THE TRAVELER

Osama bin Laden

NOTE before I begin:

So you won’t miss anything, in the last two days I have put the following five articles on this blog. 

 Oh My God!  I need a Facelift

Mt. Everest

Extra Facts and Thoughts

Climbing for Water

Osama bin Laden

Here in Darjeeling, India I get the BBC, McNeil Report from PBS, and bits of ABC, CBS and NDTV, yet the local Indian newspapers have some very different facts than presented in the international media, which I thought might interest some of you. 

Unless otherwise stated all of these quotes are from the May 6, 2011, Calcutta paper The Telegraph, -quotes:

“Saudi Arabia and Turkey separately played significant roles in persuading Pakistan to give up Osama bin Laden and facilitate his elimination by the US, according to pieces that are slowly fitting the puzzle of Sunday’s anti-terror operation in Abbottabad.”

“it was necessary for them to take the al Qaida bull by its horns as part of a bigger strategy to manage ‘the Arab Spring’ which is threatening established governments from Oman to Morocco.”

“It is well known that Packistanis serving in Bahrain’s police brutally put down the recent Egypt style Shia protests in the island kingdom. The forces sent by Saudi Arabia to reinforce Bahrain’s security were also reported made up of significant numbers of Pakistanis.”  

“Similarly elite units of Pakistan’s army protected the Saudi royal family for decades because the Saudi rulers did not fully trust their own citizens or even those from other countries.”

“By all accounts, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s chief of army staff, would not be averse to reinventing Pakistan’s role in global security affairs on these lines.  After all, that is how Pakistan has all along remained relevant to the world:”…  article continues to explain that in 1971- “Islamabad was the secret gateway for”. “Kissinger’s visit to China” … to arrange Nixon’s visit … “to open Sino-China relations.”

 “Saudi Arabia has always been a factor in Pakistan’s domestic politics.  No Pakistani leader either from military or from civilians can ignore Saudi ‘advice’, although Riyadh’s plea to spare Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s life” [the Pakistani’s government’s position is she was killed by terrorists] “is a rare instance when such advice was rejected by Gen. Zia.”

My take on this, for what it’s worth, is with the new Middle East rise of people wanting to reorder their governments, it seems that Saudi Arabia and Turkey hope to weaken the al Qaida element in these uprisings, and Saudi Arabia also just might want a ‘friend’ on their side in the future.   Bahrain has large US military bases in their country and would like it to remain that way (consider the financials of this situation).  Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are all strong centers of Islamic Sunnism.  In Bahrain the ruling monarchy is Sunnis, but the majority of citizens in Bahrain, those who were rising up against the government and monarchy, are Shia.  

The current take by the Saudi Arabian government, to I suppose cover its tracks in the affair is (from The Bengal Post, May 6, 2011)  “Dubai: Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was betrayed by his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri who led US forces to his hideout as the two were involved in an intense power struggle, a Saudi newspaper has reported.”

I read in the May 7, 2011 Telegraph, that Zawahiri and bin Laden had their falling out five or six years ago, so why would Zawahiri give bin Laden up now?  Just a thought?

Also reported in The Bengal Post, May 6, 2011 newspaper: 

“NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN CHOPPERS USED”

“Washington: US elite Navy Seals used top secret, never-before-seen stealth helicopters to swoop down on an unsuspecting al Qaida chief Osama bun Laden in his Abbottabad safe haven and shoot him dead.  One of the secret choppers was disabled during the raid by the seals, blowing it up in an apparent bid to ensure that the frontline technology did not fall into non-US hands. US media reports.”

Also, The Telegraph, May 6, 2011 stated:  “Osama appeared to be lunging for a weapon ----- an AK-47 and a Makarov pistol were within arm’s reach.  One Seal or more,

who are expected to take split-second decisions opened fire.  The first bullet struck bin Laden in the chest. The second struck above his left eye, blowing away part of his skull.  But a Pakistani official claimed Osama was killed in cold blood.”

As for shooting bin Laden dead, I believe that not one of these countries, particularly Pakistan, wanted him to come out alive because of the tales and/or information he might tell. 

I hope I haven’t bored you, or given you info you already know.  If you are interested, you can go on line and read the whole article(s) I have quoted and also follow these papers’ articles about the topic.  

PS:  On a lighter note: The Kathmandu Post has the best, bar none, horoscopes I have ever read.  You can go on line and read these daily too if you are so inclined.