1. White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed - CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/03/politics/main20059562.shtm...
May 4, 2011 12:49 AM
Print
Text
White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney gestures during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, May 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn
Kaster)
The killing of Osama bin Laden
Bin Laden's former No. 2 looking to make his mark
Pakistanis rally, condemn U.S. bin Laden killing
A year after bin Laden raid, al Qaeda weakened
Panetta on bin Laden raid: It had all proven right
Obama, Karzai ink partnership deal
Complete Coverage »
WASHINGTON - A U.S. commando's curt message to superiors signaled the end had come for the world's most wanted terrorist: "Geronimo EKIA,"
meaning enemy killed in action.
Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader who liked to pose with a menacing AK-47 assault rifle in his hand or by his side, was discovered without a gun
by the Navy SEALs who barged into his room and shot him dead.
The White House on Tuesday gave a more complete picture of the assault — and corrected some key details from earlier official accounts — as the
team that pulled off the storied raid in Pakistan briefed officials and rested back at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.
Special Report: The killing of Osama bin Laden
The administration possesses graphic images of bin Laden's corpse, at least one of which is likely to be released, according to CIA Director Leon
Panetta. Officials hope that doing so would quiet any doubts that bin Laden is indeed dead. The worry is that anti-U.S. sentiment would be inflamed as
a result.
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has also had the photos described to him and said it "does sound very gruesome."
Bin Laden was shot twice at close range, once in the chest and once in the head, right above his left eye and that bullet opened hi skull, exposing his
brain and it also blew out his eye. So these are not going to be pictures for the squeamish," Martin said.
How did bin Laden resist Navy SEALs without a weapon?
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., among the lawmakers who had the images described to them, played down the concern of inflaming anti-U.S. anger. "They're
not going to scare people off," he said. "Nothing more than you'd expect with a person with a bullet in his head."
Codenamed Geronimo after the Apache fighter of the late 1800s who was ultimately captured by the U.S., bin Laden was buried at sea from an
American ship scant hours after his death.
White House officials initially suggested bin Laden had been holding a gun and perhaps firing at U.S. forces. The corrected account raised questions
about whether the Americans ever planned to take him alive, or simply were out to kill him.
Bin Laden mission was roll of the dice for Obama
1 of 3 5/22/2012 4:37 PM

2. White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed - CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/03/politics/main20059562.shtm...
Panetta told "PBS NewsHour" that bin Laden "made some threatening moves" that "represented a clear threat to our guys" but was not more specific
about what the unarmed terrorist did as the commandos engaged others at the compound in a firefight and burst into their prey's room.
"I don't think he had a lot of time to say anything," Panetta said. "It was a firefight going up that compound. ... This was all split-second action on the
part of the SEALs."
Panetta underscored that Mr. Obama had given permission to kill the terrorist leader: "The authority here was to kill bin Laden," he said. "And
obviously, under the rules of engagement, if he had in fact thrown up his hands, surrendered and didn't appear to be representing any kind of threat,
then they were to capture him. But they had full authority to kill him."
Treasure trove of al Qaeda intel combed for gold
After they shot him in the head and chest, the SEAL team in just minutes quickly swept bin Laden's compound for useful intelligence, making off with
a cache of computer equipment and documents. The CIA was hurriedly setting up a task force to review the material from the highest level of al
Qaeda's leadership.
The documents provide a rare opportunity for U.S. intelligence. When a midlevel terrorist is captured, his bosses know exactly what information might
be compromised and can change plans. When the boss is taken, everything might be compromised but nobody knows for sure.
The revised account of bin Laden's final moments was one of many official details that have changed since he was killed in the nighttime raid early
Monday morning in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. The White House misidentified which of bin Laden's sons was killed — it was Khalid, not
Hamza. Officials incorrectly said bin Laden's wife died in gunfire while serving as his human shield. That actually was the wife of a bin Laden aide, and
she was just caught in crossfire, the White House said Tuesday.
Bin Laden news gives Obama 11% approval bump
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney attributed those discrepancies to the fog of war, saying the information was coming in bit by bit and was still
being reviewed. Nevertheless, the contradictory statements may raise suspicions about the White House's version of events, given that no independent
account from another source is likely to emerge. The only non-U.S. witnesses to survive the raid are in Pakistani custody.
Five people were killed in the raid, officials said: bin Laden; his son; his most trusted courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti; and al-Kuwaiti's wife and
brother. The latest White House account leaves open the question of whether there was any gunfire from bin Laden's defenders in his room before the
commandos shot him.
President Barack Obama prepared to visit New York City's ground zero on Thursday to mark the end to one of history's most intense manhunts and to
remember anew the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the hands of bin Laden's al Qaeda organization.
Bin Laden's neighbors noticed unusual things
In Washington, questions flew about whether Pakistan was complicit in protecting the mastermind of those attacks. Several Republicans and
Democrats in Congress have raised the possibility of cutting off U.S. aid to Pakistan. The Pakistani government has denied suggestions that its security
forces knew anything about bin Laden's hideout or failed to spot suspicious signs in a city with a heavy military presence.
In a closed-door briefing for lawmakers Tuesday, Panetta said, "Pakistan was involved or incompetent," a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Pakistan criticized the American raid in its sovereign territory as "unauthorized unilateral action."
While tensions grew, efforts also were apparent to contain the damage in an important if checkered relationship. The Obama administration pushed
back against the talk of punishing Pakistan. So did Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who said, "Having a robust partnership with Pakistan is
critical to breaking the back of al Qaeda and the rest of them."
Pictures: Osama's hideaway
Pictures: Osama bin Laden
Pictures: Osama bin Laden killed - America reacts
And Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that despite difficult relations with Pakistan, "They have
allowed us to pursue our drone program. We've taken out over 16 of the top 20 al Qaeda leaders because of that. That's cooperation."
For the long-term legacy of the most successful counterterrorism operation in U.S. history, the fact that bin Laden was unarmed is unlikely to matter
much to the Americans he declared war against. President George W. Bush famously said he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive," and the CIA's top
counterterrorism official once promised to bring bin Laden's head back on a stake.
Yet just 24 hours before the White House acknowledged that bin Laden had been unarmed, Mr. Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, John
Brennan, said, "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do
that."
Will it matter around the world? Some may try to make much of it in Pakistan and elsewhere.
"This country has gone through a lot of trauma in terms of violence, and whether or not he was armed is not going to make a difference to people who
were happy to see the back of him," said Mosharraf Zaidi, a political analyst and columnist in Pakistan. Yet, he said, "The majority have a mistrust of
America, and this will reinforce their mistrust of America."
2 of 3 5/22/2012 4:37 PM

3. White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed - CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/03/politics/main20059562.shtm...
Mr. Obama and his national security team followed the operation as it unfolded, watching television monitors, the air thick with tension at the White
House. But Panetta said on PBS that the president and others gathered at the White House did not actually witness bin Laden being killed.
Nerves were raw when one of the two Black Hawk helicopters that descended into the bin Laden compound Monday fell heavily to the ground.
Officials believe that was due to higher-than-expected air temperature that interfered with the chopper's ability to hover — an aeronautical condition
known as "hot and high."
The SEALs all got out of the downed helicopter and proceeded into the compound. As they swept through the property, they handcuffed those they
encountered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of their target. Many SEAL team members carry helmet-mounted cameras, but the video
beamed back to Washington did not show the fateful showdown with bin Laden, officials said.
That word came from the SEALs on the ground: "Geronimo EKIA." The CIA's makeshift command center erupted in applause as the SEALs
helicoptered to safety.
3 of 3 5/22/2012 4:37 PM