India is afraid of Pakistani intelligence Agency ISI.They fear from ISI.Indian media is doing propaganda against ISI and Paksitan army every time when they have no news to break.Indian media always present negative issues about Pakistan.
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Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggest the Chinese are as well.
The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also "very interested" in seeing the remains. Another official said, "We might let them [the Chinese] take a look."
A U.S. official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be "shocked" if the Chinese hadn't already been given access to the damaged aircraft.
The chopper, which aviation experts believe to be a highly classified modified version of a Blackhawk helicopter, clipped a wall during the operation that took down the al Qaeda leader, the White House said. The U.S. Navy SEALs that rode in on the bird attempted to destroy it after abandoning it on the ground, but a significant portion of the tail section survived the explosion. In the days after the raid, the tail section and other pieces of debris -- including a mysterious cloth-like covering that the local children found entertaining to play with -- were photographed being hauled away from the crash site by tractor.
Aviation experts said the unusual configuration of the rear rotor, the curious hub-cap like housing around it and the general shape of the bird are all clues the helicopter was highly modified to not only be quiet, but to have as small a radar signature as possible.
The helicopter's remains have apparently become another chip in a tense, high-stakes game of diplomacy between the U.S. and Pakistan following the U.S.'s unilateral military raid of bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, more than a week ago. The potential technological advancements gleaned from the bird could be a "much appreciated gift" to the Chinese, according to former White House counterterrorism advisor and ABC News consultant Richard Clarke.
"Because Pakistan gets access to Chinese missile technology and other advanced systems, Islamabad is always looking for ways to give China something in return," Clarke said.
The Chinese and Pakistani governments are known to have a close relationship. Last month Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif concluded a trip to Beijing, afterwards telling Pakistan's local press that China was Pakistan's "best friend."
Dan Goure, a former Department of Defense official and vice president of the Lexington Institute, said last week the stealth chopper likely provided the SEALs an invaluable advantage in the moments before the shooting started.
"This is a first," he said. "You wouldn't know that it was coming right at you. And that's what's important, because these are coming in fast and low, and if they aren't sounding like they're coming right at you, you might not even react until it's too late... That was clearly part of the success."
Neighbors of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, told ABC News they didn't hear the helicopters the night of the raid until they were overhead.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment for this report, and a senior Pentagon official told ABC News last week the Department would "absolutely not" discuss anything relating to the downed chopper. Several Chinese government officials in the U.S. and in China were not available for comment.
U.S. officials have not officially disclosed any details on the helicopter, but President Obama said it was a "$60 million helicopter," according to a report by The Washington Post. While the price tag on normal Blackhawks varies depending the type, none cost more than $20 million according to the latest Department of Defense procurement report.
These days very often an upsetting hue is heard from the parents of the modern youth: "My child is getting weak in studies" Not only Parents but also teachers get upset due to the hopelessness prevailing in today's youth. They are seen indulged in pathetic activities as they reach their puberty. Out of 75% in a class of a regular institute only 25% are seen ambitious towards their goals. The majority 75% is seen heavily pretending to be cooler and smarter than the second one. Deliberately or impulsively becoming a useless, hopeless wannabe case.
Every child is as precious as gold to the parents. Parents don't expect any return of the infinite sacrifices they make for their children. But they only expect to see their child as a successful and honourable person in the coming years of their life. They actually are totally selfless for their children. They not only fulfill their studies expenditures, suppressing their own needs but also do extra efforts to solace their child according to the trends of present age. Yet when there are hidden tears in the eyes of mother, and father's face lacking a proud smile, on the collection of the result of their ward. That very moment is very cruel for the parents and unfortunate for the child. A child doesn't get weak in studies rather, he actually loses his interest. A child being weak from the very beginning due to his caliber is a different case. But rationally Allah Almighty has blessed almost everyone with good caliber and skills.
Girls pass their entire day after school or college in front of the television watching either indecent soups, serials or either bollywood movies full of vulgarity. The boys are wandering aimlessly in streets or malls doing idiotic things. A very common sight - Teenagers smoking in friend circles, girls enjoying hindi dances in gatherings. Dancing is the hindu tradition meant for hindus, are we Muslims supposed to adopt it?
I don't mean to say that the children should become like angels. But being rational and sensible is the key. For once, if you ponder over the entertainment you yourself, provide your children. You won't find yourself sensible anymore. You think making your child watch "saas bahu ki saazishien or vulgar and cheap Veena Malik in Big Boss" will help in some character building of your child?
They have indulged us heavily in their own singing and dancing so that our eyes can be closed. I wonder why don't people realize it by now at minimum. Ok if it's any consolation, this project of the bhindians is called OPERATION BLUE TULSI and they started working on it since 1992 with the launch of ZTV. Believe it or not but ZTV was specifically designed to infiltrate the Pakistani society and mind set.
The idea behind this mission was to destroy all moral and ethical values of the Pakistani youth, which would eventually effect the Army and thus making it easier for the Indian Army to destroy it.
