Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

A day after a militant website confirmed that al-Qaeda had chosen Egyptian cleric Ayman al-Zawahiri to succeed Osama bin Laden as its chief, United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen vowed that the U.S. would seek to capture and kill al-Zawahiri as it had bin Laden.


Commenting on the elevation of al-Zawahiri, Admiral Mullen said al-Qaeda “still threaten us,” despite having suffered a “huge loss” with the killing of bin Laden and others.

At the same briefing, when asked why he thought it had taken al-Qaeda seven weeks to pick a new chief, Defence Secretary Robert Gates quipped, “It's probably tough to count votes when you're in a cave.”

Mr. Gates argued that unlike bin Laden, who was the leader of al-Qaeda since its inception, al- Zawahiri lacked a “peculiar charisma” and was operationally less engaged than bin Laden had been. Yet others cautioned that under al-Zawahiri, for whose arrest the FBI is offering $25 million, al-Qaeda would continue to be a serious threat to U.S. national security.

Bill Roggio, military affairs analyst and Managing Editor of The Long War Journal, told CNN, “[Al-Zawahiri] has been a very public official. He's very well known in the rank and file. There [are] a lot of questions on how he's perceived in the ranks, but even bin Laden had his detractors.” In an earlier video message, al-Zawahiri himself had indicated that al- Qaeda would continue with bin Laden's mission, saying, “Today, and thanks be to God, America is not facing an individual or a group, but a rebelling nation, which has awoken from its sleep in a jihadist renaissance.”

Secretary Gates did admit that al-Qaeda sought to perpetuate itself, “seeks to find replacements for those who have been killed and remains committed to the agenda that bin Laden put before them.”

He also alluded to possible suspicions in al-Qaeda that Pakistan’s may have had a role in the killing of bin Laden, saying, “There is some indication that al-Qaeda is worried that – because of the way we went after bin Laden, their suspicion is that the Pakistanis may have been involved in it and are worried that the Pakistanis may betray them as well.”

From The Hindu

Even as spontaneous celebrations erupted across the United States following President Barack Obama’s announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s killing, the U.S. President sought to emphasise that his country would never be at war with Islam, and also that Pakistan’s counterterrorism cooperation had been important in the operation.

As the President made a formal statement providing some background to the assault by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, leading to the killing of the alleged 9/11 attacks mastermind in a fire-fight, large crowds of revellers gathered outside the White House here and near Ground Zero in New York City. Comprising mostly younger, college-aged individuals at first, the crowds waved the American flag and chanted “USA, USA!” and “Yes we can!”

While many of those speaking to media expressed joy, a sense of justice delivered or closure, hearing the news of Bin Laden’s death, Mr. Obama sought to temper the emotional outpourings, cautioning, We must also reaffirm that the U.S. is not – and never will be – at war with Islam.”

He said that he had made clear, just as Mr. Bush did shortly after 9/11, “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims.” Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, Mr. Obama said.

Praise for Pakistan

The President also praised Pakistan as its “counterterrorism cooperation... helped lead us to Bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding.” However there was some confusion with regard to the level of involvement of Pakistani intelligence in the operation against Bin Laden.

While Pakistani officials were quoted in media as saying that they did have prior knowledge of the assault in Abbottabad, U.S. officials appeared to deny this, with one senior administration official saying, “We had shared this information with no other country, and... a very, very small group of individuals within the U.S. government was aware of this. That is for operational security purposes.”

However Mr. Obama said that he had called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday night, and Pakistani officials “agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations.”

From The Hindu

United States President Barack Obama and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton – all three associated with pursuing the alleged mastermind of terror attacks on U.S. soil – hailed the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as justice delivered.

Mr. Obama said that while Americans understood the costs of war, as a country, they would never tolerate their security being threatened, or stand idly by when their people have been killed. “On nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done,” he said.

In a statement Mr. Clinton said, “I congratulate the President, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al Qaeda attacks.”

He also reportedly said in a statement that Bin Laden’s death was bin Laden's death “a profoundly important moment” for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and other attacks and for “people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children.”

