Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, detainees in the CIA's secret prison network told interrogators about an important courier with the nom de guerre Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti who was close to bin Laden. After the CIA captured al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he confirmed knowing al-Kuwaiti but denied he had anything to do with al-Qaida.
And, of course, it is from this hidden "network" that the info' on where/how to find OBL came. I suppose it would have to, wouldn't it?
Here's another gem:
[Khalid Sheikh] Mohammed did not discuss al-Kuwaiti while being subjected to the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, former officials said.
You don't say!
And here:
The walls surrounding the property were as high as 18 feet and topped with barbed wire. Intelligence officials had known about the house for years, but they always suspected that bin Laden would be surrounded by heavily armed security guards...
Apparently the high walls and barbed wire were not sufficient to make intelligence officials contemplate that someone of importance might be sheltered therein. When government concocts these fantasies the least they could do is hire better writers.
From the very next paragraph:
The CIA soon believed that bin Laden was hiding in plain sight, in a hideout especially built to go unnoticed. But since bin Laden never traveled and nobody could get onto the compound without passing through two security gates, there was no way to be sure.
So there were security guards! "Built to go unnoticed? 18-foot walls topped with barbed wire? Inconspicuous?
More absurdities:
By mid-February, the officials were convinced a "high-value target" was hiding in the compound.
Ya think?
Now this shameless plug:
Options were limited. The compound was in a residential neighborhood in a sovereign country. If Obama ordered an airstrike and bin Laden was not in the compound, it would be a huge diplomatic problem. Even if Obama was right, obliterating the compound might make it nearly impossible to confirm bin Laden's death.
Said Brennan, "The president had to evaluate the strength of that information, and then made what I believe was one of the most gutsiest calls of any president in recent memory."
We have an election this year, don't we? That's why they call it the "Associated" press.
Brace yourselves
The helicopters lowered into the compound, dropping the SEALs behind the walls. No shots were fired, but shortly after the team hit the ground, one of the helicopters came crashing down and rolled onto its side for reasons the government has yet to explain. None of the SEALs was injured, however, and the mission continued uninterrupted.
The security guards didn't shoot at a helicopter landing in the compound? Who did they think it was, the pizza delivery guy?
Now compare these two statements from this one article:
1, Bin Laden was famously insistent that no phones or computers be used near him, so the eavesdroppers at the National Security Agency kept coming up cold.
2, U.S. forces searched the compound and flew away with documents, hard drives and DVDs that could provide valuable intelligence about al-Qaida, a U.S. official said.
The end:
Said the president, "I think we can all agree this is a good day for America."
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIN_LADEN_HUNT_FOR_BIN_LADEN?SITE=DCSAS&=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
