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A leaked Pakistani government report reveals that incompetence and negligence allowed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to live in Pakistan undetected for almost a decade.
A version of the report leaked to al-Jazeera says the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces was a “criminal act of murder” ordered by the US president.
The report also reveals details of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts and day-to-day life after fleeing Afghanistan in 2001.
Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in north-west Pakistan in May 2011.
US suspicions about Osama bin Laden’s location had previously been dismissed by Pakistan. However, his discovery in a compound in Abbottabad and subsequent killing in a US Navy Seal operation put a strain on US-Pakistan relations.
Shortly after the raid, the Pakistan parliament called for an independent enquiry – the Abbottabad Commission – to establish whether the failures of the government were due to incompetence or colluding with al-Qaeda.
It was also commissioned to investigate the Pakistani intelligence services’ failure to detect CIA activity on its soil in the run-up to the raid “that culminated in the avoidable humiliation of the people of Pakistan”.
Incompetence and negligence allowed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to live in Pakistan undetected for almost a decade
In its findings, the report described the lack of intelligence as “government implosion syndrome”.
The leaked documents fiercely criticized the Pakistani government and military, describing “culpable negligence and incompetence at almost all levels of government”.
While the commission said it found nothing to support allegations of complicity, it said it could not rule out “the possibility of some degree of connivance inside or outside the government”.
The report also voiced harsh criticism of the Navy Seal raid on Abbottabad, describing it as an “American act of war” and Pakistan’s “greatest humiliation” since East Pakistan seceded in 1971.
It quotes officials as saying that Pakistan air force jets were scrambled to shoot down the US helicopters, but too late.
The 336-page document was the result of interviews with more than 200 witnesses, including senior civilian and military officials, as well as with Osama bin Laden’s three widows prior to their deportation to Saudi Arabia.
The report has been in the hands of the government for more than six months, but it had been kept under wraps.
In the version leaked to al-Jazeera, the daily life of Osama bin Laden after fleeing the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is documented.
He was reported to have arrived in Pakistan in the spring or summer of 2002, staying in parts of South Waziristan, Bajaur, Peshawar, Swat and Haripur before settling in Abbottabad in 2005.
The wife of one of Osama bin Laden’s aides, Maryam, was quoted saying police in Swat even stopped the al-Qaeda leader’s vehicle for speeding in 2002 or 2003 – but failed to recognize him.
Referring to Osama bin Laden and his entourage, the report said: “They kept a very low profile and lived extremely frugally. They never exposed themselves to public view.”
Testimony from his widows said Osama bin Laden wore a cowboy hat whilst moving around the compound to avoid detection.
However, over a period of six years the unusual nature of the compound failed to draw the attention of the intelligence services, the report goes on.
“How the entire neighborhood, local officials, police and security and intelligence officials all missed the size, the strange shape, the barbed wire, the lack of cars and visitors etc over a period of nearly six years beggars belief.”
Commenting on the leak, the head of the commission, Javed Iqbal, told Pakistani Dunya TV that it was “based on assumptions” and did not include even one out of more than 100 recommendations the commission had made in its findings.
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Iraqi war veteran Eddie Ray Routh has been charged with murdering ex-US Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle and his neighbor in Texas.
Eddie Ray Routh, 25, is accused of the shootings at a gun range on Saturday.
Chris Kyle and his neighbor, Chad Littlefield, were reported to have been trying to help Eddie Ray Routh deal with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Chris Kyle, 38, wrote the 2012 bestseller American Sniper, about the psychology of a sniper, in which he said that he had killed more than 250 people.
He served four tours of duty in Iraq and was decorated for bravery.
The gunman opened fire at about 15:30 local time at the Rough Creek Lodge range, then fled in a pick-up truck belonging to one of the victims, local media reported.
Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Eddie Ray Routh then travelled to his sister’s home, telling her what had happened before leaving.
She called the police and Eddie Ray Routh was arrested near his home in Lancaster, Texas, more than 70 miles from the scene of the shooting, several hours later.
Sheriff Tommy Bryant said the motive for the killings was unclear, but noted “it’s my understanding that the suspect may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself”.
