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Subscribe to RSSThe wives and children of Osama bin Laden are taken to a chartered flight out of Islamabad after being deported to Saudi Arabia.
ISLAMABAD , Pakistan – One of the 17 letters seized during the 2011 U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound and published Thursday reveals the lengths the al-Qaida chief went to keep himself and his family hidden and sheds light on how they apparently managed to remain undetected for so long while moving around Pakistan.
The letter from bin Laden to “Sheik Mahmud” was part of a cache of documents translated and released by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. A senior U.S. official told NBC News that "Sheik Mahmud" was actually Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, essentially bin Laden's chief of staff until he was killed in August 2011 by a CIA drone strike.
The letter is not dated, but analysts believe it was written between July 4 and Oct. 20, 2010. During that time, bin Laden would have been living in the Abbottabad compound where he was later killed, along with two of his wives -- Siham, a Saudi national, and Amal, of Yemeni origin -- as well as several children and grandchildren. His second wife, Khairiah -- also from Saudi Arabia -- had been under house arrest in Iran, along with other members of the bin Laden family, and was being released.
In the letter, among several other topics, bin Laden issued detailed and complicated instructions as to how his wife -- referred to "Um Hamzah," or "mother of Hamzah" -- was to be moved to Pakistan and eventually reunited with him, if possible. Bin Laden showed a keen awareness of and great concern for the myriad ways in which she could be followed or tracked by intelligence elements and thus expose his location or those of other operatives.
Once inside Pakistan, the letter said, she was to be taken "to the tunnel between Kuhat and Peshawar," where she should meet an al-Qaida contact and switch vehicles. "The meeting will be precise in timing and it will be inside the tunnel, and they will change cars inside the tunnel," he wrote, later explaining that moving through the tunnel was key to "avoiding surveillance."
From there, he instructed the first car to "drive to an area that is unsuspected," while his wife in the second car would "go to Peshawar, go to one of the closed markets, and change cars again, then head to a safe place in Peshawar until we arrange for them to come, with Allah's will." Bin Laden even went so far as to consider the weather conditions, writing that the cars leaving the tunnel should "move after getting out of it in overcast weather, even if that would lead to them waiting for some time, knowing that the Peshawar area and its surroundings is often overcast."
Read excerpts of the letter from bin Laden to 'Sheik Mahmud'
Bin Laden also warned of "the importance of getting rid of everything they received from Iran, like baggage or anything, even as small as a needle," concerned that tracking or listening devices could have been planted in clothes or other items in their possession. "Since the Iranians are not to be trusted, then it is possible to plant chips in some of the coming people's belongings," he wrote.
It is unknown whether Khairiah's journey from Iran to Abbottabad actually followed this path, but her arrival at the compound, believed to have occurred in March or February 2011, reportedly caused many problems in the household.
Brigadier Shaukat Qadir, a retired Pakistan Army officer who leveraged his military, intelligence, and tribal contacts to conduct an independent investigation into bin Laden's presence in Pakistan and the U.S. raid that killed him, was given access to the widows' interrogation transcripts, as well as the compound before it was destroyed. In his report, Qadir wrote that Khairiah was often at odds with other members of the household, particularly bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal, with whom he shared the third-floor living area, and bin Laden's son -- Khalid -- who also was highly suspicious of Khairiah's desire to join the family in Abbottabad.
"Apparently," Qadir wrote, "he repeatedly asked her why she had come and, finally, on one occasion, (she) responded with a smile, "I have one final duty to perform for my husband.'"
Qadir's theory is that Khairiahbetrayed her husband, leading authorities to him as she made her way from Iran. Bin Laden was killed in the U.S. raid within two or three months of her arrival.
Related stories:
Bin Laden fretted about al-Qaida affiliates' missteps, letters show
Kill Obama so 'utterly unprepared' Biden becomes president, bin Laden told followers
Technolog: Al-Qaida spokesman called its Internet forums 'repulsive': report
Bin Laden in hiding: Hatching horrific plots despite crippling attacks on al-Qaida
A Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News she was "uncooperative" and "very difficult" during interrogations, acting aggressively towards the Pakistani authorities who questioned and held her for almost a year before she and the others were deported to Saudi Arabia last week.
