AFGHAN WAR - The Bad Ending

BACKGROUND:  The War in Afghanistan was a conflict that lasted from 2001 to 2021 following the United States invasion of Afghanistan, when the United States and its allies drove the Taliban from power in order to deny al-Qaeda a safe base of operations in Afghanistan after the '9/11' Attack.  It was the longest war in United States history, surpassing the Vietnam War by roughly five months.  After the initial objectives were completed, a coalition of over 40 countries (including all NATO members) formed a security mission in the country called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF, succeeded by the Resolute Support Mission (RS) in 2014) of which certain members were involved in military combat allied with Afghanistan's government.  The war mostly consisted of Taliban insurgencies fighting against the Afghan Armed Forces and allied forces; the majority of ISAF/RS soldiers and personnel were American.

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban, then-de facto ruling Afghanistan, hand over Osama bin Laden.

COMMENTS:  The problem with this war started in 2003 when George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and other military officials took their eyes off the ball, Afghanistan, and focused on their paranoid obsession with Iraq and Saddam Hussein and shifted American military effort Iraq.

G.W.'s father, George H. W. Bush, conducted the Gulf War (Kuwait) against Iraq, with Arabs as part of the coalition, because he listened to the Arab nations that Saddam Hussein's war with Iran kept Iran occupied and prevented them from taking actions against Arab neighbors, including Afghanistan.

G.W. Bush should have totally focused on Afghanistan and left Iraq alone, all our military effort in Afghanistan would have been concentrated where it should have been.  My 'crystal ball' is no better than anyone else's, but I would guess America would not have been fighting a 20-year war in Afghanistan if this mistake hadn't been made.

 

 

"Inside the desperate, dangerous scramble to evacuate Kabul as Taliban seizes control" PBS NewsHour 8/16/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban and the frenzy for Afghans and diplomats trying to flee the country reached a fever pitch Monday.  Additional U.S. troops are on their way to help with evacuations as the Taliban retake power 20 years after the American invasion.  Special correspondent Jane Ferguson reports from Kabul, and congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins reports on the U.S. response.

 

 

"Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is an ‘American catastrophe,’ H.R. McMaster says" PBS NewsHour 8/16/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  To examine the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and how it impacts U.S. interests, Judy Woodruff speaks to retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.  He was National Security Advisor during the Trump administration and also served as a military officer in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012, heading up a task force focused on combating corruption.  He is a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

 

 

"Does the fallout in Afghanistan hurt American credibility?" PBS NewsHour 8/16/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  To examine the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and how it impacts U.S. interests and credibility, Judy Woodruff speaks to Laurel Miller, former deputy and then acting U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2013 to 2017.  She's now director of the Asia program at the International Crisis Group.

 

 

"Taliban leaders promise softer rule, but their actions send a different message" PBS NewsHour 8/17/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As the Taliban cemented their hold on Afghanistan Tuesday and spoke in detail about plans for the country, evacuations resumed.  The top American general in the Middle East visited the Kabul airport to observe U.S. operations, now with nearly 4000 troops on the ground.  But there is still fear about what the future may bring.  With support from the Pulitzer Center, Jane Ferguson reports from Kabul.

 

 

"Can the Taliban be trusted to keep their promise of reasonable rule?  Two experts weigh in" PBS NewsHour 8/17/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  To make sense of the Taliban's plans for Afghanistan, Lisa Desjardins speaks to Ali Jalali, a former Minister of the Interior who served in the Afghan National Army.  He's now a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.  And Torek Farhadi, an analyst and former advisor to the governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, ex-senior economic advisor to former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

 

 

"Despite Taliban promises, Afghan women fear losing their freedoms and lives" PBS NewsHour 8/17/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, many of whom gained new freedoms over the past 20 years, is now among the most important priorities now that the Taliban have taken over.  With the help of author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Stephanie Sy tells us the story of a woman who persevered under the Taliban, flourished over the last 20 years, and escaped the Taliban's return just 48 hours ago.

 

 

"Chaos, cries for help outside Kabul airport as Taliban crack down on protesters" PBS NewsHour 8/18/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Protests against the Taliban turned deadly as the insurgents-turned-rulers of Afghanistan shot into crowds in two cities.  In Kabul, the airlift of American, allied and Afghan civilians continues as more American troops land at the airport and desperate crowds remain outside.  Jane Ferguson reports from Kabul — with the support of the Pulitzer Center — about the fear and hopelessness in Afghanistan.

 

 

"Taliban interrogating women activists, creating a ‘climate of fear and intimidation’" PBS NewsHour 8/18/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  William Brangham discusses the future for Afghan women under Taliban rule with Rina Amiri, who focused on conflict resolution in Afghanistan for the United Nations and the U.S.; now a senior fellow at New York University's Center for Global Affairs.  And Nura Sediqe, a public policy fellow at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and member of the Afghan-American coalition.

 

 

"Thousands of Afghans can’t access the airport.  Those who can recall Taliban threats, abuse" PBS NewsHour 8/19/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As more American and allied flights leave the capital of Afghanistan Thursday, an ever-growing panic descends on the city.  More American troops and marines arrived, but despite U.S. efforts, Taliban fighters are hindering movement toward the Kabul airport, leaving thousands of civilians trapped.  With support from the Pulitzer Center, Jane Ferguson reports on the situation in Kabul.

 

 

"Evacuating Afghans who helped U.S. a ‘high priority,’ national security official says" PBS NewsHour 8/19/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  For a senior perspective from the Biden administration on the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and U.S. response and support of evacuation efforts, Judy Woodruff is joined by Jon Finer, the Deputy National Security Advisor.

