Slashdot Mirror
Porn Reportedly Found At Bin Laden Compound
Hugh Pickens writes "Reuters reports that a stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the US commandos who killed him. The pornography consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity. Officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials and it is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography but a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment. Officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases." Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
Ok, I guess this makes him human again...
Delta-Mike November Bravo Tango
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
No, probably not. I'm not sure why they would release this detail if it's true. It's not like people's opinion is going to change. "Well, I sort of liked bin Laden until I found out there was PORNOGRAPHY in his compound." Also, it's not like Muslims are going to believe the US government anyway, whether they were bin Laden supporters or not.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Yes
Guy walks into a bar and orders a "bin laden"
What's that? replies the bar tender
"Two shots in the head and a splash"
No, it's not too cynical to mention that. It's also not too cynical to mention that such behavior is also fairly predictable among religious extremists of any stripe.
The things they want to deprive others of on religious reasons are usually the things they are most guilty of.
...since it took this long for the commandos to report it.
...have a stash of porn lying around? I mean seriously, come on.
If I wanted to distribute hidden terrorist messages broadly around the world, leveraging willing dupes who would use their PC's to host the filesharing/torrents, for sure I would embed it in porn using steganography. It's really the obvious choice.
After the Obama administration clearly fabricated details most favorable to them immediately after the raid came to public knowledge, like there was a firefight and he refused to surrender, I don't believe this at all. I think it's mean to undermine his standing in the world among Muslims and probably isn't true.
I doubt Osama needed to have wank movies in his house - after all, he hed enough women who wanted to be together with a terror czar. And if one remembers where most traffic came from (until blocked) - it was arab and muslim countries.
So he has porn. I bet there are plenty of Slashdotters who have more illustrious collections than he did.
Why is this news for nerds?
Why is this news anyway?
I'll tell you why, because the whole "War on Terror" is just the Crusades continuing on, and many Christian religions will tell you "porn is bad" or "fornication is bad". They have even gone so far as to get it passed into public lewdness laws so everyone has to abide by it. Guess what people, I'm pretty sure that if you go to church, about half or more of the adult congregation probably owns porn, but are afraid to mention it because their fellow Christians (of which many also own porn) will look down their noses at them.
He's a guy, he owns porn.... big whoopty doo
Make America grate again!
He hadn't bin laden how long? Time for some porn and a little alone time!
I heard one of the DVD's was "Monica does Bill".
Take Nobody's Word For It.
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
Only if you mention that even if he were around, he'd probably deny it regardless of whether or not it is true.
Then again, the story isn't unbelievable. Just take a look at some interesting Google Trends results:
I suppose, either way, we're going to have to judge for ourselves whether or not we believe the story, and to what extent. I, personally, feel that it's not unlikely or surprising, but also that I don't really case. Who'd have thought someone able to morally justify slaughtering thousands wouldn't also find a way around whatever porn-related barriers they face?
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
Is it too hard to believe that people at the top of fanatical religious organizations like Al-Qaeda might consider themselves above the rules they preach to the desperate men that give their lives for him/their cause blindly?
Seems like a dozen people lived in the compound, and porn was found on one of the PCs there. People are hoping it's Bin Laden's, since it fits with the idea he's a bad person, and a perv on top of it. Maybe it was his son's.
I'm skeptical it's Bin Laden's. I can't find the story now, but there were recordings of Al Qaeda leaders watching Al Jazeera, and then covering over the screen whenever an "immodestly-dressed" woman anchor came on.
This is shocking! What with his well known respect for women and all... Next you're going to tell me he was a mass murderer!
Hey, kill him if you want, but digging into his porn collection and going public with it is beyond good manners. Boo on you, USA!
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
That level of "cynicism" does pass over any rational line, sounding more like Les Nesman finding a conspiracy under every rock. Who else don't you trust? Just a general paranoia or specific techie-anarchist? The submission would have been better without cheapening yourself that way.
I don't know why they even bother mentioning this... it's not like the whole world was on the fence about the guy and looking for some reason to love him or hate him. The only people who this would possible impact are those who do think he's a hero. And guess what, they're not going to believe a word of it.
