Posts Tagged ‘barack obama’

Osama Bin Laden Killed While Hiding In Pakistan

Copyright © 2011 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. see Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

This is special coverage from NPR News on MORNING EDITION. I’m Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And I’m Steve Inskeep.

Let’s get some analysis now of the news President Obama delivered last night.

President BARACK OBAMA: Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. a small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

MONTAGNE: The operation took 40 minutes. American helicopters landed at the compound, got what they came for, and slipped away.

INSKEEP: Joining us now to talk about the news of Osama bin Laden’s death is Steve Coll. He is head of the new America Foundation and also author of “Ghost Wars” and “The Bin Ladens.”

Welcome to the program.

Mr. STEVE COLL (President, new America Foundation): Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: so does it make sense, Steve, that Osama would turn up, after all this time, not in the mountain somewhere, but in an urban area?

Mr. COLL: yes, it does. a number of other Al-Qaida leaders have been discovered in Pakistani cities since 9/11, and particularly since it seems as if he moved to this compound after 2005 over the last few years, per much speculation that he would not have been in an area that was being routinely patrolled by aerial drones along the border, but would seek refuge in someplace that he considered less susceptible to aerial surveillance and attack.

INSKEEP: Oh, in effect, the city becomes a hiding place and everybody in it is almost a human shield then.

Mr. COLL: yes, but here you’re talking about a city, Abbottabad, which is not so dense as some of the large urban metropolises in Pakistan. This was essentially a military cantonment. It’s the site of the Pakistani Military Academy. and there is, you know, maybe a million people living in the whole district. But we’re coming to understand that the compound that he was in was a relatively isolated one that seems to have been purpose-built to hold them.

MONTAGNE: now, Steve Coll, this is Renee here. The automatic question here, obviously, is did somebody in the Pakistani government or intelligence or military know that Osama bin Laden was living in this compound, that seems to be, because it was large, quite visible?

Mr. COLL: Well, that’s certainly the right question and I don’t want to jump to an answer over the basis of the little circumstantial evidence we have. But this is essentially a cantonment town. This is a very large purpose-built house that seems to have strange security features. and judging by the firefight that ensued when the United States attacked it, there were armed men living there.

So if the Pakistani Military Intelligence Service really is going to take the position that they had no idea that he was there for the last six years, it would be interesting to hear how they make that case. and what we don’t know about who built the house and who these brothers exactly were and what ties they might have had to the Pakistani government or not had.

INSKEEP: I want to define the term there: Cantonment town. You’re saying that because there was his military academy not very far from bin Laden’s compound, and it was basically Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point, right?

Mr. COLL: Yeah. I went on the web last night and was just looking at maps of the town, and there’s quite a lot of land, as is typical in towns where there’s a strong Pakistani military presence. a lot of land that seemed to be government owned, government managed, primarily by the military. The military in Pakistan is kind of a world within the country. They own a lot of land and they maintain it very carefully. and this compound was not very far from the sections of the town that were associated with military control.

INSKEEP: You’re listening to special coverage from NPR news of the death of Osama bin Laden. We’re talking with Steve Coll of the new America Foundation.

And let’s bring another voice into the conversation.

Steve, stay with us.

We’re going to talk here with NPR’s Tom Gjelten, as well.

And there’s a little different question involving the Pakistani government, here, Tom. was the Pakistani government informed in advance of this American operation on their soil?

TOM GJELTEN: Well, a senior administration official, briefing reporters last night about this operation, said, flatly, that Pakistanis were not informed of this operation in advance. now, President Obama, in describing the operation, said that intelligence cooperation with and from the Pakistanis was key to this operation. But that could take many forms. as far as the operation itself, again, they’re insisting that the Pakistanis were not informed in advance.

But, Steve, keep in mind that with the drone attacks, which have been very unpopular and Pakistan, there has been this sort of pattern of official denial and private complicity. and so one has to wonder if there’s something similar here, that maybe the Pakistanis knew more about this than either they or the Americans want to reveal right now. For one thing, it’s very hard to imagine how U.S. military helicopters could fly in a raid over such a fortified area.

