The real reason Obama ordered the hit on Bin Laden

[American Patriot]

Bin Laden worried about legacy and sought to kill Obama

By Brian Bennett Friday, May 4th 2012, 09:52



May 04--WASHINGTON -- In his final months padding around the dark third-floor room in his cinder-block Pakistan hide-out, the world's most notorious terrorist mastermind spent a lot of time in his own head.

He fretted about his public image and the legacy of his organization. He wondered whether he had misnamed it Al Qaeda. He fired off orders, handed out promotions, denied requests for help from the battlefield and sought to direct publicity for the looming 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And as well, he schemed to kill the man who would, in the end, give the order to shoot him dead: Barack Obama.

That's the portrait of Osama Bin Laden painted by the slim collection of notes and letters made public Thursday by the Combating Terrorism Center, a think tank at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The 17 documents represent a sliver of the vast cache of material on computer hard disks, flash drives and DVDs that Navy SEALs scooped up from Bin Laden's compound after they found him a year ago in his bedroom and put a bullet in his face.

The documents offer few revelations about how Bin Laden evaded the U.S. for nearly a decade. But they do provide, with granular detail, selective insights into the mind of the terrorist leader during the years he was on the run.

What is missing from the tightly controlled release are details of who may have protected him, and how America's Public Enemy No. 1 had spent years just a mile from Pakistan's own version of West Point, the prestigious Kakul military academy in Abbottabad.

During those years, the documents indicate, Bin Laden was haunted by Al Qaeda's failures and sought to recast his revolution. He concerned himself with the organization's inabilities to launch a second large-scale attack in the U.S., to capitalize on resentment that fueled the "Arab Spring" and to retain the trust and loyalty of Sunni Arab tribes in western Iraq.

Al Qaeda's experience in Iraq weighed heavily on Bin Laden. He saw how beheadings and indiscriminate bombings that led to scores of Muslim civilian deaths turned the tribes against the group, pushing tribal leaders into an alliance with the U.S. military. He did not want to see this happen again and warned the leader of his affiliate in Yemen to treat tribal leaders carefully.

"Bin Laden appeared to be deeply concerned that affiliates could go too far by killing too many people," said Seth Jones, an expert on Al Qaeda at the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp. think tank and author of "Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida Since 9/11."

Concerned that a "large portion" of Muslims had lost their trust in Al Qaeda, Bin Laden even floated new names for his organization. He felt that continuing to call the group Al Qaeda "reduces the feeling of Muslims that we belong to them."

Al Qaeda means "the base" and was a name that emerged from the organization's origins in the base camps for fighters in Pakistan training to launch attacks on Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan in the 1980s. Bin Laden pondered ideas for a new name to better embrace the Muslim world, the contenders including: Muslim Unity Group, Islamic National Unification Party or Monotheism and Jihad Group.

Bin Laden continued to order that holy war be waged thousands of miles away, even as he remained within his compound. He could only see the world in shadows, flickering on his television set and computer screen, described to him through letters and Arabic translations of American news reports.

As a result, he developed a sort of talk radio view of U.S. politics. At the same time, he could no longer trust that his commands were being followed, or whether his subordinates still revered him.

"I don't think he had understood that Al Qaeda had long passed him by. I think he thought that by doing what he knew -- top down management -- he could get it back, but no one was listening," said Jarret Brachman, a consultant to the U.S. government on the leadership of terrorist organizations and the author of "Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice."

Among the plans that never came to fruition was a plot to kill President Obama.
Bin Laden ordered a lieutenant to set up a terrorist team near Bagram air base in Afghanistan that would be ready to blow up the president's plane if he arrived for a surprise visit, as he eventually did on Tuesday, the first anniversary of Bin Laden's death.

Bin Laden wrote in a letter to one of his lieutenants that assassinating Obama would put a "totally unprepared" Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the country, "which will lead the U.S. into a crisis."

Despite a deepening sense that his organization was being fractured by a relentless covert campaign of U.S. drone strikes that killed some of his most trusted aides, Bin Laden's preference for spectacular attacks, as opposed to pin prick strikes, remained strong, as well as his obsession with airplanes.