 

 

"What went wrong in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan?  Two lawmakers weigh in" PBS NewsHour 8/19/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As more American and allied flights are leaving the capital of Afghanistan Thursday, an ever-growing panic descends on the city.  More American troops and marines arrived, but despite U.S. efforts,Taliban fighters are hindering movement toward the Kabul airport, leaving thousands of civilians trapped.  With support from the Pulitzer Center, Jane Ferguson reports on the situation in Kabul.

 

 

"Frustrated by ill-prepared evacuation plan, anxious Afghans rush airport gates" PBS NewsHour 8/20/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The U.S. says it has assurances from the Taliban that evacuations of Afghans who want to leave the country can continue after the withdrawal deadline of August 31st.  But the Taliban continues to harass and impede passage throughout Kabul.  Even with more evacuation flights out, throngs of people desperate to flee keep trying.  Jane Ferguson reports from Kabul, with support from the Pulitzer Center.

 

 

"The U.S. ignored corruption within the Afghan government.  Did that lead to its fall?" PBS NewsHour 8/20/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As the Taliban faces protests and dissent across Afghanistan, William Brangham explores the collapse of the country's government — built and supported by the U.S. and allies for 20 years.  For a deeper perspective, Brangham speaks with Sarah Chayes, who covered the fall of the Taliban after 9/11 for NPR and served as advisor to several senior U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan.

 

 

"Afghans desperately try to flee; U.S. evacuation continues" PBS NewsHour 8/21/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Chaos at Kabul airport continued as thousands of Afghans desperately tried to flee the country.  At the same time, at least 17,000 people have been evacuated from the country, 2,500 of them American nationals.  The Taliban came a step closer to taking over officially as the group’s co-founder and political leader Mullah Baradar arrived in Kabul to begin talks about forming a new government.  NewsHour Correspondent Jane Ferguson reports with support from The Pulitzer Center.

 

 

It is a sad day for America and a tragic day for Afghans.  Ala be with them.

BOOK - "Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations"

"Adm. William McRaven on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden" PBS NewsHour 6/4/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Adm. William McRaven oversaw the covert special operations team that stormed a compound in Pakistan in 2011 and killed Osama bin Laden.  Now, the Navy veteran chronicles his 37-year military career in a new book, “Sea Stories:  My Life in Special Operations.”  Adm. McRaven talks to Judy Woodruff about his adventurous spirit, the one thing Navy SEALS must do to survive training and the value of NATO.

REF:  SEAL Team Six

ON TV - "The Looming Tower"

"Pre-9/11 drama 'The Looming Tower' explores the failure of intelligence when division gets in the way" PBS NewsHour 2/23/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A new drama takes viewers back to the events that led to the 9/11 attacks.  Hulu's "The Looming Tower," based on Lawrence Wright's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, retells the true story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in the years before the fall of 2001, and how U.S. intelligence services withheld information from each other at critical junctures.  Jeffrey Brown reports.

Hulu Official Trailer

NEWSHOUR BOOKSHELF - The Anatomy of Terror

"New book traces the evolution of terrorism since bin Laden" PBS NewsHour 8/15/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Ali Soufan, a former FBI counterterrorism agent who identified the 9/11 hijackers, felt both joy and worry the night Osama bin Laden was killed.  He worried that the U.S. didn't have a strategy to combat bin Laden's message, which lived on even though the Al-Qaeda leader was dead.  The evolution of terrorism is the subject of his new book, "The Anatomy of Terror.”  Soufan joins Margaret Warner.

MARGARET WARNER (NewsHour):  You, in almost a novelistic way, look at bin Laden or al-Zarqawi, who was the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq; or Baghdadi, the head of ISIS.

ALI SOUFAN:  Ya.

MARGARET WARNER:  Was there a common thread among them?

ALI SOUFAN, Author, “The Anatomy of Terror:  Well, ya, absolutely.  And the common thread is their own belief.

It is people who believe that there is an ongoing war between the West and the United States.  And anyone who does not in their way of interpreting events around the world is an infidel, regardless if you're a Muslim or you're not a Muslim.  That doesn't matter.

And that's why almost 95 percent of the victims of this form of terrorism are Muslims.

AL-QAIDA - After Bin Laden

"How al-Qaida has changed since bin Laden's death" PBS NewsHour 5/2/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Five years ago, U.S. special operations forces launched a daring mission to kill al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden.  Special correspondent Nick Schifrin, who visited the scene shortly after the battle, describes what he observed, then former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta joins Hari Sreenivasan to reflect on how international terrorism has changed over the past five years.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  Five years ago,U.S. special operations forces launched one of the most daring raids in history.  They invaded a U.S. ally to kill the most wanted man on the planet.

I recorded this conversation last week with NewsHour special correspondent Nick Schifrin, who visited the scene shortly after the battle.

Nick Schifrin was the first Western reporter to arrive in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that day, and delivered exclusive, extraordinary video, images from inside the compound just hours after bin Laden was killed.

At the time, Nick was ABC News correspondent in the region.  And now he's a NewsHour special correspondent.

And he joins me in the studio.

So, what did we see in that video?

NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour):  Hari, we saw how the world's most wanted man lived and how he died.

In terms of how he lived, we see a bedroom, a large bed, bigger than any bed anywhere else in the house.  We saw the medications he was on, very simple medications available at the local pharmacy.  We saw a pantry where there was a week's worth of food stored up.  We saw so many signs of children.