Sonia Gandhi told her Army chief during Kargil time, we don't need to invade Pakistan we are already in their living rooms. It's been more than 10 years and at least 20 channels since then, so do the math. Being well informed and letting some one else know is NOT hate. This is the lethal reality. You don't want to admit it, its your choice.
Our Founding Father Quaid-e-Azam R.A took a pledge from the youth of the new state of Pakistan that, "You must devote yourself whole-heartedly to your studies, for that is your first obligation to yourselves, your parents and to your state" Is this how we are keeping the promise of our Quaid? We still do not have a progressive literacy rate in our country.
For everything the children can not be accused. The parents are equally responsible for the poor academic and character building of their children. Parents on their part have also forgotten the purpose of a Muslim marriage. It lays a spiritual and legal foundation for raising a sound family on Islamic principles.
Prophet Muhammed s.a.w said, "When the servant of Allah marries, he has fulfilled half the (responsibilities laid on him by the) faith; so let him be God conscious with respect to the other half". (Mishkat)
Where as in a Muslim society a family is being raised but where are the Islamic Principles? A child is taught from the cradle of mother. When the mother's cradle is not providing him a sound Islamic environment, how do you expect him to become a refined person when he grows up? If we develop in them a love for Islam and provide them with righteous examples for their heroes, they will be much less likely to go astray. A person wants to be like his heroes. If he admires Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, Abu Bakr r.a etc he will try to follow their example. If he admires a rock star or a gang leader, he will want to be like them. If we inspire our children with good examples, when they are tempted to do wrong, they will, InshaAllah, remember these examples and remain steadfast.
It's not that my perception is that of narrow mindedness. We greatly admire the progress and development of Europe. Did we ever begin to think what's the key to their success? It's not half naked apparels, it's not illicit relations, it's neither singing nor dancing but it's their KNOWLEDGE!
Now when I have tried to show you the ugly but real phase of the picture. You have to decide with opened eyes and brains, is it just to bring up your child in the shadows of rivals of Islam? Either stop being pseudo Muslims or either stop calling yourself a Muslim! The ball is in your court.
A Toronto judge was justified in freeing an alleged Al Qaeda collaborator given the gravity of human rights abuses committed by the United States in connection with his capture in Pakistan, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled.
Judges are not expected to remain passive when countries such as the U.S. violate the rights of alleged terrorists, the court said Friday.
Its 3-0 ruling upholds a decision last August by Justice Christopher Speyer of Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to stay extradition proceedings involving Abdullah Khadr, 30, who is wanted in Boston on charges of procuring munitions for use by Al Qaeda against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
The Toronto man is the older brother of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr and son of Ahmed Khadr, who was suspected of having close ties with Osama bin Laden and killed in a shootout with Pakistan’s security forces on the Afghanistan border in 2003.
“We must adhere to our democratic and legal values, even if that adherence serves in the short term to benefit those who oppose and seek to destroy those values,” said Justice Robert Sharpe, writing on behalf of Justices John Laskin and Eleanore Cronk.
“For if we do not, in the longer term, the enemies of democracy and the rule of law will have succeeded,” he said. “They will have demonstrated that our faith in our legal order is unable to withstand their threats.”
The U.S. paid Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) $500,000 to abduct Khadr, a Canadian citizen, in Islamabad on Oct. 15, 2004.
He was denied access to courts and consular officials, beaten until he cooperated with the ISI and detained at a secret location for 14 months.
U.S. authorities discouraged a request from a Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer in Pakistan that Khadr be granted access to the Canadian consulate.
U.S. officials wanted Pakistan to allow for his rendition to the U.S., but it refused to do so without Canada’s consent, which was denied.
Khadr was flown to Toronto on Dec. 2, 2005 and charges were filed in Boston 12 days later.
In its ruling Friday, the court said Speyer’s decision to pull the plug on the American extradition request was a viable way of protecting the integrity of the justice system and distancing Canada’s courts from how U.S. and Pakistani officials behaved.
Sending Khadr to Boston would amount to sanctioning human rights abuses, the court said.
“No doubt some will say that those who seek to destroy the rule of law should not be allowed its benefits,” said Sharpe. “I do not share that view.”
There is simply no basis for the federal government’s argument that an alleged terrorist will remain at large as a result of Speyer’s decision to halt the extradition, Sharpe added, because Canada’s justice minister can prosecute Khadr here for terrorism offences.
While the federal government argued Speyer had no right to pass judgment on the legality of Khadr’s treatment in Pakistan, the court suggested that was beyond debate.
“It surely can come as no surprise that in a country like Pakistan with a constitution guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms, it is illegal to accept a bounty or bribe from a foreign government to abduct a foreign national from the street, to beat that individual until he agrees to cooperate, to deny him consular access, to hold him in a secret detention centre for eight months while his utility as an intelligence source is exhausted, and then to continue to hold him in secret detention for six more months at the request of a foreign power.”
The federal justice department is considering whether to seek an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Arriving in Pakistan from London in the summer of 2003, I wondered if I would encounter grave anti-western sentiment, given that Britain and the US were waging wars in two Muslim lands.