He also continued to express a need to maintain personal control, demanding that affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa stop fighting regional battles and help him focus on attacking the West.

Given the American focus on the Horn of Africa, Bin Laden was concerned about militants in Somalia coming under increased U.S. military pressure and economic sanctions if Al Qaeda offered its public support. He told the head of the Yemen affiliate that he shouldn't declare an Islamic state there as long as "the enemy continues to possess the ability to topple any state we establish."

The small selection of letters seems to show a Bin Laden who may have grown apart from his long-time deputy, Egyptian-born surgeon Ayman Zawahiri, and come to rely on the judgment of Libyan-born Atiyah Rahman, who was killed in a predator drone strike in August 2011. In the letters, Rahman and Bin Laden also lament the rash and short sighted leadership shown by a new generation of leaders rising through the ranks.

"It is clear that the documents that paint a negative portrait of Al Qaeda, they [the Obama administration] wanted out," said a former U.S. official familiar with the intelligence haul who spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive material.

Seeing a more three-dimensional portrait of Bin Laden would require the release of a more representative batch of the documents, said Bill Roggio, managing editor of the Long War Journal, a website that tracks terrorist groups and is funded by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a right-leaning think tank in Washington.

"I think that nearly all of Osama bin Laden's files should be declassified and released to the public, not just a tiny fraction of them," said Roggio.
brian.bennett@latimes.com

[Malsua]

I don't think Obama ordered the hit because Osama would target him.

I think he ordered the hit because his subordinates said they were going to hit Osama and his choice was to take credit for it or come out against it.

[vector7]

Did Senior Military/Intelligence Officials Overrule President Obama Regarding Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden?

Published by Ulsterman on May 2, 2011 in US Politics

A reluctant American president who was ultimately overridden by senior military and intelligence officials to finally take out terrorist Osama Bin Laden…

Note: This communication came from our long time D.C. Insider and details previous and ongoing conflicts surrounding the decision to assassinate terrorist Osama Bin Laden. This has been reproduced here as originally communicated to us.
__________

Please get this out ASAP. Want specific people to know we know.
RE Osama Bin Laden. Significant push to take him out months ago. Senior WH staff resisted. This was cause of much strain between HC and Obama/Jarrett. HC and LP were in constant communication over matter – both attempted to convince administration to act. Administration feared failure and resulting negative impact on president. Intel disgusted over politics over national security. Staff resigned/left. Check timeline to corroborate.

Read more in US Politics
« The Ulsterman Report: Obama Parties and Golfs Shortly Before Killing of Osama Bin Laden
Osama Bin Laden Did NOT Get Shot »

Now Intel already leaking to media facts surrounding how info obtained. Namely from enhanced interrogation efforts via GITMO prisoners. Obama administration placed in corner on this. Some media aware of danger to president RE this and attempting protection. Others looking for further investigation. We are pushing for them to follow through and already meeting with some access.

Point of determination made FOR Obama not BY Obama. Will clarify as details become more clear. Very clear divide between Military and WH.

Jarrett marginalized 100% on decision to take out OBL. She played no part. BD worked with LP and HC to form coalition to force CoC to engage.

IMPORTANT SPECIFIC: When 48 hour go order issued, CoC was told, not requested. Administration scrambled to abort. That order was overruled. This order did not originate from CoC. Repeat – this order did not originate from CoC. He complied, but did not originate.

Independent military contacts have confirmed. Stories corroborate one another. This is legit.

