New U.S. Account Says Bin Laden Was Unarmed During Raid

New U.S. Account Says Bin Laden Was Unarmed During Raid

by MARK LANDLER and HELENE COOPER

Osama bin Laden was not carrying a weapon when he was killed by American troops in a fortified house in Pakistan, the White House said Tuesday, as it revised its initial account of the nighttime raid.
Members of a Navy Seals team burst in on Bin Laden in the compound where he was hiding and shot him in a room on an upper floor, after a fierce gun battle with other operatives of Al Qaeda on the first floor.
Bin Laden’s wife, who was with him in the room, “rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed,” said the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, reading from the brief account, which was provided by the Defense Department. “Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed.”
Mr. Carney said that Bin Laden’s lack of a weapon did not mean he was ready to surrender, and he and other officials reiterated that this was a violent scene, that there was heavy fire from others in the house, and that the commandos did not know whether the occupants were wearing suicide belts or other explosives.
Still, the account diverged in some ways from one given Monday by the president’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan. He had said Bin Laden was “engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in,” adding, “whether or not he got off any rounds, I frankly don’t know.”
Mr. Brennan also said then that Bin Laden used his wife as a “human shield.” But officials now say that the death of another woman in the crossfire on another floor led them to draw that false conclusion.
White House officials said the discrepancies resulted from their haste to provide details about a chaotic, fast-moving military operation to an intensely interested American public. As more of the assault team’s 79 members were debriefed, and their accounts were crosschecked with those of other team members, there were bound to be changes in the account, these officials said.
But the episode also reveals the pressures as the White House, intent on telling a dramatic story about a successful operation, sought to manage a 24-hour news media ravenous for immediate and vivid details. Even as Mr. Brennan was giving his account on Monday, other officials began clarifying parts of the story for reporters.
On Tuesday, one issue officials were wrestling with was whether to release a photo of Bin Laden’s body.
Several experts on the rules of engagement in combat said that in a raid on a target as dangerous as Bin Laden, the Navy Seals team would be justified to open fire at the slightest commotion when they burst into a room.
“If he were surrendering, or knocked out and unconscious on the ground, that would raise serious questions," said John B. Bellinger III, legal counsel at the National Security Council and State Department in the Bush administration.
“But this is a guy who’s extremely dangerous,” he said. “If he’s nodding at someone in the hall, or rushing to the bookcase or you think he’s wearing a suicide vest, you’re on solid ground to kill him.”
Other experts noted that the members of the Navy Seals faced difficult conditions, moving through dim rooms under gunfire, and needing to make a split-second judgment about whether Bin Laden posed a threat.
“They say he was unarmed now, but did the Seals know he was unarmed?” said Scott L. Silliman, an expert on wartime legal doctrine at Duke University Law School. “It was in the dark. They were wearing goggles.”
At the United Nations, questions arose about the killing. The organization’s senior human rights official, Navi Pillay, called for more details.
While noting that Bin Laden was a dangerous man, she said any operation against him should have been done legally.
During Monday’s briefing, Mr. Brennan said President Obama put a premium on protecting the commandos in the operation, saying that “we were not going to give Bin Laden or any of his cohorts the opportunity to carry out lethal fire on our forces.”
None were harmed, though there was a tense moment when one of the two helicopters suffered a mechanical failure and was destroyed by the commandos.
Despite expecting Bin Laden to put up a fight, Mr. Brennan said the assault team had made contingency plans for capturing, rather than killing him. “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,” he said.
Still, Mr. Brennan was eager to draw larger lessons from what he said was Bin Laden’s use of his wife as a shield.
“Here is Bin Laden, who has been calling for these attacks, living in this million-dollar-plus compound, living in an area that is far removed from the front, hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield,” he said. “I think it really just speaks to just how false his narrative has been over the years.”
Leon E. Panetta, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday that the troops’ orders were to kill Bin Laden. “But it was also, as part of their rules of engagement, if he suddenly put up his hands and offered to be captured, then they would have the opportunity, obviously, to capture him,” he said.
Some of the confusion in the accounts of the raid stemmed from the difference in time zones. Bin Laden had actually been killed early Monday by Pakistan time, not late on Sunday as had been initially reported.
Meanwhile, the White House continued to grapple with the question of whether to release the photo of the dead Bin Laden, or other documentary evidence. Administration officials said that they are trying to determine whether the visceral desire among Americans — and some skeptics — to see proof outweighs the potential that such images might further inflame Bin Laden’s disciples.
The photo, taken after Bin Laden was killed, clearly identifies the Qaeda leader, according to one official who has viewed it. “It looks like him, covered in blood with a hole in his head,” the official said.
White House officials say they are still deciding what to do, although one official said that they were leaning toward releasing the photo. Mr. Panetta told NBC News that he did not think “there was any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public.”

