adjoining office was the live drone feed presented on a laptop computer operated by Brigadier General Marshall Webb, assistant commander of JSOC. Two other command centers monitored the raid from the Pentagon and the American embassy in Islamabad.[42]
Execution of the operation[link]
Approach and entry[link]
The raid was carried out by approximately two dozen heliborne United States Navy SEALs from the Red Squadron[43] of the Joint Special Operations Command's United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU). For legal reasons (namely that the U.S. was not at war with Pakistan), the military personnel assigned to the mission were temporarily transferred to the control of the civilian Central Intelligence Agency.[49][50][51] The DEVGRU SEALs operated in two teams[52] and were reportedly equipped with Heckler & Koch 416 carbine[53] military assault rifles (with attached suppressors[54]), night-vision goggles, body armor and handguns.[55]
According to The New York Times, a total of "79 commandos and a dog" were involved in the raid.[29] The military working dog[56] was a Belgian Malinois named Cairo.[57][58] According to one report, the dog was tasked with tracking "anyone who tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security forces".[54] The dog was to be used to help deter any Pakistani ground response to the raid and to help look for any hidden rooms or hidden doors in the compound.[42] Additional personnel on the mission included a language translator,[54] the dog handler, helicopter pilots, "tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers".[48]
The SEALs flew into Pakistan from a staging base in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan after originating at Bagram Air Base in northeastern Afghanistan.[59] The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), a US Army Special Operations Command unit known as the "Night Stalkers", provided the two modified Black Hawk helicopters[60] that were used for the raid itself, as well as the much larger Chinook heavy-lift helicopters that were employed as backups.[41][48][54]
The Black Hawks appear to have been never-before-publicly-seen "stealth" versions of the helicopter that fly more quietly while being harder to detect on radar than conventional models;[61][62] due to the weight of the extra stealth equipment on the Black Hawks, cargo was "calculated to the ounce, with the weather factored in."[54]
The Chinooks kept on standby were on the ground "in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way" between Jalalabad and Abbottabad, with two additional SEAL teams consisting of approximately 24 DEVGRU operators[54] and Army Rangers for a "quick reaction force" (QRF). The Chinooks were equipped with M134 Miniguns and extra fuel for the Black Hawks. Their mission was to interdict any Pakistani military attempts to interfere with the raid. Other Chinooks, holding 25 more SEALs from DEVGRU, were stationed just across the border in Afghanistan in case reinforcements were needed during the raid.[42]
The 160th SOAR helicopters were supported by multiple other aircraft, including fixed-wing fighter jets and drones.[63] According to CNN, "the Air Force had a full team of combat search-and-rescue helicopters available".[63]
The raid was scheduled for a time with little moonlight so the helicopters could enter Pakistan "low to the ground and undetected".[64] The helicopters used hilly terrain and nap-of-the-earth techniques to reach the compound without appearing on radar and alerting the Pakistani military. The flight from Jalalabad to Abbottabad took about 90 minutes.[42]
According to the mission plan, the first helicopter would hover over the compound's yard while its full team of SEALs fast-roped to the ground. At the same time, the second helicopter would fly to the northeast corner of the compound and deploy the translator, the dog, and four SEALs to secure the perimeter. The second helicopter would then hover over the house and the team leader and six SEALs would fast-rope onto the roof. The team in the courtyard was to enter the house from the ground floor.[42][65]
As they hovered above the target, however, the first helicopter experienced a hazardous airflow condition known as a vortex ring state. This was aggravated by higher than expected air temperature ("a so-called 'hot and high' environment"[42][58]) and the high compound walls, which stopped the rotor downwash from diffusing.[58][66][67] The helicopter's tail grazed one of the compound's walls,[52] damaging its tail rotor,[68] and the helicopter rolled onto its side.[16] The pilot quickly buried the aircraft's nose to keep it from tipping over.[54] None of the SEALs, crew and pilots on the helicopter were seriously injured in the soft crash landing, which ended with it pitched at a forty-five-degree angle resting against the wall.[42] The other helicopter then landed outside the compound and the SEALs scaled the walls to get inside.[69] The SEALs advanced into the house, breaching walls and doors with explosives.[54]
Killing[link]
The SEALs encountered the residents in the compound's guest house, in the main building on the first floor where two adult males lived, and on the second and third floors where bin Laden lived with his family. The second and third floors were the last section of the compound to be cleared.[70] There were reportedly "small knots of children...on every level, including the balcony of bin Laden's room".[54]
In addition to Osama bin Laden, three other men and a woman were killed in the operation. The individuals killed were bin Laden's adult son (likely Khalid,[71][72] possibly Hamza[44][73]), bin Laden's courier (Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti), al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, and Abrar's wife Bushra.[42]
Al-Kuwaiti opened fire on the first team of SEALs with an AK-47 from behind the guesthouse door, and a firefight took place between him and the SEALs, in which al-Kuwaiti was killed.[3][74] The courier's male relative Abrar was shot and killed, before he could reach a weapon found lying nearby, by the SEALs' second team on the first floor of the main house. A woman near him, later identified as the Abrar's wife Bushra was also shot and killed. Bin Laden's young adult son rushed towards the SEALs on the staircase of the main house, and was shot and killed by the second team.[3][52][72][74][75] An unnamed U.S. senior defense official stated that only one of the five people killed was armed.[76]
The SEALs encountered bin Laden on the second or third floor of the main building.[52][77] Bin Laden was "wearing the local loose-fitting tunic and pants known as a kurta paijama", which were later found to have €500 and two phone numbers sewn into the fabric.[44][68][74]
Bin Laden peered over the third floor ledge at the Americans advancing up the stairs, and then retreated into his room as a SEAL fired a shot at him, but missed.[78] The SEALs quickly followed him into his room.[1]
Inside the bedroom, two of bin Laden's wives stood in front of him, shielding him. One of them, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, screamed at the SEALs in Arabic and motioned as if she were about to charge. One of the SEALs shot her in the leg, then grabbed both women and shoved them aside. A second SEAL entered the room and shot bin Laden in the chest, and then in the head with his H&K 416 with Navy M855, 5.56 mm rounds.[79] The SEAL radioed, "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo," and then, "Geronimo E.K.I.A." (enemy killed in action). Watching the operation in the White House Situation Room, President Obama said, "We got him."[3][42]
There were two weapons near bin Laden in his room, including an AKSU rifle and a Russian-made Makarov pistol, but according to his wife Amal, he was shot before he could reach his AKSU.[80][81] According to the Associated Press the guns were on a shelf next to the door and the SEALs did not see them until they were photographing the body.[54]
Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter Safia was struck in her foot or ankle by a piece of flying debris.[3][82][83]
As the SEALs encountered women and children during the raid, they restrained them with plastic handcuffs or zip ties.[52] After the raid was over, U.S. forces moved the surviving residents outside[38] "for Pakistani forces to discover".[52] The injured Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah continued to harangue the raiders in Arabic.[42]
While bin Laden's body was taken by U.S. forces, the bodies of the four others killed in the raid were left behind at the compound and later taken into Pakistani custody.[24][84]
Wrap-up[link]
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The raid was intended to take 40 minutes. All told, the time between the team's entry in and exit from the compound was 38 minutes.[41] According to the Associated Press, the military offensive aspect of the raid was completed in the first 15 minutes.[54]
Time in the compound was spent killing defenders;[70] "moving carefully through the compound, room to room, floor to floor" securing the women and children; clearing "weapons stashes and barricades",[52] including a false door;[85] and searching the compound for information.[20] U.S. personnel recovered three AK-47s and two pistols, computer hard drives, documents, DVDs, thumb drives, and "electronic equipment" for later analysis.[41][86]
Since the helicopter that had made the emergency landing was damaged and unable to fly the team out, it was destroyed to safeguard its classified equipment, including an apparent stealth capability.[62] The pilot smashed "the instrument panel, the radio, and the other classified fixtures inside the cockpit," and the SEALs "[packed] the helicopter with explosives and [blew] it up". Since the SEAL team now had only one helicopter, one of the two Chinook held in reserve was dispatched to carry part of the team and bin Laden's body out of Pakistan.[27][42][44][87]
While the official Department of Defense narrative did not mention the airbases used in the operation,[88] later accounts indicated that the helicopters returned to Bagram Airfield.[54] The body of Osama bin Laden was then flown from Bagram to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in a V-22 Osprey escorted by two U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets.[89][90]
According to U.S. officials, bin Laden was buried at sea because no country would accept his remains.[91] Before disposing of the body, the U.S. called the Saudi government, who approved of dumping the body in the ocean.[42] Muslim religious rites were performed aboard the Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea within 24 hours of bin Laden's death. Preparations began at 10:10 am local time and at-sea burial was completed at 11 am. The body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet and placed in a weighted plastic bag. An officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. Afterward, bin Laden's body was placed onto a flat board. The board was tilted upward on one side and the body slid off into the sea.[92]
Pakistan-U.S. communication[link]
According to Obama administration officials, U.S. officials did not share information about the raid with the government of Pakistan until it was over.[6][93] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen called Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at about 3 am local time to inform him of the Abbottabad Operation.[94]
According to the Pakistani foreign ministry, the operation was conducted entirely by the U.S. forces.[95] Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials said they were present at what they called a joint operation;[96] President Asif Ali Zardari flatly denied this.[97] Pakistan's foreign secretary Salman Bashir later confirmed that Pakistani military had scrambled F-16s after they became aware of the attack but that they reached the compound after American helicopters had left.[98]
Identification of the body[link]
U.S. forces used multiple methods to positively identify the body of Osama bin Laden:
- Measurement of the body: Both the corpse and bin Laden were 6 ft 4 in (193 cm); SEALs on the scene did not have a tape measure to measure the corpse, so a SEAL of known height lay down next to the body and the height was approximated by comparison.[68]
- Facial recognition software: A photograph transmitted by the SEALs to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for facial recognition analysis yielded a 90 to 95 percent likely match.[99]
- In-person identification: One or two women from the compound, including one of bin Laden's wives,[100] identified bin Laden's body.[99] A wife of bin Laden called him by name during the raid, inadvertently assisting in his identification by U.S. armed forces on the ground.[101]
- DNA testing: The Associated Press and The New York Times reported that bin Laden's body could be identified by DNA testing[29][102] using tissue and blood samples taken from his sister who had died of brain cancer.[103] ABC News stated, "Two samples were taken from bin Laden: one of these DNA samples was analyzed, and information was sent electronically back to Washington, D.C., from Bagram. Someone else from Afghanistan is physically bringing back a sample."[99] A military medic took bone marrow and swabs (probably buccal swabs) from the body to use for the DNA testing.[42] According to a senior US Defense Department official:
| “ | DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis conducted separately by Department of Defense and CIA labs has positively identified Osama bin Laden. DNA samples collected from his body were compared to a comprehensive DNA profile derived from bin Laden's large extended family. Based on that analysis, the DNA is unquestionably his. The possibility of a mistaken identity on the basis of this analysis is approximately one in 11.8 quadrillion.[104] | ” |
- Inference: Per the same Defense official, from the initial review of the materials removed from the Abbottabad compound the Department "assessed that much of this information, including personal correspondence between Osama bin Laden and others, as well as some of the video footage...would only have been in his possession."[104]
Local accounts[link]
Beginning at 12:58 a.m. local time, Abbottabad resident Sohaib Athar sent a series of tweets describing the noise of helicopters hovering overhead—"a rare occurrence"—and several window-rattling blasts. By 1:44 a.m. all was quiet until a plane flew over the city at 3:39 a.m.[105] Neighbors took to their roofs and watched as American special forces stormed the compound. One neighbor said, "I saw soldiers emerging from the helicopters and advancing towards the house. Some of them instructed us in chaste Pashto to turn off the lights and stay inside."[106] Another man said he heard shooting and screams, then an explosion as a grounded helicopter was destroyed. The blast broke his bedroom window and left charred debris over a nearby field.[107] A local security officer said he entered the compound shortly after the Americans left, before it was sealed off by the army. "There were four dead bodies, three male and one female and one female was injured," he said. "There was a lot of blood on the floor and one could easily see the marks like a dead body had been dragged out of the compound." Numerous witnesses reported that power, and possibly cellphone service,[108] went out around the time of the raid and apparently included the military academy.[109][110] Accounts differed as to the exact time of the blackout. One journalist concluded after interviewing several residents that it was a routine rolling blackout.[111]
ISI reported after questioning survivors of the raid that there were 17 to 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack and that the Americans took away one person still alive, possibly a bin Laden son. The ISI said that survivors included a wife, a daughter and eight to nine other children, not apparently bin Laden's. An unnamed Pakistani security official was quoted as saying one of bin Laden's daughters told Pakistani investigators that bin Laden had been captured alive, then in front of family members was shot dead by American forces and dragged to a helicopter.[112][113][114]
Compound residents[link]
U.S. officials said there were 22 people in the compound. Five were killed, including Osama bin Laden.[48] Pakistani officials gave conflicting reports suggesting between 12 and 17 survivors.[115] The Sunday Times subsequently published excerpts from a pocket guide, presumably dropped by the SEALs during the raid, containing pictures and descriptions of likely compound residents.[116] The guide listed several adult children of bin Laden and their families who were not ultimately found in the compound.[117] Because of a lack of verifiable information, some of what follows is thinly sourced.[115]
- 5 adults dead: Osama bin Laden, 54;[118] Khalid, his son by Siham (identified as Hamza in early accounts), 23;[115][117] Arshad Khan, a.k.a. Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, the courier, described as the "flabby" one by The Sunday Times, 33;[115][116] Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, 30; and Bushra, Abrar's wife, age unknown.[119][120][121]
- 4 surviving women: Khairiah, bin Laden's third, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Hamza, 62;[115][116] Siham, bin Laden's fourth, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Khalid, 54;[115][116] Amal, bin Laden's fifth, Yemeni wife, a.k.a. Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, 29 (injured);[3][115] and an unidentified woman, either Arshad Khan's second, Pakistani wife,[115] or Khalid's wife and coincidentally the Khan brothers' sister, age unknown (injured).[121]
- 5 minor children of Osama and Amal: Safia, a daughter, 9 (injured); a son, 5; another son, age unknown; and infant twin daughters.[3][116][122][123][124]
- 4 bin Laden grandchildren from an unidentified daughter who had been killed in an airstrike in Waziristan. Two may be the boys, around 10, who spoke to Pakistani investigators.[115][125]
- 4 children of Arshad Khan: Two sons, Abdur Rahman and Khalid, 6 or 7; a daughter, age unknown; and another child, age unknown.[120][126]
Alternate account[link]
A book published in November 2011, Seal Target Geronimo, by Chuck Pfarrer, contradicted the account as given by US Government sources. According to Pfarrer, neither helicopter crashed at the beginning of the raid. Instead, the SEALs jumped into the roof from the hovering Razor 1 helicopter and entered a third floor hallway from the roof terrace. Osama's third wife, Khairah, was in the hallway headed towards the SEALs. She was blinded by a strobe light and pushed to the floor as the SEALs went past her. Osama bin Laden stuck his head out of a bedroom door, saw the SEALs, and slammed the door closed. At the same time, Osama's son Khalid bin Laden ran up the stairs to the third floor and was killed with two shots.[127][128]
Two SEALs broke through the bedroom door. Bin Laden's wife Amal was on the edge of the bed shouting in Arabic at the SEALs and Osama bin Laden dived across the bed, shoving Amal at the same time, for an AKSU machine pistol kept by the headboard. The SEALs fired four shots at bin Laden, the first missed, the second grazed Amal in the calf also missing bin Laden, and the final two hit bin Laden in the chest and head, killing him instantly. In Pfarrer's account, the total time elapsed from jumping on the roof to Osama bin Laden's death was between 30 and 90 seconds.[127][128]
Around the same time, snipers in the hovering Razor 2 helicopter shot and killed Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti when he came to the door of the guesthouse firing an AK-47. One SEAL sniper fired two shots at al-Kuwaiti and the other fired two three-round bursts. Two of the snipers' bullets went through al-Kuwaiti and killed his wife who was standing behind him. The Razor 2 team cleared the guest house and then breached their way into the main house with explosives. As the Razor 2 team entered the main house al-Qaeda courier Arshad Khan pointed his AK-47 gun and was killed with two shots. The SEAL team fired a total a sixteen shots killing Osama bin Laden, Khalid bin Laden, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti plus al-Kuwaiti's wife, Arshad Khan, and wounding Osama bin Laden's wife Amal al-Sadah.