Previously, the only information available from family members about their movement came from an interrogation report of bin Laden’s youngest wife, Amal. Her testimony, which was summarized, described how bin Laden and family members were moved quickly and frequently after 9/11 in an effort to keep them safe. She recalled being moved from place to place across the country, sometimes bouncing between multiple residences in a town or city. Her temporary homes ranged from the southern, mega-city of Karachi, to the crowded northwest capital of Peshawar, and the remote Swat Valley.
Whether Qadir's theory proves true or not, the details and locations included in bin Laden's letter of instructions may provide clues as to how and where, exactly, he and his family moved around Pakistan for so many years, completely undetected.
Amna Nawaz is an NBC News correspondent in Pakistan.
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Leave a Comment:
Who the hell cares anything about this abortion of a human. FORGET ABOUT HIM!!!!!
Bin Laden was never killed,, he was only relocated.
How about TORO BORA and in the end no body
So while we were running around looking for this terrorist f*cker in the various cave systems throughout the Middle East, he and his family was driving and switching vehicles? Jesus, no wonder we didn't find him; we obviously didn't suspect that he'd use such modern methods of evading capture.
That's one of the problems between us and the Muslims, I think. We view them as dirty heathens and think that they're living the same lifestyle as they were a thousand years ago (and some of them are, and there isn't anything wrong with that), so we assume that they are inferior to us in intelligence. I think a lot of us need to read up on the Persians, because that's who these Middle Easterners are descended from.
Eh. Some Iraqis are Persian. Some Emiratis are Persian. Iranis are Persian. Parsis in India--Persians. Same goes for Dari speakers, and Pashtuns. There are even some Persians in Indonesia--supposedly, as they have a lot of Persian loanwords.
Osama bin Laden...that guy was Saudi. Saudis were the favorites of the old gray mare known as the British Empire. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a kingdom there that pretty much dictates what everyone can do in the Middle East. (And no, it isn't Israel; no Israeli honestly cares what happens in Bahrain, or Yemen, and a lot were annoyed over the Lebanon War--to the point of a parliamentary crisis--plus the whole Gaza issue will never be resolved because Egypt and Arabia have been allies since before the Crusades.)
Either way, anyone with half a brain could have seen that Afghanistan, even amid all of the rubble, had some fairly modern cities--and that Pakistan is pretty modern itself. The problem is what Third World Country means to the average American--we forget that it's a definition for a developing (back then they all were--they were post-colonial, so like we were in our infancy, they were developing) nation that isn't expressly our friend. We think it means a place with no modern amenities. I don't think our military is quite that stupid, frankly--but they were misinformed by the CIA, who taught these guys to hide in caves.
(CONVENIENT) your ONLY TOLD WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO KNOW.Six months before time to vote.I been beating on this thing for 2 minutes before it would do anything. Guess they had time to read it
All I can say is if he had more than one wife at a time small wonder he was fkn nuts.
Typical American sheepdom. Lets see ten years the most reconizable man in the world could not be found. Oh wait we do have the greatest inteligence system in the world. I'm looking for a 6'4 foot man with a huge nose in a country who's average height is probably 5"7 oh great they finally got him. Now instead of letting every possible investigation to confirm that this was really him NO we dump him off in the middle of the ocean!!! Good luck America if you buy this B.S I do not.
It's a little difficult determining 7" at 12,000 feet above earth!
The more comments I read on this web site, the more convinced I am that ADD is widespread and the lunitics have taken over the nuthouse.
That doesn't say much for Iran when Bin Laden didn't trust them. As far as giving the enemy information that might be used, maybe we're giving them misinformation. Who knows.
Um, why would he? He was a Sunni muslim extremist--the Iranians are Shia.
I think the perps miscalculated. They psyoped us into beliveing there are terrorists. Its just a big lie. Our fellow world citizens would never hurt us. The only terrorists are those created by our own government. Its the Empire that is the enemy of the world. Almost everyone in the world is good. We could live together in peace.
If this is a new concept for you, please see the evidence. Check these out:
septemberclues dot info
cluesforum dot info
The real truth is that almost everyone is good. Its so hard to find anyone bad that the government had to make up 9/11 to make it appear Muslims are bad. Muslims are some of the smartest and kindest people in the world. Its true that almost everyone is good. We need to have faith in each other to defeat the bad guys.