What I found, at least when it came to my own family, was the odd moment of comic relief. Take the cousin, for instance, who decided that boycotting American fast food franchises was not enough. She was soon found outside a local gym armed with crates of Mecca Cola to better seduce the sugar addict with a conscience.
Back then, of course, terrorism and its threat had yet to penetrate both the national psyche and the daily discourse. Pakistan had yet to be crowned the world’s most dangerous nation or, as one British publication put it last summer, the laboratory of world destruction.
Today, there is little cause for comic relief. Every major post-9/11 international terror plot has unearthed a Pakistani link. And this week, the world’s most wanted terrorist was killed on Pakistani soil in what has been officially touted as a unilaterally covert US operation.
While many questions remain, one certainty has emerged in the immediate aftermath of the May 1 killing. Osama bin Laden has succeeded in polarising the world in death almost as much as he did in life.
I love that bin Laden was taken out by someone who has, Hussein, in his name, chirped one of my relatives in the US. Because of Osama, she said, her patriotism had been questioned and her brother had been sent to war. His death, therefore, was a personal victory for US President Obama and a collective victory for the US.
I wondered if I, too, would feel the same if I were American. Most likely, though, I would agree with those of my American friends who are now calling for a reflection of the Bush administration’s war policies that unnecessarily claimed many military lives. Iraq, after all, was never about al Qaeda but, in fact, regime change. And although history cannot be rewritten on the basis of what-ifs, like many Americans, I would want to ask Bush if he regrets not accepting the two Taliban offers to hand over bin Laden to a third country back in October of 2001. For, while Bush had found it unpalatable to have him in anything but US custody, bin Laden today rests at the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Like the majority of Pakistanis, I, too, would disagree that Operation Geronimo incurred no civilian casualties. Uncountable non-terrorist lives have been killed by US drone strikes since 2004. Ditto those killed in retribution attacks.
Admittedly, some in Pakistan have held funeral prayers for bin Laden and rallied to celebrate his ‘martyrdom’, but an overwhelming number of Pakistanis feel ashamed that the al Qaeda chief was able to remain holed up in a compound next to a military academy for a reported five years. They want answers. And they want an end to the double games played by successive Pakistani regimes that have sheltered terrorist elements.
Bin Laden’s death provides the best opportunity to review post-9/11 foreign policy in both Pakistan and the US in order to move forward. As Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer, outlines in his book The Search for Al Qaeda, a final resolution of the Palestinian conflict must be a priority. It would rob al Qaeda and its supporters of much of their propagandist diatribe. Ditto Kashmir. Then, according to Riedel, efforts must be taken to normalise Pakistan-India ties to better strengthen Pakistan’s resolve in fighting terror within its own borders.
Genuinely pursuing these recommendations would go some way to ensuring that bin Laden’s legacy is eroded, just as his body has surely been. In the meanwhile, this and the previous Pakistani regime should be investigated for their respective roles in the collective intelligence failure that allowed the man who sold the world to live a life of comparative luxury, just 60 kilometres from the federal capital.
Engagement with Pakistan “is not a signal of helplessness but a very rational decision and that's the best way forward for our people,” she said during a speech at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI).
Ms. Rao is on a two-day visit to France for consultations with her counterpart, Pierre Sellal. On Friday, she also called on Jean-David Levitte, President Nicolas Sarkozy's diplomatic Sherpa, for “free and frank” discussions, during which she raised India's concerns over cross-border terrorism, Afghanistan, regional issues and bilateral cooperation as well as developments in West Asia, especially Libya and Syria.
On Friday, there were three rounds of talks at the Foreign Office, with discussions centring on the G20, international governance, disarmament, the reform of the U.N. system and issues pertaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Doha Round. A second session focussed on the regional situation, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, while a third featured exchanges on the situation in North Africa, Libya and Syria.
Ms. Rao's visit comes at a time of increasing French distrust and suspicion of Pakistan. Bernard Squarcini, head of France's interior security agency, the DCRI, on Friday expressed concern over the rising number of young Frenchmen heading for Pakistani terrorist training camps: “Yes, there are French citizens in jihadist camps in Pakistan. We are certain of the presence of some 20-odd French fighters there. They are part of the threats faced by France and Europe and their numbers are increasing. We are trying to stop them from stepping back on the nation's soil.”
Mr. Squarcini made these remarks in the midst of growing calls in France for disengagement from Afghanistan and criticism of Pakistan.
Asked whether in the light of the recent events India should disengage with Pakistan, Ms. Rao said: “Should we be engaging with Pakistan in the face of all that's happened? I don't think that's relevant in the context of India and Pakistan. With such a long, contentious, complex and conflictual relationship, the way forward is to ensure that dialogue takes place between the two countries in order to resolve outstanding issues despite the concern in India about the threat of terrorism from Pakistan. We have to engage with Pakistan. So the issue of disengagement as being suggested by many in the U.S. Congress or elsewhere does not seem logical at all.”