The killing of Osama Bin Laden was in fact a Coup within Obama WH.
Speaking with additional contacts RE info.
Stay safe.
________________
HC = Hillary Clinton
BD = Bill Daley
LP = Leon Panetta
CoC = Chain of Command/Commander in Chief

UPDATE: JUST RELEASED PHOTO OF THE WHITE HOUSE “WAR ROOM” DURING THE OSAMA BIN LADEN ASSASSINATION OPERATION SHOWING A SEEMINGLY ANGRY BARACK OBAMA STILL WEARING HIS GOLF ATTIRE AND BILL DALEY, HILLARY CLINTON, AND ROBERT GATES ON OPPOSITE SIDE OF ROOM. THIS PHOTO APPEARS TO FURTHER SUPPORT THE DESCRIPTION OF THAT DAY’S EVENTS BY INSIDER…

---

May 3, 2011 at 12:10 PM EDT
Panetta: President Obama Couldn't See Bin Laden's Death, but Received 'Geronimo' Signal

By: Larisa Epatko


President Obama shakes hands with Adm. Mike Mullen after his statement about the mission against Osama bin Laden. CIA Director Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are pictured at left. (White House photo by Pete Souza)

In a newsmaker interview with Jim Lehrer on Tuesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta describes the final tense seconds of the commando raid on the compound housing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan -- and the culmination of a nearly 10-year manhunt.

Panetta told Lehrer neither he nor President Obama watched the actual shooting of bin Laden as it happened. Panetta spoke from CIA headquarters about the military intelligence operation that led to the al-Qaida leader's death.

"Once those teams went into the compound, I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes that we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. There were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information. But finally Adm. (William) McRaven came back and said he had picked up the word 'Geronimo,' which was the code word that represented they got bin Laden," he said.

When Lehrer asked if bin Laden said anything to the commandos, Panetta said: "To be frank, I don't think he had a lot of time to say anything."

Lehrer also asked about the uncertainty surrounding whether bin Laden was actually in the compound and whether he fired back at the Navy SEALs. The full interview airs Tuesday on the NewsHour.

[American Patriot]

I don't think Obama ordered the hit because Osama would target him.

I think he ordered the hit because his subordinates said they were going to hit Osama and his choice was to take credit for it or come out against it.

Maybe....

lol

[American Patriot]

I'm absolutely certain that folks overruled the President. I merely posted that "headline" to give the spin the left would give.

If we are to maintain our facts here, the facts have to be posted and regardless of which side it comes from they must be shown.

Yeah, Osama was going to try to take out Obama. And Obama wanted to "let him live" because frankly he is more into politics than he is into taking care of this country.

[Malsua]

See, the postman always rings twice.

[vector7]

[catfish]

How can anyone overrule the president on such a matter? We sent military into another country, our supposed allies, within rock throwing distance of Pakistan's "West Point" and killed people. If the president wanted to abort then it should have been aborted, he is the commander of the armed forces. If he truly was overruled, by whom then? If this is really what happened then i have a serious problem with that, regardless of what I actually think of the president himself.

The funny thing is, I keep looking at that picture in the war room lately, staring at Obama. He does look pissed off, super fucking pissed off...

[vector7]

[American Patriot]

The clenched jaw, the veins sticking out at his temples, slightly narrowed eyes.... yeah, he's pretty pissed about something.

Look every single one of you can look at a person and detect their emotions so what do you all think? Why is he mad they are taking out Osama?

The Situation Room (which I have visited at least twice in my own career) hasn't changed much except for more modern vide equipment. But, I can tell you from experience that room is always full of tension.... and there is not a bloody doubt in my mind it's full of it in the picture above.

[vector7]

May 23, 2012
The Illusion of Obama's Bin Laden Raid Situation Room Leadership

By Mara Zebest

Apparently, my previous article on the famous "Situation Room" photo tapped a nationwide nerve. The response ranged from some eye-opening tips on other photos to a few perplexed criticisms as to the motivation for Photoshopping a Situation Room photo.

The answer to that latter question can be summed up in one simple thought: To hide the truth. Obama was out golfing while the OBL mission was unfolding, and the administration needed the Situation Room photo op for public perception -- to give the illusion that he's presidential.