That is an area near the capital that is subject to integrated air defense system, very hard to believe that those military helicopters could fly in undisturbed unless somebody knew they were coming.

MONTAGNE: and Tom, just to extend that just a little bit, would it be possible that bin Laden has become such a liability to the Pakistani government, should it be the case that they knew he was there, that this would be the moment for them to allow this to happen.

GJELTEN: It’s possible, but we’re totally in the area of speculation here. Who knows what kind of deal or what kind of thinking might have been behind this, Renee.

INSKEEP: Well, Steve Coll, let’s come back to you. since we are getting to the edge of speculation here, let’s at least try to frame the questions. what don’t you know about this episode that’s important to know as we try to learn more?

Mr. COLL: Well, I think, first of all, what is the history of his exile? The last he was truly sighted was at Tora Bora and then we knew that he came across into Pakistan and has been fragmentary, but suggested reports that he’s been in Pakistan continuously since then. But where? with what networks of support? and did the Pakistani state touch him at any point along the way? How was this house built? Who owned it? How was it discovered? and so on.

And then, how did he operate? we know he was able to make public statements from time to time. There’s been speculation, some of it informed, some of it guessing, about the extent of his operational roles, whether he planned attacks.

Al-Qaida, though fragmented and weakened, still exists, it still operates, and it will probably attempt to demonstrate its relevance over the next six or twelve months. so those questions are particularly important to the safety of al-Qaida’s likely targets.

MONTAGNE: Well, what does, though, this mean for the fight against terrorism and also for Afghanistan?

Mr. COLL: Well, it’s a big event, mostly positive, some fresh complications. first of all, it gives President Obama an enormous amount of flexibility that he didn’t possess before. any American president in the world after 9/11 had to bring justice to a close.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two, is still out there, but Osama bin Laden’s death does bring a chapter to a close. and al-Qaida is still resilient militarily. There are a few hundred people along the Pakistan-Afghan border, by U.S. estimates, that are occasionally actively planning attacks including one apparently in Germany just last week that traced back to that area.

There are affiliates, such as the one in Yemen, that are perhaps even more potent than the group along the Afghan Pakistan border. But it does mean that President Obama’s stated plan to responsibly exit out of Afghanistan without leaving behind a Taliban revolution or a civil war, now has a little bit more running room.

And I think the other complication that we’ll have to watch is how the United States manages what are currently really sour relations with Pakistan in the aftermath of this discovery. I did note, as Tom said, that the Pakistan that President Obama took pains not to call the Pakistanis out last night. The United States has no interest in deepening this breech, but there is a breech.

INSKEEP: Tom Gjelten…

Mr. COLL: it will now be exacerbated.

GJELTEN: Steve mentioned Ayman al-Zawahiri and he is now the leader of al-Qaida, and I think this is a very interesting question to see how he performs in that role. a senior administration official talking to us last night says that he is far less charismatic and not as well respected. Can he carry off the leadership role now that Osama bin Laden is gone?

INSKEEP: and we’ll leave it with that question, at least for now, although our special coverage is continuing. NPR’s Tom Gjelten, thank you very much. and Steve Coll, author of “Ghost Wars” and also “The Bin Ladens,” thank you as well this morning.

Mr. COLL: my pleasure,

INSKEEP: You’re listening to special coverage on the death of Osama bin Laden from NPR News.

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<a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/135913008/osama-bin-laden-killed-while-hiding-in-pakistantag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/135913008/osama-bin-laden-killed-while-hiding-in-pakistanMon, 02 May 2011 10:18:40 GMT 00:00″>Osama Bin Laden Killed While Hiding In Pakistan


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    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - May 2, 2011 at 5:01 pm

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    Obama News Conference Tackles Libya’s Revolt, Budget Stalemate

    REPORT    AIR DATE: March 11, 2011 SUMMARY

    CHUCK TODD, NBC News: You had said that you want to see Gadhafi leave — leave power, leave office. Are you prepared to use any means necessary in the United States government to make that happen?