Propaganda at its finest! Funny how all of this comes out now.
HUH? Yeah when all you watch or listen to is Fox, that would explain it....
sheeple
Dan is a stereotypical fool! He thinks all who appose Barry, loves Bush and Fox News! lol what a looser!
"puppet"
Bin Laden's biggest mistake was his desire to have his family with him and his refusal to go to ground. If he had simply stopped communicating with his followers and not insisted on having his family with him he probably would still be in hiding undetected. His constant need to stay in charge and communicate with his followers was his undoing
Enough with the victory tour! The man has been dead for over a year!
mas098 Obama says hes dead. Why didn't he prove it to the world? When they took down Saddam Hussein there were plenty of photo's. Now we have a Muslim president telling us this is the truth.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA @ FUBAR64
mas098 Obama says hes dead. Why didn't he prove it to the world? When they took down Saddam Hussein there were plenty of photo's. Now we have a Muslim president telling us this is the truth.
LOL, Muslim president.....I love people like you...you ARE the reason we cant get anything done in this country...you are fed some total bullcrap, and what do you do?..swallow it
If you watched anything more than Faux news, you would know that AMERICA NEVER released Pictures of Saddam and his hanging, AN IRAQI did that from his cell phone pictures..
NOR will they release pictures of OBL.....trick
Hey DAN, so whats is it like having Barry's hand so far up your @ss you can taste it working you like a puppet?????
You have to be totally blinded not to see something is fishy! either that, or your Gay!
What's really amazing is how PMSNBC continues to publish poorly written and one sided stories! I guessthe writers did a lot of blowing in college to get a passing grade!
Tell us, exactly how would you know how to pass college using that method?
You folks just eat this propaganda up like greedy dogs, 9 different heads of state said he died on december 2001, research it, you people arent that nimble are you???? well??? no body, no pictures, all the seals got blown out of the sky by a taliban with an rpg, good sweet jesus, any body to say contrary is dead, never existed, or is a plain lie, and you fools suck it up, all obammy is doing is digging up a dead man as a reelection bid, not only that he stated at least 4 times he had nothing to do with 9-11, what better enemy to have than one that is dead or dying, research it, learn amaze your family and friends.
They dont get it my friend.
May 5, 2011
President Obama will personally thank the Navy SEAL team who killed Osama bin Laden, a day after the president told firefighters in New York City today that tracking and killing bin Laden showed the world, "when we say: 'we never forget,' we mean what we say."
The president will meet the SEALs' elite Team 6 Friday at Fort Campbell, Ky., the second day in a row Obama will leave Washington to commemorate Sunday's precision assassination of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan
I guess they were ghosts?
I have family in the teams. Seal team 6 wasnt the one to go in. Bin Laden has been dead. He was on Kidney dialasis in 1996. At a hospital in Washington. People dont live more then 10 years during this treatment. And Im sure a lot less running in the mountains. Read George HW Bushs book. He dedicates an entire chapter to the Bin Laden family. How they vacationed with them twice a year. And dont forget. Our own CIA formed them.
In California,there used to be and may still exist,Laden Mercury and Ford dealerships! Yes,that's the same family.I understand,at one time, they were the single largest holder of Mercury dealerships in the west! Glad they quit selling those cars ,knowing what I know now.I do know ,thye shipped a ton of Laden family members out of California after the World Trade Center incidents!
hahahahahahahahahahahaha
May 5, 2011
President Obama will personally thank the Navy SEAL team who killed Osama bin Laden, a day after the president told firefighters in New York City today that tracking and killing bin Laden showed the world, "when we say: 'we never forget,' we mean what we say."
The president will meet the SEALs' elite Team 6 Friday at Fort Campbell, Ky., the second day in a row Obama will leave Washington to commemorate Sunday's precision assassination of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan
I love OBL pissing all over himself when he saw the SEALS!Bet at that moment,he wished that he had never fukked with America!
Eat this up propaganda loving people. Remember shortly after the Bin Laden Raid when the so called Seal team 6 was in an Army chopper going to help special forces who were in trouble fighting Al-Quidea blew up? News flash. The teams use their own choppers. They dont use the armys helicopters.