The substantive message Ms. Rao conveyed to her French counterpart was that India was determined to pursue a two-pronged strategy with Pakistan — that of dialogue coupled with a demand for justice for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and a dismantling of Pakistan's terror network.
“Geography is destiny. Pakistan is our neighbour and we wish to engage with Pakistan on a whole spectrum of issues which concern the normalisation of relations between the two countries. But the issue of terrorism is very important and sanctuaries and safe havens for terrorism on Pakistani territory have caused suffering not only in India and our region but it has also turned against Pakistan itself today. So I hope the Pakistani leadership will understand that and we see a change in the days to come,” she said during her talk at IFRI.
After several years of trying to walk the tightrope between India and Pakistan, France appears to have realised it is time to jettison its policy of maintaining equilibrium between the two warring nations and plump for India. This became amply clear in the somewhat cold and expeditive manner in which Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was received in Paris.
President Sarkozy has been particularly vocal in his support of India, and France now sees India as a vital strategic partner, perhaps not part of its first circle of interest, but a strong partner nevertheless.
The enlargement of the G8 to the G20 was largely the result of President Sarkozy's efforts and the political relationship between the two countries has rarely been so good. That said, massive contracts are on the table including the sale of six EPR nuclear reactors, several armaments contracts including for 126 multi-role combat aircraft and civilian aircraft and France sees India as a strong source of future revenue.
To a question on India's presence in Afghanistan and Pakistani attempts to diminish that role, Ms. Rao said: “Yes, Pakistan has a certain view of India's role in Afghanistan, something that we have stoutly sought to refute. We are not going to abandon Afghanistan and this is something our partners — the French, the Americans — understand very well. So I do not see our role in Afghanistan being diminished or being sought to be diminished by what happened in Abbottabad a few days ago.”
ABERNETHY: It’s been an emotional week since the dramatic US operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. On Thursday, President Obama laid a wreath at Ground Zero. He met with loved ones of some of those killed on 9-11 and told them he hoped bin Laden’s death brought them a small measure of comfort. The president repeatedly cited the 9-11 attacks when he announced the operation on Sunday.
Obama: Justice has been done.
ABERNETHY: When the news broke, spontaneous celebrations began in front of the White House and across the country. That prompted vigorous debate about whether jubilation was appropriate. In some parts of the Muslim world, there were anti-American protests and vows of retaliation. Obama made a distinction between Islam and Al Qaeda:
Obama: Our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims.”
ABERNETHY: Meanwhile, as details of the raid emerged so did moral questions about the bin Laden mission. Joining me with more on all of this is our managing editor Kim Lawton and Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani diplomat, now the chair of Islamic studies at the American University in Washington. Akbar, welcome. Kim, welcome. Akbar, let’s start with the popular reaction in the Muslim world.
AKBAR AHMED (American University): Bob, the reaction to Bin Laden’s death tells us a lot about what’s going on in the Muslim world. There have been threats, there have been some explosions, people were killed in Pakistan. There have been processions being taken out by the religious parties mainly but what it’s telling us is that over this decade from 9/11 the leadership model of Bin Laden has become almost irrelevant. You’re seeing this revolution sweeping the Arab world. It’s being led by young people wearing jeans, and Facebook, Twitter. They want an inclusive society, a democratic society. They want to be part of the world order. They don’t want to blow up America or Israel or whatever.
ABERNETHY: But, are you saying that Osama Bin Laden was kind of yesterday’s leader?
AHMED: Conceptually, yes. Bin Laden is suddenly to me, as an analyst writing about the Muslim world for the last several decades, overnight he seems almost like a dinosaur. His methods failed, his vision still resonates. Muslims would still like to have justice and dignity and so on. But his method of achieving these means seems to be dated and irrelevant in today’s Muslim world.
ABERNETHY: But, in this country, he was a very very much an important figure.
AHMED: The dominant symbol of 9/11. Because rightly he was linked to this terrible event and then the chain of events that followed which resulted in, over this decade, the deaths of literally millions of people, displacement of millions of people.
ABERNETHY: And Kim, in this country?
KIM LAWTON (Managing Editor): Well, I was going to say that I’ve been hearing from a lot of American Muslims who were saying that for them he had so much high jacked Islam and high jacked the perception from non-Muslims about what Islam was that there this is a certain sense of relief that maybe that is now finished.
ABERNETHY: But, what about on the street? The popular reaction here, the kids cheering.
LAWTON: The celebrations.
ABERNETHY: And everything like that. A lot of people were very upset about that.
LAWTON: There’s been a really lively debate within the religious community about whether or not those celebrations were appropriate and both sides have been using Scripture passages to sort of bolster their arguments. Some people saying that Scripture says that one should never rejoice when one’s enemy falls. But then others saying Scripture says that you should rejoice when good wins over evil and so there’s been a little bit of debate. The Vatican issued a statement saying while Osama Bin Laden certainly was responsible for sowing hatred and division, one should never rejoice over another human being’s death.