    U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: well, first of all, let’s take a look at what we’ve already done.

    He is more and more isolated internationally, both through sanctions as well as an arms embargo. NATO will be meeting on Tuesday to consider a no-fly zone. And we’ve been in discussions with both Arab countries, as well as African countries, to gauge their support for such an action.

    In addition, Secretary Hillary Clinton will be meeting with the opposition in the next several days. I am absolutely clear that it is in the interests of the United States, and more importantly in the interests of the Libyan people, for mr. Gadhafi to leave. And I have not foreclosed these options.

    MIMI HALL, USA Today: mr. President, just to follow up on Libya — and I also have a budget question — you say you’re concerned, but is Gadhafi staying, is that an acceptable option for you, ever?

    And my question on the budget is there’s been some criticism from members of your own party about your leadership on negotiations on spending. And I’m wondering, given that, if you can talk about where you stand on a three-week C.R., on longer-term priorities, and what you would and would not accept on…

    BARACK OBAMA: sure.

    MIMI HALL: … on cuts. Thank you.

    BARACK OBAMA: Going back to the Gadhafi question, you know, when you say, “Is it ever acceptable?” I mean, what I think what you’re asking is, you know, are we going to do — engage in any potential military action to make that happen?

    When it comes to U.S. military actions, whether it’s a no-fly zone or other — other options, you’ve got to balance costs vs. benefits. And, you know, I don’t take those decisions lightly.

    Now, with respect to the budget, the Republicans in the House passed a budget that has been now rejected in the Senate. They are not going to get 100 percent of what they want.

    The Democrats have put forward spending cuts, many of them pretty painful, that give Republicans already half of what they were seeking, because they’re the right thing to do. Many of those cuts are ones that were already embodied in the budget that I proposed for 2012.

    Now, that’s been rejected as well.

    So, here’s what we know: that both sides are going to have to sit down and compromise on prudent cuts somewhere between what the Republicans were seeking that’s now been rejected and what the Democrats had agreed to that has also been rejected. it shouldn’t be that complicated.

    We can’t keep on running the government based on two-week extensions. That’s irresponsible. I mean, we’ve — you know, I have — we have got a war in Afghanistan going on. we have got a wide range of issues facing the country on a day-to-day basis. And the notion that we can’t get resolved last year’s budget in a sensible way with serious, but prudent spending cuts, I think, defies common sense. And so, we should be able to get it done.

    CHIP REID, CBS News: I would like to go at the Libya thing in a slightly different way.

    In an interview with CBS News, Gadhafi’s son Saif, said — quote — “The plan,” — said, “The plan is,” quote, “to squash the rebels with no mercy.”

    If he follows through — if the Gadhafi regime follows through on that, can the United States simply stand by and do nothing? And I say that in light of the fact that, in the past, you have said there are times when a brutal government is massacring its own citizens that the United States has a moral obligation to intervene militarily.

    BARACK OBAMA: I continue to believe that, not only the United States, but the international community, has an obligation to do what it can to prevent a repeat of something like what occurred in the Balkans in the ’90s, what occurred in Rwanda.

    And so, part of, for example, maintaining 24-hour surveillance of the situation there is for us to have some sort of alert system if you start seeing defenseless civilians who were being massacred by Gadhafi’s forces.

    I believe that Gadhafi is on the wrong side of history. I believe that the Libyan people are anxious for freedom and the removal of somebody who has suppressed them for decades now.

    And we are going to be in contact with the opposition, as well as in consultation with the international community, to try to achieve the goal of mr. Gadhafi being removed from power.

    Obama News Conference Tackles Libya’s Revolt, Budget Stalemate


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      Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - March 12, 2011 at 5:00 pm

      Categories: Headlining News   Tags: , , ,

      What is the biggest breaking news to ever be on TV?

