White House

As White House Choreographs Raid Anniversary, Bin Laden Death Photos Remain Secret

Eric Lach | May 1, 2012, 4:55AM

As you may have heard, it's the one-year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Also coming up: the one-year anniversary of the first Freedom of Information Act requests for the photographs taken of bin Laden's body.

Obama and his re-election campaign have embraced bin Laden's death as one of the president's signature achievements, and are currently using it to bludgeon Mitt Romney, but photographs of that achievement are still considered a national security risk.

On "Fox News Sunday" this week, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan was asked why the White House has refused to release the presumably gruesome images.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Judge Denies Request For Release Of Bin Laden Death Pictures

Eric Lach | April 26, 2012, 6:01PM

A federal judge has denied a request by the conservative government watchdog Judicial Watch for the government to release photographs or video of Osama bin Laden taken during or after the Special Forces raid that resulted in the death of the al Qaeda leader last year.

Read more »

al qaeda

Al Qaeda Media Memo: Fox News Sucks, MSNBC Was Better With Olbermann

David Taintor | March 22, 2012, 10:26AM

According to a 21-page media strategy letter, al Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn didn't care for Fox News, thought CNN was better in Arabic and liked MSNBC better before Keith Olbermann was fired.

Read more »

Timothy P. O’Donnell

'Osama bin Laden' Was An American Idol Fan

Ryan J. Reilly | January 13, 2012, 5:37AM

Illustration (Shutterstock / TPM)

"Osama bin Laden" was a fan of American Idol.

At least that's what was suggested by copies of a typed, two-page letter -- purportedly from the al-Qaeda leader -- which started showing up at schools, law enforcement agencies, a medical facility, municipal agencies and private and religious entities in the spring of last year.

The letters demanded that America "neutralize" all its nuclear weapons and arrest unnamed individuals "responsible for unnecessary crimes of War, poverty, and suffering of families in the world" and bring them "to OHare Air Force Base for a live, unedited trial on TV, just like American Idol where people vote to determine results."

FBI officials knew the letters were a hoax from the beginning, but the threats were still a violation of the law. Ten months later, they say they've got their man.

Read more »

Bomb Threats

'Letters From Osama': Chicago Man Accused Of Mailing Fake Nuclear Bomb Threats Signed By Al-Qaeda Leader

Jillian Rayfield | January 6, 2012, 5:46PM

A Chicago man was charged with mailing fake nuclear bomb threats all around the country and signing them "Osama Bin Laden," according to federal officials.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Spanish Politician Sues FBI For Making Him Into Osama bin Laden

Ryan J. Reilly | October 12, 2011, 2:45PM

Adrian Chen | Gawker

Last year, the FBI admitted to using large portions of a random Spanish politician's campaign photograph for an age-progressed mockup of Osama bin Laden, which happened to look a lot like the random Spanish politician. Now he's suing.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Obama Admin: Osama Bin Laden Photos Must Remain Private To Protect National Security

David Taintor | September 28, 2011, 4:55PM

Osama Bin Laden

In the "interest of national security," the Obama administration this week said pictures of a deceased Osama bin Laden must not be released.

To release the images, the U.S. government said late Monday, could "inflame anti-American sentiments and provoke violent attacks on the United States or its citizens abroad."

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Peter King Calls For Pentagon And CIA To Investigate White House Connection To Bin Laden Movie

Jillian Rayfield | August 10, 2011, 6:01PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has written a letter to the Defense Department and the CIA requesting that they investigate whether the White House leaked classified information to Hurt Locker filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow about the raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden Thought al-Qaeda Had A Marketing Problem

Ryan J. Reilly | June 24, 2011, 1:24PM

Osama Bin Laden

So say you're the head of a terrorist organization. You treat your employees pretty well, giving them generous vacation benefits, but your organization isn't booming, what will all the mass murders. Maybe, in the tradition of down-on-their-luck corporations of the past, it is time for a new name?

Read more »

Bill Warren

California Diver Taking Hunt For Bin Laden Underwater

David Taintor | June 13, 2011, 11:21AM

A California diver is taking the hunt for Osama bin Laden, now deceased, to new depths.

Bill Warren plans to embark on a diving trip to recover bin Laden's body himself, the New York Post reports.

"I'm doing it because I am a patriot American who wants to know the truth," Warren told the Post. "I do it for the world."

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Bin Laden's Sons 'Condemn' President Obama

Eric Lach | May 10, 2011, 3:51PM

Omar Bin Laden

A statement apparently drafted by Osama bin Laden's grown sons accusses the U.S. of violating international law in killing their father, and criticizes President Obama in particular.

Read more »

Jim Moats

Pastor's Tale Of Navy SEAL Days Unravels After Bin Laden's Killing

Eric Lach | May 9, 2011, 3:20PM

Rev. Jim Moats

After years of letting his congregation believe he'd once been a Navy SEAL, a Pennsylvania pastor's tale has come undone.

