Obama: Risky approach on bin Laden was the best

AP – In this image taken from video and released by CBS, President Barack Obama is seen during an interview …

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press – Mon May 9, 3:38 am ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he knew that sending special forces in helicopters to get Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan compound was risky, but he felt it was the best way to make sure they had their man.
In an interview aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," the president said he thought it was very important to be able to be sure.
"In some ways, sending in choppers and actually putting our guys on the ground entailed some greater risks than some other options," Obama said. "I thought it was important, though, for us to be able to say that we'd definitely got the guy."
He said he also wanted to avoid "collateral damage" in a residential neighborhood.
Bin Laden's presence in the neighborhood for about five years has raised questions about who knew about his presence and who was helping him.
"We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was," Obama said. "We don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that's something that we have to investigate, and more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate."
The president said that even with months of intelligence work, the odds bin Laden was in the compound were only about 55-45. But Obama said he had such confidence in the special forces that he decided the risks were outweighed by the benefits.
"Had he not been there, then there would have been some significant consequences," Obama said. "Obviously, we're going into the sovereign territory of another country and landing helicopters and conducting a military operation. And so if it turns out that it's a wealthy, you know, prince from Dubai who's in this compound and, you know, we've sent Special Forces in, we've got problems."
A team of Navy SEALs stormed the compound in the military town of Abbottabad near Islamabad a week ago and killed the al-Qaida leader.
Obama says he was very aware of past military missions that ended tragically — notably the failed 1993 mission of elite U.S. troops in Mogadishu, Somalia, and the unsuccessful attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages in 1980.
"You think about 'Black Hawk Down,'" he said, referring to the title of a book and movie about the Mogadishu mission. "You think about what happened with the Iranian rescue. And ... I am very sympathetic to the situation for other presidents where you make a decision.
"You're making your best call, your best shot and something goes wrong, because these are tough, complicated operations."
Obama said the amount of "blood and treasure" the country has spent to avenge the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, weighed heavily in his final decision.
"I said to myself that if we have a good chance of not completely defeating, but badly disabling al-Qaida, then it was worth both the political risks as well as the risks to our men," he said.
Obama said he made the decision the Thursday night before the raid and kept it a secret from most of his senior aides. He then announced his decision to key staff Friday morning before flying off to survey tornado damage in Alabama and visit Florida, where he made a speech.
Then on Saturday night, he played the role of comedian-in-chief at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.
"The presidency requires you to do more than one thing at a time," he said.
A wealth of intelligence about al-Qaida was seized at the compound. Analysts are combing through that data for information about possible planned attacks and other terrorist operatives.

Info from Osama raid shows interest in US trains

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press – Fri May 6, 12:10 am ET

 

WASHINGTON – Some of the first information gleaned from Osama bin Laden's compound indicates al-Qaida considered attacking U.S. trains on the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. But counterterrorism officials say they believe the planning never got beyond the initial phase and have no recent intelligence pointing to an active plot for such an attack.
As of February 2010, the terror organization was considering plans to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. One idea outlined in handwritten notes was to tamper with an unspecified U.S. rail track so that a train would fall off the track at a valley or a bridge, according to a joint FBI and Homeland Security bulletin sent to law enforcement officials around the country Thursday. The al-Qaida planners noted that if they attacked a train by tilting it, the plan would only succeed once because the tilting would be spotted the next time.
The warning, obtained by The Associated Press, was marked for "official use only."
Information on the train plot appears to be the first widely circulated intelligence pulled from the raid this week on bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan. After killing the terror leader and four of his associates, Navy SEALs confiscated a treasure trove of computers, DVDs and documents from the home where U.S. officials believe the al-Qaida chief had been hiding for up to six years.
Other intelligence information gathered at the compound represented a terrorist wish list but has revealed no specific plan so far, a U.S. official said. He said documents indicated a desire to hit the U.S. with large-scale attacks in major cities and on key dates such as anniversaries and holidays. But there was no sign those plans were anything more than ambitions. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

Intelligence analysts have been reviewing and translating the material, looking for information about pending plots and other terror connections. Even before the raid, intelligence officials for years have warned that al-Qaida is interested in attacking major U.S. cities on holidays, anniversaries and other dates that are uniquely American.
"While it is clear that there was some level of planning for this type of operation in February 2010, we have no recent information to indicate an active ongoing plot to target transportation and no information on possible locations or specific targets," the warning Thursday said.
The FBI and Homeland Security told local officials to be on the lookout for clips or spikes missing from train tracks, packages left on or near the tracks and other indications that a train could be vulnerable.
Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said, "This alleged al-Qaida plotting is based on initial reporting, which is often misleading or inaccurate and subject to change." He said the government has no plans to issue an official terror alert because of it.
An official with the Association of American Railroads said the organization has received warnings from the federal government and is sharing the information throughout the railroad network. "We are always making sure that the system is run as safely and securely as possible," the organization's spokeswoman, Patricia Reilly, said.
U.S. officials have disrupted other terror plots that targeted rails, including a 2009 plan to blow up the New York City subway system.
On Monday the FBI and Homeland Security warned law enforcement officials around the country that bin Laden's death could inspire retaliatory attacks in the U.S., and terrorists not yet known to the intelligence community could be operating inside the country. The transportation sector — including U.S. rails — remain attractive targets for terrorists.
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Associated Press writers Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

Bin Laden

Was burying bin Laden at sea a mistake?

Amid the justified celebrations over the killing of Osama bin Laden, an awkward question is starting to rear its head: Did U.S. policymakers err in burying the al Qaeda leader at sea?
Already, the decision has provoked criticism from some Islamic scholars, who say a maritime burial isn't in keeping with Muslim law. And there are signs that the move could help fuel skepticism, especially among President Obama's critics, about whether bin Laden was really killed at all.
The Pentagon has said the body was treated in accordance with traditional Islamic procedures--including washing the corpse--before it was placed in the waters of the northern Arabian Sea.
U.S. officials have said they wanted to avoid the al Qaeda leader's grave site becoming a shrine for his followers. They've also said it would have been difficult to find a foreign country willing to accept bin Laden's remains, especially in so short a time: Islamic tradition and practice call for the body of the deceased to be buried within 24 hours of death.
But several Muslim authorities said today that the sea burial in fact violated Muslim tradition--and warned that it could help trigger calls for revenge from militant Muslims.
What do you think?