Mr. Clinton was President in 1993, the year that Bin Laden was linked to the first World Trade Centre bombing. He was also in office in 2000, when Bin Laden allegedly masterminded the bombing of the USS Cole.

Mr. Bush, who was in office during the 9/11 attacks said that “This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.”

He added a strong message to those who would attack the U.S., saying: “The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”

From The Hindu

bin Laden was living in a large home with 18-foot walls and no telephone or internet connections.

Senior administration officials at the White House have revealed numerous details of the Special Forces operation that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda leader and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

Speaking to media in a late-night conference call they said that United States President Barack Obama had instructed, in the earliest days of his administration, that the intelligence community and counterterrorism advisors should make the pursuit of Bin Laden, a “top priority.”

Intelligence assessments

Beginning in September 2010 the Central Intelligence Agency was said to have discussed with Mr. Obama “a set of assessments that led it to believe that in fact it was possible that Osama Bin Laden may be located at a compound in Pakistan.” Following these discussions, officials said, it was determined in mid-February that there was a sound intelligence basis for pursuing the lead in an aggressive way and “developing courses of action to pursue Osama Bin Laden at this location.”

In an earlier announcement on Sunday Mr. Obama said that since mid-March, the President had held no fewer than five National Security Council meetings. Senior White House officials said that the President gave the final order to pursue the operation on the morning of April 29.

With the raid sanctioned for Sunday May 1, the target was identified as an al Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This was based on intelligence that that determined that Bin Laden was possibly living in this compound with in a large home with 18-foot walls and no telephone or internet connections.

Picking up the clues

Senior administration officials confirmed that it was principally couriers who travelled in and out of the compound and “One courier in particular had our constant attention,” having been identified by other detainees as both a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11th, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al Qaeda who was captured in 2005.

Although U.S. intelligence officials identified the courier as far back as four years ago and located him two years ago, it was much more recently that they succeeded in using him to pinpoint a potential hiding place of a high-level target such as Bin Laden. Last August, the compound in Abbottabad, a town about 35 miles north of Islamabad, was located, and it was said to be “relatively affluent, with lots of retired military.”

When the compound was built in 2005, it was on the outskirts of the town center, at the end of a narrow dirt road. In the last six years, some residential homes have been built nearby. Apart from the high walls topped with barbed wire the compound was also restricted by two security gates, official said, “and the residents of the compound burn their trash, unlike their neighbors, who put the trash out for collection.”

With the profile of the family residing in this fortress-like compound being a strikingly close match to Bin Laden’s the intelligence officials said that their “best assessment, based on a large body of reporting from multiple sources, was that Bin Laden was living there with several family members, including his youngest wife.”

The Abbottabad assault

White House officials confirmed that following this insight, a “small U.S. team conducted a helicopter raid on the compound,” earlier during the night of May 1. Noting that “Considerable planning helped prepare our operators for this very complex mission,” officials added that senior officials were involved in the decision-making and planning for this operation for months, and briefed the President regularly.

Spending less than 40 minutes in the compound the U.S. forces “did not encounter any local authorities while performing the raid” and apart from Bin Laden, three adult males were said to have been killed, in all likelihood two couriers and Bin Laden’s adult son. Bin Laden did offer resistance to the assault, officials said, confirming that one woman was also killed “when she was used as a shield by a male combatant.

Aftermath

Following the assault, and possibly as the U.S. forces were leaving the area, one helicopter was lost due to mechanical failure and “it had to be destroyed by the crew and the assault force.” Suggesting that there were at least two aircraft involved in total, the officials said that crew members boarded the remaining aircraft to exit the compound.

Mr. Obama in his statement confirmed that the U.S. “took custody of [Bin Laden’s] body” following his being killed in a fire-fight. Independent reports said that Bin Laden had been shot in the head.

Administration officials said that Bin Laden’s body would be “handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition,” and this would likely imply that it would be buried within 24 hours. “This is something that we take very seriously,” officials said, adding “This is being handled in an appropriate manner.”