There was a red wagon outside in the backyard.  There were 12 kids living there.  Half of them were bin Laden's.  We also saw a satellite dish outside.  That was a one-way communication device used to watch TV on that dish, of course, never used it to communicate with the outside world.

And, of course, we saw how he died, the pools of blood in his bedroom and the room of Khaled, his son, and the mess that Navy SEALs left behind.  They ransacked the room where all the computers were.  And all the files from those computers became what intelligence officials referred to as the Abbottabad files.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Here we are five years later.  The news is almost — almost on a daily basis mentions ISIS.  It doesn't mention al-Qaida so much.  Is there — explain the shift?

NICK SCHIFRIN:  Yes.

I think, as one longtime al-Qaida puts it, al-Qaida has kind of like become Microsoft.  It's still got a decent share of the market, but it's not preeminent.  It's not really seen as cutting edge.  And it doesn't really appeal to the younger generation.

And that is because, of course what we call core al-Qaida, the al-Qaida leadership as it was defined in 9/11 and the years after, has been decimated.  And that started before bin Laden was killed, about two or three years before, probably 2009.  The CIA moved a lot of assets and intelligence and technology into the region, and drones started picking off these leaders.

WAR ON TERROR - Films on Hunt for Bin Laden and the CIA 'Sisterhood'

"Documentary Focuses on Analysts Behind 'Manhunt' for Osama Bin Laden" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 5/1/2013

GWEN IFILL (Newshour):  Today marks the second anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.  Tonight, we bring you the previously unknown story of the sisterhood of CIA analysts who chased the al-Qaida leader.

Margaret Warner reports.

MARGARET WARNER (Newshour):  It was the news most Americans had waited nearly a decade to hear.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:  After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

MARGARET WARNER:  But for many of the people who'd helped find Osama bin Laden, their work had started nearly two decades earlier, long before the most-wanted man on earth had earned his infamy.

Their story of the CIA analysts and officers who'd tracked down the al-Qaida chief is told in the documentary HBO film "Manhunt" debuting tonight.  It's based on the book by CNN's Peter Bergen.

PETER BERGEN, CNN:  In '97, Osama bin Laden had declared war on the United States, but no one paid any attention.

CINDY STORER, Former CIA Analyst:  There were just warning after warning.  We knew something huge was going to happen.

MARGARET WARNER:  But long before that September day, their chase began in a near-total information vacuum.

WOMAN:  Well, we certainly didn't know that al-Qaida existed.  We didn't know there was a terrorist organization.

MARGARET WARNER:  The group tracking the elusive Saudi militant was known as Alec Station and was novel in its approach.

MAN:  The unique thing about Alec Station was the fusion of analysis and operations.

MARGARET WARNER:  The analytical team at CIA was comprised mostly of women.  Before 9/11, it wasn't a prime assignment.  Cindy Storer was an analyst, part of what was called “The Sisterhood.”

CINDY STORER:  I was counseled once in a performance review that I was spending too much time working on bin Laden.  They said we were obsessed crusaders, overly emotional, using all those women stereotypes.

MARGARET WARNER:  Nada Bakos followed Storer on the mostly female team.

NADA BAKOS, Former CIA Analyst:  We picked up that end of the spear, where some of the operations officers tend to be mostly men.

MARGARET WARNER:  After 9/11, the tempo of operations shifted to hunting al-Qaida figures in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.  Many analysts moved into new jobs as “targeters.”  Nada Bakos was among them, forward-deployed in Iraq to track Abu Musab al Zarqawi.

She also targeted a vital al-Qaida emissary who, after capture, gave up the name of the courier who eventually led the U.S. to bin Laden's door two years ago today.

NOTE:  The Hollywood-drama film "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012) is also about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.


"At the CIA, a 'Sisterhood' of Analysts Who Helped Find Bin Laden" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 5/1/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Cindy Storer and Nada Bakos were part of a majority female team of CIA intelligence analysts -- dubbed "The Sisterhood" -- who contributed to the effort to locate Osama bin Laden.  Margaret Warner talks with Storer and Bakos about their intensely detailed work and frustrations with having that work sometimes ignored or belittled.

ALSO:

"The True Un-Hollywood Story of a Sisterhood's Hunt for Bin Laden" by Margaret Warner, PBS Newshour 5/1/2013

WAR ON TERROR - More Bin Laden, Prison of His Own Making

"In Abbottabad, Bin Laden Lived in 'Prison of His Own Making'" PBS Newshour 5/4/2012

Excerpt

MARGARET WARNER (Newshour): For a decade after 9/11, Osama bin Laden was the most hunted man in the world. This week, on the first anniversary of bin Laden's killing by U.S. special forces in Pakistan, more details are emerging about the operation and the relentless, often frustrated, intelligence effort that led to it.

Journalist Peter Bergen has written a graphic and gripping account of all that in his new book, "Manhunt." Bergen himself has been reporting and writing on bin Laden since meeting him in Afghanistan in 1997, as the producer of a CNN interview in which the al-Qaida leader declared war on the United States.

COMMENT: Peter Bergen's comment on Bin Laden's living conditions fails to compaire to the general living conditions in Pakistan. From what I have seen, Bin Laden's living conditions are NOT 'squalor' but close to normal in Pakistan.

Fascinating excerpts

PETER BERGEN: I think it is a matter of deductive logic.

Relatively early on, the couriers were something that they really thought were important, 2002, 2003 -- there was a memo written in 2005 which sort of made the analytical case that was probably the only way we were going to find him or one of the key ways. But then his name surfaced, but it was an alias, and then attaching the alias to a real name, then attaching a real name to a real cell phone, then following that cell phone back to the compound.

This was, you know, more Agatha Christie than James Bond.