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
It's not just finding more bad stuff about bin Laden. It also goes well with their mentality that porn leads to terrorism. I wouldn't be surprised if they also found pirated music, movies and software, and use the findings to promote the **AA agenda.
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
Legal prosecution of copyright violators just hasn't had the desired deterrant effect.
I have worked in a variety of military operations centres.
What you are seeing is likely not willful deception, but rather a common phenomenon that "The first report is never right".
When people are under stress, they report the details wrong, or they mis-hear, or they make assumptions to fill in gaps in knowledge, or there or misunderstandings, etc etc.
So the details in an initial report are almost always wrong. You learn to not leap into action based on an initial report, but to be patient and wait for follow-up reports, because they tend to be more accurate. As time goes by and people calm down, the true details start to resolve.
So for example, if the operative on the ground reported that Osama was "resisting" (by which, he meant that he did not immediately surrender) the next guy up the chain may have interpreted "resisting" to mean "armed and shooting" - and that's what he reported. Later debriefs would reveal what actually happened, and the story would change.
That's nothing nefarious; that's just the nature of crisis reporting.
If you are old enough to remember 9/11, for the first few hours of the attacks, all kinds of crazy crap was being reported. It wasn't until later in the day the the actual nature of what had happened had resolved itself.
By the way, Bin Laden's standing amongst the world's Muslims is not very high, and never was. His standing amongst the worlds Jihadist Terrorists was much higher. Please don't confuse the two.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
Obviously nobody actually read the article. It was stuff that is offensive to muslim beliefs. Here's the top 12 videos:
1. "Miss Piggy does Dallas"
2. "Makin' Bacon"
3. "2 Pigs in a Blanket"
4. "Porky Pig Got Fingered"
5. "Ham and Cheezy"
6. "Doing the 'Flying Pig'"
7. "3 Little Pigs, One Cup"
8. "Hogzilla Attacks"
9. "Pearls Before Swine"
10. "Squeal Like a Pig!"
11. "The Adventures of Peter Porker, Spider-Ham"
12. "Swine Flew Epidemic - Attack of the Killer Hogs"
Let's call it what it is, Anti-Social Media.
or was it "Rear Cave Entrance Sluts 9"?
Is anyone shocked when one of those "family values" politicians, preaching about the sanctity of marriage and the evilness of a culture that glamorizes homosexuality comes out of the closet? Or in the case of Larry Craig, gets busted trying to have sex in a men's room? It doesn't shock me anymore, since it seems the most passionate moral crusaders are really crusading against their own personal desires.
Hell, look at "culture warrior" Bill O'Reilly. Remember the Andrea Mackris thing? She had transcripts of alleged phone conversations that are clear examples of sexual harassment (and the detailed nature of the transcripts lead people to believe she had recordings). Bill O paid her a bunch of money to shut up and never spoke of it again. Sexual harassment is wrong when anyone does it, but it seems doubly wrong when you preach day in and out about morals and the "dangers" of things like rap music.
I guess, essentially, the gist of my post here is that people are often hypocrites, so hypocritical behavior does not shock me at all. So a group of extremist Muslims who feel strongly enough about their religion to blow up thousands of innocent (including Muslim) Americans happen to enjoy porn when nobody is looking. Not surprised. In fact, it makes me wonder aloud here if the religion is just an excuse for the killings, and if what people like bin Laden were really upset about was Israel and our support of it, that it's more of a territorial dispute than a religious one, but it's just a lot easier to get people to fly planes into buildings if you tell them 72 virgins will greet them afterward. I mean, I tend to notice the folks at the top of these terrorist organizations aren't the ones blowing themselves up. Think maybe they have some doubts about whether or not they end up anywhere afterward?
But then again I shouldn't read too much into this one incident, it is after all just some porn. Just a thought though - maybe if bin Laden's wives didn't have to be covered head to toe, he wouldn't need a stash to get off.
