Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani police stand guard at the sealed main gate to bin Laden's compound (May 4 - Abbottabad, Pakistan)
NBC News has uncovered new details surrounding the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound by Navy SEALS.
AP Photo/Mazhar Ali Khan, File
U.S. officials now say that three of the four men shot and killed during the raid were unarmed... including bin Laden, himself. According to officials the first team of Navy SEALS moved into the compound and took small arms fire from the guest house. They returned fire, killing bin Laden's courier. The courier's wife was also killed in the crossfire.
A second SEAL team entered the main residence. Making their way to bin Laden's bedroom on the third floor, the U.S. commandos encountered two men. Both were unarmed and were shot dead. One was bin Laden's 19-year-old son, Hamza. Making their way to the third floor the SEAL team also encountered stashes of weapons and barricades.
Upon reaching the third floor they burst into bin Laden's bedroom. One of bin Laden's wives rushed the SEAL team. She was shot in the leg. The same commando then turned his gun on bin Laden and delivered two shots - one to the chest and one to the head.
U.S. officials are now characterizing this operation, not as a firefight... but as a precision clearing operation.
We'll have much more on this breaking news tonight on The Last Word.
Leave a Comment:
Something is very strange here. No body. No comparative DNA. Now, no pictures. Don't we have something in this Country called The Freedom Of Information Act? Or, maybe, that was abolished while everyone was sleeping, as well. Something really stinks. And, I don't like the odor.
We do have DNA. They came up 99.9% possitive.
Hum. I smell something too. Soured grapes.
Zan-1805942
Don't we have something in this Country called The Freedom Of Information Act? Or, maybe, that was abolished while everyone was sleeping, as well. ---------------------------- Yes we do there rip van winkle, but has been ignored for about 10 years 7 months.
Hey Jason- you are so much like a little puppy. Desperate for it's owners approvel. If you went to a library and did some reading on your own - out of books, not from the computer, you could read some history, some bio's, even some fiction for fun. Educate yourself so that you can stand on your own someday.
Melanie, are you a Republican Committewoman that lives in Missouri? Are you married and have at least one child? Are you a white woman that is around 40 years old?
This must be a Republican/Bush supporter, hater of our current President.
Come on... blah, blah, blah conspiracy. Get over it. He's dead. What really stinks is people crapping out opinions with no foundation.
I am getting sick and tired of reporters and op-ed writers in the media implying that the SEAL's unmercifully shot and killed an unarmed man.
The agenda of these unAmerican naysayers is all too apparent. They are bought and paid for shills of the corporate media trying to make our great President and his Administration look criminal.
This piece of human filth called bin Laden was shown mercy when his wife and kids were not killed in front of him. As for OBL and his co-terrorists, they received EXACTLY what they deserved.
Please do not become part of the problem, Lawrence.
Can anyone EVER just be OK with something? Is that whet life is now - constant questioning of every single event and the motive behind it? Screw that. That's not the kind of world I want to have. Was he unarmed? WHO CARES?
I believe he is dead. The conspiracy theories need to stop. But the administration needs to quit changing its story, or else its going to put some doubt into peoples minds.
Congratulations Obama on getting Osama. A gold Star. We are forever in your gratitude.
Now... A black cloud hovers over the administration's head as there is less evidence Osama is dead than Obama's Social Security number is valid.
Obama refuses to release his college transcripts as much as he refuses evidence or even a photo of a dead Osama.
Osama Obama Osama Obama
What make the people believe they have a "right" to any of the Presidents educational information? Or his S S #, which I would challenge ANYBODY to make theirs public.
Hello right wing nutto... Where's Bush's grades? How the heck did that idiot get into Yale and Harvard? Oh, can you say "legacy"? No other President has had his credentials so called into question so many times. If you don't like the fact that a black man is the White House then just fricking say "I don't want a black President." At least then you'd be honest. Stop hiding behind false issues, you and your stupid ilk are becoming very annoying.
I saw Rush Limburgh talking about Bin Laden’s death. Rush's face was red, his fist was tight, the other hand was shaking mad, why? Because he was upset that Obama killed Osama Bin Laden. Instead of being joyful and relieved that a terrorist that killed 3,000 people and had us go to 2 wars, killing and injuring over 10,000 of our soldiers and costing us two trillion dollars, he's mad. Mad because a black man, Obama, led our country to victory. Now we really know Rush's priorities. Damaging Obama even though it means damaging our country and us. He's a racist leader in disguise.
You are not really a Doctor are you? Do you really feel that way? Wow! That is borderline insanity. Nothing personal.
Dr. Ann Adams
This is Dr.??? Ann Adams own quote!!!
"Mad because a black man, Obama, led our country to victory. Now we really know Rush's priorities. Damaging Obama even though it means damaging our country and us. He's a KKK leader in disguise."
