Troops kill 20 protesters in Yemen

The heavy crackdown shows Saleh still wants to preserve his 33-year rule. Hundreds of soldiers loyal to Yemen s embattled president stormed a protest camp in a southern city on Monday and fired on the crowds indiscriminately, killing at least 20 people, according to medical official and witnesses. The city of Taiz has been a hotbed of anti-government protests since crowds began calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh s ouster in early February. The heavy crackdown there signaled Saleh was still intent on preserving his 33-year rule despite the upheaval, intense international pressure to step aside and defections by key allies and some army units. Security forces first tried to clear the square in Taiz with water cannons, tear gas and sound bombs, sending thousands rushing for shelter. Forces from the Republican Guard, which is commanded by one of Saleh s sons, then moved in before dawn with tanks and bulldozers, said Sadek al-Shugaa, head of a field hospital at the protest camp. Republican Guard soldiers along with security forces and armed men in civilian clothes attacked the protesters. Some set fire to dozens of tents used by the protesters, and bulldozers ran over hundreds of other tents without checking whether any protesters were still inside, two witnesses said. Troops also attacked the Majeedi Hotel overlooking the square, where journalists were detained, al-Shugaa said. Then snipers took over the top of the building to shoot at protesters. A video showed masked men with rifles shooting from rooftops at the protesters in the street.

Karzai’s last warning to US

Afghan President has given last warning to the US military to avoid operations that kill civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the United States military to avoid operations that kill Afghan civilians, saying this was his last warning to Washington, his office said in a statement on Sunday. Reacting to the alleged deaths of 10 children, two women and two men in a US-led air strike on Saturday in the southern province of Helmand, Karzai said that such strikes were murdering Afghanistan s children and women. "The president called this incident a great mistake and the murdering of Afghanistan s children and women, and on behalf of the Afghan people gives his last warning to the US troops and US officials in this regard," his office said.

NATO air raids kill 52 people, including children, in Afghanistan

At least 12 children and two women were killed in a NATO air strike in Afghan province of Helmand. In the southern province of Helmand, local authorities said at least 14 civilians, including women and children, were killed and six injured in an air raid. Afghan authorities said that NATO had killed 52 people, mostly civilians, in air strikes in various parts of the country. NATO authorities say a probe have been ordered into the killings of civilians in NATO air raids. According to Helmand government spokesman Daud Ahmdi 14 children and women were killed in Nawzad district while six civilians were injured when NATO troops called air support after their base came under attack from small arms fire. Separately, 18 civilians and 20 policemen were killed by "friendly fire" during the US-led air strikes against insurgents in Nuristan province. Nuristan was the scene of heavy battles last week between the Taliban and Afghan security forces. The police and civilians were targeted after they were mistaken for militants, Nuristan Governor Jamaluddin Badr said. 

G8 leaders ask Gaddafi to quit

The G8 world powers threw their weight behind the Arab Spring on Friday, intensifying the pressure on Libyan strongman Muammer Qadhafi and pledging billions for fledgling democracies. The West’s drive to oust Qadhafi was boosted on both the military front, with France and Britain vowing a “new phase” of operations, and on the diplomatic, with Russia joining calls for him to step down and head into exile. “The world community does not see him as the Libyan leader,” President Dmitry Medvedev said, in a turn-around in Russia’s stance that was welcomed by summit host Nicolas Sarkozy of France and White House officials. Medvedev said if Qadhafi were to go “this would be useful for … the Libyan people. Then one can discuss how it can be done, which country could take him and on what terms, what he could retain and what he must lose.” Closing the two-day meeting, Sarkozy was able — by totaling up a range of international offers of aid and loans — to promise the Arab world $40 billion (28 billion euros) for development and democracy. “Democracy lays the best path to peace, stability, prosperity, shared growth and development,” the leaders declared, after meeting with prime ministers from post-revolutionary Tunisia and Egypt seeking support for reform. Presidents and prime ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States had met in the French resort of Deauville. They took a tough line with the regimes resisting pro-democratic revolts, warning Libya and Syria to halt the violent repression of their own peoples. “We demand the immediate cessation of the use of force against civilians by the Libyan regime forces as well as the cessation of all incitement to hostility and violence against the civilian population,” the statement said. “Qadhafi and the Libyan government have failed to fulfil their responsibility to protect the Libyan population and have lost all legitimacy. He has no future in a free, democratic Libya. He must go,” it warned. Sarkozy said there would be an intensification of military action against Qadhafi and Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that Britain would send Apache helicopter gunships to target Libyan forces at close quarters. “I talked late last night with the four other countries that are taking part in the operation over the last two months, and I believe we are entering a new phase,” Cameron said at his final summit press briefing. “There are signs that the momentum against Qadhafi is really building. The regime is on the back foot,” he added. US President Barack Obama said after talks with Sarkozy that “we have made progress on our Libya campaign” — referring to NATO’s air strikes in support of rebel forces — and vowed: “We are joined in resolve to finish the job.” Ahead of the summit, Russia — which has criticised the NATO air war on Qadhafi’s regime — was seen as reluctant to take a hard line, but it too toughened its stance on Libya during the Deauville meeting.Medvedev said later Russia would send its senior Africa envoy to the Libyan rebel bastion of Benghazi to contact the insurgents. The White House said Russia would share information on its dealings with Qadhafi and other Libyan officials. “We believe that Russia has a role to play going forward as a close partner of ours who also has discussions with the Libyan people,” deputy US national security advisor Ben Rhodes told journalists. Medvedev also said Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad should pass “from words to actions” in ending the deadly crackdown on protests against his regime. Russia nevertheless insisted on watering down an ultimatum to Syria, obliging its partners to drop a threat of United Nations Security Council sanctions in favour of a more general warning of “further measures”. “We call on the Syrian leadership to immediately stop using force and intimidation against the Syrian people,” the G8 said, even as troops loyal to Assad dispersed a new round of protests in Damascus. With popular revolts sweeping the region, the Group of Eight was expected to pledge billions in aid to help Tunisia and Egypt along the path towards democracy after their successful anti-regime uprisings earlier this year. Both economies were hit hard by the tumultuous events of January and February, and Egypt wants between 10 and 12 billion dollars in aid by the middle of next year, Tunisia 25 billion dollars over the next five years. “What President Sarkozy announced is a global package of 40 billion dollars for the region. This package has not been broken down by country,” Tunisia’s Finance Minister Jalloul Ayed said after Arab and African leaders met the G8.