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
If the government says so, yes, that's what you're supposed to believe. Slashdot stoops so low to print every little thing that the government puts out, verified or not. I would expect better, but the feeding frenzy must go on. Of course most everybody is going to believe it. You people are sick.. I wish I knew the name for this pathological bullshit.. But make no mistake, you people are illin'
Wait, you're saying that because the gov't says something is true, it must NOT be true? Talk about pathological illin! You should look at a mirror some time.
I hear that ballerina costumes offend the prophet.
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One of the things that made Osama so dangerous was that he had set himself up as a kind of religious aesthete who, to his followers, had claimed the moral high ground and was thus an example to be emulated.
He was claiming to be more pious than Islamic religious leaders who were preaching a more moderate course of action.
If his claims of piety can be shown to be demonstrably false; if he can be shown to be as flawed and "sinful" as every other man, much of the righteous indignation that mobilizes his followers can be neutralized.
Having disillusioned former terrorists and jihadists renounce their former ways and return to the Muslim mainstream is a win for everybody - it's a win for Islam, a win for the West - and a win for the former jihadists, who will get to live more normal lives that won't have to end violently.
Killing one's enemy is never the ideal course of action. Sometimes it is necessary. But far better for everyone if they become your friends - or at the very least, renounce being your sworn enemy.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
When I was in Iraq, we found porn in a few houses on raids. Videos (arab and French), Playboy, and a few other things.
Was it legal retail copies, or should the RIAA get involved
Now those groups that want to censor everything adults consume can assert that not only does pornography lead to rape, but terrorism!
He doesn't have to deny anything, there's nothing wrong with having pornography. The fact that they're pointing out that he's not around to "deny" the accusation makes it sound like the old "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" fallacy (not that I'm surprised. a poor summary, in my slashdot? it's more likely than you think)
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
Does teaching children to strap on bombs and blow themselves up count as molestation?
There were (apparently) lots of people at OBLs compound and a steady flow in & out, too. Just like any large residence with "staff" I would expect there would be some porn somewhere. It's not exactly a surprise and if it hadn't been there before the kill-squad arrived, I'm sure it was after they'd all been through the place.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Do Muslims have anything against pornography/nudity/sexuality like the Christians? I mean, would this put Osama in a bad light as far as other Muslim extremists are concerned?
Yeah the previous post is mine,, forgot about the button
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Sorry, didn't mean to make that 'anonymous'... I usually check for that... but man! clicking on these pages makes the comments expand and collapse like a cartoon dresser where you try to close all the drawers.. I do hope you get the message
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
So it must all be a lie! Really, who is going to believe all these stories if they won't show the world proof they actually found and killed the man? The average Jihad terrorist won't believe stuff like this and only get more infuriated because of it. This is turning into a PR nightmare for the USA. Fist no trial, then no proof and now slander after they (supposedly) killed him. Don't you just love the way the USA justice system works? Would you want the government that you chose treat you the same if they feel you've done them wrong?
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
People need to keep their mouth shut before passing off hearsay as fact.
A little critical thinking would help. Bin laden had wives. I don't think he really needs porn.
Troll
Ahhh... making psyops and the group monkeys work for their money... feels good..
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
In a culture were women wear veils, pornography might include a woman wearing what would be acceptable at a public school in the USA. And as our government continues to march towards increasing conservatism, their definition of pornography might not be far from that either.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I'm a little surprised that (a) this surprises _anybody_, and (b) that there are plenty of Slashdotters who are convinced it's lies and propaganda. You're making the mistake that because Bin Laden subscribed to an ideology that was sexually repressive, he must also have been sexually repressed. This isn't the case. The sexual mores of the conservative (read: fundamentalist) Islamic world are pretty twisted; the reason burqas are mandated for women is because the men supposedly can't help themselves if shown a bit of ladyflesh, even a bare ankle. The onus for sexual purity is placed almost _entirely_ on women (which sounds a little like the US, come to think of it); it's no surprise, then, if Bin Laden is a total pervert. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there _wasn't_ porn in the compound.
It may involves steganography, don't you think it is cool enough for nerds?
Achille Talon
Hop!