Twenty minutes into the operation Razor 1 took off from the roof of the main house to reposition to a landing spot outside the compound. As Razor 1 was crossing over the courtyard both "green unit" flight deck control systems went off line. The helicopter settled slowly, bounced off the ground, and then broke apart as it hit the ground a second time. Both failed green units were removed for later examination.[127][128][128]
Media accounts had reported that the plan had been to fast rope to the inner courtyard and to clear the main house from the ground floor up. The helicopter crashed in the outer courtyard with the SEAL team still on board. The SEAL exited and needed to breach two walls and then into the house. As a result Osama bin Laden was killed several minutes into the operation.[42] Pfarrer's account differs in that a SEAL team was inserted onto the roof of the main house, that Osama bin Laden was killed seconds into the operation, and the main house was cleared from the top down. The Pentagon disputed Pfarrer's account of the raid, calling it "incorrect."[129] The US Special Operations Command also disputed Pfarrer's account, saying, "It's just not true. It's not how it happened."[130][131]
Aftermath[link]
Leaks of the news[link]
At around 9:45 p.m. EDT, the White House announced that the president would be addressing the nation later in the evening.[132] At 10:24 p.m., the first public leaks were made simultaneously and separately by Navy Reserve intel officer Keith Urbahn and actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on Twitter.[133] Anonymous government officials confirmed details to the media, and by 11 p.m. numerous major news sources were reporting that bin Laden was dead.[132][134]
U.S. presidential address[link]
At 11:35 p.m., President Obama appeared on major television networks:[132]
Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, and a terrorist who was responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children... (cont'd)
President Obama remembered the victims of the September 11 attacks. He praised the nearly ten-year-old war against al-Qaeda, which he said had disrupted terrorist plots, strengthened homeland defenses, removed the Taliban government, and captured or killed scores of al-Qaeda operatives. Obama said that when he took office he made finding bin Laden the top priority of the war. Bin Laden's death was the most significant blow to al-Qaeda so far but the war would continue. He reaffirmed that the United States was not at war against Islam. He defended his decision to conduct an operation within Pakistan. He said Americans understood the cost of war but would not stand by while their security was threatened. "To those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda's terror," he said, "justice has been done." This remark book-ended President Bush's statement to a joint session of Congress following the September 11 attacks that "justice will be done."
Reactions[link]
Main article: Reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden
Before the official announcement, large crowds spontaneously gathered outside the White House, Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in New York's Times Square to celebrate. In Dearborn, Michigan, where there is a large Muslim and Arab population, a small crowd gathered outside the City Hall in celebration, many of them being of Middle Eastern descent.[135] From the beginning to the end of Obama's speech, 5,000 tweets per second were sent on microblogging platform Twitter.[136] As news of bin Laden's death filtered through the crowd at a nationally-televised Major League Baseball game, "U-S-A!" cheers began.[137][138] In Tampa, Florida, at the conclusion of a professional wrestling event which was occurring at the time, WWE Champion John Cena announced to the audience that bin Laden had been "caught and compromised to a permanent end," prompting chants while he exited the arena to the song Stars and Stripes Forever.[139]
The deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said that, with bin Laden dead, Western forces should now pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan; authorities in Iran made similar comments.[140] Palestinian Authority leaders had contrasting reactions. Mahmoud Abbas welcomed bin Laden's death, while Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, condemned what he saw as the assassination of an "Arab holy warrior".[13]
The 14th Dalai Lama was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying, "Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened. ... If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." This was widely reported as an endorsement of bin Laden's killing and was criticized in Buddhist circles, but another journalist cited a video of the discussion to argue that the comment was taken out of context and the Dalai Lama only supports killing in self-defense.[141]
A The New York Times/CBS poll taken after bin Laden's death showed that 16% of Americans feel safer as the result of his death while 60% of Americans of those polled believe killing bin Laden likely would increase the threat of terrorism against the United States in the short term.[142]
In India, Minister for Home Affairs P. Chidambaram said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan". He also called on Pakistan to arrest them,[143] amidst calls for similar strikes being conducted by India against Hafeez Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim.[144]
Freedom of Information Act requests and denials[link]
Though the Abbottabad raid has been described in great detail by U.S. officials, no physical evidence constituting actual "proof of death" has been offered to the public, neither to journalists nor to independent third parties who have requested this information through the Freedom of Information Act.[145] Numerous organizations filed FOIA requests seeking at least a partial release of photographs, videos, and/or DNA test results, including The Associated Press, Reuters, CBS News, Judicial Watch, Politico, Fox News, Citizens United, and NPR.[146] At the time of filing their FOIA request, the Associated Press said:
This information is important for the historical record. That's our view.—Michael Oreskes, Senior Managing Editor, Associated Press[145]
On April 26, 2012, a US federal judge decided in the case Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense, et al. that the DoD did not need to release any evidence to the public. Judicial Watch's president responded to the ruling by saying:
The court got it terribly wrong. There is no provision under the Freedom of Information Act that allows documents to be kept secret because their release might offend our terrorist enemies. We will appeal.—Tom Fitton, President, Judicial Watch[147]
Conspiracy theories[link]
Main article: Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories
The reports of bin Laden's death on May 1, 2011 are not universally accepted[148] despite unreleased DNA testing confirming his identity,[29][102] Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter witnessing his death,[83][149] and a May 6, 2011 al-Qaeda statement confirming his death.[7] The swift burial of bin Laden's body at sea, speed of the DNA results, and the decision not to release pictures of the dead body formed the basis of conspiracy theories that bin Laden had not died in the raid.[150] Some Internet blogs suggested that the U.S. government feigned the raid, and some Internet forums hosted debates over the alleged hoax.[151]
Legality[link]
Under U.S. law[link]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, which authorized the President to use "necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons" he determines were involved in the September 11 attacks."[152] The Obama administration justified its use of force by relying on that resolution, as well as international law set forth in treaties and customary laws of war.[153]
John Bellinger III, who served as the U.S. State Department's senior lawyer during President George W. Bush's second term, said the strike was a legitimate military action and did not run counter to the U.S.' self-imposed prohibition on assassinations:
The killing is not prohibited by the long-standing assassination prohibition in executive order 12333 [signed in 1981], because the action was a military action in the ongoing U.S. armed conflict with al-Qaeda, and it is not prohibited to kill specific leaders of an opposing force. The assassination prohibition does not apply to killings in self-defense.[154]
Similarly, Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department, said in 2010 that "under domestic law, the use of lawful weapons systems—consistent with the applicable laws of war—for precision targeting of specific high-level belligerent leaders when acting in self-defense or during an armed conflict is not unlawful, and hence does not constitute 'assassination'."[154]
David Scheffer, director of the Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights, said the fact that bin Laden had previously been indicted in 1998 in a US District Court for conspiracy to attack U.S. defense installations was a complicating factor. "Normally when an individual is under indictment the purpose is to capture that person in order to bring him to court to try him... The object is not to literally summarily execute him if he's under indictment."[155] Scheffer and another expert opined that it was important to determine whether the mission was to capture bin Laden or to kill him. If the Navy SEALs were instructed to kill bin Laden without trying first to capture him, it "may have violated American ideals if not international law."[155]
Under international law[link]
In an address to the Pakistani parliament, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said, "Our people are rightly incensed on the issue of violation of sovereignty as typified by the covert U.S. air and ground assault on the Osama hideout in Abbottabad. ... The Security Council, while exhorting UN member states to join their efforts against terrorism, has repeatedly emphasized that this be done in accordance with international law, human rights and humanitarian law."[156] Former Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf denied a report in The Guardian that his government made a secret agreement permitting U.S. forces to conduct unilateral raids in search of the top three al-Qaeda leaders.[157]
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder said, "The operation against bin Laden was justified as an act of national self-defense. It's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field." He called the killing of bin Laden "a tremendous step forward in attaining justice for the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were murdered on September 11, 2001."[158] Commenting on the legality under international law, University of Michigan Law Professor Steven Ratner said, "A lot of it depends on whether you believe Osama bin Laden is a combatant in a war or a suspect in a mass murder." In the latter case, "you would only be able to kill a suspect if they represented an immediate threat".[155]
Holder testified that bin Laden made no attempt to surrender, and "even if he had there would be a good basis on the part of those very brave Navy SEAL team members to do what they did in order to protect themselves and the other people who were in that building."[158] According to Anthony Dworkin, an international law expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, if bin Laden was hors de combat (as his daughter is said to have alleged)[114] that would have been a violation of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions.[159]
The UN Security Council released a statement applauding the news of bin Laden's death, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "very much relieved".[160] Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement cautioning that, "actions taken by States in combating terrorism, especially in high profile cases, set precedents for the way in which the right to life will be treated in future instances."[161]
Handling of the body[link]
Under Islamic tradition, burial at sea is considered inappropriate when other, preferred forms of burial are available, and several prominent Islamic clerics criticized the decision.[100][162][163] Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb, the head of Al-Azhar University, Egypt's seat of Sunni Muslim learning, said the disposal of the body at sea was an affront to religious and human values.[164] Scholars like el-Tayeb hold that sea burials can only be allowed in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship, and that the regular practice should have occurred in this case—the body buried in the ground with the head pointing to Islam's holy city of Mecca.
A stated advantage of a burial at sea is that the site is not readily identified or accessed, thus preventing it from becoming a focus of attention or "terrorist shrine".[165] The Guardian questioned whether bin Laden's grave would have become a shrine, as this is strongly discouraged in Wahhabism. Addressing the same concern, Egyptian Islamic analyst and lawyer Montasser el-Zayat said that if the Americans wished to avoid making a shrine to bin Laden, an unmarked grave on land would have accomplished the same goal.[162]
The Guardian also quoted a U.S. official explaining the anticipated difficulty of finding a country that would accept the burial of bin Laden in its soil.[166] A professor of Islamic Law at the University of Jordan stated burying at sea was permitted if there was nobody to receive the body and provide a Muslim burial,[167] and that "it's neither true nor correct to claim that there was nobody in the Muslim world ready to receive bin Laden's body".[162] On a similar note, Mohammed al-Qubaisi, Dubai's grand mufti, stated: "They can say they buried him at sea, but they cannot say they did it according to Islam. If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: you dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it. Sea burials are permissible for Muslims in extraordinary circumstances. This is not one of them."[162] Khalid Latif, an imam who serves as a chaplain and the director of the Islamic Center of New York University, argued that the sea burial was respectful.[168]
Leor Halevi, a professor at Vanderbilt University and the author of Muhammad's Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society, explained that Islamic law does not prescribe ordinary funerals for those killed in battle, and pointed to controversy within the Muslim world over whether bin Laden was, as a "mass murderer of Muslims", entitled to the same respect as mainstream Muslims. At the same time, he suggested that the burial could have been handled with more cultural sensitivity.[169]
Omar bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, published a complaint on May 10, 2011, that the burial at sea deprived the family of a proper burial.[170]
Bin Laden's will[link]
After bin Laden's death, it was reported he had left a will written a short time after 9/11[171] in which he urged his children not to join al-Qaeda and not to continue the Jihad.[172]
Release of photographs[link]
CNN cited a senior U.S. official as saying three sets of photographs of bin Laden's body exist: Photos taken at a hangar in Afghanistan, described as the most recognizable and gruesome; photos taken from the burial at sea on the USS Carl Vinson before a shroud was placed around his body; and photos from the raid itself, which include shots of the interior of the compound as well as three of the others who died in the raid.[173]
A source told ABC News that the photos taken by the military servicemen on the scene depict the physical damage done by a "high-caliber bullet".[68] CBS Evening News reported that the photo shows that the bullet which hit above bin Laden's left eye blew out his left eyeball and blew away a large portion of his frontal skull, exposing his brain.[174] CNN stated that the pictures from the Afghanistan hangar depict "a massive open head wound across both eyes. It's very bloody and gory."[173] Senator Jim Inhofe, who viewed the photos, stated that the photos taken of the body on the Carl Vinson, which showed bin Laden's face after much of the blood and material had been washed away, should be released to the public.[175]
A debate on whether the military photos should or should not be released to the public has taken place.[176] Those supporting the release argued that the photos should be considered public records,[177][178] that the photos are necessary to complete the journalistic record,[179] and that the photos would prove bin Laden's death and therefore prevent conspiracy theories that bin Laden is still alive. Those in opposition to a release of the photos expressed concern that the photos would inflame anti-American sentiment in the Middle East.[180]
President Obama ultimately decided not to release the photos.[181] In an interview that aired on May 4 on 60 Minutes, Obama stated that "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. We don't need to spike the football", and that he was concerned with ensuring that "very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, or as a propaganda tool. That's not who we are."[182] Among Republican members of Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham criticized the decision and stated that he wanted to see the photos released, while Senator John McCain and Representative Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, supported the decision not to release the photos.[183][184]
On May 11, select members of Congress (the congressional leadership and those who serve in a committee of intelligence, homeland security, judiciary, foreign relations, and military) were shown 15 bin Laden photos. In an interview with Eliot Spitzer, Senator Jim Inhofe said that three of the photos were of bin Laden alive for identification reference. Three other photos were of the sea burial ceremony.[185]
The group Judicial Watch announced that they have filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain access to the photos.[186][187] On May 9, the Department of Defense declined to process Judicial Watch's FOIA request, prompting a lawsuit.[188] Federal judge James Boasberg ruled on this lawsuit on April 26, 2012, denying release of the photographs.[189] A FOIA request from the Associated Press was also declined.[190]
Role of Pakistan[link]
Pakistan came under intense international scrutiny after the raid. The Pakistani government denied that it had sheltered bin Laden, and said it had shared information with the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the compound since 2009.[191] After the raid, there was an unconfirmed report that Pakistan allowed Chinese military officials to examine the wreckage of the crashed helicopter.[192]
Connections with Abbottabad[link]
Abbottabad attracted refugees from fighting in the tribal areas and Swat Valley, as well as Afghanistan. "People don't really care now to ask who's there," said Gohar Ayub Khan, a former foreign minister and resident of the city. "That's one of the reasons why, possibly, he came in there."[193]
The city was home to at least one al-Qaeda leader before bin Laden. Operational chief Abu Faraj al-Libi reportedly moved his family to Abbottabad in mid-2003.[194] Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) raided the house in December 2003 but did not find him.[195] A courier told interrogators that al-Libi used three houses in Abbottabad. Pakistani officials say they informed their American counterparts at the time that the city could be a hiding place for al-Qaeda leaders.[196] In 2009 officials began providing the U.S. with intelligence about bin Laden's compound without knowing who lived there.[195]
On January 25, 2011,[197] ISI arrested Umar Patek, an Indonesian wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, while he was staying with a family in Abbottabad. Tahir Shehzad, a clerk at the post office, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating travel for al-Qaeda militants.[194]
Allegations against Pakistan[link]
Numerous allegations were made that the government of Pakistan had shielded bin Laden.[96][198][199] Critics cited the very close proximity of bin Laden's heavily fortified compound to the Pakistan Military Academy, that the U.S. chose to not notify Pakistani authorities before the operation, and the double standards of Pakistan regarding the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[199][199][200][201] U.S. government files, leaked by Wikileaks, disclosed that American diplomats had been told that Pakistani security services were tipping off bin Laden every time U.S. forces approached. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), also helped smuggle al-Qaeda militants into Afghanistan to fight NATO troops. According to the leaked files, in December 2009, the government of Tajikistan had also told U.S. officials that many in Pakistan were aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.[202]
CIA chief Leon Panetta said the CIA had ruled out involving Pakistan in the operation, because it feared that "any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets."[203] However, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated that "cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding".[204] Obama echoed her sentiments.[205] John O. Brennan, Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor, said that it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have support from within Pakistan. He further stated: "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking at how he was able to hide out there for so long."[206]
Indian Minister for Home Affairs P. Chidambaram said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India, and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan". He called on Pakistan to arrest them.[207]
Pakistani-born British MP Khalid Mahmood stated that he was "flabbergasted and shocked" after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al-Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces.[208]
On August 7, 2011, the American spy novelist and security analyst Raelynn Hillhouse published an account on her national security blog "The Spy Who Billed Me"[209] that suggested Pakistan's ISI had been sheltering bin Laden in return for a $25 million bounty, however ISI and government officials have denied the allegations.[210] Former Pakistani Army Chief, General Ziauddin Butt has said that, according to his knowledge, Osama bin Laden was kept in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad by the then Director-General of the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan (2004–2008), Brigadier Ijaz Shah. This had occurred with the "full knowledge" of former army chief General Pervez Musharraf and possibly that of current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.[211] Emails from the private US security firm, Stratfor, published by WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012, indicate that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's ISI knew of Osama Bin Laden's Abbottabad safe house. Stratfor had been given access to the papers collected by US forces from Bin Laden's Abbottabad house. The emails reveal that these Pakistani officers included "Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General".[212]