Pakistani naval air base attack by militants

Pakistan on Monday regained control of a naval base in the country’s biggest city, 17 hours after heavily armed Taliban gunmen attacked, destroying two US-made surveillance planes and killing 10 personnel. It was the worst assault on a military base since the army headquarters was besieged in October 2009, piling further embarrassment on the armed forces three weeks after Osama bin Laden was found living under their noses. At least 8 navy and two rangers’ personnel are martyred in the attack. Four terrorists also killed. Army commandos cornered a team of terrorists in a naval base on Monday after the insurgents raided the complex the night before, destroying two US-supplied surveillance aircraft and killing at least 13 security officers, a navy spokesman said. Between 10 and 15 insurgents armed with grenades, rockets and automatic weapons stormed PNS Mehran late on Sunday before splitting into smaller groups, setting off explosions and hiding in the sprawling facility. The operation has ended but security officials are searching terrorists in the building. The raid was one of the most audacious in years of militant violence in Pakistan. The insurgent s ability to penetrate the high-security facility raised the possibility that they had inside help. At least 11 navy and two rangers personnel were killed, while 14 security officials were wounded, he said, adding that it was unclear how many militant casualties there were. This is the fourth major attack the group has claimed since the Bin Laden killing, including a car bombing that slightly injured American consulate workers in Peshawar and a twin-suicide attack that killed around 90 Pakistani paramilitary police recruits. The raid began with at least three loud explosions, which were heard by people who live around the naval air station. It was unclear what caused the explosions, but they set off raging fires that could be seen from far in the distance. The media teams outside the base heard at least six other explosions and sporadic gunfire. Authorities sent in several dozen navy and police commandos to battle the attackers, who responded with gunfire and grenades. At least two P-3C Orions, maritime surveillance aircraft given to Pakistan by the US, were destroyed, he said. The United States handed over two Orions to the Pakistan Navy at a ceremony at the base in June 2010 attended by 250 Pakistani and American officials. By late 2012, Pakistan would have eight of the planes. At least one media report said a team of American technicians were working on the aircraft at the time of the strike, but a US Embassy spokesman said no American was on the base. He also stated there were no foreigners inside the base.  Meanwhile, the naval chief, Noman Bashir, has called a high level meeting to discuss the situation. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks to avenge the May 2 death of bin Laden, said they had dispatched 15 to 20 suicide bombers equipped to fight for a week. “We had already warned after Osama’s martyrdom that we will carry out even bigger attacks,” Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. Bin Laden was killed by US commandos in a garrison town north of Islamabad, in a raid that humiliated Pakistan’s security establishment. The militants’ attack deep inside Karachi underlined the military’s vulnerability. An AFP reporter heard blasts and intermittent barrages of gunfire on Monday, and helicopters flying overhead. Dozens of ambulances queued outside the base, which is about a few kilometres from Karachi’s international airport. Malik said 10 security personnel were killed, including one navy officer, three navy firemen, three navy commandos, a sailor and two paramilitary soldiers, and 15 others wounded. “They have destroyed two P-3C Orion aircraft,” said Navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali. The attack was also likely to raise further concerns about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, which reportedly number more than 100. The New York Times said that a mere 24 kilometres away from PNS Mehran, Pakistan was believed to keep a large depot for nuclear weapons that can be delivered from the air. Malik refused to acknowledge any security lapse, saying the “rapid”response had prevented bigger losses and adding that a security alert had been ordered across the country in large cities to guard against future attacks. Soon after the operation was over in Karachi a bomb blast damaged a bridge on the main highway linking the capital Islamabad to the northwestern city of Peshawar, but caused no casualties, police officer Quresh Khan told AFP. In October 2009, Taliban militants besieged the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for two days, killing 22 people and raising serious questions over why it took the military so long to put down the assault. Karachi is Pakistan’s financial capital and the assault was the fourth on the navy in a month. Three bombings in late April killed nine people.

