Osama Bin Laden Is dead

[webby]

Around 11:30PM EST May 1st, president Obama announced to the world that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

(CNN) -- The mastermind of the worst terrorist attack on American soil is dead, U.S. President Barack Obama announced late Sunday night, almost 10 years after the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

In an address to the nation late Sunday night, Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda."

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "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."

U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world were placed on high alert following the announcement of bin Laden's death, a senior U.S. official said, and the U.S. State Department should be sending out a new "worldwide caution" for Americans shortly. Some fear al Qaeda supporters may try to retaliate against U.S. citizens or U.S. institutions.

Hundreds of people arrived at the White House late Sunday night and chanted, "USA! USA!" They then chanted, "Hey, hey, goodbye!" in reference to the demise of bin Laden and then spontaneously sang the national anthem.
"This welcome news is a credit to our intelligence efforts and brings to justice the architect of the attacks on our country that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, in a statement issued Sunday night.

The news brought some relief to the grieving family members of those killed on 9/11.
"This is important news for us, and for the world. It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones," Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93, said in a statement. "It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil."
In his speech, Obama reiterated that the United States is not 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."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement Monday morning welcoming the death of bin Laden.

"As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide," the statement said. "We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam."

 

[webby]

The mission that killed one of the world's most notorious terrorist leaders was carried out by U.S. forces with the cooperation of Pakistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday night.
Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion about 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

Members of Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, were on site in Abbottabad during the operation, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said.
Bin Laden resisted the assault and was killed in a firefight, senior administration officials said.

The Pakistani intelligence official said he did not know who fired the shot that actually killed the terror mastermind.
Three other men were also killed in raid, as was a woman who was being used as a human shield, senior administration officials said.

The U.S. team was at the compound for about 40 minutes, the officials said. There were no casualties on the American side, although a U.S. helicopter crashed during the raid due to mechanical problems. The helicopter was then destroyed for security reasons, senior administration officials said.

A senior administration official told reporters that Obama's administration did not share intelligence gathered beforehand with any other country -- including Pakistan -- for security reasons.
The official said only a small group of people inside the U.S. government knew about this operation ahead of time. Another official said a "small U.S. team" was involved in the operation; but the official would not confirm any U.S. military involvement.

However, a senior defense official said U.S. Navy SEALs were involved.

 

[webby]

Twitter says there were more than 4,000 tweets per second during President Obama's announcement

 

[webby]

 

[webby]

It was May 1, 2003, that President George W. Bush — in full flight-suit bravado — appeared on a battleship off the San Diego coast to declare a “Mission Accomplished” in what the White House called its war on terror, marking what was declared as the end of major combat operations in Iraq.

8yrs to the day, Obama announces Bin Laden is dead. I think we all know, that even now, the mission is not accomplished.

 

[KennyGS]

Although this does carry a lot of meaning with it, he will just be replaced by another.

I found this already

 

[Twistedframe]

Glad he is dead, but in the grand scheme of things it really changes nothing.

 

[webby]

 

[CivicDew]

This is good news for the families who lost someone during Sept 11th. However, I agree that this will not change much. If anything we've now angered the terrorists and have opened the door for the healthier, more influential, 2nd...3rd...etc in command to make their move.

There are still a lot of problems here in the United States that needs to be addressed. One example, on a day where we should be happy about the news of Bin Laden's death I'm brought back down when I see a 29 cent jump overnight in gas prices here in Ohio. It had finally gotten back down to $3.99, but then when I ventured out today I see $4.29 per gallon. Thank you U.S.

I recently read some information that stated we have 2+ trillion barrels of oil in reserve that would hold us til 2040's. If we used our own and stopped relying on other countries it would be A LOT cheaper. Why not use it!!!! With the technology we are developing everyday and with the arrival of electric cars there is no way we should be this dependent on oil 31 years from now. Electric, Hydrogen, or even Perpetual motion vehicles should be in nearly half the homes by then. Just a thought.

I don't want to get away from our step forward in defeating terrorism. I am very thankful for the men and women who have dedicated nearly a decade to finding Osama Bin Laden. Job well done!