I mean was it your usual pizza delivery porn, midget group porn, goat porn, gay porn? Give us some details! Better yet, release the porn!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I am sure that he was only watching it for doing research on how decadent the West is.
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim? No, it is not too cynical at all. I believe that there is a nugget of truth to OBL having pornography because we have seen religious zealots and conservative politicians here in the US having closet sexual perversions. However, the Obama Administration wants to parade OBL's faults and make his hypocrisy well-known thereby lessening his martyrdom. By denigrating him, Obama et al hope to further weaken the resolve to potentially avenge Bin Laden's death.
Is it too cynical to mention that the US government has a vested interest in denigrating Bin Laden, and that he's no longer around to deny this claim?
Only if you assume the US government wants to further inflame radical Islamic terrorists so as to further their hatred of the US people to encourage more attacks.
Steganography and pornography are the two breasts of lactating nerds.
Achille Talon
Hop!
nope.. just several well used copies of Weapons of Ass Destruction
I'll bet you believe the Phone Company killed Kennedy too...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I think he'd rather be watching porn...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Speaking only for myself, I'd rather be fucked in the ass than have a bomb strapped to me and detonated. But hey, that's just my own opinion...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
In Pakistan, a woman who flashes ankle in public is considered a slut?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Personally... I think this is brilliant.
They assassinated him, now they're assassinating his character. It's hard to follow a martyr who's a horny lecherous old man who's into tasty teens. They're basically doing to bin Laden what the western media does to washed up celebrities. It doesn't matter how successful and popular Charlie Sheen may have been... nobody's would follow him into battle now.
...its either Burka on Burka action or some Afgan Pedobear stuff - thats how they roll there...
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
So you've got a bunch of lonely guards, holding loaded weapons and locked up in a little compound with you all day.
Oh, years ago they were feeling pretty zealot-y, but by now..... well, bending the religious dogma enough to keep a stash of porn around (after all, you've been loyal servants of Allah for years, he'll be ok with this one little transgression, a few extra prayers will take care of it...) might be considered a REALLY GOOD IDEA at this point.
Or you could just let them wander away from the compound and rape the women of the town you're staying in. That's CERTAIN not to attract attention.
The right to offend is central to the right to free speech.
this isn't news. It doesn't matter. It's not very interesting to nerds. I'm very very tired of the blatant click-bait. Please.. Stop.
Publish the pics! Now this is an AP FOIA request I could get behind. Forget those disgusting pics of head shots.
Have gnu, will travel.
Using his wife as a shield was another one of the false reports the media received. But as a poster remarked above, it doesn't matter if people later find out it isn't true - their attitudes will still have shifted somewhat.
It was probably videos where Iranian women took off their headwear and shook their hair - or even revealed their ankles!
Maybe it was videos of Iranian women taking off their headwear and shaking their hair?
1. You may be a terrorist if... You wear a Casio watch
2. You may be a terrorist if... You use large amounts of shampoo and like to travel
3. You may be a terrorist if... You dislike low-tech fondling by strangers
4. You may be a terrorist if... You refuse maid service
5. You may be a terrorist if... You pay for a hotel in cash
6. You may be a terrorist if... You use a video camera in a non-designated video recording area
7. You may be a terrorist if... Your car has boxes or bags in it
8. You may be a terrorist if... You own a GPS unit
9. You may be a terrorist if... You take pictures of buildings and landmarks
10. You may be a terrorist if... You are unemployed and in possession of cash
11 You may be a terrorist if... You are a pregnant women and carry around bulky diaper bags
12. You may be a terrorist if... You or somebody you live with is in possession of pornography
Fnord!
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
Propaganda. Learn to identify it.
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
You're right that some will assume it was planted, some will assume that it wasn't his, some will rationalize it away, and so on.
But some won't. Some will realize that Osama wasn't the saint he made himself out to be, and will leave the network because of it.
And every one of those is a fighter lost who didn't have to be killed - a win for everyone.
A course of action need not have a 100% success rate to make it worth following.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
Finding evidence that Osama was involved with child porn would combine 2 of the 3 biggest arguments used for internet censorship (child porn and terrorist groups).