ABERNETHY: And is there any agreement about where justice ends and revenge begins?
LAWTON: Well, that’s been another big topic of discussion. Where are those lines? And a lot of people saying, as President Obama said, justice has been done. But then other people questioning, was this revenge? Or when you see the celebrations does it appear that it looks more like revenge than justice?
ABERNETHY: Akbar, there are a lot of other people watching this besides Pakistanis, and Afghanis, and Americans, and all. What does this open up in the way of imitation? Do you hear anything about that?
AHMED: I do Bob. In fact, a lot of people in Pakistan are commenting on this. They’re saying that if America just flies in, kills someone, takes the body out, then this is a precedent for other people in the neighborhood. And Pakistan and India have had a very tense relationship for the last half century, three wars between them. India’s been wanting the people behind the attacks in Mumbai, former city of Bombay. They want them. They want to try them for terrorism. And a lot of Pakistanis saying, suppose India does the same thing, just flies in, kills these people, takes their bodies out. What is there to prevent people from doing this kind of copycat imitation of what the Americans did?
LAWTON: There, well, it has been a debate about the means that were used in this and whether they were ethical or legal. And that’s a hard thing to say because for a lot of people this is obviously a very emotional thing.
ABERNETHY: It’s a war.
LAWTON: And that’s what people are saying. That he was an enemy combatant in a field. But the fact that it happened, this war on terrorism has very unclear lines. There are some questions about that. And, in fact, the United Nations has asked for more details about exactly what happened and was it legal, was it ethical. So that’s a conversation that’s going to continue, I think.
ABERNETHY: And it also opened up the question of whether torture is worth it, Akbar?
AHMED: I would say, Bob, go back to the founding fathers. Read George Washington on torture when he refused to torture British soldiers who had been torturing American soldiers because, he said, America must always take the high moral ground and that is critical for this new country that we are founding, the United States of America.
LAWTON: It’s unclear exactly how much information that led to all of this was obtained through these enhanced interrogations.
AHMED: Kim, that whole thesis collapses if we discover, it’s all conjecture and debate right now, if we discover that Pakistani intelligence and American intelligence were in fact working together. Then this thesis.
ABERNETHY: But we didn’t know that.
AHMED: We don’t know. So, therefore you can’t build up the argument that the information came through torture.
ABERNETHY: But, let me ask you quickly. What good can come of this in terms of better relations, not worse relations, but better relations between Pakistan and the United States? Do you see some kind of opening there?
AHMED: Not only these two countries. I would say the United States and the Muslim world. Because the war on terror, whether you like it or not, Bob, was driven by the symbolism of Bin Laden who towered over the horizon. He’s dead. It’s closure. Both the leaders of the Muslim world and the Untied States should really pause, reflect, take this moment and say it’s been a decade of death and destruction, so much pain and misery through out the world, let us now move towards a different direction. A world of peace and harmony and challenging the global problems that we face. There’s so many global problems facing us right now and the United States can and must take the lead. This is the superpower, it has a moral vision, it must now lead us in that direction.
LAWTON: And I heard that a lot this week from the religious community. A lot of people whether they thought this was a good thing or they were celebrating or not, just the idea that indeed this is closure for one era and a lot of hope that we are being a new era.
ABERNETHY: Well let’s hope so. Kim Lawton, many thanks. Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, nice to see you again.
AHMED: Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Kim.
BY Tehmina Inflation
Columnist
First, I was shocked. The man had become a virtual ghost. At times, he was almost forgotten. I thought the day of his death would never come.
Next, I felt a tremendous sense of pride. I was proud of our soldiers, our military, and our president. Our country had once again done a very hard thing and had done it well.
Then, as I watched people in New York and D.C. waving flags and dancing in the street, I felt an urge to celebrate. Lyrics from The Wizard of Oz came back to me. “Ding-Dong! The witch is dead. The wicked witch is dead.”
However, my little celebration caused me to have another feeling. Suddenly, I felt guilty.
For me, the news that the terrorist kingpin, Osama bin Laden, had been killed by U.S. Special Forces did not come until Monday at 5 a.m. I was running on a treadmill and squinting to read TV captions through both sleep and sweat. I had missed the late night news.
Headlines over the next several days echoed the president’s words. Justice had been served. No one could argue with that. The death of a man who had planned, financed, and overseen the deaths of thousands of innocent people seemed to be the epitome of justice. Osama bin Laden’s death undoubtedly had also saved the lives of thousands more of his potential victims. By all counts, it seemed to be the right thing. I did not feel guilty about bin Laden’s death, nor did I think anyone should feel guilty about it.
My guilt came from the fact that I wanted to celebrate it; I felt joy. “Yes, let the joyous news be spread. The wicked Old Witch at last is dead!”
Since then, I have been trying to sort out my own confused feelings. As a citizen of this nation, yes of the world, I know the death of this man has made the world a safer and a saner place. As awkward as it sounds, his death was a good thing.