In New Account, Bin Laden Was Unarmed During Raid

By MARK LANDLER and HELENE COOPER

• MSNBC Video: Brian Williams Interview With Leon Panetta

The Night Bin Laden Was Hunted Down

Re “Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden” (front page, May 3):
What may turn out to be even more important than the powerful symbolism of Osama bin Laden’s death is the trove of documents that the commandos seized at Bin Laden’s compound.
As his operations center, the compound probably contained records, hard drives and notebooks filled with information about Al Qaeda’s operatives and their whereabouts, bank accounts and so forth. The Central Intelligence Agency may now have names and numbers with which it can dismember the organization after having cut its head off.
Clearly, that’s one of the reasons the United States went in with commandos as opposed to an airstrike. Apart from confirming Bin Laden’s presence, we wanted his records.
Brilliant planning, brilliant execution!
JOE WIEDER
Brooklyn, May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
The information gained from years of interrogations at Guantánamo Bay, coupled with dogged intelligence work, led to Osama bin Laden. Gratitude is owed to President George W. Bush for staying the course in face of severe opposition. I commend President Obama for his wisdom in continuing the Bush strategy.
JOSEPH A. ASCOLI
Old Bridge, N.J., May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
Your superb report “Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden” leaves key questions unanswered. Jubilation over the death of the most hunted mass murderer is understandable, but was it really justifiable self-defense, or was it premeditated illegal assassination?
The Nuremberg trials earned worldwide respect by giving Hitler’s worst henchmen a fair trial so that truth would be revealed and justice under law would prevail. Secret nonjudicial decisions based on political or military considerations undermine democracy. The public is entitled to know the complete truth.
BENJAMIN B. FERENCZ
New Rochelle, N.Y., May 3, 2011
The writer was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.
To the Editor:
President Obama took a bold step in ordering the operation against Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden’s compound was on the outskirts of Abbottabad, a picturesque city about 35 miles from Islamabad that is home to the country’s largest military academy. Thus it is unfathomable that the Pakistani military and intelligence service didn’t know that the No. 1 terrorist in the world was residing comfortably in a palatial compound there.
As a Pakistani-American, I salute President Obama for showing courage and strength. Perhaps now he won’t be criticized as being “weak.” Other Pakistani-Americans and I are celebrating the demise of the terrorist who hijacked Islam, killed thousands of innocent people and tarnished the image of Muslims across the world. We are truly rejoicing.
ANILA ALI
Irvine, Calif., May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
While elated over the killing of Osama bin Laden, I can’t help observing that his death would likely have occurred years earlier if the Bush administration hadn’t diverted military and intelligence resources from seeking to capture or kill him to initiating the senseless war in Iraq, which did not pose the danger to us that Bin Laden did.
DAN HARRISON
Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
We must learn the lessons of the killing of Osama bin Laden. The information that led to it was obtained from harsh C.I.A. interrogations in foreign prisons and from detainees at Guantánamo Bay, followed by electronic surveillance and wiretapping. Finally the United States undertook a totally unilateral military action in a foreign nation without prior notification of that nation. In other words, everything that is anathema to the left.
And the result is not that we have become the enemy or lost our moral bearings. The result is justice for the thousands of innocent dead of 9/11 and previous attacks, and a safer, freer world.
So, we can cling to outdated political dogma, or we can serve justice and protect innocent lives. President Obama wisely chose the second course.
MICHAEL BURKE
Bronx, May 3, 2011
The writer’s brother, Capt. William F. Burke Jr., a firefighter, died at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
To the Editor:
It’s unfortunate that the code name the government chose to use for Osama bin Laden was Geronimo, the name of the legendary leader of the Apaches. Over a century after Geronimo’s death, it’s as if the United States military views itself as still fighting the Indians. Surely, a more appropriate name could have been chosen.
FARLEY P. KATZ
San Antonio, May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
Kudos to the Navy Seals and C.I.A. operatives who risked their lives and to all involved for the successful operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
The hunt is over. The terrorist leader responsible for 9/11 has finally been held accountable. For almost 10 long years after his minions stole the breath of life from our loved ones, Bin Laden continued to enjoy life, walking around unpunished for the evil he wrought. His death cannot bring back our loved ones, but it brings some measure of justice.
Bin Laden is gone, but Americans are still vulnerable. Vigilance and cooperation across our security network are just as imperative as ever today because terrorist groups across the globe have embraced Bin Laden’s ideology of mass murder, and America is in the bull’s-eye.
CAROL ASHLEY
Rockville Centre, N.Y., May 3, 2011
The writer is the mother of Janice Ashley, who died at the World Trade Center.
To the Editor:
Re “Bin Laden’s Dead. Al Qaeda’s Not,” by Richard A. Clarke (Op-Ed, May 3):
When the nation erupted in celebration over the death of Osama bin Laden, I felt incredibly uneasy.
It concerns me that despite 10 years of war in the Middle East, we as a nation still lack an understanding of our historical involvement in the Middle East and how that fuels anti-American sentiment. Islamic extremist groups are in part a response to Western interventionist policy, particularly our support of oppressive dictators. Recruitment to such organizations is fueled by poor economic conditions — much of which is indirectly influenced by our foreign policy.
The United States has a role to play in maintaining good relations with the developing world through positive diplomacy. It remains imperative, now more than ever, that we as a country remember that the world is far more complicated than good and evil, and that the actions we take now will have a profound effect on our relationship with the Arab world in the future.
MILES KELLERMAN
Madison, Wis., May 3, 2011
To the Editor:
As a student who saw her college campus explode with joy and patriotism on Sunday night after news of Osama bin Laden’s killing, I appreciated “A Singular Moment, and a Mix of Emotion Stored for a Decade” (news article, May 3).
Bin Laden was the “bad man” looming over our lives, but I believe that our response was due to more complex emotions and understanding. Those of us who were only children in 2001 grew up in a country divided and driven by fear of a terror that was largely abstract to us.
The death of Bin Laden has certainly not vanquished evil. Still, this seems like a real opportunity to re-evaluate America’s role in the world — one that we will inherit, but had little role in shaping.
SARAH SKLAW
Brooklyn, May 3, 2011
The writer is a student at Tulane University.

publicado no NY Times