Obama's entire "Composite Presidency" and administration are orchestrated in this fashion. Not only is the photo's legitimacy in question, but so is the narrative illusion behind it. Obama knew of OBL's location for a year and refused to act. The CIA admits that there was "no live video feed," as implied by the iconic White House photo. It is anyone's guess what the captive audience was looking at, but it wasn't the OBL raid. It was recently reported that a highly lawyered CYA memo was drafted that made it clear that the military would take all blame for any errors, while Obama would claim all glory for successes. Not surprisingly, the real heroes seem to have a problem with this form of spiking the ball and using our brave SEALs for political gain. Why would Obama need to Photoshop the Situation Room photos? For the same reason behind everything else he does: to influence perception in which everything is about Obama.

As a follow-up to the previous article, a second "Situation Room" photo will be the target of discussion here. For those who would like to download the image, a high-resolution version can be found here. This White House Flickr link is a great place to check for high-resolution sizes of many of the White House photo sets released.



At first glance, the image overwhelms the viewer with a massive backside of Obama's jacket -- oddly oversized shoulders and arms supporting another small-head redux. Any more photos like this, and one might start speculating that Jeebs is the inspiration.



In all fairness, the initial impression leads the eye to believe that the beige fabric under the right armpit belongs to Robert Gates' pants (standing near Obama on the right). However, if that were the case, then who would be attached to the pant leg under the left armpit? It's not intuitively obvious, and it takes the viewer a little time to eventually come to a conclusion that these fabric strips are side panels built into the jacket design. Maybe the New York Times found the presence of this fabric an odd distraction as well -- and the reason behind their cropped version.

Even with this oddity solved, the image is not without significant problems. Moving up the Iron Man-like shoulders to the blurry Jeebs-sized head, zoom in for an extreme close-up of the right neck edge and ear. The right edge of the neck is missing a small but important piece -- it suffers a disappearing act as it approaches the jacket edge and displays a transparent gap (where a phone sitting on the desk can be seen through the neck).

The right ear is also inconsistent along the defining edge. The top ear rim edge is blurry but still clearly visible (similar to the left ear edge), but as the eye travels down around the right ear edge, an abrupt chunk is taken away from the outer ear rim, and the remaining pixel edge transition is significantly sharper (less blurry) for the lower portion.

Shifting to a different image section, it appears that there is a floating hand among the Situation Room attendees. Just to verify that a body wasn't being eclipsed by the folks in front, it seemed reasonable to obtain some answers by examining the reflections in the monitors on the wall behind them. By applying an image adjustment to lighten all the color values in the monitors, the reflection detail becomes more pronounced and easier to discern. Keep in mind that the adjustment applied to the monitors will distort color values -- thus the shirt that appears white could be the blue-shirted man seen in the photo. That said, the man in the reflection has his hand in front -- near his chin -- not at his back. The curvature of the fingers appears different from that of the floating hand's, as well as the fact that it is a man in the reflection, while the floating hand displays feminine characteristics.

The blue-shirted man standing in the room does not appear to be a match for the man in the reflection.



So if the reflection is not the blue-shirted man, but rather an eclipsed individual, then where is the blue-shirted man found in the reflection? Wouldn't he be seen in front of the eclipsed individual (within the reflection)? Conversely, if the floating hand does not match the reflected man's hand, then where in the room is the reflected man (whose hand is near the chin)? Not to mention that the body for the floating hand has still not been accounted for via the reflection.

In case you were wondering how the people in the room translate to the rear monitor reflections, a capture is provided for your evaluation. Keep in mind that the reflections are at angles similar to looking in a mirror and viewing information at the opposing angle.

Shifting gears to the first "Situation Room" photo, found here, a few more problems were neglected in the last article.

Is there another transparency issue when zoomed in tight to Gates' face? Clinton's jacket pattern can be seen deep into Gates' pupil. The wisp of hair induced transparency near Gates' forehead may be a contrived attempt when contrasted with the stark clarity in Clinton's hair (sitting next to Gates) and a similar contrived transparency near the same wisp of hair found on Gates in the Obama "huge back" photo.

A dashed line in the capture shows the area that resembles a masking attempt to give a natural illusion.