Yet, I am also a disciple of Jesus Christ who would not take the life of another but laid down his own life. At his arrest in the garden, one of his disciples picked up a sword to defend Jesus. Jesus told the disciple to put the sword away because “The one who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.”
The only peace I find between those two parts of me is in the story of another follower of Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian theologian and pastor in Hitler’s Germany. From nearly the beginning of the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer opposed Hitler and the Nazis.
However, that opposition took a drastic turn in 1944 with a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. After Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for crimes against the Nazis, it was discovered that he was also part of the plot against the Fuehrer.
Over the years many people have questioned or criticized Bonhoeffer’s involvement in something that appeared to be so anti-Christ. After all, Bonhoeffer was a New Testament scholar and had written extensively on the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus said, “Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” Bonhoeffer’s resistance seemed in opposition to Jesus’ teaching.
I once read Bonhoeffer’s justification for the assassination attempt. He said that if you are in a car with a madman driving toward a crowd of people you have a responsibility to not only care for the wounded but instead to wrestle the wheel from the madman’s hands.
The Sermon on the Mount always calls us to a higher place. I am not there, yet. For now, I am glad that the wheel was wrestled from the hands of this madman. I am trying to temper that gladness with a measure of sadness about how it had to happen.
Roemer said Pakistan must do more in terms of progress and results in trial of Mumbai attack case in that country. “They (terrorists) killed scores of Indians (in 26/11 attack), they killed six Americans. If (Pakistan) must do more and making sure that people like (LeT operative Zaki-ur- Rehman) Lakhvi stay in prison. It must do more...” he said after meeting Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Roemer said the US continues to put pressure on Pakistan to act against LeT and do more on the outfit's founder Hafiz Saeed but it is a fact that Pakistan has “taken more injuries and more dust” to their forces while fighting the terrorists.
Saying Pakistan needs to do more against terrorists, Roemer said it had to be seen whether Islamabad was using funds given by US in a “proper way.”
“Congress is going to engage in I think two very fundamentally important tasks in the weeks ahead. One will be as we share or sell certain military equipment to Pakistan, is that being used in the proper way to take on counter terrorism efforts”, he said.
“We have seen over the past 18 months Pakistan has stepped up those efforts to target al Qaeda leadership and degrade the leadership. Are they doing enough on Lashkar-e-Tayyeba? Are they doing enough on Mumbai trials? Are they doing enough on Hafiz Saeed and (Zakiur Rehman) Lakhvi? No, they need to do more,” he said.
FBI cancels visit
Robert Muller, the director of FBI, has cancelled his trip to India and other countries owing to security reasons post-Osama bin Laden killing, official sources said. Muller was to visit India this week.
ISLAMABAD — The ISI is warning computer users against unsolicited emails purporting to show photos or videos of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The bureau says they may contain a virus that can steal personal identification information or infect a computer. In a statement Tuesday, the ISI cautioned that such malicious software can even be passed along unknowingly by a friend or family member.
The ISI urged the public to adjust privacy settings on social networking sites to make it more difficult for people to post material.
President Obama’s speech Sunday night announcing the death of Osama bin Laden drew twice as many viewers as last week’s Royal Wedding and outpaced his recent policy addresses.
Despite being hastily scheduled and a late hour on the East Coast, the President’s telecast was watched by 56.5 million viewers.
That’s more than Obama’s recent scheduled and promoted primetime addresses, such as March 28′s speech on Libya (25.6 million) and his August speech on Iraq (29.2 million), as well as more than doubling the audience of the recent Royal Wedding (22.8 million). The networks carrying the address included ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, HLN and MSNBC.
Sure, President Obama's approval ratings are up and the victory in Abbottabad may just give him the edge he needs in the next presidential race. Still, don’t yet know the long-term consequences of Osama bin Laden’s death, and there is the possibility that our mission wasn’t as victorious as excited crowds on Sunday night made it seem.
Bin Laden achieved exactly what he wanted
In "The Looming Tower," the Pulitzer-winning history of al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11, author Lawrence Wright lays out how Osama bin Laden’s motivation for the attacks that he planned in the 1990s, and then the September 11 attacks, was to draw the U.S. and the West into a prolonged war—an actual war in Afghanistan, and a broader global war with Islam.
Osama got both. And we gave him a prolonged war in Iraq to boot. By the end of Obama’s first term, we’ll probably top 6,000 dead U.S. troops in those two wars, along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans. The cost for both wars is also now well over $1 trillion. […]
Yes, bin Laden the man is dead. But he achieved all he set out to achieve, and a hell of a lot more. He forever changed who we are as a country, and for the worse. Mostly because we let him. That isn’t something a special ops team can fix.
Al Qaeda is still a force to be reckoned with
As any expert will tell you, one of bin Laden's biggest successes is creating an organization that will survive him. When bin Laden and a few associates founded al Qaeda in 1988, the organization was tiny and relied on the Saudi millionaire for the bulk of its funding. In subsequent years the organization has grown to support insurgents throughout the Muslim world, issued propaganda swaying the views of millions and, of course, murdered thousands through terrorism and its participation in civil wars. Thousands were asked to formally join the organization, and tens of thousands received training. So al Qaeda will not collapse overnight.