Obama’s 1967 border speech irks Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told President Barack Obama Friday that Israel could not accept his call to return to its “indefensible” 1967 borders to forge peace with the Palestinians. In a dramatic Oval Office appearance after two hours of talks, which ran considerably over time, Netanyahu warned that a “peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality.” “The only peace that will endure is one that is based on reality, on unshakeable facts. I think for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities,” a grim-faced Netanyahu said. “We don’t have a lot of margin for error, because Mr President, history will not give the Jewish people another chance.” Netanyahu said he would work with Obama to seek a secure peace for Israel, but also warned that Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas would have to choose between a new unity pact with the militant group Hamas or peace with Israel. “I hope he makes the right choice,” said Netanyahu, after aides had said before the meeting that the United States did not understand the realities on the ground facing Israel at a moment of extraordinary instability. Throughout the Israeli leader’s animated statement before the cameras, Obama watched Netanyahu impassively, from a nearby chair a few feet away, with his hand over his mouth. Earlier, Obama had admitted that Israel and his administration had some “differences” over the way forward in the Middle East, and argued the “Arab spring” was both a moment of opportunity and peril for peacemaking. He said that it was possible for the United States, the Palestinians and Israel to shape a deal allowing the Jewish state to secure its borders and not be vulnerable. And he agreed with Netanyahu that “the Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that’s been made between Fatah and Hamas.” Obama had said on Thursday that territorial lines in place before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, combined with land-swaps, should be the basis for talks on a peace deal with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has long opposed such a formulation, saying it would isolate major Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The prime minister arrived in Washington at dawn, with an aide saying his tough line was motivated by worries that Obama did not understand the threats Israel faces as popular revolts sweep the region. “There is a feeling that Washington does not understand the reality. Washington does not understand what we face,” the senior Israeli official traveling with Netanyahu said. The Israeli leader appeared particularly anxious about the situation on his country’s borders, after thousands of Palestinians massed at frontiers on the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon and Syria on the weekend anniversary of Israel’s creation in 1948. Analysts said Obama became the first president to specifically state that the 1967 borders should be the basis for peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, shut down over a settlements row last year. US officials had, however, privately been pushing the position for a while and the principle was close to the shape of a failed deal advanced by former president Bill Clinton at Camp David in 2000. Netanyahu however is urging Obama to commit to assurances laid out in 2004 by then-president George W. Bush, who said “new realities on the ground,” meant a “full and complete return” to 1967 borders was “unrealistic.” The New York Times reported late Thursday that Netanyahu had called US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prior to the speech to angrily demand that the language on the 1967 borders be dropped. Palestinians have responded to the speech cautiously, with Abbas calling an urgent meeting of top advisers to discuss the way forward. But despite laying down principles for a peace effort, Obama offered no new ideas on how to revive direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, which collapsed last year. On Sunday, the president will address the powerful Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) before heading off on a week-long trip to Europe. Netanyahu will also speak to AIPAC and will make a joint address to Congress next week, encouraged by Republican leaders who support his position.

Capture or Kill Osama Bin Laden US military mission

It was the single most important U.S. military mission of the last decade - capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. With state of the art technology and an unparalleled level of secrecy, every part of the mission had been planned to the second. But new details have emerged showing just how close run the fabled SEAL Team Six assault on Bin Laden's hideout was, after the plan quickly fell apart. Adding exclusive new details to the account of the assault , officials described just how the SEAL raiders were forced to ditch a foundering helicopter right outside the elusive terrorist's door, ruining the plan for a surprise assault. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials close to the operation revealed how originally two SEAL teams were to enter Bin Laden's house separately - one from the roof and one from the ground. The aim was to 'squeeze' the terror mastermind as the raiders worked their way through the complex from both sides in search of their target. But almost immediately the raid ran into trouble after one of the specially adapted 'stealth' Blackhawk helicopters became unsteady and had to ditch - nose first - into the compound's courtyard. Loosing the element of suprise, the SEAL's switched to plan B as they busted into the ground floor and began a floor-by-floor storming of the house, working up to the top level where they had assumed bin Laden - if he was in the house - would be. It took approximately 15 minutes to reach Bin Laden, one official said. The raiders came face-to-face with the Al-Qaeda leader in a hallway outside his bedroom, and three of the Americans stormed in after him, U.S. officials have revealed. Fearing he would detonate a suicide vest, the SEALS flung his wives aside before shooting him in the head and chest - known as 'double tapping'. The next 23 minutes were spent blowing up the broken Black Hawk, after rounding up nine women and 18 children, to get them out of range of the blast. The decision to launch on that moonless May 2 night came largely because too many American officials had been briefed on the plan and it was feared it could be leaked to the press and Bin Laden would disappear yet again. The job was given to elite SEAL Team 6 unit, just back from Afghanistan, who had been hunting bin Laden in eastern Afghanistan since 2001. Five aircraft flew from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with three school-bus-size Chinook helicopters landing in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way to bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. Aboard two Black Hawk helicopters were 23 SEALs, an interpreter and a tracking dog named Cairo. Nineteen SEALs would enter the compound, and three of them would find bin Laden, one official said, with two dozen more SEALs there as backup. The Black Hawks were specially engineered to muffle the tail rotor and engine sound.