Pakistani response[link]
According to a Pakistani intelligence official, raw phone-tap data had been transferred to the United States without being analyzed by Pakistan. While the U.S. "was concentrating on this" information since September 2010, information regarding bin Laden and the compound's inhabitants had "slipped from" Pakistan's "radar" over the months. Bin Laden left "an invisible footprint" and he had not been contacting other militant networks. It was noted that much focus had been placed on a courier entering and leaving the compound. The transfer of intelligence to the U.S. was a regular occurrence according to the official, who also stated regarding the raid that "I think they came in undetected and went out the same day", and Pakistan did not believe that U.S. personnel were present in the area before the special operation occurred.[205]
According to the Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan had prior knowledge that an operation would happen. Pakistan was "in the know of certain things" and "what happened, happened with our consent. Americans got to know him—where he was first—and that's why they struck it and struck it precisely." Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., had said that Pakistan would have pursued bin Laden had the intelligence of his location existed with them and Pakistan was "very glad that our American partners did. They had superior intelligence, superior technology, and we are grateful to them."[205]
Another Pakistani official stated that Pakistan "assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and the operation was conducted by the United States. He also said that "in any event, we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong."[205]
In June the ISI arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Osama bin Laden's compound and five CIA informants.[213]
Code name[link]
See also: Code name Geronimo controversy
Several officials who were present in the Situation Room, including the president,[182] told reporters that the code name for bin Laden was "Geronimo." They had watched Leon Panetta, speaking from CIA headquarters, while he narrated the action in Abbottabad. Panetta said, "We have a visual on Geronimo," and later, "Geronimo EKIA"--enemy killed in action.[44] The actual words of the commander on the ground were, "For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."[214] Officials subsequently explained that each step of the mission was labelled alphabetically in an "Execution Checklist," which is used to ensure all participants in a large operation are kept synchronized with a minimum of radio traffic. "Geronimo" indicated the raiders had reached step "G," the capture or killing of bin Laden.[54] Osama bin Laden himself was identified as "Jackpot," the general code name for the target of an operation.[214] ABC News reported that otherwise his regular code name was "Cakebread."[46] The New Yorker reported that bin Laden's codename was "Crankshaft."[42]
Many Native Americans were offended that Geronimo, the legendary 19th century Apache, was irrevocably linked with bin Laden. The chairman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, the successor to Geronimo's tribe, wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to "right this wrong."[215] The president of the Navajo Nation requested that the U.S. government change the code name retroactively.[216] Officials from the National Congress of American Indians said the focus should be on honoring the disproportionately high number of Native Americans serving in the military, and they had been assured that "Geronimo" was not a code name for bin Laden.[217] The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard testimony on the issue from tribal leaders, while the Defense Department had no comment except to say that no disrespect was intended.[216]
Derivation of intelligence[link]
After the death of bin Laden, some officials from the Bush administration, such as Bush Office of Legal Counsel attorney John Yoo[218][219] and former attorney general under Bush Michael Mukasey,[220][221] wrote op-eds claiming that enhanced interrogation techniques they authorized yielded the intelligence that later led to locating bin Laden's hideout.[222][223] Mukasey specifically stated that the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was what brought out the crucial detail of the nickname of bin Laden's courier.[224]
U.S. officials[225] and legislators including Republican John McCain[226] and Democrat Diane Feinstein, chairwoman of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, countered that those statements were "false," noting a report by CIA Director Leon Panetta stating that the first mention of the courier's nickname did not come from Mohammed, but rather from another government's interrogation of a suspect whom they said they "believe was not tortured." McCain called on Mukasey to retract his claims.[227]
"I have sought further information from the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and they confirm for me that, in fact, the best intelligence gained from a CIA detainee—information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's real role in Al-Qaeda and his true relationship to Osama bin Laden—was obtained through standard, non-coercive means, not through any 'enhanced interrogation technique.'"[226]—John McCain
CIA director Leon Panetta had written a letter to McCain on the issue, stating, "Some of the detainees who provided useful information about the facilitator/courier's role had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. Whether those techniques were the 'only timely and effective way' to obtain such information is a matter of debate and cannot be established definitively."[227][228] Although some information may have been obtained from detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, Panetta's letter to Senator McCain confirms that enhanced interrogation techniques may have hindered the search for Bin Laden by producing false information during interrogations. In the letter CIA Director Panetta wrote Senator McCain that
- "We first learned about the facilitator/courier's nom de guerre from a detainee not in CIA custody in 2002. It is also important to note that some detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques attempted to provide false or misleading information about the facilitator/courier. These attempts to falsify the facilitator/courier's role were alerting. In the end, no detainee in CIA custody revealed the facilitator/courier's full true name or specific whereabouts. This information was discovered through other intelligence means."[229]
In addition, other U.S. officials claim that shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, detainees in CIA secret prisons told interrogators about the courier's pseudonym "al-Kuwaiti" and that when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was later captured, he only "confirmed" the courier's pseudonym. After Abu Faraj al-Libbi was captured he provided false or misleading information: he denied that he knew al-Kuwaiti and he made up another name instead.[16] Also, a group of interrogators asserted that the courier's nickname, was not divulged "during torture, but rather several months later, when [detainees] were questioned by interrogators who did not use abusive techniques."[230]
Intelligence post mortem[link]
Evidence seized from the compound is said to include ten cell phones, five to ten computers, twelve hard drives, at least 100 computer disks (including thumb drives and DVDs), handwritten notes, documents, weapons and "an assortment of personal items".[231][232] Intelligence analysts will also study call detail records from two phone numbers that were found to be sewn into bin Laden's clothing.[231] They helped over the course of several months to apprehend several al-Qaeda members in several countries and to kill several of bin Laden's closest associates by CIA drone attacks in Pakistan.[232]
The material gathered at the compound is being stored at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where forensic experts will analyze fingerprints, DNA and other trace evidence left on the material.[231] Copies of the material are being provided to other agencies; officials want to preserve a chain of custody in case any of the information is needed as evidence in a future trial.
A special CIA team has been given the responsibility of combing through the digital material and documents removed from the bin Laden compound.[233] The CIA team is working in collaboration with other U.S. government agencies "to triage, catalog and analyze this intelligence."[104]
Bin Laden's youngest wife told Pakistani investigators that the family lived in the feudal village of Chak Shah Mohammad Khan, in the nearby district of Haripur, for two-and-a-half years prior to moving to Abbottabad in late 2005.[124]
The material seized from the compound contained al-Qaeda's strategy for Afghanistan after America's withdrawal from the country in 2014[234] as well as thousands of electronic memos and missives that captured conversations between bin Laden and his deputies around the world.[235] It showed that bin Laden stayed in touch with al-Qaeda's established affiliates and sought new alliances with groups such as Boko Haram from Nigeria.[234] According to the material, he sought to reassert control over factions of loosely affiliated jihadists from Yemen to Somalia, as well as independent actors whom he believed had sullied al-Qaeda's reputation and muddied its central message.[235] Bin Laden was worried at times about his personal security and was annoyed that his organization had not utilized the Arab spring to improve its image.[235] He acted, according to the Washington Post, on the one hand as "chief executive fully engaged in the group's myriad crises, grappling with financial problems, recruitment, rebellious field managers and sudden staff vacancies resulting from the unrelenting U.S. drone campaign.",[235] and on the other hand as "a hands-on manager who participated in the terrorist group's operational planning and strategic thinking while also giving orders and advice to field operatives scattered worldwide."[235] The material also described Osama bin Laden's relation with Ayman al-Zawahiri and Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.[235]
Seventeen documents seized during the Attabotad raid, consisting of electronic letters or draft letters dating from September 2006 to April 2011, were released by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point one year and one day after bin Laden's death.[232] and made available at the Washington Post Homepage[236] The documents cover the areas of news media in America, affiliates, targets, America, security, and the Arab Spring.[237] In the documents, bin Laden stated that al-Qaeda's strength is limited and suggested therefore that the best way to attack the United States, which he compared to a tree, "is to concentrate on sawing the trunk".[232] Osama bin Laden refused the promotion of Anwar al-Awlaki when this was requested by Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "We here become reassured of the people when they go to the line and get examined there,"[232] bin Laden said. He told al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to expand operations in the United States in the wake of the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot by writing "We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes."[232] The seized material shed light on al-Qaeda's relationship with Iran, which detained jihadis and their relatives in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, including members of bin Laden's family. Al-Qaeda's relationship with Iran was, according to the Combating Terrorism Center, an "unpleasant byproduct of necessity, fueled by mutual distrust and antagonism."[232] An explicit reference to any institutional support from Pakistan for al-Qaeda wasn't mentioned in the documents; instead, bin Laden instructed his family members how to avoid detection so that members of Pakistani intelligence couldn't track them to find him.[238] According to the seized material, the former commander of the international forces in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, and US President Barack Obama should be assassinated during any of their visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan, if there was an opportunity to do so. US Vice-President Joe Biden should not be a target according to bin Laden, because "Biden is totally unprepared for that post [of president], which will lead the US into a crisis."[238] Al-Qaeda leader bin Laden was also against one-person suicide attacks and was of the opinion that instead at least two persons should be sent to undertake these attacks.[238] He planned to reform in a way so that al-Qaeda's central leadership has a greater say in the naming of the al-Qaeda branch leaders and their deputies. Osama bin Laden expressed his opinion that killing Muslims has weakened his organization and not helped al-Qaeda. He wrote that the killing of Muslims has "cost the mujahedeen no small amount of sympathy among Muslims. The enemy has exploited the mistakes of the mujahedeen to mar their image among the masses."[239]
Helicopter stealth technology revelations[link]
The tail section of the secret helicopter survived demolition and lay just outside the compound wall.[240] Pakistani security forces put up a cloth barrier at first light to hide the wreckage.[241] Later, a tractor hauled it away hidden under a tarp.[242] Journalists nevertheless managed to obtain photographs which revealed the previously undisclosed stealth technology. Aviation Week said the helicopter appeared to be a significantly modified MH-60 Black Hawk. Serial numbers found at the scene were consistent with an MH-60 built in 2009.[243] Its performance during the operation confirmed that a stealth helicopter could evade detection in a militarily sensitive, densely populated area. Photos showed that Black Hawk's tail had stealth-configured shapes on the boom and the fairings, swept stabilizers and a "hubcap" over the noise-reducing five- or six-blade tail rotor. It appeared to have a silver-loaded infrared suppression finish similar to some V-22 Ospreys.[240] The U.S. requested return of the wreckage and the Chinese government also expressed interest, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan had custody of the wreckage for over two weeks before its return was secured by US Senator John Kerry.[244] Experts disagreed as to how much information could have been gleaned from the tail fragment. Stealth technology was already operational on several fixed-wing aircraft and the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter- however, the modified Black Hawk was the first confirmed operational "stealth helicopter". Likely, the most valuable information could come from radar-absorbing paint used on the tail section.[240][245] Local children were seen picking up pieces of the wreckage and selling them as souvenirs.[120] In August 2011, reports surfaced that Pakistan had allowed the People's Republic of China scientists to examine the helicopter's tail section and were especially interested in its radar-absorbing paint.[246] Pakistan and the PRC subsequently denied these claims.[247]
Pakistani informant jailed[link]
Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Bin Laden, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for treason by a Pakistani court.[248] Pakistani officials stated the sentence was appropriate for a Pakistani citizen helping an external intelligence agency without informing Pakistan's security agencies.[249] Senior U.S. politicians have strongly condemned the decision. The BBC reported that the "US Senate panel has cut $33m (£21m) in aid to Pakistan" in reaction to it.[250]
Previous attempts to capture or kill bin Laden[link]
See also: Battle of Tora Bora and Location of Osama bin Laden
- February 1994: A team of Libyans attacked bin Laden's home in the Sudan. The CIA investigated and reported that they had been hired by Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia accused them of lying to make bin Laden more amenable to Sudanese interests.[251][252]
- August 20, 1998: In Operation Infinite Reach, the U.S. Navy launched 66 cruise missiles at a suspected al-Qaeda training camp outside Khost, Afghanistan, where bin Laden was expected to be. Reports said that 30 people may have been killed.[253]
- 2000: Foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA 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.[254]
- December 2001: During the opening stages of the war in Afghanistan launched following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. and its allies believed that bin Laden was hiding in the rugged mountains at Tora Bora. Despite overrunning the Taliban and al-Qaeda positions, they failed to capture or kill him.[255]
See also[link]
- Coup de main
- FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
- High-value target
- Special Activities Division
- Shakil Afridi, doctor accused of assisting the US in locating Bin Laden
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- ^ Flock, Elizabeth (May 4, 2011). "Osama bin Laden tells his children not to fight jihad in his will". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/osama-bin-laden-tells-children-not-to-fight-jihad-in-his-will/2011/05/04/AFDP4UmF_blog.html. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- ^ a b "Even more details on the OBL photos". CNN. May 3, 2011. http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/even-more-on-the-photos/.
- ^ CBS Evening News, May 4, 2011.
- ^ "The CIA has shown U.S. politicians photographic proof of the death of al-Qai'da founder Osama bin Laden". The Australian. Agence France-Presse. May 12, 2011. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/the-cia-has-shown-us-politicians-photographic-proof-of-the-death-of-al-qaida-founder-osama-bin-laden/story-fn8ljzlv-1226054642690. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
- ^ Winter, Michael (May 3, 2011). "White House: Releasing 'gruesome' bin Laden photo could be 'inflammatory'". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/05/to-release-or-not-to-release-bin-laden-death-photos-spark-debate/1. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ Kevin Drum, "Public Records Should be.....Public"" (May 4, 2011). Mother Jones.
- ^ Kevin Drum, "I Still Think the Photos Should Be Released" (May 4, 2011). Mother Jones.
- ^ Alice Park, "What Is Too Gruesome? An Argument for Releasing bin Laden's Photo" (May 5, 2011), interview with Barbie Zelizer. Time.
- ^ "Release Bin Laden Death Photos? CIA Director Thinks It Will Happen". ABC News. May 3, 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/desire-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-grows/story?id=13516795. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ Jake Tapper. "Concerned About Potential Backlash, President Obama Won't Release Photo of Bin Laden Corpse". http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/concerned-about-potential-backlash-president-obama-wont-release-photo-of-bin-laden-corpse.html. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ a b Steve Kroft (May 4, 2011). "Obama on bin Laden: The full '60 Minutes' interview". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20060530-10391709.html. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ James Rosen and Steven Thomma, "S.C. Sen. Graham wants bin Laden photos released[dead link]" (May 5, 2011) McClatchy Newspapers.
- ^ Domenico Montanaro, "Key Republicans say don't release bin Laden photo" (May 4, 2011). NBC News.
- ^ "Members of Congress see bin Laden photos" (May 11, 2011). CNN.
- ^ Kevin Bogardus, "Watchdog group is prepared to sue for photos of bin Laden" (May 5, 2011). The Hill.
- ^ "Experts predict difficulties for news orgs' FOIA requests to release bin Laden photos". http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202493006424&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1.
- ^ John Hudson. "First Lawsuit Filed for Bin Laden Death Photos". The Atlantic Wire. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/05/first-suit-filed-bin-laden-death-photos/37689. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Bill Mears. "Federal judge blocks release of bin Laden death photos". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/26/justice/bin-laden-photos/index.html?hpt=ju_c2. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ Richard Lardner. "Pentagon: No quick review of bin Laden photos' bid". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/14/general-us-bin-laden-photos_8466634.html. [dead link]
- ^ Chris Allbritton; Augustine Anthony (May 3, 2011). "Pakistan says had no knowledge of U.S. bin Laden raid". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/03/us-binladen-pakistan-statement-idUSTRE74242R20110503. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ "Panetta: U.S. Concerned Over Pakistan's Relationships". Rttnews.com. August 17, 2011. http://www.rttnews.com/Content/Policy.aspx?Id=1694420. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ Karin Brulliard; Karen DeYoung (May 2, 2011). "Pakistan's critics ask how bin Laden's refuge went unnoticed". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistan-stresses-that-raid-was-a-us-mission/2011/05/02/AFd0eeXF_story.html. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ a b Saba Imtiaz (May 2, 2011). "Key al Qaeda operative lived in Abbottabad in 2003". The Express Tribune. http://tribune.com.pk/story/161650/key-al-qaeda-operative-lived-in-abbottabad-in-2003/. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ a b Matthew Rosenberg; Tom Wright (May 4, 2011). "Pakistan Town Had Long Drawn Scrutiny". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322804576303240472777006.html. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Chris Allbritton; Mark Hosenball (May 5, 2011). "Special report: Why the U.S. mistrusts Pakistan's spies". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/us-binladen-pakistan-isi-idUSTRE74408220110505?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Jamey Keaten; Asif Shahzad (April 15, 2011). "AP Exclusive: 2 French men arrested in Pakistan". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/news/29418146_1_qaida-al-qaida-pakistani-official. Retrieved May 13, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ Solomon, Jay; Laura Meckler, Tom Wright, Zahid Hussain (May 2, 2011). "Pakistan's bin Laden Connection Is Probed". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576299003523779890.html. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Did Pakistan Army shelter Osama?". The Indian Express. May 2, 2011. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/did-pakistan-army-shelter-osama/784511/0. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ "Obama kept Pakistan in dark about Osama attack". News One. http://www.inewsone.com/2011/05/02/obama-kept-pakistan-in-dark-about-osama-attack/47604. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Did Pakistan know of U.S. raid to kill Osama?". Mid Day. May 2, 2011. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/may/020511-Did-Pakistan-know-Osama-hideout.htm.