Bin Ladensim continues
If Al Qaeda were to go into decline post-Bin Laden (and that is far from clear), it would not be surprising to see other jihadist organizations compete for the mantle of leading global jihad. Already other groups have adopted many of his innovations, which brought jihadism into the Information Age. The battle against Bin Laden is over, but the battle against Bin Ladensim continues.
We're still a country addicted to oil
Although in the contest to determine Mr. Bush’s successor Barack Obama offered himself as the candidate who would take a different tack, he has not done so. Since taking office, he has redoubled US military efforts in Afghanistan, while opening up new fronts in Pakistan and, more recently, Libya. Although President Obama avoids the term “war on terror,” that war – and the larger project begun back in 1915 – continues unabated. And although Mr. Obama can rightly cite the killing of Bin Laden as a notable victory, it will not prove decisive, if only because the essential issues giving rise to war in the first place remain unresolved.
We don't know: Can we trust Pakistan?
If Pakistani military intelligence did not know about this, they should have known. If they did know, the withholding of information of this importance from the U.S. is more evidence that the relationship is broken.
CNN News’ Syed Moiz reports:
As the country rejoices over the killing of Osama Bin Laden, many Native Americans have different reactions: shock, dismay, hurt.
That’s because the Navy SEALs used “Geronimo” as the codename for mission to capture or kill Bin Laden.
“It’s another attempt to label Native Americans as terrorists,” said Paula Antoine from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
“WTF, da gov't code named osama bin laden "Geronimo"! wat kinda (expletive) is that?” is how Cody YoungBear LeClair of Marshalltown, Iowa, put it on his Facebook page.
On Facebook, on Twitter, on Native American websites, in local newspapers, and in what appear to be countless conservations on reservations and in schools across the country, Native Americans are genuinely hurt and puzzled by the choice of “Geronimo” as a code-name for either Bin Laden or the mission to take him out.
White House officials have insisted that the Geronimo was used as the name only for the mission, not bin Laden himself.
Navy SEALs confirmed the death of Bin Laden with the line: “Geronimo E-KIA.” CIA Director Leon Panetta seemed to indicate in an interview Wednesday that Geronimo was the name for bin Laden when he described the raid on bin Laden's Pakistan compound.
“Once those teams went into the compound, I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we - you know, we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. And there were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information. But finally, Adm. McRaven came back and said that he had picked up the word "Geronimo," which was the code word that represented that they got bin Laden,” Panetta told PBS.
That may be a distinction without a difference to Native American ears.
Here is one take from the website “Indian Country.”
Geronimo was, of course, the 19th Century Apache leader and warrior who defended his people’s homes and families, often from US forces operating in violation of treaty obligations. He was brave, fierce, elusive. He died a prisoner of the United States in 1909, 23 years after his capture.
When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside.
The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away.
The terror chief and his family kept well hidden behind thick walls in the northwestern hill town they shared with thousands of Pakistani soldiers. But glimpses of their life are emerging - along with deep skepticism that authorities didn't know they were there.
Although the house is large, it was unclear how three dozen people could have lived there with any degree of comfort.
Neighbours said they knew little about those inside in the compound but bin Laden apparently depended on two men who would routinely emerge to run errands or to a neighbourhood gathering, such as a funeral.
There were conflicting details about the men's identities. Several people said they were known as Tariq and Arshad Khan and had identified themselves as cousins from elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan.
Others gave different names and believed they were brothers.
Arshad was the oldest, and both spoke multiple languages, including Pashto and Urdu, which are common here, residents said.
As Navy SEALs swept through the compound early Monday, they handcuffed those they encountered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of bin Laden. After killing the terror leader, his son and two others, they doubled back to move nine women and 23 children away from the compound, according to US officials.
Those survivors of the raid are now "in safe hands and being looked after in accordance to the law," the Pakistani government said in a statement. "As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin." It did not elaborate.
Also unclear was why bin Laden chose Abbottabad, though at least two other top al-Qaeda leaders have sheltered in this town. The bustling streets are dotted with buildings left over from British colonial days.
These days it attracts some tourists, but is known mostly as a garrison town wealthier than many others in Pakistan.
Bin Laden found it safe enough to stay for up to six years, according to US officials, a stunning length of time to remain in one place right under the noses of a US-funded army that had ostensibly been trying to track him down. Most intelligence assessments believed him to be along the Afghan-Pakistan border, perhaps in a cave.
Construction of the three-story house began about seven years ago, locals said. People initially were curious about the heavily fortified compound - which had walls as high as 18 feet topped with barbed wire - but over time they just grew to believe the family inside was deeply religious and conservative.
The Pakistani government also pushed back at suggestions that security forces were sheltering bin Laden or failed to spot suspicious signs.
"It needs to be appreciated that many houses (in the northwest) have high boundary walls, in line with their culture of privacy and security," the government said. "Houses with such layout and structural details are not a rarity."