 

[CivicDew]

Let the shaving begin!

 

[CivicDew]

Nightly news just said Osama was given a proper Muslim burial at sea. WTF - they better have some vids and pics for proof and give them to the press soon!

 

[webby]

seriously???????

 

[KennyGS]

Now I know why terrorists hate us.

 

[dentrecords]

Killing someone won't stop the perpetuation of more killing, it will just result in more killing. This war can't be won - there is no defined enemy and others will always spring up to take the place of whoever was just deposed. I am not trying to be insensitive to those that experienced personal loss in the situation he was involved in but I'm just trying to have a realistic view of what this actually means in the grand scheme of things - which is absolutely nothing other than enraging "them" (the terrorists) and providing more fuel for their fire. It sucks but I think you're in denial if you believe otherwise.

 

[iluvmycsx]

i am glad he is gone and hope it has brought some closure to the vitims/families of the tragic events of 9/11. but like others have said there will be someone to replace him unfortantly it is a war that we might never see the end of in our life times.

 

[webby]

Nightly news just said Osama was given a proper Muslim burial at sea. WTF - they better have some vids and pics for proof and give them to the press soon!

US officials say Osama Bin Laden's body was treated with respect and buried at sea, but some Muslims argue there was no good reason for not burying it on land.

Islamic tradition requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible, unless an autopsy is required.

The US military took this requirement very seriously, burying the body within hours.

"Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed," an official said.

Religious rites were carried out on the deck of a US aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. The body, shrouded in a white sheet and placed in a weighted bag, was then placed on a flat board, tipped up, and eased into the Arabian Sea.

This occurred at 0600GMT, approximately 12 hours after the firefight during which Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head.

After this first shot, reports ABC News' The Blotter, he was shot again, to make sure that he was dead.

‬The body was then flown to Afghanistan and Bin Laden's identity was confirmed. Officials say a DNA sample was taken that matched that of several other family members. Some sources say facial recognition technology was also used.

From Afghanistan, the body was, it appears, flown to the USS Carl Vinson.

"A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker," a US defence official said.


Why at sea?
According to UK-based Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid, Chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious & Racial Harmony, four key steps need to be followed:

• Washing
• Shrouding in white cloth
• Ritual prayer
• Burial

There is no necessity for an imam to be present, he says, but the procedures should be carried out by Muslims at least one of whom "knows the minimum basic Muslim law of burial".

Whether any such person was present is impossible to know, he says, based on the limited information provided. But he also questions whether sea burial was appropriate in this case.

It is correct to carry out a burial at sea when someone dies on a sea journey, he says, but in this case there was no sound reason for it.

The US authorities could surely have found someone - a member of the extensive Bin Laden family, or even one of the many supporters of his "evil" ideology - who would have been prepared to give the body a proper burial, he argues.

His words were echoed by Mohammed Qudah, a professor of Islamic law at the University of Jordan, who told the Associated Press news agency that burying Bin Laden at sea was not forbidden if there was nobody to receive the body and provide a Muslim burial.

But he went on: "It's neither true nor correct to claim that there was nobody in the Muslim world ready to receive Bin Laden's body."

The agency also quoted Dubai's grand mufti Mohammed al-Qubaisi, saying that sea burials were permissible only in extraordinary circumstances, adding: "This is not one of them."

"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," he said.
No location
US officials have given two reasons why a sea burial was chosen. First, that they did not want his grave to become a shrine. Second, that there was no time to negotiate with other countries to arrange a possible burial on land.

 

[webby]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/05/osama_bin_laden_killed.html

 

[SOLO8thGenSi]

very interesting information. i have definitely become a sponge to all news media outlets these past 2 days. lol @ the comedic photos posted here and i sincerely hope and pray that one Facebook profile girl isn't truly that naive not to know who Osama bin Laden is.... or rather, was. :facepalm:

 

[02civicsi]

All it takes is to turn on the TV to see why this country is disliked by so many.

 

[KennyGS]

Jealousy