Ian you are funny, TRYING to sound like you know what the hell you are talking about
HOW ABOUT AN ARTICLE FROM THE ARMY TIMES?
Mission helo was secret stealth Black Hawk
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 4, 2011 18:08:39 EDT
The helicopters that flew the Navy SEALs on the mission to kill Osama bin Laden were a radar-evading variant of the special operations MH-60 Black Hawk, according to a retired special operations aviator.
Hey Dan!.....It just so happens that im an Aviation technical engineer, and i specialize in gyros. So i can tell you this for a FACT! YOU CAN NOT STEALTH A HELICOPTER!!!! Because you CAN NOT STEALTH A ROTOR!!! The closest to stealth you can get in the RAH-66 Comanche but Obviously unsuccessful because the rotors gave it away SO we stick to the big gun (APACHE). But when you need to carry more than one pilot it gets to be a problem, THE WEIGHT! You need muscle for lift, which usually consists of large rotors which is impossible to hide!.......So this leads me to the next question, why use a chopper for other than extraction??? H.A.L.O assault would have been undetected for sure!!!! Of course a Black hawk extraction would have been just fine! with an Apache Gun ship for support. But what do i know, Im just a Dumb American!
PS......Supposedly the regular Black Hawk got away!.......Why would you have one stealth and one regular Black Hawk? thats just stupid and not believable.
hey troy,
Troy-2131404
Hey Dan!.....It just so happens that im an Aviation technical engineer, and i specialize in gyros
looks like not a very good one....
google it...LOL
oops
I just love how all you people buy this propaganda. Never spent a day in combat. They count on you being stupid. Pack up your gear and join the battle if you believe this. Being an arm chair warrior doesnt count.
The first words in boot camp. Dont follow the blood trail. Follow the money trail. Thats strange. American soldiers die to make other companies rich. 55,000 died in Vietnam. Now were friends with them and trade with them. George Bush started the war on terror. Dick Chenney owns the security firm running things there in Iraq. Halliburton.
I wish a relative of mine knew your CO. Next thing you know, we'll be fighting the terror unit that sprang up in Nigeria. (You know the one; it's incidentally also where Dick Cheney has people.) Likely, after some other CIA nutjob gets groomed to be a cabinet member (the no torture if there's no blood guy, maybe).
So you're saying some terrorist in a motorhome who was a college dropout, outsmarted Bush Jr, a Yale graduate and the leader of the mightiest nation in the world, for 8 years? Maybe Georgie Jr should have spent less time working on his cheerleading routine while snorting Cocaine, and more time studying.
How about if you knew anything and told anyone your entire family would be tortured and skinned alive in front of you... and you would be an "Enemy of God"...that is how Osama moved about "Undetected" in Pakistan.
Oh please!!!!! Saddam said the same thing! I don't care what u believe, it wouldn't take more than a month to find anyone in this world, unless we make sure we don't find you! Americans are much more profitable when there in fear!
It took years to find Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber.
first everybody wanted Osama dead now that he is dead everybody want to complain things dont happen over night give it some time have a little faith i mean look where we were before we're really not doing that bad sometimes we just got take the small jobs
What in the world have you been smoking?.........Obama is spending an average 1.04 billion more per year than Bush! And he has no war to blame. And I never saw any evidence that suggest that Osama is dead either!!!!....Here is a striking similarity......."Barrack Hussein Obama/ Osama Bin Laden/ Saddam Hussein"......We are being forced into Liberal-socialism right under our noses and people are to stupid to see it!
for those who think they can mess with the greatest country in the world, well think again because they're watching from above.......and it is SCARY....
What makes a country great is its people, not its government! Love your country and fear your government!
We must congratulate the incumbent president, Mr. Obama and give him credit for all the security accomplishments. Whether you like it or not, Osama was captured and gotten rid of during the presidency of Obama, take it or leave, its down in the history books. Please get your...... acts together and stand up for whats right rather than criticise and dampen everyone's spirit.