PETER BERGEN: The National Security Agency tracked down the location of this guy's cell phone. So that's signals intelligence. And then there was human intelligence, spies on the ground, who followed this guy back to where he lived. So that is nothing to do with interrogations of any kind.


On the did Pakistan know Bin Laden was there

PETER BERGEN: We the United States, yes, because there's not -- it's not like our relations are so good, that we would keep that back.

And I have talked to multiple people who have read the documents, and they say there is nothing there. And also just as a matter of deductive logic, bin Laden was an enormously disciplined, paranoid, secretive guy. There were people living on that compound, adults, who didn't know he was there.

He wasn't going to clue in anybody who didn't need to know. Al-Qaida had tried to kill Pakistani President Musharraf on two occasions in 2003. There was no love lost between these groups.

WAR ON TERROR - Bin Laden Letters Revelation

"Bin Laden ordered attacks on Obama's aircraft" by Brian Bennett, Chicago Tribune 5/3/2012

Osama bin Laden ordered terrorist teams in mid-2010 to blow up the planes of President Barack Obama and Gen. David H. Petraeus, then commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, when they visited Afghanistan or Pakistan, according to a declassified letter released Thursday.

Bin Laden argued that assassinating Obama would put a "totally unprepared" Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the country "which will lead the U.S. into a crisis."

He wrote that killing Petraeus, who now is director of the CIA, would "alter the war's path."

The letter was published online by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Thursday. It is among 17 documents released from the trove of material seized during the raid that killed Bin Laden last year.

In the letter, bin Laden ordered a lieutenant to create a group to collect intelligence about future arrivals of Obama or Petraeus at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The team would then try to blow up their planes. He wanted a similar team to target Obama and Petraeus if they visited Pakistan.

Obama made a surprise overnight visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, the first anniversary of the raid that killed bin Laden. He landed at Bagram air base and delivered a live TV broadcast from the base. He visited Afghanistan twice in 2010.

"Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make Biden take over the presidency for the remainder of the term, as it is the norm over there," Bin Laden wrote. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis."

Over the past three years, Petraeus has made multiple trips to Pakistan for talks about joint security operations against al-Qaida and other militant groups.

Bin Laden singled out Obama and Petraeus specifically, and told his lieutenants that he didn't want the groups to take down the planes of other high-profile Americans who might visit the region, mentioning by name Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen and U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard C. Holbrooke.

Bin Laden appointed a trusted commander, Ilyas Mishmash, to organize and manage the two assassination teams. He wanted frequent reports back on the progress of the operation.

Kashmiri had planned several high-profile attacks on targets in India and Pakistan and was a rising star in al-Qaida. U.S. intelligence officials believe Kashmiri was killed in a tribal area of northern Pakistan in June 2011, by a missile fired from a drone.

PAKISTAN - Bin Laden Raid Update

"Advanced Technology, Old-Fashioned Tactics Helped Make Bin Laden Raid a Success"
PBS Newshour 8/1/2011


"Getting Bin Laden" by Nicholas Schmidle, The New yorker 8/1/2011

AFGHANISTAN - Steeper Pullout?

"Steeper Pullout Is Raised as Option for Afghanistan" By DAVID E. SANGER, ERIC SCHMITT, and THOM SHANKER; New York Times 6/5/2011

Excerpt

President Obama’s national security team is contemplating troop reductions in Afghanistan that would be steeper than those discussed even a few weeks ago, with some officials arguing that such a change is justified by the rising cost of the war and the death of Osama bin Laden, which they called new “strategic considerations.”

These new considerations, along with a desire to find new ways to press the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to get more of his forces to take the lead, are combining to create a counterweight to an approach favored by the departing secretary of defense, Robert M. Gates, and top military commanders in the field. They want gradual cuts that would keep American forces at a much higher combat strength well into next year, senior administration officials said.

The cost of the war and Mr. Karzai’s uneven progress in getting his forces prepared have been latent issues since Mr. Obama took office. But in recent weeks they have gained greater political potency as Mr. Obama’s newly refashioned national security team takes up the crucial decision of the size and the pace of American troop cuts, administration and military officials said. Mr. Obama is expected to address these decisions in a speech to the nation this month, they said.

A sharp drawdown of troops is one of many options Mr. Obama is considering. The National Security Council is convening its monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday, and although the debate over troop levels is operating on a separate track, the assessments from that meeting are likely to inform the decisions about the size of the force.

In a range of interviews in the past few days, several senior Pentagon, military and administration officials said that many of these pivotal questions were still in flux and would be debated intensely over the next two weeks. They would not be quoted by name about an issue that Mr. Obama had yet to decide on.

I hope that this idea is very, very closely reviewed. We should not jump-the-gun based on death of Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda has NOT gone away and Afghanistan can still become a haven for our enmy in the future.

WAR ON TERROR - Aftermath of the Killing of Osama bin Laden

"Napolitano: 'Heightened State of Alert' Continues After Bin Laden's Death"
PBS Newshour 5/13/2011

ON THE LITE SIDE - Bin Laden in Pakistan

Humor Times

(click for better view)

AMERICA - U.S.N. SEALs and the Raid

"Killing Bin Laden: A 'Routine Mission' for War-Tested SEALs"
PBS Newshour 5/6/2011


"Shields and Brooks on Secretive SEALs, Obama's Bin Laden Raid, GOP Debate" PBS Newshour Transcript 5/6/2011

Excerpt on SEALs

JIM LEHRER (Editor, Newshour): And finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Mark, did you know about SEAL Team Six until this -- until a few days ago?