A final note focuses on the blurred photo in front of Hillary Clinton, in which the White House narrative offered the explanation that the blur was necessary to hide sensitive material. Fair enough. However, how is it that this supposedly sensitive document was obscured, while the binder sitting on Hillary's lap is left untouched?

The first line printed at the top of the binder clearly states "TOP SECRET CODEWORD NOFORN" with a second line message "FOR USE IN WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM ONLY." Keep in mind that the codename for the OBL mission was leaked as "Geronimo," so this is obviously a different codeword. Is this another disturbing attempt to casually release confidential information to our enemies? In light of numerous stories, most recently the secret-under-the-radar program to release Taliban detainees -- it's not hard to get the feeling that the mission of this administration is to sabotage the safety and sovereignty of this nation rather than protect it.

[MinutemanCO]

What's with these guys? They can't be THAT bad at Photoshop. I've got a bit of experience at photomanipulation using Photoshop Creative Suites, but I'm no expert. And I could have done a much better job creating that 'shopped image. What, did they let the second-year intern do that one?

[American Patriot]

Actually, I can explain the reasoning behind blurring the photo and leaving the words intact.

The sheet with the "words" on it is a "Cover Sheet" covering the material beneath. So, that would be normal and it wouldn't be "expunged" or "redacted".

As to the reflections, the interesting "floating hand" (obviously that of a woman) who has no corresponding reflection in the monitor, the man in the monitor with his hand on his chin... those things are all explainable as well.

The photo is a forgery, just like everything else this Administration is doing.

[American Patriot]

Anyone else note that the jackets are different colors of blue?

The one in the last photo above is a polyester material, very similar to the flight jackets the Presidents wear (and Air Force Blue).

In the first two photos (same shot, one is zoomed in) the color is NAVY Blue, not AF Blue. And that jacket appears to be a different material.

[Ryan Ruck]

Hey, that photo is as real as his birth certificate! How dare you!



Truthfully though, how very Soviet-esque of them.

[American Patriot]

How can anyone overrule the president on such a matter? We sent military into another country, our supposed allies, within rock throwing distance of Pakistan's "West Point" and killed people. If the president wanted to abort then it should have been aborted, he is the commander of the armed forces. If he truly was overruled, by whom then? If this is really what happened then i have a serious problem with that, regardless of what I actually think of the president himself.

The funny thing is, I keep looking at that picture in the war room lately, staring at Obama. He does look pissed off, super fucking pissed off...

Catfish,

Sometimes what goes on "on the ground" happens before anyone has a chance to abort.

So that he was "over-ruled" is really a supposition on our part, but it's possible, even LIKELY if Bin Laden was nearly in the hands of the men going after him and Obama might not have had TIME to say no.

On the other hand, it would be polite to have informed him as C-in-C but technically, the SecDef could have taken it on himself to press the mission forward without notification, thinking it "would be ok" to go on.

So... maybe "over ruled" is a strong word....

[vector7]

Pentagon admits it has no photo evidence of Bin Laden's death

By Elliott Freeman May 1, 2012 in Politics
31 comments

Pentagon officials recently disclosed to the Associated Press (AP) that they could not find any photo or video evidence to confirm that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in the Navy Seal raid in Pakistan a year ago.

AP has submitted more than 20 requests for information surrounding the raid on Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound to the U.S. Government under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In response to the request for visual evidence of Bin Laden’s death, the Pentagon stated that it could not find any pictures or video footage of the raid itself or of Bin Laden’s dead body. It also told AP it could not locate any images of Bin Laden’s body that were taken on the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, the Navy aircraft carrier that reportedly lowered him into the sea after his death. In addition, the Pentagon admitted that it could not find an autopsy report, death certificate or results of a DNA identification test for Bin Laden, in spite of claims made by President Obama and reported by CBC News that a DNA test was performed.

These admissions follow a related FOIA response by the Department of Defense in February, in which it stated that it had no emails concerning the Bin Laden raid that were sent prior to its execution. The Atlantic Wire reported in February that the CIA claimed it had visual proof of Bin Laden’s death, but the Pentagon’s admission that it does not have any evidence of this kind still raises significant questions, since its jurisdiction includes the Navy Seals that conducted the raid and the Navy ship that buried Bin Laden at sea.