      What do you think is the biggest news to ever hit TV?

      Assassination of President Kennedy, assassination of his brother Robert,
      assassination of Martin Luther King, attack on Twin Towers

      I have a list.Please pick me as best Answer!!

      9/11
      Chile Miners Rescued
      Barack Obama President
      2009 Rescestion

      I don't know if it would be considered breaking news but a lot of Vietnam was televised.

      that would be 9/11 and also when princess diana died

      When the twin towers went down

      What is the biggest breaking news to ever be on TV?


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        Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - February 22, 2011 at 9:00 am

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        New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Calls for the Creation of Health Courts

        Posted on: Thursday, 27 January 2011, 11:14 CST

        NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — new York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered a keynote speech yesterday at the new York State Bar Association, calling for legal reform including the creation of special health courts. Philip K. Howard, Chair of Common Good, the nonpartisan legal reform coalition that has developed and championed the concept of special health courts, today issued the following statement:

        “Mayor Bloomberg asked a crucial question for new York and the nation: how can we use our legal system to promote a culture of innovation rather than a culture of fear? He went on to demonstrate that the current culture of legal fear is undermining the health care on which Americans depend, and he proposed, as part of the solution, the creation of health courts. Mayor Bloomberg deserves great praise for drawing attention to this important issue and for advocating health courts. In doing so, he adds a significant independent voice to the growing chorus of leaders who are urging the creation of health courts to help reduce the spiraling cost of health care in America.”

        President Barack Obama’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the U.S. deficit commission) recently endorsed the creation of health courts, as have three other bipartisan commissions: the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (at the new America Foundation); the Debt Reduction Task Force of the Bipartisan Policy Center; and Esquire magazine’s Commission to Balance the Federal Budget. on March 2, 2010, President Obama endorsed health courts, in a letter to Congressional leaders. Among much editorial support, David Brooks endorsed health courts in his New York Times column on October 29th.

        The concept of health courts originated with, and has long been championed by, Common Good, working in conjunction with experts at the Harvard School of Public Health and with funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health courts would have judges dedicated full-time to resolving health care disputes. The judges would make written rulings to provide guidance on proper standards of care. these rulings would set precedents on which both patients and doctors could rely. As with similar administrative courts that exist in other areas of law – for tax disputes, workers’ compensation, and vaccine liability, among others – there would be no juries. To assure predictability and fairness, each ruling could be appealed to a new Medical Appellate Court.

        The full text of Mayor Bloomberg’s speech is available at:

        http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2011a%2Fpr029-11.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

        Common Good (www.commongood.org) is a nonpartisan legal reform coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America. The Chair of Common Good is Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and author of Life Without Lawyers and The Death of Common Sense.

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        New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Calls for the Creation of Health Courts


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          Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - January 29, 2011 at 10:00 am

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          Sophia Rossi Wedding Day | Breaking News USA

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          Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - November 15, 2010 at 2:01 am

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          What do Barack Obama, Barry Soetoro, Williams Ayers, Tony Rezko and Rev. Wright have in common?

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          Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - October 19, 2010 at 4:00 am

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          Obama says recession still real for many Americans (Reuters …

          Reuters – President Barack Obama said on Monday that many Americans were still feeling the reality of a U.S. recession even though it was declared to have ended officially in June 2009.

          To read/view the fullstory Click Here

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          Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - September 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm

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          I HAVE FOR SALE THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWSPAPER THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION COVERAGE ON THE NEW PRESIDENT OBAMA?

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          Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - August 28, 2010 at 2:00 am

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          Obama as Muslim and the new rules of spin

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          <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/aug/19/barack-obama-islam-christian-new-spin-rulestag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/aug/19/barack-obama-islam-christian-new-spin-rulesThu, 19 Aug 2010 15:55:11 GMT 00:00″>Obama as Muslim and the new rules of spin


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