MARK SHIELDS: No.

JIM LEHRER: Did you, David?

DAVID BROOKS: No, I did not.

JIM LEHRER: Yes. It's fascinating.

MARK SHIELDS: Truly fascinating. And, I mean, talk about a great segment, fascinating spokespersons. I mean, they were compelling.

JIM LEHRER: Yes, the two -- you mean the two men themselves.

MARK SHIELDS: The two of them, yes.

JIM LEHRER: You could tell that they were ready to go.

MARK SHIELDS: They were.

(LAUGHTER)

JIM LEHRER: If called upon, they could go now.

DAVID BROOKS: Yes.

I often think why the military really is the one institution that is -- that has high regard -- and we have had loss of faith in all these institution. And why is that? And one theory, I think, is that they really tear people down.

It's not about ego in the military. They tear down the ego, before you build up towards service to something else. And we actually have very few institutions that do that anymore. And there are pros and cons to tearing people down. But it does lead to this sort of understated sense of service and commitment to something other than themselves, and an aversion to publicity, which is admirable.

JIM LEHRER: And the idea, as both of them said, that they function as teams.

DAVID BROOKS: Right.

JIM LEHRER: And that's where the breaking down goes, and then you come back together. You go down there as individuals; you come out as a team.

DAVID BROOKS: And we have done well in general, most institutions, in celebrating the individual, not so much the team you're on.

MARK SHIELDS: Yes. No, I just think it -- I agree with you. They do break down.

But what they put in the place is a sense of your dependence upon each other. And they submerge rampant individualism, which our society too often celebrates.

DAVID BROOKS: Right. Exactly.

JIM LEHRER: What about Ray's question, though, about scrutiny, about oversight? Are these -- is there a danger that these guys are so good, and so at the command of the president, that other people may not know what's going on until it's too late?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, I think, in this particular instance, they did inform the leadership.

JIM LEHRER: Congress.

MARK SHIELDS: Congress. But I thought the point of scrutiny that the senator made about watching this did bring to it a level of civilian control and oversight that was unimaginable in an earlier era.

From this retired Navy Chief (22yrs, Viet Nam Vet), I salute all SEALs. Being a home-town San Diegan, where the SEAL boot camp is located, I am proud.


Also, I was surprised that SEAL Team 6 was specifically mentioned. I wonder it that was a slip.

AMERICA - Bin Laden's Death Aftermath Discussions

"CIA Chief Panetta: Obama Made 'Gutsy' Decision on Bin Laden Raid"
PBS Newshour 5/3/2011

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

"Chambliss: Pakistan Must 'Get Serious,' Deliver Mullah Omar, Zawahiri"
PBS Newshour 5/3/2011

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

As to the issue of what Pakistan security knew, and the questions are legitimate, my comments:

• Does "hide in plain sight" ring a bell? Sometimes this is a strategy that works.


• As Panetta said, Bin Laden MAY not have always been there. He was known to move around. So area residents, including military, conceivably did not know he was there.


• To say that the Pakistan security/military should have known is wrong. They are as fallible as we are, look at the mistakes America has made in the past.

Having said all that, I too suspect that SOME of the Pakistan security individuals knew Bin Laden used the compound. I suspect that Pakistan security agencies are riddled with Al Qaeda agents/followers.

WAR ON TERROR - Technology and Bin Laden's Death

"Technology used to identify bin Laden?"
CNN News Videos

WAR ON TERROR - Opinion, Aftermath of Bin Laden's Death

"The End of the Jihadist Dream" by ALI H. SOUFAN, New York Times 5/2/2011

Ali H. Soufan, an F.B.I. special agent from 1997 to 2005, interrogated Qaeda detainees at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere.

TO the Qaeda members I interrogated at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere in the aftermath of 9/11, Osama bin Laden was never just the founder and leader of the group, but also an idea. He embodied the belief that their version of Islam was correct, that terrorism was the right weapon, and that they would ultimately be victorious. Bin Laden’s death did not kill that idea, but did deal it a mortal blow.

The immediate reaction of Al Qaeda members to Bin Laden’s death will be to celebrate his martyrdom. The group’s ideology champions death for the cause: Songs are composed, videos made and training camps named in honor of dead fighters. Bin Laden’s deputies will try to energize people by turning him into a Che Guevara-like figure for Al Qaeda — a more effective propaganda tool dead than alive.

But it won’t take long for Al Qaeda to begin wishing that Bin Laden wasn’t dead. He not only was the embodiment of Al Qaeda’s ideology, but also was central to the group’s fund-raising and recruiting successes. Without him, Al Qaeda will find itself short on cash — and members.

Bin Laden’s fund-raising (especially through his connections to fellow wealthy Saudis) and his personal story (his decision to give up a life of luxury and ease to fight in a holy war) had brought him to prominence during the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and later secured his position as Al Qaeda’s leader.

He further cultivated that image by trying to model his ascetic life on that of the Prophet Muhammad — by dressing similarly and encouraging his followers to ascribe divine powers to him. Bin Laden regularly hinted at this when discussing Al Qaeda’s strikes against America and his ability to withstand Washington’s wrath.

Not only has Al Qaeda lost its best recruiter and fund-raiser, but no one in the organization can come close to filling that void. Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, who will probably try to take over, is a divisive figure. His personality and leadership style alienate many, he lacks Bin Laden’s charisma and connections and his Egyptian nationality is a major mark against him.