The added weight of the stealth technology meant cargo was calculated to the gram, with weather factored in. The Black Hawks were to drop the SEALs and depart in less than two minutes, in hopes locals would assume they were Pakistani aircraft visiting the nearby military academy. One was to hover above the compound, with SEALs sliding down ropes into the open courtyard, while the other was to hover above the roof to drop SEALs there, then land more SEALs outside, plus an interpreter and the dog, who would track anyone who tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security forces. If troops appeared, the plan was to hunker down in the compound, avoiding armed confrontation with the Pakistanis while officials in Washington negotiated their passage out. The two SEAL teams inside would work toward each other, in a simultaneous attack from above and below, their weapons silenced, guaranteeing surprise, one of the officials said. They would have stormed the building in a matter of minutes, as they'd done time and again in two training models of the compound. But the plan unravelled as the first helicopter tried to hover over the compound. The Black Hawk skittered around uncontrollably because of the hot weather and the heat-thinned air forced the pilot to land. As he did, the tail and rotor got caught on one of the compound's 12ft high walls. The pilot quickly buried the aircraft's nose in the dirt to keep it from tipping over, and the SEALs rushed into an outer courtyard. The other aircraft did not even attempt hovering, landing its SEALs outside the compound. Now, the raiders were outside, and they'd lost the element of surprise. They had trained for this, and started blowing their way in with explosives, through walls and doors, working their way up the three-level house from the bottom. They had to blow their way through barriers at each stair landing, firing back, as one of the men in the house fired at them. They shot three men as well as one woman, whom U.S. officials have said lunged at the SEALs. Small knots of children were on every level, including the balcony of bin Laden's room. As three of the SEALs reached the top of the steps on the third floor, they saw bin Laden standing at the end of the hall, before he ducked into his room. The three SEALs assumed he was going for a weapon, and one by one they rushed after him through the door, one official described. Two women were in front of bin Laden - yelling and trying to protect him, two officials said. The first SEAL grabbed the two women and shoved them away, fearing they might be wearing suicide bomb vests, they said. The SEAL behind him opened fire at bin Laden, putting one bullet in his chest, and one in his head. Back at the White House Situation Room, word was relayed that bin Laden had been found, signalled by the code word 'Geronimo.' That was not bin Laden's code name, but rather a representation of the letter 'G.' Each step of the mission was labelled alphabetically, and 'Geronimo' meant that the raiders had reached step 'G,' the killing or capture of bin Laden, two officials said. As the SEALs began photographing the body for identification, the raiders found an AK-47 rifle and a Russian-made Makarov pistol on a shelf by the door they'd just run through. Bin Laden hadn't touched them. They were among a handful of weapons that were removed to be inventoried. One of the waiting Chinooks flew in to pick up bin Laden's body, the raiders from the broken aircraft and the weapons, documents and other materials seized at the site. The level of distrust between the U.S. and Pakistan is such that keeping the allies in the dark was a major factor in planning the raid, and led to using the high-tech but sometimes unpredictable helicopter technology that nearly unhinged the mission. When the SEAL team met President Barack Obama, he did not ask who shot bin Laden but simply thanked each member of the team. In a few weeks, the team that killed bin Laden will go back to training, and in a couple of months, back to work overseas. 

zaviews NeWz ( Queen Ireland visit, Syria, IMF Chief and Libya)

Queen Ireland visit She went to meet with Irish President Mary McAleese. The historic visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won independence from London in 1921, is being held amid the biggest security operation mounted by the state. It is designed to show how warm neighbourly relations have replaced centuries of animosity, but the discovery of the bomb on a bus headed for Dublin, and a coded warning on Monday about a possible bomb in London, were stark reminders that a small minority remain violently opposed to continued British rule in Northern Ireland. The Queen landed at Baldonnel military airport just before midday, where she and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh were greeted by British Ambassador Julian King, Ireland s Ambassador to the UK Bobby McDonagh and Ireland s deputy Prime Minister Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore. Police in Northern Ireland are on full alert against attempts by dissident republicans to grab headlines during the queen s visit. Streets across the capital were sealed off, with police on almost every corner and helicopters whirring overhead.

Syria President Bashar al-Assad vowed Saturday to lift the Emergency Law this week. Protesters rip posters of a smiling President Assad in Damascus, they chant "the people want the fall of the regime." Tens of thousands have filled cities across the nation for nearly a month under the same slogans of the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. The law - in place nearly 50 years - bans gatherings of no more than five and serves to throttle public dissent. But demonstrators are still demanding the release political prisoners and dismantle the repressive state security apparatus, among other reforms. On the other hand, fleeing Syrian villagers who continued to stream into Lebanon on Tuesday said they saw at least 10 tanks around the villages of Arida and Tel Kelakh which troops entered on Saturday after protests erupted against president Bashar al-Assad.

IMF Chief After a weekend in jail, the chief of the International Monetary Fund was denied bail on Monday. Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been arrested on the charges of trying to rape a hotel maid as allegations of other, similar attacks by him, began to emerge. In France, a lawyer for a novelist said the writer is likely to file a criminal complaint, accusing Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her nine years ago. A French lawmaker accused him of attacking other maids in previous stays at the same luxury hotel. And in New York, prosecutors said they are working to verify reports of at least one other case, which they suggested was overseas. Strauss-Kahn s weekend arrest rocked the financial world as the IMF grapples with the European debt crisis, and upended French presidential politics. Strauss-Kahn, a member of France s Socialist party, was widely considered the strongest potential challenger next year to President Nicolas Sarkozy. Making his first appearance on the sex charges, a grim-looking Strauss-Kahn stood slumped before a judge in a dark raincoat and open-collared shirt. The 62-year-old, silver-haired Strauss-Kahn said nothing as a lawyer professed his innocence and strove in vain to get him released on bail. The judge ruled against him after prosecutors warned that the wealthy banker might flee to France and put himself beyond the reach of the US law like the filmmaker Roman Polanski.