Not sure if he was. There isn't any proof that Bin Laden was killed. The body was thrown in the water. All this other video and documents are not dated and cannot verify whether Bin Laden was killed last year or nine years ago. I don't believe this administration for one minute. All they have done is lie to us. Produce the evidence. If the evidence cannot be produced, there is no way I will believe that Obama got him.
I worked with one of those bible thumpers in the late 1970s. This guy was dead set convinced that man never landed on the moon. To him, and his clan of bible worshipers, the moon landings were all fictitious, staged events by the socialist media to discredit the teachings of God.
Now we have the right wing nut jobs. In their childish attempts to discredit Obama, there's no limit to stupidity, nor any limit to levels of hypocrisy to justify their hatred.
To say that these clowns are pathetic would be to give them a compliment. Suffice it to say that worm slime has better DNA.
John: Then for you Bin Laden can potentially live on and on. You've got the right to your belief.
Hey....if nothing else it provides an opportunity for "fear" mongers to continue to try to scare folks to their side of policy development, or in a political world to attempt to spread "fear" to make a point.
You doubt all you wish. If the seal team didn't do it as portrayed, why don't you challenge them to "prove" they did. lol
Your totally CONFUSED for sure! how in the world are you gonna stereotype Christians and conspiracy theorist?????..............Just food for your little mind! "conspiracy isn't all theory"!!!
Hey Troy!
Been doing much slithering lately???
AHHH....you cant challenge the Seal Team, cus they died in a helicopter crash, " All of them" ....No body, no seals, no site ( torn down)..no video, no photos, NO EVIDENCE remaining, nice clean up! That fish stinks from head to tail if you ask me! OH...and dont forget the 6bil in aid Obama wants to give Pakistan this year, you know, the same ones who supposedly harbored bin laden! I dont care who you are, "thats fishy"!
Troy: Knock...knock. "surfs up"!
Hey, i know why your so confused!!!!!!! Because you got your nose so far up Barry's @ss, all you see is cheek!
Hold on everyone!!!!!!! 4TH DOWN is gonna try and say something funny!!!!.................
Well.... can you type with Barry sittin on your face???
Troy:
Don't accept any "wooden" horses delivered to your door. wink.
WELL......I did say you were gonna "TRY"and say something funny. Better luck next time!
just jousting with you my friend.
What corners of the world have you been in so far?
35 states, 19 country's.......US Army 82d Airborne Div. Demo specialist 12b 1p 2b 89d sapper Air Assault.
Veteran Dessert storm, Haiti, and The Moag!
Thanks. A salute is in order. Not even asking for photos or proof. I kinda take people's word for things, although sometimes fooled....I "trust" in the better of men.
Well, its easy, just ask the right questions, and there is usually only one truth. I wouldnt put my self out there like that if i cant back it up! Shy of showing you a DD 214, its easy to prove.
I'll agree on the one truth. Although through different eyes, sometimes that one truth can take on two meanings.
Sometimes one tin soldier rides away. (and I'm not suggesting that be you).
Live long my friend.
Well here's what i can tell ya! It takes exactly 28 min 35 sec to get to the corner of Bragg Blvrd and Ardens st. from lakeshore dr. spring lake NC. Because that was my route to work! This was important considering it needed to be 30 min or less for D.R.F.
PS Ardens was the street that all Batallian headquarters were on, not to mention all the barracks and parking lots. Which is Located in Fayettvtille NC also know as FayetteNam!
What a shi**y life to lead. Always moving, on the go, dumping your personal items, looking over your shoulder, whispering to your own family. He should've stuck with his loaded family and lived the good life. He chose living in holes, with ugly wives making ugly kids.
I have to chuckle a bit when I think of how the Al Ki-"duh" folks (fled Afghanistan) during our initial assault.
I'll never forget the blogging and insistance from some on line that suggested they were Pakistani citizens, and that they were in support of our efforts.
My suggestion was that the "brave" Al Ki-"duh" folks put on Chadors or some other sort of complete body coverings, and posing as "women" during the dark of night and the light of day, crossed into Pakistan.
They insisted that they (The Paks) were Westernized and would never allow such activity. I thanked them much and thought...what "hell" has been wrought?
Yeh! Our buddies the Paks. I have no quarrel with those that truly want peace....but I have a suspicion that it might be fewer than we think.