Indeed, one of the earliest things I discovered from interrogating Qaeda members in Afghanistan and Yemen as well as Guantánamo was the group’s internal divisions; the most severe is the rivalry between the Egyptians and members hailing from the Arabian Peninsula. (Even soccer games pit Egyptians against Persian Gulf Arabs.) While Egyptians typically travel to the Gulf to work for Arabs there, in Al Qaeda, Egyptians have traditionally held most of the senior positions.

It was only the knowledge that they were ultimately following Bin Laden — a Saudi of Yemeni origin, and therefore one of their own — that kept non-Egyptian members in line. Now, unless a non-Egyptian takes over, the group is likely to splinter into subgroups. Someone like Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American who is a leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is a likely rival to Mr. Zawahri.

Bin Laden was adept at convincing smaller, regional terrorist groups that allying with Al Qaeda and focusing on America were the best ways to topple corrupt regimes at home. But many of his supporters grew increasingly distressed by Al Qaeda’s attacks in the last few years — which have killed mostly Muslims — and came to realize that Bin Laden had no long-term political program aside from nihilism and death.

The Arab Spring, during which ordinary people in countries like Tunisia and Egypt overthrew their governments, proved that contrary to Al Qaeda’s narrative, hated rulers could be toppled peacefully without attacking America. Indeed, protesters in many cases saw Washington supporting their efforts, further undermining Al Qaeda’s claims.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. Most of Al Qaeda’s leadership council members are still at large, and they command their own followers. They will try to carry out operations to prove Al Qaeda’s continuing relevance. And with Al Qaeda on the decline, regional groups that had aligned themselves with the network may return to operating independently, making them harder to monitor and hence deadlier.

Investigations, intelligence and military successes are only half the battle. The other half is in the arena of ideas, and countering the rhetoric and methods that extremists use to recruit. We can keep killing and arresting terrorists, but if new ones are recruited, our war will never end.

Our greatest tool, we must remember, is America itself. We have suffered a great deal at the hands of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and we will never forget those killed in attacks like the 1998 bombings on United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the 2000 attack on the Navy destroyer Cole, 9/11 and the service members killed since then in the war against Al Qaeda.

Many terrorists whom I interrogated told me they expected America to ultimately fold. What they didn’t understand is that as powerful as the Bin Laden idea was to them, America’s values and liberties are even greater to us. Effectively conveying this will bury the Bin Laden idea with him.

Amen

WAR ON TERROR - Osama bin Laden KILLED by Navy SEALs

"Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says" By PETER BAKER, HELENE COOPER and MARK MAZZETTI, New York Times 5/1/2011

Excerpt

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Obama announced.

In a late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that American military and C.I.A. operatives had finally cornered Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, who had eluded them for nearly a decade. American officials said Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head. He was later buried at sea.

The news touched off an extraordinary outpouring of emotion as crowds gathered outside the White House, in Times Square and at the ground zero site, waving American flags, cheering, shouting, laughing and chanting, “U.S.A., U.S.A.!” In New York City, crowds sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Throughout downtown Washington, drivers honked horns deep into the night.

“For over two decades, Bin Laden has been Al Qaeda’s leader and symbol,” the president said in a statement broadcast around the world. “The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda. But his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that Al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”

Bin Laden’s demise is a defining moment in the American-led fight against terrorism, a symbolic stroke affirming the relentlessness of the pursuit of those who attacked New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. What remains to be seen, however, is whether it galvanizes Bin Laden’s followers by turning him into a martyr or serves as a turning of the page in the war in Afghanistan and gives further impetus to Mr. Obama to bring American troops home.

How much his death will affect Al Qaeda itself remains unclear.

"WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden killed after tip-offs from Guantanamo" by Tim Ross, The Telegraph (UK) 5/2/2011

Excerpt

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), who was repeatedly subjected to methods including “waterboarding” and stress positions, provided the CIA with the name of bin Laden’s personal courier, according to US officials.

A second source – also an al-Qaeda “leader” held at Guantanamo Bay – then confirmed the courier’s identity, sparking an intense manhunt that resulted in the dramatic final raid.

Secret documents seen by The Daily Telegraph disclose that this second source – the terrorist operations chief, Abu Faraj al-Libi – played a key role in finding “safe havens” for bin Laden and lived in the military town where he was finally found.

The killing of the world’s most wanted man as a direct result of information obtained from Guantanamo detainees such as KSM will reignite the debate over whether torture is a legitimate interrogation technique in the "war on terror". Both KSM and al-Libi were subjected to harsh techniques during their interrogations in CIA prisons.

"Elgin residents welcome demise of bin Laden; caution about terrorism" by Mike Danahey, Courier-News (Chicago Sun-Times) 5/2/2011

Excerpt

Local residents welcomed the news of the killing Sunday of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy SEALs during a raid on a mansion in Pakistan. But some cautioned it does not signal the end of terrorism and the al-Qaida organization that bin Laden led.

Elgin firefighter and city councilman Rich Dunne spent 30 years with the military and retired last year with the rank of chief master sergeant with the United States Air Force.

Between Sunday night’s news of bin Laden’s death and Monday morning, Dunne said he heard from 10 or so friends he has made in various branches of the military, including a former Navy man who had fought in a major battle in Fallujah, Iraq.

“I told him it was a great day for the SEALS. And while everyone felt bin Laden met a well-deserved demise, this does not mark the end of the War on Terrorism. There’s still work and due diligence to be done,” Dunne said.

From watching on television the gatherings in New York and Washington, D.C., what impressed Dunne was what a woman who had lost someone in the World Trade Center said.

“She noted that it wasn’t a celebration of a death, but a coming together for closure,” Dunne said.

