All articles tagged with #osama bin laden
Dame Sarah Mullally revoked Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi’s Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation after old remarks praising Osama bin Laden resurfaced; Lambeth Palace said the award was withdrawn with no apology, while Ashrafi claimed the comments were taken out of context.
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the CIA released more than 70 presidential intelligence briefs on Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, including a 1998 warning that Al-Qaeda may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a U.S. city and a note that bin Laden and allies were preparing for U.S. attacks, illustrating how analysts' understanding evolved from the Clinton era into the Bush years.
The CIA has declassified 71 presidential briefs from the Clinton and Bush years showing warnings that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were determined to strike the United States—potentially via hijackings or attacks on U.S. soil—with limited intelligence and ongoing uncertainty about the network’s exact plans ahead of 9/11, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe calling the release an act of transparency.
Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks carried out by 19 al-Qaeda hijackers, the piece traces the orchestrators—Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—along with leaders like Ayman al-Zawahiri, and chronicles their fates (bin Laden killed in 2011, Zawahiri in 2022) and the ongoing cases of other masterminds and operatives who remain in custody or face trial, while recounting the nearly 3,000 lives lost and the attackers’ nationalities and roles.
Peter Bergen, a longtime CNN national-security journalist who helped document al-Qaeda, donates his archive of more than 150,000 pages to Georgetown University on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, including Osama bin Laden material and rare items, to aid future researchers and students studying terrorism.
CAIR’s back-to-school resource guide for K-12 students included a link claiming the Sept. 11 attacks were tied to U.S. support for Israel and recommended Osama bin Laden’s Letter to America; the 16-page guide, titled “Muslim Studies Curriculum,” was removed within a day amid outrage from Jewish leaders who called the material dangerous propaganda. CAIR did not deny removing the hyperlink and said changes were made to the document.
Robert O’Neill, the SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden, says he gave the CIA analyst who tracked the 9/11 mastermind a magazine from his gun (with 27 rounds) as a personal keepsake after the May 2, 2011 raid, recounting a moment of bonding with the no-nonsense analyst before they left Jalalabad; the analyst’s stoic demeanor contrasted with the gravity of finally delivering justice.
Peter Arnett, a renowned journalist, conducted the first TV interview with Osama bin Laden in 1997, where bin Laden outlined his plans and motivations, which included opposition to US foreign policy in the Middle East. Arnett's career was marked by courageous reporting from war zones, notably in Afghanistan during its civil war, and he played a significant role in shaping global understanding of these conflicts. His interview with bin Laden prefigured the attacks of 9/11 and provided insight into bin Laden's ideology and grievances.
Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden, was arrested in Frisco on charges of public intoxication and assault causing bodily injury. Limited details have been provided by the police regarding the arrest.
Newly released government photos reveal key moments inside the White House during the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, including images of top officials shaking hands after learning that bin Laden had been killed and President Barack Obama calling other world leaders to break the news. The photos were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the Obama Presidential Library. The photos show the tense atmosphere in the Situation Room as the raid unfolded, with Obama and his team watching a live video feed of the operation. Obama later delivered a televised speech announcing bin Laden's death.