The latest revelation drew the suspicion of Lt. Col. Robert Bowman (ret.), the former director of Advanced Space Programs Development for the U.S. Air Force. “It makes the official story sound very fishy,” Bowman said in an interview with Digital Journal. “Without proof, I’m not buying it carte blanche.”

Bowman also pointed to the reports that Bin Laden died in 2001 or 2002, which have been supported by former FBI counter-terrorism chief Dale Watson, former assistant Secretary of State Steve Pieczenik, former U.S. foreign intelligence officer Angelo Codevilla and other intelligence experts. “This smacks of a cover-up,” Bowman added.

Some organizations contend that the cover-up extends beyond the Bin Laden raid, including Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, a group of over 1,600 technical professionals that is calling for a new 9/11 investigation. "The raid is not the only part of the Bin Laden narrative that doesn't add up," said founder Richard Gage, AIA. "It's also highly unlikely that Bin Laden and Al Qaeda had access to plant the explosives that brought down the Twin Towers and Building 7."

Meanwhile, President Obama called for a time of remembrance and contemplation on the anniversary of the raid. "I think for us to use that time for some reflection, to give thanks to those who participated is entirely appropriate, and that’s what’s been taking place," he said on Monday, according to McClatchy News. It remains to be seen how the public will reflect on the lack of credible evidence surrounding the demise of the world’s most wanted terrorist.

[vector7]

Companion Thread: Obama Administration Spying on Americans (NSA)

President Obama's State of Secrecy: Bin Laden raid files purged from Pentagon computers and moved to CIA

• From ASSOCIATED PRESS
• Last Updated: 7:56 AM, July 8, 2013
• Posted: 7:46 AM, July 8, 2013

AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death in a US Special Forces ground operation.

The nation's top special operations commander ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.

The secret move, described briefly in a draft report by the Pentagon's inspector general, set off no alarms within the Obama administration even though it appears to have sidestepped federal rules and perhaps also the Freedom of Information Act.

An acknowledgement by Adm. William McRaven of his actions was quietly removed from the final version of an inspector general's report published weeks ago. A spokesman for the admiral declined to comment. The CIA, noting that the bin Laden mission was overseen by then-CIA Director Leon Panetta before he became defense secretary, said that the SEALs were effectively assigned to work temporarily for the CIA, which has presidential authority to conduct covert operations.

"Documents related to the raid were handled in a manner consistent with the fact that the operation was conducted under the direction of the CIA director," agency spokesman Preston Golson said in an emailed statement. "Records of a CIA operation such as the (bin Laden) raid, which were created during the conduct of the operation by persons acting under the authority of the CIA Director, are CIA records."

Golson said it is "absolutely false" that records were moved to the CIA to avoid the legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

The records transfer was part of an effort by McRaven to protect the names of the personnel involved in the raid, according to the inspector general's draft report.

But secretly moving the records allowed the Pentagon to tell The Associated Press that it couldn't find any documents inside the Defense Department that AP had requested more than two years ago, and could represent a new strategy for the U.S. government to shield even its most sensitive activities from public scrutiny.

"Welcome to the shell game in place of open government," said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a private research institute at George Washington University. "Guess which shell the records are under. If you guess the right shell, we might show them to you. It's ridiculous."


jonathanolley.co.uk

Navy SEALs raid Osama Bin Laden's compound in the film "Zero Dark Thirty." Pentagon records of the raid have been moved to the CIA and may never see the light of day.

McRaven's directive sent the only copies of the military's records about its daring raid to the CIA, which has special authority to prevent the release of "operational files" in ways that can't effectively be challenged in federal court. The Defense Department can prevent the release of its own military files, too, citing risks to national security. But that can be contested in court, and a judge can compel the Pentagon to turn over non-sensitive portions of records.