- ^ Ross, Tim (May 2, 2011). "WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden 'protected' by Pakistani security". The Daily Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488236/WikiLeaks-Osama-bin-Laden-protected-by-Pakistani-security.html. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ Calabresi, Massimo (May 3, 2011). "CIA Chief Breaks Silence: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Raid, 'Impressive' Intel Captured". Time. http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/cia-chief-breaks-silence-u-s-ruled-out-involving-pakistan-in-bin-laden-raid-early-on/. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ "Clinton: Pakistan helped lead U.S. to bin Laden". Forbes. Associated Press. May 2, 2011. http://billionaires.forbes.com/article/02T93vJ2aferu?q=Pakistan. Retrieved May 2, 2011. [verification needed]
- ^ a b c d Walsh, Nick Paton (May 2, 2011). "Official: Pakistan had but didn't probe data that helped make raid". Islamabad, Pakistan: CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.pakistan.role/. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ MacAskill, Ewen; Walsh, Declan (May 2, 2011). "Osama bin Laden: Dead, but how did he hide so long?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-awkward-questions. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ Wright, Tom (May 2, 2011). "India Uses Osama Death to Pressure Pakistan". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576298211101277924.html.
- ^ Woodcock, Andrew (May 2, 2011). "MP 'shocked' at bin Laden Pakistan discovery". The Independent (UK). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mp-shocked-at-bin-laden-pakistan-discovery-2277941.html. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
- ^ "Bin Laden Turned in by Informant -- Courier Was Cover Story". The Spy Who Billed Me. August 7, 2011. http://www.thespywhobilledme.com/the_spy_who_billed_me/2011/08/bin-laden-turned-in-by-informant-courier-was-cover-story.html. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
- ^ Crilly, Rob (August 10, 2011). "Osama bin Laden 'protected by Pakistan in return for Saudi cash'". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8693111/Osama-bin-Laden-protected-by-Pakistan-in-return-for-Saudi-cash.html. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
- ^ Jamal, Arif (December 22, 2011), Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Jamestown.org
- ^ McElroy, Damien (February 27, 2012) Stratfor: Osama bin Laden 'was in routine contact with Pakistan's spy agency' The Daily Telegraph
- ^ "Bin Laden: Pakistan Arrests CIA Informants AP". Time. June 14, 2011. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2077798,00.html. Retrieved July 6, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ a b Savannah Guthrie (May 3, 2011). "Behind code words 'Geronimo' and 'Jackpot'". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/vp/42876688#42876688. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ Jeff Houser (May 3, 2011). "Letter to President about Geronimo". Fort Sill Apache Tribe. http://www.fortsillapache-nsn.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61%3Aletter-to-president-about-geronimo&catid=7%3Atribal-news&Itemid=13. Retrieved June 8, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ a b Susan Montoya Bryan (May 4, 2011). "Some Native Americans angry over use of Geronimo's name in bin Laden operation". Associated Press. Kingsport Times-News. http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9031832.
- ^ "Native Americans object to linking Geronimo to bin Laden". CNN. May 6, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/05/bin.laden.geronimo/index.html. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ Yoo, John (May 4, 2011). "John Yoo: From Guantanamo to Abbottabad". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834804576301032595527372.html. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ "The Unrepentant John Yoo: 'Enhanced Interrogation' Got Us bin Laden — Andrew Cohen — Politics". The Atlantic. May 5, 2011. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/the-unrepentant-john-yoo-enhanced-interrogation-got-us-bin-laden/238356. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ Mukasey, Michael B. (May 6, 2011). "Michael B. Mukasey: The Waterboarding Trail to bin Laden". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576305023876506348.html. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Thiessen, Marc A. (May 12, 2011). "Mukasey responds to McCain's op-ed – PostPartisan". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/mukasey-responds-to-mccains-op-ed/2011/05/12/AFhhVO1G_blog.html. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Our view: If torture led to bin Laden, do ends justify the means?". USA Today. May 9, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-05-09-If-torture-led-to-bin-Laden-do-ends-justify-the-means_n.htm. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ "Bin Laden death rekindles interrogation debate". msnbc.com. May 2, 2011. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42863247/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/t/bin-ladens-death-rekindles-enhanced-interrogation-debate/. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ Mukasey, Michael (May 6, 2011). "The Waterboarding Trail to bin Laden". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576305023876506348.html. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ^ Alexander, Matthew, Tortured Logic: The United States Didn't Need to Waterboard Anyone to Get Osama Bin Laden Foreign Policy, May 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Sargent, Greg (May 12, 2011). "John McCain to Bush apologists: Stop lying about Bin Laden and torture – The Plum Line". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/john-mccain-to-bush-apologists-stop-lying-about-bin-laden-and-torture/2011/03/03/AF10AnzG_blog.html. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ a b McCain, John (May 11, 2011). "Bin Laden's death and the debate over torture". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bin-ladens-death-and-the-debate-over-torture/2011/05/11/AFd1mdsG_story.html. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ^ Mark Hosenball; Brian Grow (May 14, 2011). "Bin Laden informant's treatment key to torture debate". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/14/us-binladen-ghul-idUSTRE74D0EJ20110514. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ^ Sargent, Greg (May 16, 2011). "Exclusive: Private letter from CIA chief undercuts claim torture was key to killing Bin Laden". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/exclusive-private-letter-from-cia-chief-undercuts-claim-torture-was-key-to-killing-bin-laden/2011/03/03/AFLFF04G_blog.html. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ Mulrine, Anna, Military interrogators: Waterboarding didn't yield tips that led to bin Laden Christian Science Monitor, May 5, 2011.
- ^ a b c Bob Orr (May 4, 2011). "Bin Laden phone numbers help spin intel web". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/04/eveningnews/main20059850.shtml.
- ^ a b c d e f g Greg Miller and Peter Finn (May 3, 2012). "New bin Laden documents released". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-bin-laden-documents-released/2012/05/03/gIQAYOcnyT_story.html. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ Mosk, Matthew. "Osama Bin Laden Evidence Trove: U.S. Hopes to Follow al Qaeda's Money Trail". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-evidence-trove-us-al-qaedas/story?id=13517804. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ a b Miller, Greg (April 28, 2012). "Al-Qaeda is weaker without bin Laden, but its franchise persists". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manhunt-details-us-mission-to-find-osama-bin-laden/2012/04/27/gIQAz5pLoT_story.html. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Joby Warrick (May 1, 2012). "Bin Laden's last stand: In final months, terrorist leader worried about his legacy". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bin-ladens-last-stand-in-final-months-terrorist-leader-worried-about-his-legacy/2012/04/30/gIQAStCjsT_story.html. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- ^ "Osama bin Laden documents captured during raid". The Washington Post. May 3, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/documents/osama-bin-laden-compound-documents.html. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ Corera, Gordon (May 3, 2012). "Analysis: Bin Laden papers details". BBC News Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17943175. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Osama Bin Laden documents released". BBC News Online. May 3, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17941778. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ Keath, Lee (May 5, 2012). "Al Qaeda Leader Worried About Image". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/osama-bin-laden-documents_n_1476878.html. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c Bill Sweetman; Amy Butler (May 6, 2011). "Bin Laden Raid Crash Helo Reveals Stealth". Aviation Week. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/awst/2011/05/09/AW_05_09_2011_p22-318890.xml&headline=null&prev=10. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Ron Moreau (May 2, 2011). "Osama bin Laden Was My Neighbor in Abbottabad". The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-02/osama-bin-laden-was-my-neighbor-in-abbottabad/. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Salman Masood (May 2, 2011). "Big Compound Stood Out, but Not Its Occupants, Neighbors Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03compound.html. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
- ^ Mark Huber (May 29, 2011). "Bin Laden Raid Copters Effective, But Not New". Aviation International News. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-05-29/bin-laden-raid-copters-effective-not-new. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Karin Brulliard (May 15, 2011). "Pakistan to return U.S. helicopter tail, Kerry says". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/sen-john-kerry-arrives-in-pakistan-for-meetings-that-could-sway-future-us-aid-prospects/2011/05/16/AFJJIZ4G_story.html. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Greg Lindsay (May 23, 2011). "The Bin Laden Raid Could Transform Asia's 21st Century Arms Race". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/1753355/how-a-stealth-black-hawk-down-may-trigger-asias-21st-century-arms-race/. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ "Report: Pakistan Granted China Access to U.S.'s Top-Secret Bin Laden Raid Chopper". Fox News. August 15, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/15/report-pakistan-granted-china-access-to-uss-top-secret-bin-laden-raid-chopper.
- ^ "US helicopter wreckage: Pakistan denies giving China access". The Express Tribune. August 14, 2011. http://tribune.com.pk/story/232466/army-denies-providing-china-access-to-bin-laden-raid-chopper/. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ "US cuts Pakistan aid over jailing of 'Bin Laden doctor'". BBC. May 25, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18201077.
- ^ "US cuts Pakistan aid over jailing of 'Bin Laden doctor'". BBC. May 25, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18201077.
- ^ "US cuts Pakistan aid over jailing of 'Bin Laden doctor'". BBC. May 25, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18201077.
- ^ Riedel, Bruce. "The Search for al-Qaeda", 2008
- ^ Lawrence Wright (2006). The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Knopf. pp. 192–193. ISBN 978-0-375-41486-2.
- ^ Bob Woodward; Thomas E. Ricks (October 3, 2001). "CIA Trained Pakistanis to Nab Terrorist But Military Coup Put an End to 1999 Plot". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/18/AR2007111800629.html.
- ^ "Report: Clinton Targeted Bin Laden", CBS News, September 16, 2001.
- ^ "Lost at Tora Bora", The New York Times Magazine, September 11, 2005.
Further reading[link]
- Bergen, Peter (2012). Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad. Crown. pp. 384. ISBN 0307955575.
- Gareth Porter (May 3, 2012). "Exclusive Investigation: The Truth Behind the Official Story of Finding Bin Laden". Truthout. http://truth-out.org/news/item/8866-finding-bin-laden-the-truth-behind-the-official-story. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- Nicholas Schmindle (August 8, 2011). "Getting Bin Laden". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
External links[link]
| Find more about Death of Osama bin Laden on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Images and media from Commons |
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Source texts from Wikisource |
- Inside the Situation Room: Obama on making OBL raid decision -a documentary behind the raid interviewing the important persons in the Situation Room]
- Death of Bin Laden collected news and commentary at BBC News Online
- Osama bin Laden collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- The Washington Post Graphic: Osama bin Laden killed at compound in Pakistan
- Phillips, Macon. "Osama Bin Laden Dead." The White House Blog. May 2, 2011.
- "Photo Gallery May 1, 2011." The White House
- "Operation Neptune Spear (2011)". ShadowSpear. May 2, 2011.
- Saul Anton. "Bin Laden's Death Mask". Fillip. 2011.
- Garamone, Jim. "Obama Declares 'Justice Has Been Done'." American Forces Press Service, U.S. Department of Defense.
- Garamone, Jim. "Intelligence, Operations Team Up for bin Laden Kill." American Forces Press Service, U.S. Department of Defense.
- "Office of the Spokesperson Press Release Death of Osama bin Ladin." Embassy of Pakistan in Washington. May 2, 2011.
- "Most Wanted Terrorist Dead." Federal Bureau of Investigation. May 2, 2011.
- "Message from the Director: Justice Done." (Archive). Central Intelligence Agency. May 2, 2011.
- "Osama bin Laden killed". The Big Picture. The Boston Globe. May 2, 2011.
- China.org.cn "The Strange Death of Osama Bin Laden." Chinese English-language website opinion column. May 3, 2011.
Coordinates: 34°10′9″N 73°14′33″E / 34.16917°N 73.2425°E / 34.16917; 73.2425
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| President of Iran |
|
|---|---|
 Emblem of Iran |
|
| Residence | Sa'dabad Palace |
| Appointer | Popularly Elected |
| Term length | Four years renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | Abulhassan Banisadr |
| Formation | 4 February 1980 |
| Website | www.president.ir |
| Iran |
This article is part of the series: |
|
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Constitution
Executive
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|
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Other countries · Atlas Politics portal |
The President of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in, and the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; although subordinate to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran the president is responsible for the "functions of the executive", such as signing treaties, agreements etc. with other countries and international organizations; the national planning and budget and state employment affairs; appointing ministers, governors, and ambassadors subject to the approval of the parliament.[1]
Unlike some other countries, for example the United States, in Iran the office of president does not bestow full control over foreign policy, the armed forces, or the nuclear policy of the Iranian state, which are ultimately under the control of the Supreme Leader.[2]
The President of Iran is elected for a four-year term by the direct vote of the people and may not serve for more than two consecutive terms.
The President of Iran is the only President of a state that is not Head of State.
The current President of Iran is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since the 2005 Iranian presidential election. He was re-elected after the disputed 2009 Iranian presidential election.
Contents |
Background[link]
1st and 2nd Presidents of Iran
Banisadr, the first president
Rajai, the second president
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and referendum to create the Islamic Republic on March 29 and 30, the new government needed to craft a new constitution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, ordered an election for the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with writing the constitution.[3] The assembly presented the constitution on October 24, 1979, and Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan approved it.
The 1979 Constitution designated the Supreme Leader as the head of state and the President and Prime Minister as the heads of government. The post of Prime Minister was abolished in 1989.
The first Iranian presidential election was held on January 25, 1980 and resulted in the election of Abulhassan Banisadr with 76% of the votes. Banisadr was impeached on June 22, 1981 by Parliament. Until the early election on July 24, 1981, the duties of the President were undertaken by the Provisional Presidential Council. Mohammad-Ali Rajai was elected President on July 24, 1981 and took office on August 2. Rajai was in office for less than one month because he and his prime minister were both assassinated. Once again a Provisional Presidential Council filled the office until October 13, 1981 when Ali Khamenei was elected president.
Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami and current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were each elected president for two terms.
Qualifications and election[link]
The President of Iran is elected for a four year term in a national election by universal adult suffrage for everyone of at least 18 years of age.[4] Candidates for the presidency must be approved by the 12-member Council of Guardians. Half of the Council's members are appointed by the Supreme Leader and are intended to preserve the values of the Islamic Republic. According to the constitution of Iran candidates for the presidency must possess the following qualifications:
- Iranian origin;
- Iranian nationality;
- administrative capacity and resourcefulness;
- a good past record;
- trustworthiness and piety; and
- convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official madhhab of the country.[5]
Within these guidelines the Council vetoes candidates who are deemed unacceptable. The approval process is considered to be a check on the president's power, and usually amounts to a small number of candidates being approved. In the 1997 election, for example, only four out of 238 presidential candidates were approved by the council. Western observers have routinely criticized the approvals process as a way for the Council and Supreme Leader to ensure that only conservative and like-minded Islamic fundamentalists can win office. However, the council rejects the criticism, citing approval of reformists in previous elections. The council rejects most of the candidates stating that they are not "a well-known political figure", a requirement by the current law. The President must be elected with a simple majority of the popular vote. A runoff election may be required to achieve this. The President serves for a term of four years and is eligible for a second term.
Presidential council[link]
According to the Iranian constitution, when the President dies or is impeached, a special provisional Presidential Council temporarily rules in his place until an election can be held. The President automatically becomes the Head of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution and the Head of the Supreme Council of National Security.
Powers and responsibilities[link]
- Head of Government and Cabinet
- Head of the Council of National Security
- Head of the Council of Cultural Revolution
- Sends and receives all foreign ambassadors
- Selection of Vice Presidents
Oath of office[link]
- I, as the President, upon the Holy Qur'an and in the presence of the Iranian nation, do hereby swear in the name of Almighty God to safeguard the official Faith, the system of the Islamic republic and the Constitution of the country; to use all my talents and abilities in the discharge of responsibilities undertaken by me; to devote myself to the service of the people, glory of the country, promotion of religion and morality, support of right and propagation of justice; to refrain from being autocratic; to protect the freedom and dignity of individuals and the rights of the Nation recognized by the Constitution; to spare no efforts in safeguarding the frontiers and the political, economic and cultural freedoms of the country; to guard the power entrusted to me by the Nation as a sacred trust like an honest and faithful trustee, by seeking help from God and following the example of the Prophet of Islam and the sacred Imams, peace be upon them, and to entrust it to the one elected by the Nation after me.
Last election[link]
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009,[6][7] with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election with 62% of the votes cast,[8] and that Mir-Hossein Mousavi had received 34% of the votes cast.[9][10] The European Union,[11] the United Kingdom[12] the United States, and several western countries expressed concern over alleged irregularities during the vote,[11] and many analysts and journalists from the United States, Europe and other western based media voiced doubts about the authenticity of the results.[13][14][15][16] Meanwhile many OIC member states, as well as Russia, China, India, and Brazil, have congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory.
