WARRIOR PRESIDENTWednesday, May 4 2011
AMERICAN President Barack Obama received a standing and sustained ovation Monday night at a dinner for leaders of the US Congress and their spouses in the East Room of the White House, when during his speech, he made reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
“But last night, as Americans learned that the United States had carried out an operation that resulted in the capture and death of Osama bin Laden, we...” At this time, President Obama’s speech was halted as the audience got up and started to applaud. “I think we experienced the same sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11,” Obama continued when the applause died down.
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) reporter Matt Frei’s coverage of Monday night’s dinner, televised yesterday, painted a scene of a “warrior president” basking in the glow of adoration on getting the job done.
On Sunday, US commandos raided a heavily fortified house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where they shot bin Laden through the left eye. He was shot in the chest moments later to ensure death.
The standing ovation mirrored the sentiment of most if not all Americans following news of the death of the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks which left over 3,000 dead after airplanes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York, sending it crashing to the ground.
Obama, US vice president Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of Obama’s national security council, watched the attack on bin Laden’s lair on Sunday, ‘live’ via video/audio satellite link which was made possible by one of the US commandos wearing a mini- camera and transmitter on him during the attack.
Obama has received widespread praise and adulation from not only fellow Democrats and the common man but even Obama’s political enemies among them possible Republican 2012 presidential candidates.
White House: Bin Laden
was unarmed
The White House yesterday stated that Bin Laden was unarmed when he was killed by US troops on Sunday after resisting capture. It was also revealed that the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) has said it did not tell Pakistan about the operation for fear the Pakistanis would leak information and jeopardise the mission.
Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, says it is embarrassed by its failures on bin Laden. The Pakistani government denies any prior knowledge of the raid.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Bin Laden’s wife “rushed” the first US assaulter who entered the room where they were and was shot in the leg but not killed. On Monday, White House officials said the woman was killed in the firefight after Bin Laden used her as a human shield.
“We expected a great deal of resistance and were met with a great deal of resistance. There were many other people who were armed in the compound,” Carney said. Bin Laden himself then resisted the troops and was shot dead. But he was not armed, Carney added.
No decision had yet been taken on whether to release a photograph of Bin Laden’s body, Mr Carney said, conceding that the image was “pretty gruesome” and could inflame some especially among Bin Laden’s supporters in the volatile Middle East.
Osama’s daughter saw him killed
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said one of bin Laden’s daughters had seen her father being shot dead by US forces and was one of about ten relatives of the al Qaeda leader in custody in Pakistan pending interrogation.
The official, who declined to be identified, said the daughter, aged 12 or 13, was one of the people who had confirmed that the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks had been killed by US commandos in a raid early on Sunday.
The relatives – one of bin Laden’s wives and up to eight children – will be interrogated and then most likely turned over to their countries of origin and not the United States, in accordance with Pakistani law, the official said. The official said the wife and children were left behind after an American transport helicopter, possibly an MH-60 Sea Hawk, was abandoned because of mechanical problems. He said there was not enough room for the group on the other helicopters, which were transporting bin Laden’s body, other male captives and the US commandos.
The Pakistani intelligence official acknowledged bin Laden’s whereabouts may cause problems with the United States and also embarrass Pakistan. “It looks bad,” he said. “It makes us look like a fool or an idiot. It’s pretty embarrassing.”
Echoing Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani official said the US acted alone in killing bin Laden and that it had not asked for permission to enter Pakistani airspace. “There is every possibility that what radars were there (in Abbottabad) were jammed,” the official said, adding that up to 40 commandos had attacked the bin Laden compound. (Reporting from the BBC and CNN