Last week, The Patriot-News newspaper, based in Harrisburg, reached out to former SEALs living in midstate Pennsylvania, hoping for some local perspective on the U.S. commando operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Rev. Jim Moats, of Newville, obliged, and was featured in a story that ran in Saturday's edition. But it turns out Moats was never a SEAL, and the guilt-ridden pastor went to the paper's office on Sunday to fess up.

Read more »

Hillary Clinton

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Paper Removes Secretary Of State From Iconic War Room Photo

Jon Terbush | May 9, 2011, 3:18PM

Now you see her, now you don't.

A Hasidic newspaper published a doctored version of the now-famous photo of President Obama and top advisors in the situation room as the bin Laden raid unfolded, editing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and another woman out of the image entirely.

The newspaper, Der Tzitung, erased both Clinton and Director of Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason from the iconic image, leaving two conspicuous blank spaces in the photo that ran in their Friday edition last week. According to Jewish Week, the Brooklyn-based paper removed the two women because of an editorial policy stipulating that they "will not intentionally include any images of women in the paper because it could be considered sexually suggestive."

Read more »

Amtrak

Schumer Calls For 'No-Ride' List For Amtrak Trains

Eric Lach | May 9, 2011, 9:15AM

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) called on Sunday for a "no-ride" list for Amtrak trains, as a way of preventing potential terrorists from riding the rails.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

CIA Spied On Bin Laden From Safe House

Eric Lach | May 6, 2011, 9:45AM

The CIA had for months been spying on the compound where Osama bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. forces earlier this week, according to reports.

The agency maintained a rented safehouse near bin Laden's compound, where a small team of spies "relied on Pakistani informants and other sources to help assemble a 'pattern of life' portrait of the occupants and daily activities at the fortified compound where bin Laden was found," officials told The Washington Post.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Al Qaeda 'Confirms' Osama Bin Laden's Death

Eric Lach | May 6, 2011, 9:02AM

Al Qaeda's leadership has issued a statement confirming the death of Osama bin Laden, the Associated Press reports.

Read more »

David Koch

David Koch: I Don't Think Obama 'Contributed Much At All' To Bin Laden Killing

Eric Lach | May 5, 2011, 1:51PM

Koch Industries Executive Vice President David Koch

Billionaire Republican financier David Koch told New York magazine he doesn't think President Obama "contributed much at all" to the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, and the military and intelligence agencies deserve all the credit.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Holder: Bin Laden Made No Attempt To Surrender

Ryan J. Reilly | May 4, 2011, 12:46PM

"There was no indication" that Osama bin Laden wanted to surrender to U.S. forces who killed him on Sunday night, Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Holder: I Don't Know If Enhanced Interrogation Helped Catch Osama Bin Laden

Ryan J. Reilly | May 3, 2011, 11:55AM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that he didn't know if any information obtained from detainees undergoing enhanced interrogation techniques lead to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

New Satellite Photos Show Bin Laden Compound, Downed Helicopter

Melissa Jeltsen | May 3, 2011, 11:45AM

Images taken just hours after the special forces raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden capture the heavily fortified compound, as well as a downed U.S. helicopter.

The images, published by GeoEye, were collected by the IKONOS satellite while flying 423 miles above the ground.

Read more »

Afghanistan

Sen. Lugar: Keeping Major U.S. Presence In Afghanistan Is Not 'Rational'

Susan Crabtree | May 3, 2011, 10:21AM

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the Obama administration to significantly scale back U.S. resources and military commitment in Afghanistan given the bleak chances for establishing a flourishing, stable democracy there any time soon.

"It's exceedingly difficult to conclude that our vast expenditures in Afghanistan represent a rational" strategy, Lugar said during opening remarks at a Tuesday hearing on the future of Afghanistan.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Administration Backs Off Tale Of Osama Bin Laden Using Wife As Human Shield

Ryan J. Reilly | May 3, 2011, 9:45AM

It was a fitting end for the America's most wanted man. As President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan told it, a cowardly Osama bin Laden used his own wife as a human shield in his final moments. Except that apparently wasn't what happened at all.

Read more »

FBI

How The FBI Will Replace Osama Bin Laden On The Top Ten Most Wanted List

Ryan J. Reilly | May 2, 2011, 1:40PM

Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, who will replace him on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list?

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

'There Goes The Neighborhood': Twitter User Chronicled Raid That Killed Osama

Ryan J. Reilly | May 2, 2011, 11:56AM

Until last night, Twitter use @ReallyVirtual had fewer than 1,000 followers. Yesterday he was Tweeting about a strange event in his neighborhood in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Turns out he was unknowingly chronicling the undercover raid which killed Osama bin Laden, as it happened.

Read more »

Osama bin Laden

Inside Osama Bin Laden's Compound (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | May 2, 2011, 8:15AM

A section of the compound where Osama Bin Laden was hiding.