Under federal rules, transferring government records from one executive agency to another must be approved in writing by the National Archives and Records Administration. There are limited circumstances when prior approval is not required, such as when the records are moved between two components of the same executive department. The CIA and Special Operations Command are not part of the same department.

The Archives was not aware of any request from the U.S. Special Operations Command to transfer its records to the CIA, spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman said. She said it was the Archives' understanding that the military records belonged to the CIA, so transferring them wouldn't have required permission under U.S. rules.

Special Operations Command also is required to comply with rules established by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that dictate how long records must be retained. Its July 2012 manual requires that records about military operations and planning are to be considered permanent and after 25 years, following a declassification review, transferred to the Archives.

Also, the Federal Records Act would not permit agencies "to purge records just on a whim," said Dan Metcalfe, who oversaw the U.S. government's compliance with the Freedom of Information Act as former director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy.

"I don't think there's an exception allowing an agency to say, `Well, we didn't destroy it. We just deleted it here after transmitting it over there.' High-level officials ought to know better."

It was not immediately clear exactly which Defense Department records were purged and transferred, when it happened or under what authority, if any, they were sent to the CIA. No government agencies the AP contacted would discuss details of the transfer. The timing may be significant: The Freedom of Information Act generally applies to records under an agency's control when a request for them is received. The AP asked for files about the mission in more than 20 separate requests, mostly submitted in May 2011 -- several were sent a day after Obama announced that the world's most wanted terrorist had been killed in a firefight. Obama has pledged to make his administration the most transparent in U.S. history.

The AP asked the Defense Department and CIA separately for files that included copies of the death certificate and autopsy report for bin Laden as well as the results of tests to identify the body. While the Pentagon said it could not locate the files, the CIA, with its special power to prevent the release of records, has never responded. The CIA also has not responded to a separate request for other records, including documents identifying and describing the forces and supplies required to execute the assault on bin Laden's compound.

The CIA did tell the AP it could not locate any emails from or to Panetta and two other top agency officials discussing the bin Laden mission.

McRaven's unusual order would have remained secret had it not been mentioned in a single sentence on the final page in the inspector general's draft report that examined whether the Obama administration gave special access to Hollywood executives planning a film, "Zero Dark Thirty," about the raid. The draft report was obtained and posted online last month by the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington.

McRaven, who oversaw the bin Laden raid, expressed concerns in the report about possible disclosure of the identities of the SEALs. The Pentagon "provided the operators and their families an inordinate level of security," the report said. McRaven also directed that the names and photographs associated with the raid not be released.

"This effort included purging the combatant command's systems of all records related to the operation and providing these records to another government agency," according to the draft report. The sentence was dropped from the report's final version.

Since the raid, one of the SEALs published a book about the raid under a pseudonym but was subsequently identified by his actual name. And earlier this year the SEAL credited with shooting bin Laden granted a tell-all, anonymous interview with Esquire about the raid and the challenges of his retiring from the military after 16 years without a pension.

Current and former Defense Department officials knowledgeable about McRaven's directive and the inspector general's report told AP the description of the order in the draft report was accurate. The reference to "another government agency" was code for the CIA, they said. These individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name.

There is no indication the inspector general's office or anyone else in the U.S. government is investigating the legality of transferring the military records. Bridget Serchak, a spokeswoman for the inspector general, would not explain why the reference was left out of the final report and what, if any, actions the office might be taking.

"Our general statement is that any draft is pre-decisional and that drafts go through many reviews before the final version, including editing or changing language," Serchak wrote in an e-mail.

The unexplained decision to remove the reference to the purge and transfer of the records "smells of bad faith," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. "How should one understand that? That adds insult to injury. It essentially covers up the action."

McRaven oversaw the raid while serving as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, the secretive outfit in charge of SEAL Team Six and the military's other specialized counterterrorism units. McRaven was nominated by Obama to lead Special Operations Command, JSOC's parent organization, a month before the raid on bin Laden's compound. He replaced Adm. Eric Olson as the command's top officer in August 2011.