Libya The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor applied Monday for a warrant for Muammar Qadhafi’s arrest for crimes against humanity, a day after the Libyan strongman’s regime offered a truce in return for a halt to Nato-led air strikes. In Libya’s capital, two explosions were heard overnight Tuesday in the Bab Al-Aziziya area of Tripoli where strongman Muammar Qadhafi’s residence is located, an AFP journalist reported. A column of white smoke could be seen rising from the area after two explosions at about 1:30 am local time and ambulance sirens could be heard. Nato-led aircraft meanwhile launched fresh raids on an outlying suburb of the capital Tripoli, destroying a radar base, the state news agency JANA and residents said. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said warrants were also sought for one of Qadhafi’s sons, Seif al-Islam, and intelligence head Abdullah Senussi for crimes against humanity. “Today, the office of the prosecutor requested the International Criminal Court arrest warrants,” Moreno-Ocampo told a news conference in The Hague, where the court is based. The Argentine prosecutor said there was evidence “that Muammar Qadhafi personally ordered attacks on innocent Libyan civilians”. A panel of ICC judges will now decide whether to accept or reject the prosecutor’s application. “Nato doubtless will appreciate the ICC investigation and indictment of top Libyan leaders, including Qadhafi,” said David Scheffer, an ex-US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, who teaches international law at Northwestern University. And Scheffer argued that the move might increase pressure on Qadhafi to think about finding refuge in a country that has not agreed to ICC jurisdiction. Protests against Qadhafi’s four-decade rule began on February 15 and Moreno-Ocampo said thousands of people had now been killed in the violence and around 750,000 people forced to flee. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on the international community to “fully support” the ICC. “I welcome this announcement. The human rights situation in western Libya and the behaviour of the Qadhafi regime remains of grave concern,” Hague said. The rebels too hailed the move by the ICC but said that Qadhafi ought to be tried in Libya first.

The aftermath of Osama Bin Laden Update

Speaking in the capital where he was meeting with Pakistani officials, Sen. John Kerry announced that Pakistan has agreed to return the tail of a stealth U.S. helicopter that American commandos had to destroy and leave behind in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. One of the Black Hawks flown by an elite Army unit called Task Force 160 - which carried the Navy SEAL commandos - lost lift and was forced into a hard landing at Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbotabad. The pilot nudged the Black Hawk forward into a controlled crash - saving the mission from disaster, but sheering off the helicopter's tail section. Pictures of the tail section left behind indicated the Black Hawk had been modified with stealth technology. Bill Sweetman, Editor in Chief for Defense Technology for Aviation Week, told "The Early Show" that some unusual features were spotted in the wreckage, including special materials covering the tail rotor hub to reduce the helicopter's radar signature, and extra rotor blades to make it quieter. "At a range of a couple hundred feet even, if you've got a bit of urban background noise, you're not going to hear it," said Sweetman. Aviation Week published photos of the tail section which showed stealth-configured shapes on the boom and tip fairings, swept stabilizers, and a silver-loaded infra-red suppression finish. Stealth helicopter revealed by bin Laden raid. The commandos destroyed the helicopter following the crash so that it could not be salvaged, but the Pentagon later asked Pakistan for the sensitive materials to be returned. Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the most high-profile American emissary to visit Pakistan since the raid earlier this month on the northwest garrison city of Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the al Qaeda chief and four others were killed by a team of Navy SEALs.

Drone attack

Two US drone strikes targeted a suspected insurgent compound and a vehicle in North Waziristan. Both the attacks took place in Mir Ali town, some 40 kilometres east of Miranshah in North Waziristan along the Afghan border. The two US drones fired two missiles into a suspected militant compound, and minutes later another drone fired two missiles at a vehicle close to the compound, officials said. “At least twelve militants were killed in both the US drone strikes. The vehicle was completely burnt and the compound was also destroyed,” according to a security official. The attack coincided with a visit by US Senator John Kerry to Islamabad, the first visit by a senior US figure since the Abbottabad operation, in a bid to smooth relations. Earlier, the parliament had called for an end to US drone strikes.

The aftermath of Osama Bin Laden

Tension between the ISI and CIA surfaced after the US military operation in Abbottabad. A British newspaper claims that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) stopped sharing information with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after the covert US operation in Abbottabad. The paper claims that the ISI is not sharing information about the terrorists in the tribal areas and other operations with the CIA. This has put the various European countries along with Canada and America at a security risk. The paper also claims that rich people from the Arab states often used to meet with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda officials in Abbottabad. The administration of US President Barack Obama is divided over the future of its relationship with Pakistan following the killing of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, The Washington Post reported Sunday. US commandos killed bin Laden in an urban compound only 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the Pakistani capital Islamabad on May 2. The newspaper said that some officials, particularly in the White House, have advocated a strong US response. “You can’t continue business as usual,” the paper quotes one of several senior administration officials as saying who discussed the sensitive issue only on the condition of anonymity. “You have to somehow convey to the Pakistanis that they have arrived at a big choice.” “People who were prepared to listen to (Pakistan’s) story for a long time are no longer prepared to listen,” the official went on to say. But few officials are willing to consider the alternatives if Pakistan makes the wrong choice, the report said. Every available option — from limiting US aid and official contacts to unleashing more unilateral ground attacks against terrorist targets — jeopardizes existing Pakistani help in the war on terror, The Post noted. Military success and an eventual negotiated settlement of the Afghanistan war are seen as virtually impossible without some level of Pakistani assistance, the paper pointed out. US Congress man Mike Rogers alleged that al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was hiding in Pakistan. Chairman of the Congressional Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers was reluctant to considering Pakistan a partner in the war against terrorism. He said that Pakistan-US relations were going through a difficult phase and the word ‘ally’ was too big to be used for Pakistan. He said that it was a golden opportunity for Pakistan to inform the US about the hideout of al-Zawahri.