Mousavi issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and urged his supporters to fight the decision, without committing acts of violence.[14] Protests, in favour of Mousavi and against the alleged fraud, broke out in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling his victory as a "divine assessment".[17] Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result to the Guardian Council on 14 June.[18] On 15 June, Khamenei announced there would be an investigation into vote-rigging claims, which would take seven to ten days.[19] On 16 June, the Guardian Council announced it will recount the votes. However, Mousavi stated that 14 million unused ballots were missing, giving a chance to manipulate the results.[20] On 29 June, Iran's electoral board completed the partial recount, and concluded that Ahmadinejad won the election, amidst protest from the opposition.[21]
The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct popular vote, but does not control foreign policy or the armed forces. Candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council, a twelve member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran's Supreme Leader) and six lawyers (proposed by the head of Iran's judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).[22]
The inauguration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was held on 5 August in Tehran amid protests held outside the Parliament.[23]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance of Builders | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (inc.) | 24,527,516 | 62.63% | |||
| Green Movement | Mir-Hossein Mousavi | 13,216,411 | 33.75% | |||
| Moderation and Development | Mohsen Rezaee | 678,240 | 1.73% | |||
| National Trust | Mehdi Karroubi | 333,635 | 0.85% | |||
| Valid votes | 38,755,802 | 98.95% | ||||
| Blank or invalid votes | 409,389 | 1.05% | ||||
| Totals | 39,165,191 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 85% | |||||
| Sources: Ministry of Interior of Iran[24] | ||||||
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Iran - Constitution Chapter IX, section 1 & 2 of the constitution
- ^ Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Accessed 5-23-2008, (see also Article 110 of the constitution)
- ^ "Assembly of Experts". http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/experts.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=385408&code1=15
- ^ Constitution of Iran Article 115 - Qualifications
- ^ "Iran To Hold Presidential Election In June 2009" (Reuters). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 7 September 2008. http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_To_Hold_Presidential_Election_In_June_2009/1196953.html. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
- ^ "Ahmadinejad Wins Landslide". Iran Daily. 13 June 2009. http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/3423/html/. Retrieved 13 June 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Ahmadinejad 'set for Iran victory'". Al Jazeera English. 13 June 2009. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009612195749149733.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009. ""Doctor Ahmadinejad, by getting a majority of the votes, has become the definite winner of the 10th presidential election," the news agency said."
- ^ Worth, Robert F.; Fathi, Nazila (13 June 2009). "Both Sides Claim Victory in Presidential Election in Iran". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/middleeast/13iran.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009. ""The election commission said early Saturday morning that, with 78 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Ahmadinejad had won 65 percent and Mr. Mousavi had 32 percent, Reuters reported.""
- ^ "Ahmadinejad wins Iran presidential election". BBC News. 13 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8098305.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ a b Colin Freeman; David Blair (14 June 2009). "Defeated Iranian reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi calls for more protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5533782/Defeated-Iranian-reformist-Mir-Hossein-Mousavi-calls-for-more-protest-against-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad.html. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
- ^ Gordon Brown comments on situation in Iran – Tuesday 16 June, British Embassy, Washington 16-06-2009
- ^ "Official: Obama Administration Skeptical of Iran's Election Results". Fox News. 13 June 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/13/official-obama-administration-skeptical-irans-election-results/. Retrieved 13 June 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b "Ahmadinejad defiant on 'free' Iran poll". BBC News. 13 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099115.stm. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ Freeman, Colin (12 June 2009). "Iran elections: revolt as crowds protest at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 'rigged' victory". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5526721/Iran-elections-revolt-as-crowds-protest-at-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejads-rigged-victory.html. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
- ^ "Instant View: Iran's election result staggers analysts". Reuters. 9 February 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE55C0W620090613. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ "Election Battles Turn Into Street Fights in Iran". ABC News. 13 June 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7830630. Retrieved 13 June 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Crowds join Ahmadinejad victory rally". BBC News. 14 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099501.stm. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
- ^ Ian Black; Vikram Dodd; Matthew Weaver (15 June 2009). "Iranians march in protest at Ahmadinejad re-election". Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/15/iran-opposition-rally-banned-mousavi. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ^ Octavia Nasr; Reza Sayah; Samson Desta (16 June 2009). "Rival demonstrations fill Tehran streets". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/16/iran.elections.protests/index.html. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
- ^ "Ahmadinejad victory confirmed in Iran". BBC. 29 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8125619.stm. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
- ^ Bazzi, Mohamad (12 June 2009). "Iran Elections: Latest News". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/06/12/DI2009061202321.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ "Ahmadinejad sworn in as Iran president amid crisis". Associated Press. http://www.sfexaminer.com/world/52524657.html. Retrieved 5 August 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "نتایج نهایی دهمین دورهٔ انتخابات ریاست جمهوری" (in Persian). Ministry of Interior of Iran. 2009-06-13. http://moi.ir/Portal/Home/ShowPage.aspx?Object=News&CategoryID=832a711b-95fe-4505-8aa3-38f5e17309c9&LayoutID=dd8faff4-f71b-4c65-9aef-a1b6d0160be3&ID=5e30ab89-e376-434b-813f-8c22255158e1. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
External links[link]
- The President's Office
- Iran's Presidential Office of Scientific and Industrial Studies
- Ahmadinejad's blog
- Iran Electoral Archive - President
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| Name | President Of Iran |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 4 February 1980 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad محمود احمدینژاد |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| 6th President of Iran | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 August 2005 |
|
| Vice President | Parviz Davoodi Mohammad-Reza Rahimi |
| Supreme Leader | Ali Khamenei |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Khatami |
| Mayor of Tehran | |
| In office 20 June 2003 – 3 August 2005 |
|
| Deputy | Ali Saeedlou |
| Preceded by | Mohammad-Hassan Malekmadani |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf |
| Governor of Ardabil | |
| In office 1 May 1993 – 28 June 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Hossein Taheri (East Azerbaijan) |
| Succeeded by | Javad Negarandeh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1956-10-28) 28 October 1956 (age 55) Aradan, Iran |
| Political party | Alliance of Builders (2003–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Islamic Society of Engineers (1990–2005) |
| Spouse(s) | Azam Farahi (1981–present)[1] |
| Children | Mehdi Alireza Fatemeh |
| Residence | Sa'dabad Palace (Official) Gisha (Private) |
| Alma mater | Iran University of Science and Technology |
| Profession | Civil engineer |
| Religion | Usuli Twelver Shia Islam |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
 |
This article contains Persian text, written from right to left with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters written left-to-right, instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Persian script. |
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Persian: محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād [mæhˈmuːd(-e) æhmædiːneˈʒɒːd] ( listen),[2][3][4] English: /ɑːkməˈdɪnɨʒɒd/; born 28 October 1956[5][6]) is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. An engineer and teacher from a poor background,[7] Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity[8] after the Islamic Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching.[9] Tehran's council elected him mayor in 2003.[10] He took a religious hard line, reversing reforms of previous moderate mayors.[11] His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, and he became President on 3 August 2005.[12][13] His second presidency term ends on August 3, 2013. He is not eligible to run for another term under the current Iranian constitution.
Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally. He has been criticized domestically for his economic lapses and disregard for human rights. He launched a gas rationing plan in 2007 to reduce the country's fuel consumption, and cut the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[14][15][16] He supports Iran's nuclear energy program. His election to a second term in 2009 was widely disputed[17][18] and caused widespread protests domestically and drew significant international criticism.[19]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Ahmadinejad was born near Garmsar in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province. His father, Ahmad, was an ironworker, grocer, barber, blacksmith and religious Shi'a who taught the Qur'an.[20] His mother, Khanom, was a Seyyede, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[20] Ahmadinejad's father changed his name from "Saborjhian"[21] or "Sabaghian"[22] when Ahmadinejad was four years old to avoid discrimination when the family moved to Tehran, as the rural name indicated a lowly social standing. Sabor is Persian for thread painter,[23] a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad was chosen as it means from the race of Ahmad, one of the names given to Muhammad.
In 1976, Ahmadinejad took Iran's national university entrance contests. According to his autobiography, he was ranked 132nd out of 400,000 participants that year,[24] and soon enrolled in the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. He earned his PhD (1997) in transportation engineering and planning from Iran University of Science and Technology, located at Tehran, when he was the Mayor of Ardabil Province, located at the north-west of the country.
Supporters of Ahmadinejad consider him a "simple man" who leads a "modest" life.[25] As president, he wanted to continue living in the same house in Tehran his family had been living in, until his security advisers insisted that he move. Ahmadinejad had the antique Persian carpets in the Presidential palace sent to a carpet museum, and opted instead to use inexpensive carpets. He is said to have refused the V.I.P. seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead.[9][26] Also upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as "pious".[27]
Administrative and academic careers[link]
Some details of Ahmadinejad's life during the 1980s are not publicly known, but it is known that he held a number of administrative posts in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iran.[9]
Many reports say that after Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, Ahmadinejad joined the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution[10] and served in their intelligence and security apparatus,[10] but his advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi says "He has never been a member or an official member of the Revolutionary Guards", having been a Basiji-like volunteer instead.[28]
Ahmadinejad was accepted to a Master of Science program at his alma mater in 1986. He joined the faculty there as a lecturer in 1989,[7][29] and in 1997 received his doctorate in civil engineering and traffic transportation planning.[7][10]
Embassy siege[link]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the 1979 hostage crisis
Shortly after being elected president, some western media outlets published claims that Ahmadinejad was among the students who stormed the US embassy in Tehran, sparking the Iran hostage crisis. This claim has been denied by the Iranian government, the Iranian opposition as well as a CIA investigation on the matter.
Early political career[link]
After the Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad became a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity,[8] an organization developed to prevent students from sympathizing or allying with the budding Mojahedin-e Khalq.[8]
He first took political office as unelected governor to both Maku and Khoy in West Azarbaijan Province during the 1980s.[10] He eventually became an advisor to the governor general of Kurdistan Province for two years.[7][29] During his doctoral studies at Tehran, he was appointed governor general of Ardabil Province from 1993 until Mohammad Khatami removed him in 1997 [29] when he returned to teaching.[10]
Mayor of Tehran[link]
In 2003, a 12 percent turnout elected conservative candidates from the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran to the City Council of Tehran.[7] The Council appointed Ahmadinejad mayor.[10]
As mayor, he reversed changes made by previous moderate and reformist mayors. He put religious emphasis on the activities of cultural centres they had founded, publicised the separation of elevators for men and women in the municipality offices,[11] and suggested that people killed in the Iran–Iraq War be buried in major city squares of Tehran. He also worked to improve the traffic system and put an emphasis on charity, such as distributing free soup to the poor.
After his election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad's resignation as the Mayor of Tehran was accepted on 28 June 2005. After two years as mayor, Ahmadinejad was one of 65 finalists for World Mayor in 2005, selected from 550 nominees, only nine of them from Asia.[30] He was among three strong candidates for the top ten list, but his resignation made him ineligible.[30]
Presidency[link]
Further information: Government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–present)
2005 campaign[link]
Ahmadinejad was not widely known when he entered the presidential election campaign as he had never run for office before, (he had only been mayor of Tehran for two years and had been appointed not elected[31]), although he had already made his mark in Tehran for rolling back earlier reforms. He was/is a member of the Central Council of the Islamic Society of Engineers, but his key political support is inside the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (Abadgaran or Developers).[32] He was also helped by support from supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who some described Ahmadinejad as a "protege" of.[33]
Ahmadinejad generally sent mixed signals about his plans for his presidency, perhaps to attract both religious conservatives and the lower economic classes.[34] His campaign slogan was: "It's possible and we can do it".[35]
In the campaign, he took a populist approach. He emphasized his own modest life, and compared himself with Mohammad Ali Rajai, Iran's second president. Ahmadinejad said he planned to create an "exemplary government for the people of the world" in Iran. He was a "principlist", acting politically based on Islamic and revolutionary principles. One of his goals was "putting the petroleum income on people's tables", meaning Iran's oil profits would be distributed among the poor.[36]
Ahmadinejad was the only presidential candidate who spoke out against future relations with the United States. He told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting the United Nations was "one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam."[37] He opposed the veto power of the UN Security Council's five permanent members: "It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege." He defended Iran's nuclear program and accused "a few arrogant powers" of trying to limit Iran's industrial and technological development in this and other fields.
In his second round campaign, he said, "We didn't participate in the revolution for turn-by-turn government....This revolution tries to reach a world-wide government." He spoke of an extended program using trade to improve foreign relations, and called for greater ties with Iran's neighbours and ending visa requirements between states in the region, saying that "people should visit anywhere they wish freely. People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours."[35]
Ahmadinejad described Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a senior cleric from Qom as his ideological and spiritual mentor. Mesbah founded the Haghani School of thought in Iran. He and his team strongly supported Ahmadinejad's 2005 presidential campaign.[38]
2005 election[link]
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2005
Ahmadinejad won 62 percent of the vote in the run-off poll against Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei authorized his presidency on 3 August 2005.[12][13] Ahmedinejad kissed Khamenei's hand during the ceremony to show his loyalty.[39][40]
2005 cabinet appointments[link]
| Ministry | Minister |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Mohammadreza Eskandari |
| Commerce | Masoud Mirkazemi |
| Communication and Information Technology | Mohammad Soleimani |
| Cooperatives | Mohammad Abbasi |
| Culture and Islamic Guidance | Hossein Saffar Harandi |
| Defense and Armed Forces Logistics | Mostafa Mohammad Najjar |
| Economy and Financial Affairs | Hossein Samsami |
| Education | Alireza Aliahmadi |
| Energy | Parviz Fattah |
| Foreign Affairs | Manoucher Mottaki |
| Health and Medical Education | Kamran Bagheri Lankarani |
| Housing and Urban Development | Mohammad Saeedikia |
| Industries and Mines | Aliakbar Mehrabian |
| Intelligence | Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei |
| Interior | Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi[41] |
| Justice | Gholam Hossein Elham |
| Labour and Social Affairs | Mohammad Jahromi |
| Petroleum | Rostam Ghassemi |
| Roads and Transportation | Hamid Behbahani |
| Science, Research, and Technology | Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi |
| Welfare and Social Security | Abdolreza Mesri |
Iran's President is constitutionally obliged to obtain confirmation from the parliament for his selection of ministers.[42] Ahmadinejad presented a short-list at a private meeting on 5 August, and his final list on 14 August. The Majlis rejected all of his cabinet candidates for the oil portfolio and objected to the appointment of his allies in senior government office.[36] The Majlis approved a cabinet on 24 August.[43] The ministers promised to meet frequently outside Tehran and held their first meeting on 25 August in Mashhad, with four empty seats for the unapproved nominees.[44]
2006 Councils and Assembly of Experts election[link]
Main articles: Iranian councils election, 2006 and Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2006
Ahmadinejad’s team lost the 2006 city council elections,[45] and his spiritual mentor, Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, was ranked sixth on the country's Assembly of Experts.[citation needed] In the first nationwide election since Ahmadinejad became President, his allies failed to dominate election returns for the Assembly of Experts and local councils. Results, with a turnout of about 60%, suggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies. According to an editorial in the Kargozaran independent daily newspaper, "The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support.. moderate figures." An Iranian political analyst said that "this is a blow for Ahmadinejad and Mesbah Yazdi's list."[45]
2009 presidential election[link]
Main article: Iranian presidential election, 2009
On 23 August 2008, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced that he "sees Ahmadinejad as president in the next five years," a comment interpreted as indicating support for Ahmadinejad's reelection.[46] 39,165,191 ballots were cast in the election on 12 June 2009, according to Iran's election headquarters. Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, (62.63%). In second place, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, won 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.[47] The election drew unprecedented public interest in Iran.