And if this child porn (if it existed) was copied without the permission of the copyright holder, it would give you all 3 reasons for internet censorship.
Seems to me that government officials and religious officials have one major thing in common.
They are more than willing to demand that you live your life a certain way but tend to shy away from doing so themselves.
Both will have ardent followers who will defend their leaders infractions. Royalty simply assumed a new title.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
What differentiate us from barbarous murderer assholes like bin laden, is that we follow the rule of law, and set up process for people to defend themselves against what they are accused of, as opposed to torture them or even execute them while unarmed.
Which is why IMHO he should have been arrested, given a process, THEN executed, THEN the corpse given to the ocean. But a direct execution for "resisting" while unarmed, give a bitter taste : the SEED of doubt that the rule of law was maybe planned from the start by those who sent the seal there , to be ignored. And least you accuse me of being a laden-lover : I am not. But on the other hand I have already watched some non-US country channel news state that it was maybe an execution and thus illegal. Think about that carefully. Maybe you do not care, but increasingly the US is seen as a rogue state which use immoral means (torture) and ilelgal means (execution) to do its stuff.
Because it's interesting. Already here on Slashdot it's gotten nearly 400 comments. Haven't you noticed how the administration has leaked a constant stream of 'interesting' things about the Osama Bin Laden raid? They know it is good political stuff, and the more they can get people talking about it, the longer Obama's popularity spike will last. That is what they are hoping.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Turkey had softporn after midnight on free-to-air TV channels in the early 90's. Konya was the center of fundamentalism back then and had the largest porn sales, overtly on the streets. Porn and Islam go so well together, especially with all that suppressed sexuality. At least they could say they are just practicing for their heavenly virgins.
I doubt the Vatican is any different, with its suppressed sexuality.
72 virgins in paradise?
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
Isn't it against Islam to have pornography?
All this hullabaloo about Osama having watched porn is based on the assumption that it is something he, as a muslim, would be ashamed of. I'm sure this is the case - all this prudishness and denial of our natural instincts is to a great extent something that is specific to our culture. Just read Arabian Nights - not the "cleaned up" version, but the full version. Or Kama Sutra, or look around in Indian temples; being shy about sexuality is not universal amongst religious people, it is a Christian thing.
All in all, I think most of his followers will be more interested in knowing which titles he preferred, so they can emulate their spiritual leader.
My country's search terms: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#geo=HU&gprop=images&cmpt=q
The number 1 by a wide margin is "képek" which means "images".
Searching for images on an image search site...
And the margin seems to grow bigger every year.
This is so sad.
We both said a lot of things that you are going to regret.
I would like to point out that it is possible this was used for steganography, hiding messages inside common images so that they would not attract attention. Basically pornography is really common on the internet. It does make for good U.S. propaganda though. A note about steganography should be prominent on a tech sight like slashdot, just goes to show how how crappy slashdot has gotten. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography#Digital_steganography
They say "video playback equipment" as if it's some high technology that only a government official would have access to. I have at least 8 separate pieces of "video playback equipment" in my house counting DVD, Blu-ray, VHS, DVR and computers.
Oh, and I have porn in various formats so I can play it in any of those devices. It's part of my disaster preparedness, some things are too important to go without.
Since the prOn found in Bin Laden compound can not be military secrets it can not be classified. Since there is no trial pending it can not be called evidence of some trial. Sorbanes Oxley act prohibits destruction of electronic records. So it can't be erased either. So if you file a FOIA request for that material, the Government of the United States must provide you with the smut!
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
What!? No 'Bomb making material'? no White supremacist lit?!
A weird twist on the classic negative propaganda. It usually goes like this:
"When the 'compound' was searched, White Supremacists literature, guns, and Bomb making material was found."
They don't mention that Bomb material usually consist of bleach and other house hold cleaners.
There is not a home in the USA which doesn't contain 'bomb materials'
It is quite likely that they found pornography.
Bin Laden was a spoiled rich kid who became a mafia leader. He sought power. He killed innocent people and his own mafia partners to gain power. He used Islam as a means to that end.