ABC News has aired pictures of the compound where Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind, was killed by American forces yesterday.

Read more »

Gary Brooks Faulkner

DIY Bin Laden Hunter Now Wants To Bring Death From Above

Eric Lach | August 18, 2010, 11:46AM

Gary Brooks Faulkner

If at first you don't succeed at killing Osama bin Laden (armed with a pistol, sword, Christian literature and night-vision goggles), try, try again.

Gary Brooks Faulkner, who was captured in Pakistan in June while on a solo mission to whack bin Laden, says he's not giving up. He plans to go back to Pakistan, to finish what he started.

Read more »

Gary Brooks Faulkner

Bin Laden Hunter: 'I Put My Life On The Line' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | June 24, 2010, 10:12AM

Gary Brooks Faulkner

Gary Faulkner, who was arrested this month in Pakistan while searching for Osama bin Laden, gave an interview to CNN yesterday after arriving back in the U.S.

Faulkner, who was found with a gun, a sword, night goggles, and Christian literature, was not charged by Pakistani authorities but instead returned to the U.S. It was his seventh trip to the country, he said, on a hunt for bin Laden.

"How does one go about trying to find Osama bin Laden?" asked the interviewer.

Read more »

Gary Brooks Faulkner

Brother Of Bin Laden Hunter: 'I Felt He Had A Good Chance' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 16, 2010, 9:29AM

Scott Faulkner

Scott Faulkner, brother of so-called Bin Laden Hunter Gary Brooks Faulkner, fully approved of his brother's "plan" to track down the terrorist mastermind in the mountains of northern Pakistan. He even gave his brother a ride to the airport.

"Gary's an adult," said Scott Faulkner, a Colorado doctor, on the Today show this morning. "And he wasn't harming anyone else, he was not engaged in illegal activity. So the rest of us felt, if that's what he needed to do, that's what he needed to do."

Read more »

Gary Brooks Faulkner

'Bin Laden Hunter' Has Criminal Record

Justin Elliott | June 15, 2010, 6:08PM

Gary Brooks Faulkner

The man who was reportedly arrested in Pakistan with a gun, a sword, night goggles, and Christian literature on a mission to kill Osama bin Laden, has a substantial criminal record in his home state of Colorado.

The Denver Post reports on Gary Brooks Faulkner:

Read more »

Bracewell Giuliani

Will Liz Cheney Attack Rudy Giuliani's Firm For Representing 'Terrorist Detainees'?

Justin Elliott | March 3, 2010, 12:22PM

Liz Cheney and Rudy Giuliani

In Liz Cheney's worldview, Rudy Giuliani is a disloyal al Qaeda sympathizer.

Let us explain.

Yesterday, Cheney's outfit, a group called Keep America Safe, went up with a blistering ad that attacked Justice Department lawyers who previously represented Guantanamo detainees and are now working on detainee issues. The ad dubbed the lawyers "the Al Qaeda Seven" and asked "whose values do they share?" while flashing an image of Osama bin Laden.

Read more »

Justice Department

Anatomy Of A Smear: Cheney Attacks DOJ Attorneys As Terrorist-Friendly (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | March 2, 2010, 3:18PM

Liz Cheney and Attorney General Eric Holder (inset)

An attack on Justice Department officials who previously represented detainees at Guantanamo was spawned by Sen. Chuck Grassley at a hearing last November, ricocheted around the right-wing media, and culminated today in a video release by Liz Cheney's group that all but accuses the lawyers of being terrorists.

The campaign-style ad from Cheney's Keep America Safe dubs the lawyers "the Al Qaeda Seven" and asks, "Whose values do they share?" while flashing a picture of Osama bin Laden. (Watch it below.)

Read more »

FBI

FBI Still Using Bearded, Turbaned Version Of Dubious Bin Laden Photoshop

Justin Elliott | January 19, 2010, 11:15AM

Osama bin Laden, FBI "aged" photo.

The bearded version of an "age-progressed" image of Osama bin Laden that was the source of international embarrassment for the FBI because it was photoshopped from facial features of a top Spanish politician is still posted on a most wanted Web site, days after the FBI said it would be removed.

The bureau apparently did scrap one permutation of its "aged" bin Laden, a beardless version that bore a striking resemblance to left-wing Spanish politician Gaspar Llamazares.

Read more »

D'oh

FBI Photoshopped Spanish Pol For 'Aged' Osama bin Laden Picture

Justin Elliott | January 18, 2010, 9:06AM

Osama bin Laden (center), FBI "aged" photos (left and right)

When the FBI released its "aged progressed" pictures of Osama bin Laden last week, the top official in the bureau's Science and Technology Branch hailed the images as "powerful examples of how advances in technology and science can be used to help find and bring to justice wanted persons."

The official, Louis Grever, also referred in a joint FBI-State Department press release to "cutting-edge forensic, biometric, and technical capabilities."

Read more »