The hunt for Osama bin Laden

A central figure in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the debate over harsh interrogation methods was held in secret CIA detention, then sent back to Pakistan and now believed to have returned to the battlefield. US counter-terrorism officials said Hassan Ghul is an al Qaeda operative who at one point carried messages between Iraqi insurgents who established an al Qaeda affiliate after US troops overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. Precise details of the mysterious Ghul’s role in al Qaeda and the circumstances of his arrest are murky. But five US officials familiar with Ghul’s role in the epic hunt for bin Laden said he gave up what turned out to be vital information about an al Qaeda courier who eventually led US intelligence to bin Laden’s fortified hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. While detained in secret CIA prisons, the officials and declassified government documents said, Ghul was subjected to controversial “enhanced interrogation” techniques approved by the George W. Bush administration but abandoned amid accusations they constituted torture. But did harsh interrogation practices really make Ghul give up the critical information which helped lead US commandos to bin Laden? Some officials familiar with still-classified records of Ghul’s sojourn as a CIA prisoner said the case is far from proven. For months, investigators for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, have been poring through millions of pages of reports generated by the CIA’s secret detention and interrogation program. Earlier this week, Feinstein told Reuters about a CIA detainee who “did provide useful and accurate intelligence.” But she added: “This was acquired before the CIA used their enhanced interrogation techniques against the detainee.” Three US officials said Feinstein was referring to Ghul. While there is a paper trail documenting what Ghul said, when he said it, what techniques agency interrogators used on him and when they used them, this record remains classified. Feinstein spoke after Sen. John McCain made a Senate floor speech insisting that “it was not torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees that got us the major leads” that led to bin Laden. In a letter to McCain obtained by Reuters, CIA director Leon Panetta was equivocal about the role enhanced interrogation played in producing intelligence on bin Laden. “Some of the detainees who provided useful information about the facilitator/courier’s role had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques,” Panetta wrote. But he added: “Whether those techniques were the ‘only timely and effective way’ to obtain such information is a matter of debate and cannot be established definitively.” But other US officials familiar with the secret records say that even if Ghul did give up critical information about bin Laden’s courier before being subjected to coercive interrogations, that is not proof they had no impact. One official said it is possible Ghul gave up vital information out of fear he was about to be subjected to such harsh tactics. One key witness who might be able to resolve the debate is Hassan Ghul himself. But US counterterrorism officials acknowledged that after the CIA released him into the custody of Pakistan, and Pakistani authorities set him free around 2007, he is thought to have rejoined militants and returned to the battlefield. His current whereabouts are unknown. The publicly available paper trail on Ghul, and the CIA’s dealings with him, is much thinner than that on other detainees also subjected to enhanced interrogations, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Reuters pieced together an outline of Ghul’s story from CIA and Justice Department documents, as well as Guantanamo Bay detainee reports released by WikiLeaks. According to US officials, Ghul, a Pakistani national, was reported captured in Iraq in January 2004. The 9/11 Commission Report describes him as an al Qaeda facilitator. The CIA subjected Ghul to enhance interrogation techniques at an undisclosed location, according to a May 2005 memo from the Justice Department to senior CIA lawyer John A. Rizzo. The memo was a response to a CIA request for legal guidance on use of enhanced interrogation practices. The Justice Department cited his interrogation as one example of the acceptable use of those techniques. “The Interrogation team ‘carefully analyzed Ghul’s responsiveness to different areas of inquiry’ during this time and noted that his resistance increased as questioning moved to his ‘knowledge of operational terrorist activities,’” it said. Ghul was subjected to “attention grasp, walling, facial grasp, facial slap, wall standing, stress positions and sleep deprivation” by his interrogation team, the document says.

Drama of Osama’s or Obama’s?