I find no reason what so ever to expect that he was dedicated to God, except in terms of lip-service.
Furthermore, his mafia organization (al-Queda) probably used Steganography in the porn for transmitting messages.
His favorite porn must have ended with getting shot in the eye
There's no hypocrite like a religious hypocrite.
Stick Men
Osama Bin Wankin' ??
This from a culture that wages "Holy War" against the infidels that would corrupt their "pure and true" society. What do you expect form a bunch of towel heads that believe it is fine to treat their wives and mistresses like 2nd class, 3rd rate sub-human slaves? Who in their right mind would find this to be unusual?
People are much more willing to share good news than bad news.
Given that this is one of the best bits of news in a very very long time - arguably, the best news since 9/11 - they can be somewhat forgiven for wanting to get it out in a hurry, even if all the details weren't firmed up yet.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
Thanks.
I'm a big fan of "lead by example".
The best way to generate unbiased and thoughtful discourse? Generate thoughtful and unbiased discourse.
It doesn't hurt either than I'm not 16 and have seen some stuff. I find my opinions get a lot more grey the older I get. The 16 year old me was an asshole.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
So bin Laden had a collection of porn. So did most of the 'men who killed him. What does that mean? It means that, in addition to being a terrorist, bin Laden was also a normal human being who wasn't a lot different than many of us on different levels. I think it's interesting that porn always seems to surface when the government wants to 'really' discredit someone (like they needed to in this case?). It's like they're pandering to the conservative Christians in the country to prove how bad the person was. I can see the conversation now: Mom: Well, they got bin Laden, finally Dad: Yeah, well, I don't think we should celebrate the death of another human being Mom: They found out he had porn, Jimmy - *porn*! Dad: Oh hell no! Thank God they got that evil bastard before he could get that filth into our wholesome American culture. I'm so mad right now, I think I'll be in the garage praying and cuddling with the flag. Mom: It's okay honey, calm down, he's not a threat anymore: they killed him and seized the porn. It's in a safe place now where it can't hurt anyone. This is the most insanely stupid thing I've read in a while. But it's just part of the all-out propaganda war we tend to run against our enemies. We did it to Castro, we did it to the Russians when we were enemies, and it shouldn't surprise us that we are doing it to bin Laden. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go masturbate to a hot picture of Laura Bush and Michelle Obama I photoshopped together. HAWT! I bet Osama had the good stuff too...
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
"Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
The decision to go in with a Special Ops team, instead of blasting the compound with a UAV or cruise missile strike, is one of the ballsiest decisions I've seen a commander-in-chief make in a very, very long time.
Notwithstanding their carefully crafted image and SOCOM 3, any time you put men on the ground far away from safety, the level of assumed risk skyrockets. Even this raid lost a helicopter (shades of Carter's attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages in the '70s)
But when it goes right, it allows you to tightly focus the violence to the smallest possible audience, killing the bare minimum necessary to accomplish the mission, and (mostly - even SEALs make mistakes sometimes) ensuring that you get the right target.
Far too many American presidents have taken the safe and expedient COA rather than the risky but more morally justifiable COA.
And the payoff is HUGE. Not only did they get their man, they snagged a treasure trove of intel that will probably prove to be the unraveling of the remnants of the Al-Quaida network. And perhaps more importantly, they did it without killing the dozens of children who were living in the compound.
This whole mission was very, very well done, and I hope it represents a turning point for a lot of US foreign policy.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
Lol, he's dead, its not like he'll come out and deny this. Say what ever you want and people will believe it. Even if this is true, i wouldn't be surprised. The guy was an asshole and he deserved what he got.
Mostly under duress, which is not the case here.
It's not uncommon for people to hit their thumbs with hammers, poison themselves with household cleaning products, or shoot themselves with firearms that were absolutely positively not loaded.