The house has been described as a mansion, even a luxury one, but from the outside it is nothing special. Bin Laden may have well have been able to take in a view of the hills from secluded spots in the garden, though.
The walls are stained with mould, trees are in the garden and the windows are hidden. US officials said the house had no internet or phone connection to reduce the risk of electronic surveillance. They also said residents burned their trash to avoid collection.
Those who live nearby said the people in bin Laden's compound rarely strayed outside. Most were unaware that foreigners - bin Laden and his family are Arabs - were living there.
Khurshid Bibi, in her 70s, said one man living in the compound had given her a lift to the market in the rain. She said her grandchildren played with the kids in the house and that the adults there gave them rabbits as a gift.
But the occupants also attracted criticism.
"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys. They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer.
Questions persisted about how authorities could not have known who was living in the compound, especially since it was close to a prestigious military academy.
As in other Pakistani towns, hotels in Abbottabad are supposed to report the presence of foreigners to the police, as are estate agents. Abbottabad police chief Mohammed Naeem said the police followed the procedures but "human error cannot be avoided."
Reporters were allowed to get as far as the walls of the compound for the first time, but the doors were sealed shut and police were in no mood to open them.
Neighbours showed off small parts of what appeared to be a US helicopter that malfunctioned and was disabled by the American strike team as it retreated. A small servant's room outside the perimeter showed signs of violent entry and a brisk search. Clothes and bedding had been tossed aside. A wall clock was on the floor, the time stuck at 2.20am.
Abbottabad has so far been spared the terrorist bombings that have scarred much of Pakistan over the last four years.
Like many Pakistani towns where the army has a strong presence, Abbottabad is well-manicured, and has solid infrastructure. Street signs tell residents to "Love Pakistan." The city also is known for its good schools, including some that were originally established by Christian missionaries.
Little girls wear veils while carrying Hannah Montana backpacks to school. Many houses in the outlying areas have modern amenities, but lie along streets covered with trash. Shepherds herd their flock of sheep along dusty roads just a few hundred yards from modern banks.
Al-Qaeda's No. 3, Abu Faraj al-Libi, lived in the town before his arrest in 2005 elsewhere in northwest Pakistan, according to US and Pakistani officials. Earlier this year, Indonesian terror suspect Umar Patek was nabbed at a house in the town following the arrest of an al-Qaeda courier who worked at the post office. It is not clear whether Patek had any links with bin Laden.
Western officials have long regarded Pakistani security forces with suspicion, chiefly over their links to militants fighting in Afghanistan. Last year, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton caused anger in Pakistan when she said she found it "hard to believe" that no one in Islamabad knows where the al-Qaeda leaders are hiding and couldn't get them "if they really wanted to."
But al-Qaeda has been responsible for scores of bloody attacks inside Pakistan, including on its army and civilian leaders. Critics of Pakistan have speculated that a possible motivation for Pakistan to have kept bin Laden on the run - rather than arresting or killing him - would be to ensure a constant flow of US aid and weapons into the country.
Suspicions were also aired in Pakistani media and on the street Tuesday.
"That house was obviously a suspicious one," said Jahangir Khan, who was buying a newspaper in Abbottabad. "Either it was a complete failure of our intelligence agencies or they were involved in this affair."
Kuma Games
If you could, would you have pulled the trigger that killed Osama bin Laden?
Video-game maker Kuma Games wants to give you that chance with its new title "Kuma\War Episode #107: The Death of Osama Bin Laden," due out Saturday for PCs. According to its website, players will be able to playout the historic scenario as a Navy Seal who descends on Abbottabad to break into bin Laden's mansion, eliminate his guards and take down al Qaeda's leader.
Based out of New York City, Kuma Games is familiar with virtual war that targets real-life terrorist leaders -- it published a game allowing players to kill Saddam Hussein in 2005. Kuma specializes in transforming contemporary battlefiends and historical events into its video games. Kuma is able to insert bin Laden's character into the game with a fast turnaround because it has published 106 previous " Kuma War " episodes based in the Pakistan/Afgahnistan region, according to previous reports.
Other video game companies have received backlash for games featuring real-life war circumstances in recent months. In 2010 EA published "Medal of Honor" that gives users the option in the multi-player version to control Taliban fighters. The blockbuster "Call of Duty: Black Opps" was criticized for the player option to assassinate Fidel Castro.
In response to its previous games that depicts actual war scenarios in the Middle East, Kuma CEO Keith Halper said on the company's website; "At Kuma, we are sensitive and respectful of American and coalition soldiers and the sacrifices they are making every day. We hope that by telling their stories with such a powerful medium that we enable the American public to gain a better appreciation of the conflicts and the dangers they face."
Newgrounds.com, a user-generated gaming site, has had bin Laden death games since short after Sept. 11, 2001, such as "Bin Blaster," which published on Oct. 17 that year. Today, it posted a new game called "Nayan bin Laden," in which his head is attached to a nuclear war head. .
What do you think about these games? Post your comments.