In the aftermath of the American military action that killed Osama bin Laden, the debate in Pakistan has decisively shifted to the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty by the US, as was perhaps expected. The big question as to why the world’s most wanted terrorist was found here in the first place has all but disappeared from the national radar. Once again the nation is found dozing off at a time when hectic and earnest efforts are needed to inquire into the matter that can bring Pakistan to the centre stage of the US-led ‘war on terror’. Let’s face it: it is less about our sovereignty and more about accountability to the people of Pakistan and to the international community. If we have terrorists with global linkages living in and working out of Pakistan unbeknown to our otherwise menacing security agencies and we don’t get on their trail, the US (and others) will. The outrage here should have been over the fact that bin Laden was living here for the past many years undetected, and not over who took him out with the least collateral damage caused to Pakistan in the process. It is still not past the time when the war against terrorism should be owned and called our own battle. Terrorism has killed and maimed more Pakistanis than any other nation anywhere in the world since 9/11, but there isn’t much we done about it. For instance, how many terrorists are apprehended by our law enforcement agencies and brought to justice? Our security forces can find and kill an octogenarian Baloch leader hiding in a cave because he and a handful of his close associates had defied a general but they cannot be commissioned to nab the terrorists who have attacked the armed forces, the police and innocent citizens alike. They have not even spared our dead ones and attacked the shrines regularly. This is simply beyond comprehension. Even in those rare cases when terrorists are apprehended, the police have failed to build a strong prosecution case against them and the courts have had to let them walk free for lack of evidence. Not only that, known and dreaded militants and hijackers wanted by India and others, the entire Islamabad Lal Masjid brigade and the likes, are free citizens who do not operate out of their mountain hideouts but are allowed to disseminate their hate-filled agenda in the cities and towns across the land. Banning outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaatud Dawa, Jandullah, Jaish-i-Mohammed, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and so many others, which openly brook sympathy for al Qaeda and its global terrorist agenda, has not made their leadership run for cover. Far from it. They are free to preach, train and plan attacks across Pakistan, and perhaps elsewhere. Does any other country provide hate-mongers such an open platform from which to operate? Then, there are tiers of extremist elements that are well tolerated by the state. A majority of these comprise homegrown militants and not runaway fugitives from their home countries. It starts right there in our parliament where MPs belonging to rightwing parties derail all and any debate on curbing extremism. The PML-Q leaders protected the Lal Masjid militants after Musharraf’s action against them, and even announced lifetime scholarships for their upkeep; Mullah Fazlullah of Swat and his Taliban commanders are at large. The PML-N leaders have known allies among extremist elements in southern Punjab, the hotbed of Punjabi Taliban and the like. Both the parties deny the existence of Punjabi Taliban, thereby protecting such elements and their identities from public scrutiny. Imran Khan’s PTI disowns the ‘war on terror’ altogether, calling the tribal jihadists patriotic Pakistanis who have made many sacrifices in the past. The presence of the religious parties and their stance in parliament is blatant. There are no subtleties involved in deciphering their views on the raging extremism. The JUI and the Jamaat-i-Islami vehemently demand that Pakistan opt out of the partnership with America in its fight against terrorism. The JUI MPs condemned the killing of bin Laden in most unequivocal terms and led protest rallies. Others offered funeral prayers for him in the streets of this country. Rightist elements also man the airwaves of Pakistan’s independent media. Obscurantist talk show hosts and lecturers holding forth on geo-political affairs is the norm on TV. Over the years so much ground has been ceded to extremists that their spin doctoring of issues has now become the mainstream discourse in the media. It is an environment where global thought patterns in interpreting current affairs are rejected and logical debates and discourses snubbed. Xenophobia in regard to the rest of the world envelopes most national discourse. Issues are twisted beyond recognition, and imagination is allowed to run wild, which brings into spotlight nothing but Pakistan’s enemies surrounding it from all sides. This victim mindset that we continue to nurture by evading the real problem of extremism and not doing anything about it, places us at the mercy of the Osamas and the Obamas of the world. It is a free country for either to beat down upon, as a meek government and a powerful military establishment look the other way. Fortified and ensconced in the safety net of the security apparatus that both the civil and military leadership is, it is hard to understand why the leadership should not own and fight the war of Pakistan’s survival against extremism with full force of the state. Complacence is a respectable word for it implies that a conscious choice has been made; ‘free for all’ is more likely what is at work here.

The death of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden Views on Zaviews

Part of a damaged helicopter is seen lying near the compound where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad May 2, 2011

Osama bin Laden's mansion in Google Earth

Soldiers patrol past the house where Osama bin Laden lived. It is only a few streets from Pakistan's officer-training academy

Inside bin Laden's lair

US helicopter in flames

Pakistani army soldiers secure the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, north west Pakistan

Osama bin Laden death Military operation conducted by the US army

Pakistan on Monday confirmed the death of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in an “intelligence-driven military operation” conducted by the US army, in the early hours at Abbottabad. A statement from the Foreign Office said the most wanted terrorist mastermind was killed in an operation “conducted by the US forces in accordance with declared US policy that Osama bin Ladin will be eliminated in a direct action by the US forces, wherever found in the world.” The Foreign Office termed it “a major setback to terrorist organizations around the world.” The statement said President Obama telephoned President Zardari on the successful US operation which resulted in killing of Osama bin Ladin.  Osama bin Ladin’s death illustrates the resolve of the international community including Pakistan to fight and eliminate terrorism.  The Foreign Office statement said al-Qaeda had declared war on Pakistan. Scores of Al-Qaeda sponsored terrorist attacks resulted in deaths of thousands of innocent Pakistani men, women and children. Almost, 30,000 Pakistani civilians lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the last few years. More than 5,000 Pakistani security and armed forces officials have been martyred in Pakistan’s campaign against Al-Qaeda, other terrorist organizations and affiliates. Pakistan has played a significant role in efforts to eliminate terrorism. “We have had extremely effective intelligence sharing arrangements with several intelligence agencies including that of the US. We will continue to support international efforts against terrorism.” “It is Pakistan’s stated policy that it will not allow its soil to be used in terrorist attacks against any country. Pakistan’s political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism,” the statement said. Pakistan must prove to the United States that it did not know al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in a compound in an affluent neighborhood near the capital of Islamabad, a top US lawmaker said on Monday. “This is going to be a time of real pressure” on Pakistan “to basically prove to us that they didn’t know that bin Laden was there,” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman said at a news conference.

Osama bin Laden Mansion

2, a photo by zaviews on Flickr.