Elgin cardiologist Dr. Khalid Riaz, who was born in Pakistan, noted that while it is a good thing that bin Laden, a symbol of extremism, is gone, “the conditions persist that allow extremism to take root.”

In Pakistan, where bin Laden was found, “lives are not going to change overnight. The poor are still poor. There still are not enough schools. That facts on the ground remain the same. Every single day remains unchanged,” Riaz said.

In the hopes of changing those conditions, Riaz, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was in his homeland of Pakistan last week, a journey he takes several times a year as a member of the Schaumburg-based Human Development Foundation. This time, the trip involved site visits to Lahore and Karachi and a board of directors meeting in Islamabad.

PBS Newshour 5/2/2011 (20min excerpt)
Osama bin Laden (full show 53min)

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

We got him!!!!

Notice to ALL terrorists: We WILL find you no matter how long it takes.

PS: Does "hide in plain site" ring a bell?

POLITICS - Bumble and Fumble Bush Administration

"Leak Severed a Link to Al-Qaeda's Secrets" by Joby Warrick, Washington Post

A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release.

Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company's Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide.

The founder of the company, the SITE Intelligence Group, says this premature disclosure tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group's communications network.

"Techniques that took years to develop are now ineffective and worthless," said Rita Katz, the firm's 44-year-old founder, who has garnered wide attention by publicizing statements and videos from extremist chat rooms and Web sites, while attracting controversy over the secrecy of SITE's methodology. Her firm provides intelligence about terrorist groups to a wide range of paying clients, including private firms and military and intelligence agencies from the United States and several other countries.

The precise source of the leak remains unknown. Government officials declined to be interviewed about the circumstances on the record, but they did not challenge Katz's version of events. They also said the incident had no effect on U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts and did not diminish the government's ability to anticipate attacks.

While acknowledging that SITE had achieved success, the officials said U.S. agencies have their own sophisticated means of watching al-Qaeda on the Web. "We have individuals in the right places dealing with all these issues, across all 16 intelligence agencies," said Ross Feinstein, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

But privately, some intelligence officials called the incident regrettable, and one official said SITE had been "tremendously helpful" in ferreting out al-Qaeda secrets over time.

The al-Qaeda video aired on Sept. 7 attracted international attention as the first new video message from the group's leader in three years. In it, a dark-bearded bin Laden urges Americans to convert to Islam and predicts failure for the Bush administration in Iraq and Afghanistan. The video was aired on hundreds of Western news Web sites nearly a full day before its release by a distribution company linked to al-Qaeda.

Computer logs and records reviewed by The Washington Post support SITE's claim that it snatched the video from al-Qaeda days beforehand. Katz requested that the precise date and details of the acquisition not be made public, saying such disclosures could reveal sensitive details about the company's methods.

Katz said she decided to offer an advance copy of the bin Laden video to the White House without charge so officials there could prepare for its eventual release.

She spoke first with White House counsel Fred F. Fielding, whom she had previously met, and then with Joel Bagnal, deputy assistant to the president for homeland security. Both expressed interest in obtaining a copy, and Bagnal suggested that she send a copy to Michael Leiter, who holds the No. 2 job at the National Counterterrorism Center.

Around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, Katz sent both Leiter and Fielding an e-mail with a link to a private SITE Web page containing the video and an English transcript. "Please understand the necessity for secrecy," Katz wrote in her e-mail. "We ask you not to distribute . . . [as] it could harm our investigations."

Fielding replied with an e-mail expressing gratitude to Katz. "It is you who deserves the thanks," he wrote, according to a copy of the message. There was no record of a response from Leiter or the national intelligence director's office.

Exactly what happened next is unclear. But within minutes of Katz's e-mail to the White House, government-registered computers began downloading the video from SITE's server, according to a log of file transfers. The records show dozens of downloads over the next three hours from computers with addresses registered to defense and intelligence agencies.

By midafternoon, several television news networks reported obtaining copies of the transcript. A copy posted around 3 p.m. on Fox News's Web site referred to SITE and included page markers identical to those used by the group. "This confirms that the U.S. government was responsible for the leak of this document," Katz wrote in an e-mail to Leiter at 5 p.m.

Al-Qaeda supporters, now alerted to the intrusion into their secret network, put up new obstacles that prevented SITE from gaining the kind of access it had obtained in the past, according to Katz.

A small number of private intelligence companies compete with SITE in scouring terrorists' networks for information and messages, and some have questioned the company's motives and methods, including the claim that its access to al-Qaeda's network was unique. One competitor, Ben Venzke, founder of IntelCenter, said he questions SITE's decision -- as described by Katz -- to offer the video to White House policymakers rather than quietly share it with intelligence analysts.

Regardless of the question did Katz make a mistake in the way the information was released, it is obvious that the Bush Whitehouse is all about blowing their own horn, aka "See, we are protecting America," with no actual concern (or worst, knowledge) about actual security secrets.

IRAQ - NIE Threat Estimate 7/2007

"Bush's Osama Problem" by Dan Froomkin, Washington Post 7/18/2007

Nearly six years after President Bush pledged to capture him "dead or alive," Osama bin Laden is not only still at large, but he and his al-Qaeda organization have apparently benefited greatly from Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

That's not just me saying so. It's the inevitable conclusion from the declassified summary of a White House intelligence report released to great fanfare yesterday.

It turns out that bin Laden and his al-Qaeda leadership are safely ensconced in Pakistan. They're still trying to attack us. And the U.S. occupation of Iraq has provided them with a potent rallying cry, recruiting tool and training ground they would not have had otherwise.