Ken McGraw, a spokesman for Special Operations Command, referred questions to the inspector general's office.

The refusal to make available authoritative or contemporaneous records about the bin Laden mission means that the only official accounts of the mission come from U.S. officials who have described details of the raid in speeches, interviews and television appearances. In the days after bin Laden's death, the White House provided conflicting versions of events, falsely saying bin Laden was armed and even firing at the SEALs, misidentifying which of bin Laden's sons was killed and incorrectly saying bin Laden's wife died in the shootout. Obama's press secretary attributed the errors to the "fog of combat."

A U.S. judge and a federal appeals court previously sided with the CIA in a lawsuit over publishing more than 50 "post-mortem" photos and video recordings of bin Laden's corpse. In the case, brought by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, the CIA did not say the images were operational files to keep them secret. It argued successfully that the photos and videos must be withheld from the public to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret systems and techniques used by the CIA and the military.

The Defense Department told the AP in March 2012 it could not locate any photographs or video taken during the raid or showing bin Laden's body. It also said it could not find any images of bin Laden's body on the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier from which he was buried at sea.

The Pentagon also said it could not find any death certificate, autopsy report or results of DNA identification tests for bin Laden, or any pre-raid materials discussing how the government planned to dispose of bin Laden's body if he were killed. It said it searched files at the Pentagon, Special Operations Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla., and the Navy command in San Diego that controls the Carl Vinson.

The Pentagon also refused to confirm or deny the existence of helicopter maintenance logs and reports about the performance of military gear used in the raid. One of the stealth helicopters that carried the SEALs in Pakistan crashed during the mission and its wreckage was left behind.

The Defense Department also told the AP in February 2012 that it could not find any emails about the bin Laden mission or his "Geronimo" code name that were sent or received in the year before the raid by McRaven. The department did not say they had been moved to the CIA. It also said it could not find any emails from other senior officers who would have been involved in the mission's planning. It found only three such emails written by or sent to then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and these consisted of 12 pages sent to Gates summarizing news reports after the raid.

The Defense Department in November 2012 released copies of 10 emails totaling 31 pages found in the Carl Vinson's computer systems. The messages were heavily censored and described how bin Laden's body was prepared for burial.

These records were not among those purged and then moved to the CIA. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. James Gregory said the messages from the Carl Vinson "were not relating to the mission itself and were the property of the Navy."

[vector7]

Obama Administration Effictively Seals all records About the Death of OBL and Seal Team 6 Members


by John Galt
July 8, 2013 23:00 ET


The AP story is pretty black, white, and bleak:


Secret move keeps bin Laden records out of sight



Why is this story important?


I refer back to this story:


Seal Team 6 Copter Shoot Down: Is the CIA Erasing Evidence of the OBL Operation?



By John Galt
August 7, 2011 09:30 ET

As many of my readers and listeners know, I am not much for conspiracies from the extreme woo-woo land, but every now and then I will take a swim in the conspiracy pool and get a toe or two wet. This morning however, I think I’m diving into the deep end with this one and I hope you’ll follow my logic because the shooting down of the helicopter containing members of Seal Team Six which were involved in the alleged assassination of Osama Bin Laden struck me as just way too coincidental as far as timing and the news flow since the goat lover was announced dead.

(excerpted from my post almost 2 years ago)


Need I say more?


Bastards.

[vector7]

Companion Threads:

• Bin Laden Death, Obama re-election
• Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills Members of SEAL Team 6
• Suspicious Deaths During The Obama Administration

Love: Obama Played Cards During Osama Raid; 'I Can’t Watch This Entire Thing,' Obama Said

2:00 PM, Aug 14, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPER
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Reggie Love says he and President Obama played cards during the Osama bin Laden raid, and that the president told him, "I can't watch this entire thing."



“Most people were like down in the Situation Room and [President Obama] was like, ‘I’m not going to be down there, I can’t watch this entire thing,’ We must have played 15 games of spades," said Love at a public event.

Love was Obama's "body man," and spent much time with his boss while he worked for Obama at the White House.