After 10 years of searching in hopes of locating bin Laden in some desolate cave, bin Laden was finally found in a million dollar mansion. The compound, located in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a medium size city located about an hour from Islamabad, was believed to have been built in 2005 with the full intent of hiding Osama bin Laden. The mansion was set on a hilltop and surrounded by 16-foot-high concrete walls fit with barbed wire.

interior of mansion where Osama Bin Laden was killed

1, a photo by zaviews on Flickr.

Here are some of the video frame grabs, obtained from ABC News on May 2, 2011, showing the interior in the mansion where Osama Bin Laden was killed May 1. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama said on Sunday.

Osama killed

US Navy SEALs led the commando operation in Pakistan that ended the life of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden with a bullet to the head, a US official told AFP. The SEALs, which stands for Sea, Air, Land, are elite troops used for some of the riskiest anti-terrorism missions, as well as behind-the-lines reconnaissance and unconventional warfare. On loan to the CIA for the mission Sunday night into Monday, the SEAL team launched the assault from helicopters on a heavily fortified villa in a city near Islamabad that US intelligence had identified as bin Laden’s hideout. “Responsibility for the raid is Leon Panetta’s; It was executed by Navy SEALs,” said the official, referring by name to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. CNN described the operation as a “kill mission” but US officials told AFP bin Laden “resisted as we expected.” The Al-Qaeda leader’s body was buried at sea, two officials said on condition of anonymity. “We wanted to avoid a situation where it would become a shrine,” one of the officials said. And there was no time for negotiations with other countries to arrange for a possible burial, the official told AFP. DNA tests have confirmed that Osama bin Laden is dead, a senior US official said Monday, a day after a daring raid by US special forces on the Al-Qaeda leader’s compound in Pakistan. The official confirmed on condition of anonymity that a DNA match had been established with bin Laden’s body before it was buried at sea after the raid.

John Paul II declared ‘blessed’

Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the status of “blessed” on his predecessor John Paul II on Sunday in front of a cheering crowd of a million people, putting the late pope one step away from sainthood. A giant banner bearing a youthful portrait of the Polish pontiff was unveiled over the facade of Saint Peter’s Basilica after Benedict pronounced the formula of beatification just six years after John Paul’s death. Eighty-seven official delegations were also in attendance and pilgrims waved flags from around the world in the sun-drenched square, reprising the chant of “Santo Subito!” (Sainthood Now!) that had been shouted at his funeral. “We’ve come to show him we love him,” said Marta Goena, a 23-year-old fashion student who came on an overnight bus from Paris for the mass. “John Paul was young in spirit and very close to the people,” she said. The pope declared October 22, the day when John Paul officially started his pontificate in 1978 as a day for the veneration of John Paul II. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, the 50-year-old French nun who attributes her recovery from Parkison’s disease to the miraculous intercession of the late pope, could be seen smiling and applauding at the emotional ceremony. Simon-Pierre’s recovery has been acknowledged as the miracle required to justify John Paul II’s beatification after years of research by the Vatican. A second proven miracle is now required for John Paul to be declared saint, and the Vatican is already sifting through hundreds of reported miracles. Benedict defended his decision to fast-track John Paul’s cause in his homily at the beatification mass and paid tribute to the late pope’s “strength of a titan” in defending Christianity and fighting off Marxist ideology. On a personal note, the pope said he himself had been inspired by his predecessor, particularly for his forbearance during years of ill health. “His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me,” he said. “He remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering. The Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained a rock,” Benedict added. Experts said the beatification could help the Vatican burnish an image badly tarnished by paedophile priest scandals, while others have been critical of the speeding-up of a procedure that usually takes decades if not centuries. John Paul’s pontificate helped inspire youth groups and lay religious movements, but his critics have accused him of turning a blind eye to the child abuse scandals which first erupted in the United States in 2000. Many agree however that it was a remarkable papacy in which John Paul survived an assassination attempt in 1981, built ties with Judaism and Islam and even apologised for the mistakes and sins of the Catholic Church.

John Paul was the first non-Italian pontiff in more than four centuries. He became known for his extensive foreign travel and succeeded in giving new strength to the Church before illness sapped his energies. He died on April 2, 2005, suffering from an acute case of Parkinson’s. Following the mass, Benedict knelt and prayed in front of John Paul’s coffin inside Saint Peter’s. Church leaders kissed the simple wooden coffin and then a long procession of thousands of pilgrims filed past. The coffin, which was exhumed on Friday, is expected to be laid to rest on Monday in a chapel near Michelangelo’s famous Pieta statue in the basilica. A phial of blood John Paul’s blood, which was collected during one of his hospitalisations, was also put on display for veneration by pilgrims. In a message to the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics ahead of Sunday’s grand ceremony, Benedict called the weekend of prayer “a feast of faith”. Stanislaw Motyka, 62, a pilgrim wearing traditional Polish costume, said: “My only hope is to live to see him be made a saint.”An 80-year-old Spanish cardinal who had travelled to Rome for the beatification died of a heart attack shortly before the start of the ceremony. Tens of thousands of faithful braved rain across Poland to fete the beatification, with crowds massing around huge video screens in the capital Warsaw that beamed the three-hour long mass live from Saint Peter’s Square. Among those attending the mass in Rome was Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who was travelling under a special exemption from a European Union travel ban imposed in 2002 over extensive human rights abuses in his country. The presidents of Italy, Mexico and Poland were also in attendance, along with a delegation from Israel, a country with which the Holy See first established diplomatic relations under John Paul’s guidance.