The White House has time and again used the specter of al-Qaeda to cow Capitol Hill into doing its bidding. Similarly, Bush and his aides have lately gone to great lengths to conflate the multifaceted insurgency in Iraq with al-Qaeda. After all, when it's Bush vs. al-Qaeda, how many Americans will side with al-Qaeda?

The report's release shot al-Qaeda back into the headlines. But this time, the al-Qaeda stories have a potentially devastating twist for the administration: As it turns out, Bush's policies may have helped bin Laden more than they've hurt him.

The Analysis

Michael Abramowitz writes in The Washington Post: "The White House faced fresh political peril yesterday in the form of a new intelligence assessment that raised sharp questions about the success of its counterterrorism strategy and judgment in making Iraq the focus of that effort.

"Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush has been able to deflect criticism of his counterterrorism policy by repeatedly noting the absence of any new domestic attacks and by citing the continuing threat that terrorists in Iraq pose to U.S. interests.

"But this line of defense seemed to unravel a bit yesterday with the release of a new National Intelligence Estimate that concludes that al-Qaeda 'has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability' by reestablishing a haven in Pakistan and reconstituting its top leadership. The report also notes that al-Qaeda has been able 'to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attacks,' by associating itself with an Iraqi subsidiary.

"These disclosures triggered a new round of criticism from Democrats and others who say that the administration took its eye off the ball by invading Iraq without first destroying Osama bin Laden's organization in Afghanistan."

Abramowitz also notes that "Al-Qaeda's participation in the Iraqi violence has figured particularly heavily in recent administration arguments for a continued U.S. troop presence there, because White House strategists regard it as a politically salable reason for staying and continuing to fight."

But, he writes: "Some terrorism analysts say Bush has used inflated rhetoric to depict al-Qaeda in Iraq as part of the same group of extremists that attacked the United States on Sept. 11 -- noting that the group did not exist until after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. These analysts say Bush also has overlooked the contribution that U.S. actions have made to the growth of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has been described as kind of a franchise of the main al-Qaeda network headed by bin Laden."

Abramowitz quotes former CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar as saying: "Iraq matters because it has become a cause celebre and because groups like al-Qaeda in Iraq and al-Qaeda central exploit the image of the United States being out to occupy Muslim lands."

This is from just page 1 of 5

The bottom line is Bush's invasion of Iraq MADE it a haven for terrorists and fulfilled Osama bin Laden's prophecy, made long before 9/11, that "a Christian nation will invade a Muslim country for oil."

POLITICS - Osama bin Laden

I've been thinking about Osama bin Laden lately (who hasn't) and what we should do about him. My gut feeling is, capture him, then slow-roast him on a spit over hot coals. But that's my gut feeling and not what I would do in the real world.

We have two choices, as I see it; 1) hunt him down, and kill him on the spot or 2) capture him and put him on trial for mass murder.

What we have to consider, no matter what our gut feelings are, is the long-run effect on the Arab/Muslim world. In our own interest, we cannot disregard how the Arabs or Muslims see Osama ben Laden compared to how they see the "West" which includes the USA. We cannot, realistically, change the minds of Muslim fanatics, but we can be somewhat safer if the majority of the Arab and/or Muslim world see us in a better light.

The Arab/Muslim world see ben Laden as a champion of their "cause" at the least, and a prophet at the worst. What is their "cause?" Well, historically the West has not treated the Arab world (and thereby the Muslim world) well nor justly. It's not just the Palestine vs. Israel thing; it's what has been done in the area since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Crusades, etc. As far as the status of Osama bin Laden in the Arab world, well thanks to Bush, we have helped elevate him to a prophet by fulfilling his prophecy (uttered long before 9/11) that a Christian nation would invade a Muslim nation for oil. Regardless of what we think the Iraq invasion was about, the Arab world sees it as fulfillment of Osama's prophecy.


As stated in "The Frightening Evolution of al-Qaida" on 6/24/2005 by Robert Windrem, NBC News:

Over the past year, essentially since the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004, U.S. intelligence and policy-makers have had a changed view of al- Qaida. Instead of the hierarchical organization portrayed by the president — with his scorecard of how many leaders have been killed or captured — those closest to the counterterrorism effort see a network that while less capable of mega-attacks like Sept. 11 is more capable of a long-lasting war against the United States and the West.

The capture or killing of Osama bin Laden would be a major event in the war on terrorism, one with positive — and even some negative — consequences for the United States and its allies, but it would not signal the end of al-Qaida, the end of Islamic terrorism or even the reconfiguring of the network.

In my opinion killing Osama bin Laden would not be just a "negative" but a disaster. It would elevate him to a martyr, a martyred prophet. Pontius Pilot made that mistake and the world now has a religion that can, in part, be based on that mistake. {By the way, nothing against Christianity, just a historical fact} Remember, no matter what the West sees, this is a religious matter in the Arab/Muslim world.

That leaves us with option #2 above but even here we have to be very careful on how we handle this.

Capturing him and whisking him off to Guantanamo would be a mistake. In the Arab world "Gitmo" = torture and injustice, no matter what we feel. Whisking him off to another country or location for "interrogation" would be just as bad.

What we need to do is to capture him and put him on trial, in full public view (TV-pool coverage, maybe C-SPAN), with all the protections under our system of justice. Considering all the incriminating evidence (writings, video tapes, statements from terrorist "combatants," and other sources) I cannot see how he could not be found guilty in the end. {Of course, lawyers would defend Satin with all the tricks in the book without a twinge of conscience} Even then we cannot afford to execute him, if we did he still ends up as a martyred prophet. What we do is put him away for life without parole. Note after the trial, during his "vacation with us," we would have plenty of time to interrogate him.