You probably think people should be protected against their own stupidity, but then it could be suggested that you don't exactly have a neutral viewpoint on the matter.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Some of the movie titles were:
Deep Goat
Hairy Popper and the Prisoner of Guantanamo
Roadside Bombshells
Debbie Does Darfur
Behind the Green Tent Flap
Her Mouth is Like a IED and She Will Blow You Away
Of course it is true. This war is about a patriarchal culture seeking to prevent the emancipation of its women. The purpose of women in that culture is to bear children - children that can be reliably sourced as belonging to a particular male - and provide sexual gratification. They are obsessed with wanton Western women. They just want to make sure they stay in the West or on a dvd. They don't want them in their neighborhood or raising their children.The West may be fighting to keep the oil flowing but these guys are fighting to keep their women as chattel.The more patriarchal the culture, the more obsessed it is with sex and power..
It's not cynical to mention it, however, it's unclear what the US government gains by releasing this information however. The overwhelming majority of people fall into one of two categories: those who see bin Laden as a moral compass and those who see him as a terrorist thug, beyond redemption. The former won't believe the porn story and will assume it's propaganda to discredit and insult bin Laden; the latter wouldn't care about whether bin Laden liked scheiße porn.
This may be cynical of me, but I wish you'd added a "Warning: FUD story ahead, submitted by the writer of the story" disclaimer to the FUD "twitpic will sell your pics!!!!1111one!!! I HAVE DIVINED THIS FROM TEA LEAVES!" story you approved by Andy Smith.
It's the US govt just putting shit on terrorist leaders' reputations. The tactic isn't uncommon but it might be more effective against religious extremists. I say good move, fake or not! Wars aren't just fought with bullets (like the one going thru Bin Landin's brain, hohoho)
Forget the Photoshopped death photos, I'm filing a FOI request for all of that porn.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
So everybody can forget about asking for the photos of ... of ...
Who had porn?
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
I only believe the government is lying when it has a vested interested in it, like what we have here to keep the war machine running smoothly... And to keep us from rioting when it steals our pensions to feed Goldman Sachs... That mirror might work on you also.. see yourself swallow a whole kielbasa.. you might be impressed
See, that's the point... does the gov't lie about certain things? Of course it does... I'm not for a second suggesting it doesn't. But the fact that the gov't has a vested interest in lying does NOT mean it's actually lying! Sometimes reality aligns with gov't interests, and there's no need to lie... and sometime it doesn't, and the temptation to lie grows. You seemed to imply that the gov't ALWAYS lies:
If the government says so, yes, that's what you're supposed to believe.
Propaganda. Learn to identify it.
Reality... learn to identify it.
Half the posts say "of course he has porn, most men have porn, no big deal, really" and the other half say "the gov't says he has porn, therefore he must NOT have porn". The fact that no one seems to see the pathology of this situation is fascinating. Truly an interesting window into the minds of the technorati. And not a flattering window at that.
The people doing the searching probably know from experience that they will get more results for an English search term than for its local translation. Also, searching for images, they are less likely to care what language the accompanying text is in.
Porn is often how terrorist use stenography to communicate amongst each other covertly.
It was then the dude from Middle Men, who either gave the idea to track foreign threat by the taste of porno or tracked them again with the young military blond. Now I understand!!!!
I'm really interested in what kind of porn it was... Did it have to do with goats, like everyone is joking about? Was he ogling Americans, Arabians -- male or female, I wonder?
Was his porn buddy killed in the raid too? Or maybe he didn't designate a porn buddy.
The core concept of the Geneva Conventions is the humane treatment of protected classes of people, those who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities. Combatants can be killed at will. It isn't required to give quarter, inquire if enemy combatants are seeking it, or determine their combat capabilities. One isn't even strictly required to honor a white flag.
Thus, per UN Resolution 1373, and the US Congress' Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (Pub.L. 107-40, 115Stat.224, enacted September18, 2001), American commandos enjoyed the latitude to capture or kill OBL. As it worked out, they killed him, although you may not approve of the act or the international protocols that authorized it.
Luke, help me take this mask off
Why is that 2008 article the only reference I can find on the web to the “White-chapel Rapist”? That part of the article is quoted verbatim and discussed on many sites, yet is not independently cited.