2012 parliamentary elections[link]
Ahmadinejad suffered a defeat in March/May 2012 parliamentary elections with Ayatollah Khamenei’s "Principalist" allies winning about three quarters of the parliaments 290 seats, and Ahmadinejad supporters far fewer.[48]
2009 Iranian election protests[link]
Main article: 2009 Iranian election protests
As of April 2011[update], the election results remain in dispute with both Mousavi and Ahmadinejad and their respective supporters who believe that electoral fraud occurred during the election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Ahmadinejad as President on 3 August 2009, and Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August 2009.[49] Iran's Constitution stipulates term limits of two terms for the office of President.[50] Several Iranian political figures appeared to avoid the ceremony. Former presidents Mohammad Khatami, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is currently head of the Expediency Discernment Council, along with opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, did not attend the ceremony.[51] Opposition groups asked protesters on reformist websites and blogs to launch new street demonstrations on the day of the inauguration ceremony.[52] On inauguration day, hundreds of riot police met opposition protesters outside parliament. After taking the oath of office, which was broadcast live on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said that he will "protect the official faith, the system of the Islamic revolution and the constitution".[49] France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they would not send the usual letters of congratulation.[49]
2009 cabinet appointments[link]
| Ministry | Minister |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Sadeq Khalilian |
| Commerce | Mehdi Ghazanfari |
| Communication and Information Technology | Reza Taqipour |
| Cooperatives | Mohammad Abbasi |
| Culture and Islamic Guidance | Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini |
| Defense and Armed Forces Logistics | Ahmad Vahidi |
| Economy and Financial Affairs | Shamseddin Hosseini |
| Education | Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee |
| Energy | Majid Namjoo |
| Foreign Affairs | Manouchehr Mottaki |
| Health and Medical Education | Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi |
| Housing and Urban Development | Abdolreza Sheikholeslami |
| Industries and Mines | Aliakbar Mehrabian |
| Intelligence | Heydar Moslehi |
| Interior | Mostafa Mohammad Najjar |
| Justice | Morteza Bakhtiari |
| Labour and Social Affairs | Ali Nikzad |
| Petroleum | Masoud Mir Kazemi |
| Roads and Transportation | Hamid Behbahani |
| Science, Research, and Technology | Kamran Daneshjoo |
| Welfare and Social Security | Sadeq Mahsouli |
Ahmadinejad announced controversial ministerial appointments for his second term. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was briefly appointed as first vice president, but opposed by a number of Majlis members and by the intelligence minister, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Mashaei followed orders to resign. Ahmadinejad then appointed Mashaei as chief of staff, and fired Mohseni-Eje'i.[53]
On July 26, 2009, Ahmadinejad's government faced a legal problem after he sacked four ministers. Iran's constitution (Article 136) stipulates that, if more than half of its members are replaced, the cabinet may not meet or act before the Majlis approves the revised membership.[54] The Vice Chairman of the Majlis announced that no cabinet meetings or decisions would be legal, pending such a re-approval.[55]
The main list of 21 cabinet appointments was announced on August 19, 2009.[56] On September 4, Majlis approved 18 of the 21 candidates, and rejected three, including two women. Sousan Keshavarz, Mohammad Aliabadi, and Fatemeh Ajorlou were not approved by Majlis for the Ministries of Education, Energy, and Welfare and Social Security respectively. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi is the first woman approved by Majlis as a minister in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[57]
Domestic policy[link]
Economic policy[link]
See also: Economy of Iran
In Ahmadinejad's first four years as president, Iran's real GDP reflected growth of the economy. Inflation and unemployment have also decreased under Ahmadinejad due to better economic management and ending the unsustainable spending and borrowing patterns of previous administrations .[58][59] Ahmadinejad has increased spending by 25 percent and has supported subsidies for food and petrol. He also initially refused a gradual increase of petrol prices, saying that after making necessary preparations, such as a development of public transportation system, the government will free up petrol prices after five years.[60] Interest rates were cut by presidential decree to below the inflation rate. One unintended effect of this stimulation of the economy has been the bidding up of some urban real estate prices by two or three times their pre-Ahmadinejad value by Iranians seeking to invest surplus cash and finding few other safe opportunities. The resulting increase in the cost of housing has hurt poorer, non-property owning Iranians, the putative beneficiaries of Ahmadinejad's populist policies.[61] The Management and Planning Organisation, a state body charged with mapping out long-term economic and budget strategy, was broken up and its experienced managers were fired.[62]
In June 2006, 50 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad that criticized his price interventions to stabilize prices of goods, cement, government services, and his decree issued by the High Labor Council and the Ministry of Labor that proposed an increase of workers' salaries by 40 percent. Ahmadinejad publicly responded harshly to the letter and denounced the accusations.[63][64] Ahmadinejad has called for "middle-of-the-road" compromises with respect to Western-oriented capitalism and socialism. Current political conflicts with the United States have caused the central bank to fear increased capital flight due to global isolation. These factors have prevented an improvement of infrastructure and capital influx, despite high economic potential.[58] Among those that did not vote for him in the first election, only 3.5 percent said they would consider voting for him in the next election.[65] Mohammad Khoshchehreh, a member of Iranian parliament that campaigned for Ahmadinejad, said that his government "has been strong on populist slogans, but weak on achievement."[66] President Ahmadinejad has changed almost all of his economic ministers, including oil, industry and economy, since coming to power in 2005. In an interview with Fars News Agency on April 2008, Davoud Danesh Jaafari who acted as minister of economy in President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet, harshly criticized Ahmadinejad’s economic policy: "During my time, there was no positive attitude towards previous experiences or experienced people and there was no plan for the future. Peripheral issues which were not of dire importance to the nation were given priority. Most of the scientific economic concepts like the effect of liquidity on inflation were put in question."[67] In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad accused his minister of not being "a man of justice" and declared that the solution to Iran’s economic problem is "the culture of martyrdom".[68] In May 2008, the Petroleum minister of Iran admitted that the government illegally invested 2 billion dollars to import petrol in 2007. At Iranian parliament, he also mentioned that he simply followed the president's order.[69][70]
While his government had 275 thousand billion toman oil income, the highest in Iranian history, Ahmadinejad’s government had the highest budget deficit since the Iranian revolution.[71]
During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gasoline rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption. He also instituted cuts in the interest rates that private and public banking facilities could charge.[14][15][72] He issued a directive that the Management and Planning Organization be affiliated to the government.[73] In May 2011 Ahmadinejad announced that he would temporarily run the Oil Ministry.[74]
Family planning and population policy[link]
See also: Family planning in Iran
In October 2006, Ahmadinejad began calling for the scrapping of Iran's existing birth control policies, which discouraged Iranian couples from having more than two children. He told MPs that Iran could cope with 50 million more people than the current 70 million. In November 2010 he urged Iranians to marry and reproduce earlier, "We should take the age of marriage for boys to 20 and for girls to about 16 and 17."[75] His remarks have drawn criticism and been called ill-judged at a time when Iran was struggling with surging inflation and rising unemployment, estimated at around 11 percent. Ahmadinejad’s call was reminiscent of a call for Iranians to have more children made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The policy increased Iran's population by 16 million in seven years[76] but was eventually reversed in response to the resultant economic strain.[77]
In 2008, the government sent the "Family Protection Bill" to the Iranian parliament. Women's rights activists criticized the bill for removing protections from women, such as the requirement that a husband obtain his wife's consent before bringing another wife into the family. Women's rights in Iran are more religiously based than those in secular countries.[78]
Housing[link]
The first legislation to emerge from his newly formed government was a 12 trillion rial (US$1.3 billion) fund called "Reza's Compassion Fund",[79] named after Shi'a Imam Ali al-Rida. Ahmadinejad's government said this fund would tap Iran's oil revenues to help young people get jobs, afford marriage, and buy their own homes.[80] The fund also sought charitable donations, with a board of trustees in each of Iran's 30 provinces. The legislation was a response to the cost of urban housing, which is pushing up the national average marital age (currently around 25 years for women and 28 years for men). In 2006 the Iranian parliament rejected the fund. However, Ahmadinejad ordered the administrative council to execute the plan.[81]
Human rights[link]
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Since President Ahmadinejad came to power, treatment of detainees has worsened in Evin Prison as well as in detention centers operated clandestinely by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Information, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."[82] Again according to Human Rights Watch, "Respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006. The government routinely tortures and mistreats detained dissidents, including through prolonged solitary confinement." Human Rights Watch described the source of human rights violations in contemporary Iran as coming from the Judiciary, accountable to Ali Khamenei, and from members directly appointed by Ahmadinejad.
Responses to dissent have varied. Human Rights Watch writes that "the Ahmadinejad government, in a pronounced shift from the policy under former president Mohammed Khatami, has shown no tolerance for peaceful protests and gatherings." In December 2006, Ahmadinejad advised officials not to disturb students who engaged in a protest during a speech of his at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran,[83][84] although speakers at other protests have included among their complaints that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[85]
In April 2007, the Tehran police, which is under Khamenei's supervision, began a crackdown on women with "improper hijab." This led to criticism from associates of Ahmadinejad.[86]
In 2012, Ahmadinejad claimed that AIDS was created by the West in order to weaken poorer countries, and repeated a previous claim that homosexual Iranians did not exist.[87]
Universities[link]
See also: Higher education in Iran
In 2006, the Ahmadinejad [88] government reportedly forced numerous Iranian scientists and university professors to resign or to retire. It has been referred to as "second cultural revolution".[89][90] The policy has been said to replace old professors with younger ones.[91] Some university professors received letters indicating their early retirement unexpectedly.[92] In November 2006, 53 university professors had to retire from Iran University of Science and Technology.[93]
In 2006, Ahmadinejad's government applied a 50 percent quota for male students and 50 percent for female students in the university entrance exam for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. The plan was supposed to stop the growing presence of female students in the universities. In a response to critics, Iranian minister of health and medical education, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani argued that there are not enough facilities such as dormitories for female students. Masoud Salehi, president of Zahedan University said that presence of women generates some problems with transportation. Also, Ebrahim Mekaniki, president of Babol University of Medical Sciences, stated that an increase in the presence of women will make it difficult to distribute facilities in a suitable manner. Bagher Larijani, the president of Tehran University of Medical Sciences made similar remarks. According to Rooz Online, the quotas lack a legal foundation and are justified as support for "family" and "religion."
December 2006 student protest[link]
On 11 December 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator." It was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site,[citation needed] they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. The statement added that "the students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia." It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.[94]
In response to the students' slogans, the president said: "We have been standing up to dictatorship so that no one will dare to establish dictatorship in a millennium even in the name of freedom. Given the scars inflicted on the Iranian nation by agents of the US and British dictatorship, no one will ever dare to initiate the rise of a dictator."[95] It was reported that even though the protesters broke the TV cameras and threw hand-made bombs at Ahmadinejad,[96] the president asked the officials not to question or disturb the protesters.[97][98] In his blog, Ahmadinejad described his reaction to the incident as "a feeling of joy" because of the freedom that people enjoyed after the revolution.[99]
One thousand students also protested the day before to denounce the increased pressure on the reformist groups at the university. One week prior, more than two thousand students protested at Tehran University on the country's annual student day, with speakers saying that there had been a crackdown on dissent at universities since Ahmadinejad was elected.[94][100]
Nuclear program[link]
See also: Nuclear program of Iran
Ahmadinejad has been a vocal supporter of Iran's nuclear program, and has insisted that it is for peaceful purposes. He has repeatedly emphasized that building a nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He has said that such a policy is "illegal and against our religion."[101][102] He also added at a January 2006 conference in Tehran that a nation with "culture, logic and civilization" would not need nuclear weapons, and that countries that seek nuclear weapons are those that want to solve all problems by the use of force.[103] In a 2008 interview Ahmadinejad elaborated that countries striving to obtain nuclear weapons are not politically progressive nations and those who possess them and continually make new generations of such bombs are "even more backward".[104]
In April 2006, Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully refined uranium to a stage suitable for the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to students and academics in Mashhad, he was quoted as saying that Iran's conditions had changed completely as it had become a nuclear state and could talk to other states from that stand.[105] On 13 April 2006, Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the peaceful Iranian nuclear technology would not pose a threat to any party because "we want peace and stability and we will not cause injustice to anyone and at the same time we will not submit to injustice."[106] Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear policy under Ahmadinejad's administration has received much criticism, spearheaded by the United States and Israel. The accusations include that Iran is striving to obtain nuclear arms and developing long-range firing capabilities—and that Ahmadinejad issued an order to keep UN inspectors from freely visiting the nation's nuclear facilities and viewing their designs, in defiance of an IAEA resolution.[107][108][109][110] Following a May 2009 test launch of a long-range missile, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling the crowd that with its nuclear program, Iran was sending the West a message that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show."[111]
Despite Ahmadinejad's vocal support for the program, the office of the Iranian president is not directly responsible for nuclear policy. It is instead set by the Supreme National Security Council. The council includes two representatives appointed by the Supreme Leader, military officials, and members of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government, and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2005.[112] Khamenei has criticized Ahmadinejad's "personalization" of the nuclear issue.[113]
Ahmadinejad vowed on February 2008, that Iran will not be held back from developing its peaceful nuclear program[114] and has stated that at least 16 different peaceful uses for nuclear technology have so far been identified.[104] Ahmadinejad has stressed the importance of the right to peaceful nuclear development. Iranian opposition leader, Mousavi, has even stated that giving up the country's nuclear program would be "irreparable" and that the Iranian people support the nuclear program. "No one in Iran will accept suspension," Mousavi has said, adding that if elected, his policy would be to work to provide "guarantees" that Tehran's nuclear activities would never divert to non-peaceful aims.[115]
In October 2009 the United States, France and Russia proposed a U.N.-drafted deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program, in an effort to find a compromise between Iran's stated need for a nuclear reactor and the concerns of those who are worried that Iran harbors a secret intent on developing a nuclear weapon. After some delay in responding, on October 29, Ahmadinejad seemed to change his tone towards the deal. "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," he said in a live broadcast on state television.[116] However, he added that Iran would not retreat "one iota" on its right to a sovereign nuclear program.[117]
Domestic criticism and controversies[link]
Alleged corruption[link]
Ahmadinejad has been criticized for attacking private "plunderers" and "corrupt officials," while engaging in "cronyism and political favouritism". Many of his close associates have been appointed to positions for which they have no obvious qualifications, and "billion dollar no-bid contracts" have been awarded to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), an organization with which he is strongly associated.[118]
Other statements[link]
In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war.[119][120]
Conservative MP Rafat Bayat has accused Ahmadinejad for a decline in observance of the required hijab for women, calling him "not that strict on this issue".[121] Ahmadinejad has been also accused of indecency by people close to Rafsanjani,[122] after he publicly kissed the hand of a woman who used to be his school teacher.[123]
The UN and football stadiums[link]
Two statements that have brought criticism from some religious authorities concern his speech at the United Nations, and the attendance of women at football matches. In a visit to group of Ayatollahs in Qom after returning from his 2005 speech to the UN General Assembly, Ahmadinejad stated he had "felt a halo over his head" during his speech and that a hidden presence had mesmerized the unblinking audience of foreign leaders, foreign ministers, and ambassadors. According to at least one source (Hooman Majd), this was offensive to the conservative religious leaders because an ordinary man cannot presume a special closeness to God or any of the Imams, nor can he imply the presence of the Mahdi.[124]
In another statement the next year, Ahmadinejad proclaimed (without consulting the clerics beforehand), that women be allowed into football stadiums to watch male football clubs compete. This proclamation "was quickly overruled" by clerical authorities, one of whom, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani "refused for weeks to meet with President Ahmadinejad" in early 2007.[124]
Iran constitution conflict[link]
In 2008, a serious conflict emerged between the Iranian President and the head of parliament over three laws approved by Iranian parliament: "the agreement for civil and criminal legal cooperation between Iran and Kyrgyzstan", "the agreement to support mutual investment between Iran and Kuwait", and "the law for registration of industrial designs and trademarks". The conflict was so serious that the Iranian leader stepped in to resolve the conflict. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, furiously denouncing him for an "inexplicable act" in bypassing the presidency by giving the order to implement legislation in an official newspaper.[125] President Ahmadinejad accused the head of parliament of violating Iranian constitutional law. He called for legal action against the Parliament speaker.[126][127] Haddad-Adel responded to Ahmadinejad accusing him of using inappropriate language in his remarks and letters.[128]
Ali Kordan[link]
Main article: Ali Kordan
In August 2008, Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appointed Ali Kordan as Iran's interior minister. Kordan's appointment has been criticized by Iranian parliamentarians, media and analysts after it came to light that a doctoral degree allegedly awarded to Ali Kordan was fabricated, and that the putative issuer of the degree, Oxford University, had no record of Ali Kordan receiving any degree from the University.[129] It was also revealed that he had been jailed in 1978 for moral charges.[130][131] Fabrication of legal documents is punishable in Iranian law with one to three years of imprisonment and in the case of government officials, the maximum sentence (three years) is demanded.[citation needed]
In November 2008, President Ahmadinejad announced that he was against impeachment of Ali Kordan by Iranian parliament. He refused to attend the parliament on the impeachment day.[132] Ali Kordan was expelled from Iranian interior ministry by Iranian parliament on 4 November 2008. 188 MPs voted against Ali Kordan. An impeachment of Kordan would push Ahmadinejad close to having to submit his entire cabinet for review by parliament, which is led by one of his chief political opponents. Iran's constitution requires that step if more than half the cabinet ministers are replaced, and Ahmadinejad has replaced nine of 21.[133] [134]
Conflict with Parliament[link]
On February 2009 after Supreme Audit Court of Iran reported that $1.058 billion of surplus oil revenue in the (2006–2007) budget hasn't been returned by the government to the national treasury,[135][136] Ali Larijani, Iran's parliamentary speaker, called for further investigations to make sure the missing funds are returned to the treasury as soon as possible.[137] Ahmadinejad criticized the National Audit Office for what he called its "carelessness", saying the report "incites the people" against the government.[138] The head of the parliament Energy Commission, Hamidreza Katouzian, reported: The government spent $5 billion to import fuel, about $2 billion more than the sum parliament had authorized. Katouzian quoted Iran's Oil Minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, as saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered the extra purchase.[139]
In May 2011 several members of parliament threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ahmadinejad after his merger of eight government ministries and the firing of three ministers without parliament’s consent. According to the Majles News Web site, MP Mohammad Reza Bahonar stated, "legal purging starts with questions, which lead to warnings and end with impeachment." On May 25 parliament voted to investigate another allegation, that Ahmadinejad had committed election irregularities by giving cash to up to nine million Iranians before the 2009 presidential elections. The vote came within hours after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader Ali Khamenei, suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation.[140] The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power.[140][141]
Relations with Supreme Leader[link]
Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as "enjoy[ing] the full backing" of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,[142] and even as being his "protege."[143] In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called "a sign of closeness and loyalty,"[144] and after the 2009 election fully endorsed Ahmadinejad against protesters.[145] However as early as January 2008 signs of disagreement between the two men developed over domestic policies,[142] and by 2010-11 several sources detected a "growing rift" between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.[146] The disagreement has been described as centering on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad[147] and opponent of "greater involvement of clerics in politics",[148] who was First Vice President of Iran until being ordered to resign from the cabinet by the supreme leader. In 2009 Ahmadinejad dismissed Intelligence minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, an opponent of Mashaei. In April 2011, another Intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, resigned after being asked to by Ahmadinejad, but was reinstated by the supreme leader[143] within hours.[149] Ahmadinejad declined to officially back Moslehi's reinstatement for two weeks and in protest engaged in an "11-day walkout" of cabinet meetings, religious ceremonies, and other official functions.[146][149] Ahmadinejad's actions led to angry public attacks by clerics, parliamentarians and military commanders, who accused him of ignoring orders from the supreme leader.[147] Conservative opponents in parliament launched an "impeachment drive" against him,[148] four websites with ties to Ahmadinejad reportedly were "filtered and blocked",[143] and several people "said to be close" to the president and Mashaei (such as Abbas Amirifar and Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh) were arrested on charges of being "magicians" and invoking djinns.[146] On 6 May 2011 it was reported that Ahmadinejad had been given an ultimatum to accept the leader's intervention or resign,[150] and on 8 May he "apparently bowed" to the reinstatement, welcoming back Moslehi to a cabinet meeting.[147] The events have been said to have "humiliated and weakened" Ahmadinejad, though the president has denied that there was any rift between the two,[147] and according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency stated that his relationship with the supreme leader "is that of a father and a son."[148]
Foreign relations[link]
Main article: Foreign policy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
During Ahmadinejad's tenure as President of Iran the foreign policy of the country took a different approach from the previous administration. Relations with the West generally soured while relations with other parts of the world, including Africa and Latin America, were on the ascendance. In light of the calls for sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme, Ahmadinejad and his foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, traveled extensively throughout the two regions, as well as hosted other leaders. Relations with the ALBA states, and Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, in particular, were most strengthened. Relations with America during the Bush administration and Israel were weakened.
Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom.[151][152]
Israel and Palestine[link]
Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
He abides by Iran's long-standing policy of refusing to recognize Israel as a legitimate state.[153]
He was embroiled in controversy regarding statements he made about the Holocaust and for commenting that "the occupying regime" would, according to various translations, be eliminated, or "vanish from the pages of time." The New York Times reported this as a call for the destruction of the State of Israel when the phrase was translated as "wiped off the map" by Ahmadinejad's official website and Iranian state run media.[154][155][156] However, American academic Juan Cole says the word "map" doesn't appear in the original Farsi quote. It has also been claimed that he said that "Israel's regime will be wiped off the map", not the actual state.[157] On April 21, 2012, Dan Meridor, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister, was reported by the Blaze [158] saying that President Ahmadinejad did not use the exact phrase ’Wiped off the Map’.
He advocates "free elections" for the region, and believes Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future.[159] Criticism of him in the West has been coupled with accusations of describing the Holocaust as a myth[160][161] and of statements influenced by "classic anti-Semitic ideas,"[162] which has led to accusations of anti-Semitism,[163] though he has denied these accusations, saying that he "respects Jews very much" and that he was not "passing judgment" on the Holocaust.[152][164][165][166]
On Quds Day in September 2010 criticized the Palestinian Authority over its president's decision to renew direct peace talks with Israel saying the talks are "stillborn" and "doomed to fail", urging the Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel.[167][168] He said that Mahmoud Abbas had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians.[169][170] Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, fired back, saying, Ahmadinejad "does not represent the Iranian people,..., is not entitled to talk about Palestine, or the President of Palestine"[171][172]
United States[link]
In September 2010 he caused yet-another controversy at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly by claiming that most people believed the United States government was behind the 9/11 attacks and later called for an inquiry, stating: "The fact-finding mission can shed light on who the perpetrators were, who is al-Qaeda... where does it exist? Who was it backed by and supported? All these should come to light."[173] The speech triggered a mass walkout, and the U.S. president Barack Obama described the claims as "inexcuseable", "offensive" and "hateful".[174] In 2010, Ahmadinejad reiterated the 9/11 conspiracy, and wrote:
"Establishing an independent and impartial committee of investigation, which would determine the roots and causes of the regrettable event of 9/11, is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world. [...] Any opposition to this legal and human demand means that 9/11 was premeditated in order to achieve the goals of occupation and of confrontation with the nations.[175]
He made similar comments in 2011.[176]
Personal life[link]
He was married to Azam Sadat Farahi on 12 June 1981 in Tehran.[178] Farahi was a classmate of Ahmadinejad when he studied at the Iran University of Science and Technology. They have three children, including one daughter, Fatemeh, and two sons, Mehdi and Alireza.[179] His older son, Mehdi, married the daughter of Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in 2007, and his younger son, Alireza, is married to the niece of former military general, Mahmoud Kaveh.[180] All of his children studied at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic).[181] His son in law is Mehdi Khorshidi.[182]
See also[link]
- 2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy
- Advisors to the president: Hamid Mowlana, Mohammad-Ali Ramin, Ali Akbar Javanfekr
- Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
- Politics of Iran
References[link]
- ^ "Iran's first lady makes rare speech at Rome summit". Associated Press. Fox News. 2009-11-15. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2009/11/15/irans-lady-makes-rare-public-appearance-rome-forum/. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
- ^ The -[e] is the Izāfa, which is a grammatical marker linking two words together. It is not indicated in writing, and is not part of the name itself, but is used when a first and last name are used together.
- ^ Pronunciations for محمود احمدینژاد
- ^ Persian Grammar, p. 145: . . . stress is word-final in simple, derived, and compound nouns and adjectives . . .[dead link]
- ^ "Ahmedinejad: Rose and Thorn". The Diplomatic Observer. http://www.diplomaticobserver.com/news_read.asp?id=1871. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ "Mahmoud Ahmedinejad on Facebook". Facebook. 2001-07-24. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mahmud-Ahmedinejad/8613283977?v=info&viewas=0. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ a b c d e Biography of H.E. Dr. Ahmadi Nejad, Honourable President of Islamic Republic of Iran. Retrieved 27-01-2008. Archived January 3, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". Iran Chamber Society. http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mahmadinejad/mahmoud_ahmadinejad.php. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ a b c Lee, Jon (2009-01-07). "Can Iran Change? High stakes in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection campaign". Newyorker.com. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/13/090413fa_fact_anderson. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
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- ^ "Is this government legitimate? (BBC Persian)". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/07/090704_op_brief_majma_qom.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Landry, Carole (2009-06-25). "G8 calls on Iran to halt election violence". Google.com. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSWPwBGmOByDmvG6OPfqesxJ2O7Q. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ a b Melman, Yossi; Meir Javedanfar (2007). The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran. Basic Books. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0-7867-1887-0.
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- Smith-Spark, Laura. "Racism fears dog World Cup build-up". BBC News. Accessed 26-05-2006.
- "Annan condemns Holocaust denial". BBC News. Accessed 27-01-2006.
- "He was defeated by the even more hard-line and anti-Semitic Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...". Joel C. Rosenberg. Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2006, p. 109, ISBN 978-1-4143-1135-7
- "Israel Wants West to Deal More Urgently With Iran" The New York Times. Accessed 28-03-2008.
- "NCC Condemns Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust Statement", National Council of Churches. Retrieved 16-12-2005.
- ^ Namiech, Ophelie (2009-10-02). "How a nice Jewish girl met Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". New York: Nydailynews.com. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/10/02/2009-10-02_how_a_nice_jewish_girl_met_iranian_madman_mahmoud_ahmadinejad.html. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Ahmadinejad's speech @ Columbia university – a transcript". 25 September 2007. http://ahmadinejadspeech.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ "Iranian leader 'not anti-Semite'". BBC. 21 September 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5368458.stm. Retrieved 2007-04-08. "'Some people think if they accuse me of being anti-Jew they can solve the problem. No, I am not anti-Jew. I respect them very much.'"
- ^ Middle East peace talks are 'doomed to fail', says Ahmadinejad | World news | guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-02-03.
- ^ Iran's Ahmadinejad calls on Palestinians to fight on. Reuters. Retrieved on 2011-02-03.
- ^ Jeremy Bowen (2010-09-03). "Mid-East talks doomed, says Iranian leader Ahmadinejad". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11175834. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Video: Ahmadinejad pours scorn on Middle East peace talks. Telegraph (2010-09-03). Retrieved on 2011-02-03.
- ^ Iran continues back-and-forth barbs with Palestinians over peace talks – CNN. Articles.cnn.com (2010-09-05). Retrieved on 2011-02-03.
- ^ Progress of Middle East peace talks 'a surprise'. The Australian (2010-09-06). Retrieved on 2011-02-03.
- ^ "YouTube: Full speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at UN". Russia Today. 23 September 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4phNuwx8Hs. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ "Barack Obama condemns Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN speech". BBC. 2010-09-25. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11407326. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ In Beirut, Iranian President Ahmadinejad Reiterates 9/11 Conspiracy, Accuses the West in Al-Hariri Assassination The Middle East Media Research Institute. Special Dispatch No.3304. October 18, 2010
- ^ Cohen, Dudi. "Iranian president questions Holocaust, 9/11." Ynetnews. 25 June 2011. 25 June 2011.
- ^ Hanrahan, Mark (2011-09-28). "Al Qaeda Calls On Mahmoud Ahmadinejad To End 'Ridiculous' 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Huffington Post September 28, 2011". Huffingtonpost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/al-qaeda-ahmadinejad-end-911-theories_n_985265.html. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
- ^ funshahd (2009-07-12). "Where and When Ahmadinejad was marrie?". Funshad.com. http://www.funshad.com/View/aroosi-ahmadinejad.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Bio: Ahmadinejad". Fr.j post.com. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961353570&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ "Ahmadinejad's younger son was married". onlineha.con. 2011-03-12. http://www.onlineha.com/19365-%D9%BE%D8%B3%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D9%88%DA%86%DA%A9-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF/. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Iran's Ahmadinejad Heckled at University". Newsmax.com. 2006-12-12. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/12/11/164728.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ "President's Family". Tabnak.ir. http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/193596/%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
Further reading[link]
- Harris, David (2004), The Crisis: the President, the Prophet, and the Shah—1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam, New York: Little, Brown, ISBN 978-0-316-32394-9
- "Referral of Iranian President Ahmadinejad on the Charge of Incitement to Commit Genocide" by Justus Reid Weiner, Esq., with Amb. Meir Rosenne, Prof. Elie Wiesel, Amb. Dore Gold, Irit Kohn, Adv., Amb. Eytan Bentsur, and MK Dan Naveh
- Ali Rahnema, Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics: From Majlesi to Ahmadinejad, Cambridge University Press, 2011 (Reviewed in The Montréal Review), ISBN 978-0-521-18221-8
External links[link]
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- Official website of the President of Iran
- Blog of President Ahmadinejad
- Biography at CIDOB Foundation
- Video Archive of President Ahmadinejad at Irannegah.com
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Charlie Rose
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by or about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at Dawn
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at Ha'aretz
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
- People Who Mattered: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Time, 16 December 2006
- The Results As They Came In, Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic, 13 June 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hossein Taheri as Governor of East Azerbaijan |
Governor of Ardabil 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by Javad Negarandeh |
| Preceded by Mohammad-Hassan Malekmadani |
Mayor of Tehran 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf |
| Preceded by Mohammad Khatami |
President of Iran 2005–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Mehdi Chamran |
Leader of Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran 2004–present |
Incumbent |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
Chairperson of the Group of 15 2006–2010 |
Succeeded by Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader |
Order of Precedence of Iran as President |
Succeeded by Ali Larijani as Speaker of Parliament |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | 6th President of Iran |
| Date of birth | 28 October 1956 |
| Place of birth | Aradan, Iran |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
Related pages:
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http://es.wn.com/Mahmud Ahmadineyad
http://ru.wn.com/Ахмадинежад, Махмуд
http://cs.wn.com/Mahmúd Ahmadínežád
http://pt.wn.com/Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
http://pl.wn.com/Mahmud Ahmadineżad
http://hi.wn.com/महमूद अहमदीनेज़ाद
http://it.wn.com/Mahmud Ahmadinejad
http://id.wn.com/Mahmud Ahmadinejad
http://nl.wn.com/Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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For the talk show, see The Geraldo Rivera Show.
| Geraldo Rivera | |
|---|---|
 Rivera in September 2010 |
|
| Born | Gerald Michael Riviera (1943-07-04) July 4, 1943 (age 68) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Education | J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, Journalism degree from Columbia University[1] |
| Occupation | Lawyer, television talk show host, news anchor and reporter, columnist for FOXNewsLatino.com |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Notable credit(s) | Geraldo at Large Geraldo |
| Religion | Reform Judaism[2] |
| Spouse | Linda Coblentz (1965–1969) Edith Vonnegut (1971–1975) Sherryl Raymond (1976–1984) C.C. Dyer (1987–2000) Erica Michelle Levy (since August 10, 2003) |
| Children | Gabriel Miguel (b. 2 July 1979) Cruz Grant (b. 1987) Isabella Holmes (b. 7 November 1992) Simone Cruickshank (b. 24 September 1994) Solita Liliana (b. 2 August 2005) |
| Relatives | Craig Rivera Cordelia Bowe Rivera Irene Rivera Hurst (professor at Hofstra University[3][4]) |
| Website | |
| http://www.foxnews.com/geraldo | |
Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Michael Riviera;[5] July 4, 1943) is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and talk show host. Rivera hosts the newsmagazine program Geraldo at Large and appears regularly on Fox News Channel.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Rivera was born at Beth Israel Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Lillian (née Friedman), a waitress, and the late Cruz "Allen" Rivera (October 1, 1915 – November 1987), a restaurant worker and cab driver.[6][7] Rivera's father was a Catholic Puerto Rican of Spanish ancestry,[8] and his mother is of Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent. He was raised "mostly Jewish" and had a Bar Mitzvah.[9][10] He grew up in Brooklyn and West Babylon, New York. He has four siblings: Wilfredo, Sharon, Irene, and Craig.
Rivera is an alumnus of the University of Arizona, where he played varsity lacrosse as goalie. From September 1961 to May 1963, he attended the State University of New York Maritime College, where he was a member of the rowing team.[11][12] He received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1969, did postgraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania that same year.[13]
After a brief career in law enforcement where he served the New York City Police Department as an investigator, Rivera returned to law and became a lawyer for a New York Puerto Rican activist group, the Young Lords, and attracted the attention of WABC-TV news director Al Primo when he was interviewed about the group's occupation of a East Harlem church in 1969. Primo offered Rivera a job as a reporter but was unhappy with the first name "Gerald" (he wanted something more identifiably Latin) so they agreed to go with the pronunciation used by the Puerto Rican side of Rivera's family: Geraldo.[14] He is a member of Tau Delta Phi fraternity.
Career[link]
Early stages[link]
Geraldo Rivera was hired by WABC-TV in 1970 as a reporter for Eyewitness News. In 1972, he garnered national attention and won a Peabody Award[15][16] for his report on the neglect and abuse of mentally retarded patients at Staten Island's Willowbrook State School and began to appear on ABC national programs such as 20/20 and Nightline. After John Lennon watched Rivera's report on the patients at Willowbrook, he and Rivera formed a benefit concert called "One to One" (released in 1986 as Live in New York City.) Rivera reported Lennon's murder on Nightline on December 8, 1980. Rivera also appeared in The U.S. vs. John Lennon, a movie about Lennon and Yoko Ono's lives in New York City. The movie was released in 2007.