Iraqi war veteran Eddie Ray Routh has been charged with murdering ex-US Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle and his neighbor in Texas
Travis Cox, director of a non-profit-making organization Chris Kyle had helped found, told the Associated Press news agency that Eddie Ray Routh was suffering from PTSD and that Kyle and Chad Littlefield were trying to help him.
“Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion – serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD,” Travis Cox said.
Chad Littlefield was Chris Kyle’s “work-out buddy” and volunteered his time with the veterans, Mr Cox said.
Scott McEwen, who co-authored the book with Chris Kyle, said: “It just comes as a shock and it’s staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed.”
Chris Kyle, a former cowboy, is regarded as the most prolific sniper the US has ever seen.
Official Pentagon figures say he killed 160 people, but he estimated the total was 255.
According to military intelligence, he was nicknamed “the Devil” by Iraqi insurgents, who put a $20,000 bounty on his head.
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Chris Kyle, the Iraq veteran and ex-US Navy Seal known as the deadliest sniper in US history, has been shot dead on a Texas shooting range, reports say.
His body was found at Rough Creek Lodge range on Saturday with that of another man. A suspect was arrested.
Chris Kyle, 38, wrote the 2012 bestseller American Sniper, about the psychology of a sniper, in which he said that he had killed more than 250 people.
He served four tours of duty in Iraq and was decorated for bravery.
The gunman opened fire at about 15:30 local time then fled in a pick-up truck belonging to one of the victims, local media reported.
Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said the motive for the killings was unclear, and was unable to explain how the two men were shot.
But he said a 25-year-old suspect was detained five hours later more than 70 miles (110 km) from the scene.
Chris Kyle, the Iraq veteran and ex-US Navy Seal known as the deadliest sniper in US history, has been shot dead on a Texas shooting range
Scott McEwen, who co-authored the book with Chris Kyle, said: “It just comes as a shock and it’s staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed.”
Chris Kyle, a former cowboy, is regarded as the most prolific sniper the US has ever seen.
Official Pentagon figures say he killed 160 people, but he estimated the total was 255.
According to army intelligence, he was nicknamed “The Devil” by Iraqi insurgents, who put a $20,000 bounty on his head.
He appeared to show little remorse for his victims.
“Every person I killed I strongly believe that they were bad,” he said in an interview in 2012.
“When I do go face God there is going to be lots of things I will have to account for but killing any of those people is not one of them.”
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Seven US Navy SEAL’s have been disciplined for revealing secrets during work as paid consultants on a video game, officials say.
They received reprimand letters and had half of their pay docked for two months for work on Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
The active-duty troops reportedly include one member of the team that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011.
The game, published by Electronic Arts, does not recreate the Bin Laden mission but purports to show realistic raids.
Those punished were two Senior Chief Special Operators and five Chief Special Operators.
They were charged with violation of orders, misuse of command gear, dereliction of duty and disclosure of classified material.
Seven Navy Seals received reprimand letters and had half of their pay docked for two months for work on Medal of Honor Warfighter
The seven troops worked for two days during the spring and summer on the recently released video game, according to CBS News.
The game’s maker has boasted that real commandos, both on active duty and retired, were involved with the process of designing the game to make it as realistic as possible.
It is not clear what classified secrets were divulged by the troops while they were consulting for Electronic Arts. But they reportedly used material from the US Navy.
“We do not tolerate deviations from the policies that govern who we are and what we do as sailors in the United States Navy,” Deputy Commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Admiral Garry Bonelli told the Associated Press.
He added that the disciplinary action would “send a clear message throughout our force that we are and will be held to a high standard of accountability”.
Four other Navy SEAL’s are also under investigation, US reports said. They are said to have left Team Six but are still said to be on active duty.
The Navy SEAL’s usually respect an unwritten code of staying out of the public eye.
SEAL Team Six is now a household name, celebrated on T-shirts and immortalized in film.
The unit was the subject of a recent TV movie about the Bin Laden raid in Pakistan and will feature in another film, about the rescue of a ship’s captain kidnapped by Somali pirates.
Meanwhile, another member of the team on the Bin Laden raid wrote a book, No Easy Day, giving his account of that operation.
Some details of Osama Bin Laden’s death offered in the book differed from the official version of events.
The content of the book was not reviewed first by the Pentagon, and officials warned that criminal charges could have resulted from the improper disclosure of secret information.