Around this time, Rivera also began hosting ABC's Good Night America. The show featured the famous refrain from Arlo Guthrie's hit "City Of New Orleans" (written by Steve Goodman) as the theme. A 1975 episode of the program featuring Dick Gregory and Robert J. Groden showed the first national telecast of the historic Zapruder Film.
After Elvis Presley died in 1977, various media mistakenly reported that he had died from a heart attack. Rivera then investigated Presley's prescription drug records and concluded that he had died from multiple drug intake. His conclusion caused Tennessee medical authorities to later revoke the medical license of Dr. George C. Nichopoulos for overprescribing.
In October 1985, ABC's Roone Arledge refused to air a report done by Sylvia Chase, for 20/20 on the relationship between Marilyn Monroe and John and Robert Kennedy. Rivera publicly criticized Arledge's journalistic integrity, claiming that Arledge's friendship with the Kennedy family (for example, Pierre Salinger, a former Kennedy aide, worked for ABC News at the time) had caused him to spike the story; as a result, Rivera was fired. Sylvia Chase quit 20/20, although she returned to ABC News many years later. The report has never aired.
In April 1986, Rivera hosted the syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, an ill-conceived adventure where Rivera excavated what he had been told was the site of Al Capone's buried treasure trove. Rivera broadcast live as the site was excavated, fully expecting to find a store of the former gangster's wealth. The show was heavily advertised, particularly on Chicago's WGN television station. A medical examiner was brought along for the excavation in case any dead bodies were excavated. The show was on air for several hours, displacing regularly scheduled programming, as Rivera's team penetrated the vault he was sure would yield the famed loot. Ultimately, the vault was found to contain a few broken bottles. Rivera held one of these bottles aloft for the camera and excitedly stated that it had once contained "bootleg moonshine gin".
Talk shows and specials[link]
In 1987, Rivera began producing and hosting the daytime talk show Geraldo, which ran for 11 years. The show featured controversial guests and theatricality, which led to the characterization of his show as "Trash TV" by Newsweek and two United States senators.[17] One of the early shows was titled "Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them". His nose was broken in a well-publicized brawl during a 1988 show, involving white supremacists, anti-racist skinheads, black activists, and Jewish activists.
In 1987, he hosted the first of a series of prime time special reports dealing with an alleged epidemic of Satanic ritual abuse. He stated:
- "Estimates are that there are over 1 million Satanists in this country ... The majority of them are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. From small towns to large cities, they have attracted police and FBI attention to their Satanic sexual child abuse, child pornography and grisly Satanic murders. The odds are that this is happening in your town."
More credible estimates are about 10,000 adult members of religious Satanic churches, temples and grottos as well as 10,000 solitary practitioners of Satanism; Rivera's claims of ritualistic abuse, conspiracy and criminal activity remain unsubstantiated.[18]
In 1994, he began hosting nightly discussion of the news on CNBC called Rivera Live while continuing to host Geraldo. The show was portrayed in the final episode of Seinfeld, with Rivera as himself reporting on the lengthy trial of the show's four main characters. In May 1994, he appeared on The Price Is Right.
Later, he would take his talk show in a different direction, moving it from "Trash TV" to a more subdued, serious show, and changed its name from Geraldo to The Geraldo Rivera Show. By this time, however, the show had run its course, and was cancelled in 1998.
In 1997, Rivera contracted with NBC to work as a reporter for six years for $30 million, including hosting Rivera Live on CNBC. During 1998 and 1999, he extensively covered the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
Fox News to present[link]
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he accepted a pay cut and went to work for the Fox News Channel as a war correspondent in November 2001. Rivera's brother Craig accompanied him as a cameraman on assignments in Afghanistan.
In 2001, during the War in Afghanistan, Rivera was derided for a report in which he claimed to be at the scene of a friendly fire incident; it was later revealed he was actually 300 miles away. Rivera blamed a minor misunderstanding for the discrepancy.[19]
Controversy arose in early 2003, while Rivera was traveling with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. During a Fox News broadcast, Rivera began to disclose an upcoming operation, even going so far as to draw a map in the sand for his audience. The military immediately issued a firm denunciation of his actions, saying it put the operation at risk, and nearly expelled Rivera from Iraq. Two days later, he announced that he would be reporting on the Iraq conflict from Kuwait.[20][21]
In 2005, Rivera engaged in a feud with The New York Times over their allegations that he pushed aside a member of a rescue team in order to be filmed "assisting" a woman in a wheelchair down some steps in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The ensuing controversy caused Rivera to appear on television and demand a retraction from the Times. He further threatened to sue the paper if one was not provided.[22]
In 2008, Rivera came out with a book called HisPanic: Why Americans fear Hispanics in the U.S..[23] Rivera himself is part Hispanic, his father coming from Puerto Rico.
In 2007, Geraldo was involved in a dispute with fellow fox colleague Michelle Malkin, Malkin announced that she would not return to The O'Reilly Factor, claiming that Fox News had mishandled a dispute over derogatory statements made about her by Geraldo in a Boston Globe interview. Rivera, while objecting to her views on immigration, says, "Michelle Malkin is the most vile, hateful commentator I've ever met in my life. She actually believes that neighbors should start snitching out neighbors, and we should be deporting people." He added, "It's good she's in D.C., and I'm in New York. I'd spit on her if I saw her", Rivera later apologized for his comments.[24][25]
On September 12, 2008, during the Fox News coverage of Hurricane Ike, Rivera was knocked over by the storm surge debris while reporting live in Galveston near the 17 foot high sea wall.[26]
On November 10, 2010, Oprah Winfrey invited Rivera, along with former talk show hosts Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Ricki Lake and Montel Williams as guests on her show. This was the first time that she had fellow talkers appear together since their programs left the air.[27]
Stephen Colbert has frequently lampooned Rivera on The Colbert Report, especially calling attention to his mustache. He has explained in interviews that Rivera was one of the inspirations for the "man with a mission" facet of Colbert's right-wing pundit character. "That's the heart of [Rivera's] persona: that he really is changing the world with every interview he does — just slowly, syllable by syllable, he is changing the great ship of human destiny with his will toward justice." Colbert's character, in turn, "thinks, 'We're gonna bust things wide open with this report,' when in fact he never has an idea of what he's talking about."[28] Rivera has since appeared on the show.
While hosting his show on Fox News on the night of May 1, 2011, Rivera broke the news that Osama bin Laden was killed by American special forces at 10:40 p.m. EDT. When the news broke, Rivera proudly proclaimed "this is the greatest night of my career".[29]
On October 10, 2011, Rivera was filmed by Russia Today being jeered by the Occupy Wall Street protesters at Liberty Square. The crowd chanted, "FOX News lies!" until Rivera and his camera crew left the protesters.[30]
On January 3, 2012 Rivera began hosting a weekday radio talk show on WABC (AM) in New York.[31] On January 30, 2012 Rivera also began hosting a weekday radio talk show on KABC (AM) in Los Angeles from 10AM to 12PM PST.[32] He fills the 10 a.m. to noon slot between the syndicated Imus in the Morning and Rush Limbaugh programs.
On March 23, 2012, Rivera made controversial comments regarding Trayvon Martin's hoodie and how the hoodie was connected to the shooting death of Martin.[33] Since the comments, of which even Rivera's son Gabriel was "ashamed",[34] the barrage of dissent against him on various websites (including Twitter) and even his own radio show has not stopped.[citation needed]
He apologized for any offense that he caused with the comments. Some, however, have taken the apology as disingenuous, if even as any kind of apology whatsoever.[35] Among those who did not accept the apology was a longtime friend of Rivera, Russell Simmons.[36] He later apologized to Trayvon Martin's parents as well[37].
Rivera is scheduled to head to Afghanistan for the last time in his career on April 11, 2012 (which he specifically stated on his KABC radio show)-- as he promised his wife, Erica[38].
Personal life[link]
Rivera has been married five times and has fathered five children:
- Linda Coblentz (1965–1969, divorced)
- Edith Vonnegut (December 14, 1971 – 1975, divorced)
- Sherryl Raymond (December 31, 1976 – 1984, divorced)
son: Gabriel Miguel (born July 1979)[39][40] - C.C. (Cynthia Cruickshank) Dyer (July 11, 1987 – 2000, divorced)
daughters: Isabella Holmes (born November 7, 1992)[41] and Simone Cruickshank (born September 24, 1994) - Erica Michelle Levy (since August 10, 2003)
daughter: Solita Liliana (born August 2, 2005)[42][43]
He also fathered Cruz Grant (born 1987) with an unnamed, Mexican-American[44] woman.
Rivera has been a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey.[45] He had previously resided in Middletown Township, New Jersey at 'Rough Point', a 1895 shingle-style estate.[46]
Rivera is an active sailor. He is owner/skipper of the boat Voyager and sailed in the Marion-Bermuda race (June 2011).
Honours and awards[link]
Albania: On 17 May 2012 Albanian President, Bamir Topi awarded with the "Medal of Gratitude" Geraldo Rivera with citation: "With profound gratitude and esteem, personality and prominent publicist, expensive friend of the Albanians, who made his cause the American public consciousness, and beyond, monstrous crime was making the Serb military machine, in 1999, against the Kosovo Albanian civilian population, thus revealing it as ethnic cleansing and genocide ".[47]
Author[link]
- Rivera, Geraldo (1972). Willowbrook. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-71844-5.
- Rivera, Geraldo (1973). Miguel Robles—so far. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-253900-X.
- Rivera, Geraldo (1977). A Special Kind of Courage: Profiles of young Americans. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-10501-9.
- Rivera, Geraldo (1992). Exposing Myself. London: Bantam. ISBN 0-553-29874-7.
- Rivera, Geraldo (2008). HisPanic: Why Americans fear Hispanics in the U. S.. New York: Celebra. ISBN 0-451-22414-0.
- Rivera, Geraldo (2009). The Great Progression: How Hispanics will lead America to a new era of prosperity. New York: New American Library. ISBN 0-451-22881-2.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ [1]"Geraldo Rivera"
- ^ Geraldo Rivera: ‘The Jews Need Me Right Now’. Forward.com (2003-05-23). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Sticks & Stones Thrown in Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley. The Quarterly Newsletter of ACRL/NY Summer 2000, Volume 19, Number 2
- ^ "Dolhinov Guestbook Archive 2". Eilatgordinlevitan.com. http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/dolhinov/d_pages/dol_gb_archive_03.html. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Geraldo Rivera and Jerry Rivers. Snopes.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ "Excerpt: "His Panic" – ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2008-02-26. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=4339477&page=1. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Geraldo Rivera Biography (1943–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ "Excerpt: "His Panic"". ABC News. February 26, 2008. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=4339477&page=1. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Biography for Geraldo Rivera
- ^ Do the Jews Need Geraldo. Interfaithfamily.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ – Sailing Book (continues). Geraldo.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Fort Schuyler Maritime Alumni Association. Fsmaa.org. (1998-09-24) Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Rivera, Geraldo. Museum.tv. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ "Urban Legend about Geraldo Rivera's name being changed from Jerry Rivers". Snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/media/celebrity/geraldo.asp. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Powers, Ron (1977). The Newscasters: The News Business as Show Business. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 185. ISBN 0-312-5707-7.
- ^ See also List of Peabody Award winners (1970–1979)#1972
- ^ "TWO DEMOCRATIC SENATORS JOIN BENNETT'S CRUSADE AGAINST `TRASH TV'" (newspaper). Associated Press. Chicago Tribune. December 8, 1995. p. 26. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/20671503.html?dids=20671503:20671503&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved March 2, 2009. "Two Democratic senators are joining Friday with William Bennett... to criticize advertisers who support what critics call 'trash TV' talk shows.... In television and radio ads to begin airing Friday, Bennett and Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) urge companies to withdraw advertising dollars from... [shows including] 'Geraldo,'"
- ^ Geraldo Rivera'S Influence On The Satanic Ritual Abuse And Recovered Memory Hoaxes. Religioustolerance.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ "Gun-toting Geraldo under fire for the story that never was", telegraph.co.uk, December 20, 2001
- ^ "Confusion surrounds Rivera's expulsion from Iraq", CNN, April 1, 2003
- ^ Carr, David (April 1, 2003). "A NATION AT WAR: COVERAGE; Pentagon Says Geraldo Rivera Will Be Removed From Iraq". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5DD1039F932A35757C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ Geraldo Rivera might sue The New York Times – TV Squad. Tvsquad.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Rivera, Geraldo. "Rivera Takes on Anti-Immigrant Fervor in 'His Panic'". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87866811. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Shanahan, Mark. "Making waves: controversial celebrity newsman Geraldo Rivera", The Boston Globe, September 1, 2007.
- ^ Malkin, Michelle. "Geraldo Rivera unhinged", MichelleMalkin.com, September 1, 2007.
- ^ “” (2008-09-12). "Geraldo Rivera Takes a Spill!". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLZ7lK7-G_A. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ from Oprah.com (November 8, 2010). Oprah.com (2010-11-10). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ "Fake Newsman Stephen Colbert". NPR. 2005-04-08. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4583007. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Geraldo Rivera’s Finest Moment: How The Much Maligned Anchor Broke The Bin Laden News Best". FOX News. 2011-05-02. http://www.mediaite.com/tv/geraldo-riveras-finest-moment-how-the-much-maligned-anchor-broke-the-bin-laden-news-best/. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ "Geraldo Rivera Met With Chants Of 'Fox News Lies' At Occupy Wall Street". Huffington Post. 2011-10-10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/geraldo-rivera-fox-news-lies-occupy-wall-street_n_1003523.html?ref=occupy-wall-street. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
- ^ Geraldo Rivera Gets Talk Deal on WABC Radio Brian Stelter, New York Times, December 11, 2011
- ^ Geraldo Rivera to debut radio talk show on KABC-AM Steve Carney, Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2012
- ^ [2] Fox News Segment of Geraldo Rivera's Comments Regarding Trayvon Martin's Death
- ^ Lee, MJ (March 23, 2012). "Geraldo Rivera: My own son ashamed of me". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74403.html. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Wemple, Erik (March 27, 2012). "Geraldo undoes apology!". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/geraldo-undoes-apology/2012/03/27/gIQAkDXdeS_blog.html.
- ^ Simmons, Russell (March 27, 2012). "Geraldo, Your Apology Is Bullsh*t!". Global Grind. http://globalgrind.com/news/geraldo-rivera-russell-simmons-hoodie-comment-apology-trayvon-martin.
- ^ [3] Geraldo Rivera's Apology]
- ^ [4]
- ^ McDougal, Dennis (March 5, 1989). "There's a New Geraldo...Sort of : Rivera' still a TV outlaw, but he's moving into new corporate, personal and professional worlds". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-05/entertainment/ca-560_1_geraldo-rivera/5.
- ^ Froelich, Janis D.. (1991-07-15) Geraldo . . . Er, Make That Gerald Rivera's Moms Tell All!. Deseret News. Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Geraldo, wife overcome fertility foes, have baby. Herald-Journal. November 9, 1992
- ^ 50 Highs and Lows from 40 Years in the News Business. Geraldo.com (2010-09-05). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ Media Life – People. Medialifemagazine.com (2005-08-04). Retrieved on 2011-12-17.
- ^ [5] Geraldo talks Trayvon Martin hoodie,Muslim monitoring and stop and frisk in NYC
- ^ via Associated Press. "Geraldo Rivera sues over housing dispute", USA Today, September 13, 2004. Accessed March 17, 2011. "The Fox News senior correspondent owns two homes in the 26-acre Edgewater Colony, where residents own their homes but share ownership of the land.... 'I intend living here always, hopefully in peace and loving my neighbors.'"
- ^ Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In: Middletown Township, N.J.;A Historic Community on Raritan Bay", The New York Times, December 24, 1995. Accessed May 10, 2007. "The most expensive area is along the Shrewsbury River, where an eight-bedroom colonial on five acres is listed at $5.9 million. Among the residents of that area are Geraldo Rivera, the television personality, and members of the Hovnanian home-building family."
- ^ Presidenti Topi dekoron zotin Geraldo Rivera me “Medaljen e Mirënjohjes”, President of Albania, 2012-05-17 (in Albanian)
External links[link]
- Official website
- "Geraldo Rivera Official Statement Regarding Embedment Controversy", 4 April 2003 – Rivera tells the story of his Iraq "Map in the Sand" (archive)
- "Pentagon Says Geraldo Rivera Will Be Removed From Iraq" – The New York Times, April 1, 2003
- Geraldo Rivera's Influence on the Satanic Ritual Abuse and Recovered Memory Hoaxes – from religioustolerance.org
- Urban Legend about Geraldo Rivera's name being changed from Jerry Rivers – from snopes.com
- Geraldo Rivera at the Internet Movie Database
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rivera, Geraldo |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | July 4, 1943 |
| Place of birth | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Geraldo_Rivera
Related pages:
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http://nl.wn.com/Geraldo Rivera
http://de.wn.com/Geraldo Rivera
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geraldo_Rivera
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