#1 - Wed May 4, 2011 7:48 PM EDT
Louis David
This is Louis Davis's own quote!!!
He is Nazi Republican voice radio,Yeah.
#1.1 - Wed May 4, 2011 7:55 PM EDT
Chris Mathews like other commentators who are supposed to be non partial as well as independent???
Chris Mathews Own Comment:
Last night during MSNBC's Potomac Primary coverage, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann were discussing Barack Obama's speech. Matthews — who, in the past, has both cried over an Obama speech and compared him to Jesus — described exactly what happens to him when Obama speaks:
I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too oft
!#2 - Wed May 4, 2011 8:16 PM EDT
Is thgere any surprise why MSNBC ratings are so low and not taken as a serious news station??? We will see what changes if any Comcast makes when they taken over
Nice try at dodging what the good Dr. stated about your hero, Oxyrush. But thats the reichwingnuts only defense, duck, dodge and deny.
Notice these crazies attack a person from their screen name. The classic attack the messenger is alive & well & foxnews has brainwashed enough to scare the f*ck out of me. Who are these people? WTF do they want, just more tax cuts? sheeesh
John in Texas-3114519
John in Texas own comment:
Nice try at dodging what the good Dr. stated about your hero, Oxyrush. But thats the reichwingnuts only defense, duck, dodge and deny.
#6.4 - Wed May 4, 2011 9:23 PM EDT
*** using a NAZI analogy wow
Is there any surprise why MSNBC ratings are so low and not taken as a serious news station??? We will see what changes if any Comcast makes when they are officially taken over
To all you people who do not think I'm a Doctor - you are wrong. I have a PHD in Business. My dissertation was on a human resource topic and I had 5 Hypotheses in my dissertation and three of the 5 hypotheses came up as significantly correlations. I used both Spearman and Pearson's correlation to test my theories. Spearman was used because of the ordinal categories I was using. Pearson for the caterories from my survery respondents that involved numbers. I had over 200 respondents in my study and I used a 5 point Likert scale to optain the data. I have had my theories published in articles and I also teach MBA classes.
We've always known the right's priorities...do anything, say anything, lie about anything in order to undermine this President and retake the WH. They have no interest in helping the country, just themselves and their corporate sponsors.
Ann- Rush? whatever. He is an entertainer that some people watch. But you Ann (Dr. is the m.d or phd. ?) do you have no other cards in your deck besides racism. That is so small minded
And Ann - some of the dumbest people I know are PHD's. Did you just stay in school because you were too lazy to get a job?
@Melanie Audley & are you as much of a bitch in real life or just when behind a keyboard?
So when rush limbo wants the president to fail, does that mean he wanted the attack on bin laden to fail & make Obama fail. Clearly it does & the drugster seems to be running out of drugs.
Pretty much I'm real life. I just can't stand (ON EITHER SIDE) just bark out propaganda. Really Jason- how many books have you read in the last year? I really would like to know that.
Rush is about Rush, period, and anyone who doesn't realize that hasn't been paying attention...
If it suits him to indulge in a bit of racism (he's among friends, after all), he will...
Try to pin him down, and he's got everything any good little narcissist would want in their playbook... Right down to a do-it-yourself crucifixion kit he'll break out if you land a good punch or two...
An intelligent, educated man, the Humbaugh® ain't...
A hypermanic blowhard he is...
Check out his ideas on evolution if you think he knows anything about stuff requiring an extra helping of critical thinking...
And don't be hasslin' m'boy Jason, okay? You don't look like you could win a swearing contest with a cabdriver...
Edit: Oh my, it looks like a rumble... Put down your knitting needles, Melody, and I promise I'll keep my light saber holstered and we'll get you some Motrin as soon as possible...
Melanie Audley
Ann- Rush? whatever. He is an entertainer that some people watch. But you Ann (Dr. is the m.d or phd. ?) do you have no other cards in your deck besides racism. That is so small minded
#6.9 - Wed May 4, 2011 10:03 PM PDT
Melanie Audley
And Ann - some of the dumbest people I know are PHD's. Did you just stay in school because you were too lazy to get a job?------------------- no propaganda here huh melly? yet you said "
Melanie Audley
Pretty much I'm real life. I just can't stand (ON EITHER SIDE) just bark out propaganda. silly teabaggers
"U.S. officials now say that three of the four men shot and killed during the raid were unarmed... including bin Laden, himself"
with 24 SWAT's????
What other information will come out tomorrow!!!! Stay Tuned!!!!
As one of their retired members said, "when the Seal Team 6 goes in, someone is going to die" It's wonderful we have such dedicated people like them. And that jerk needed killing whether he was armed or not. In the heat of battle you don't stop an ask if you have a gun. But there are still people saying he should have been captured alive.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, just a marine who used to be a member of a fleet MSPF (Mari-time Special Purpose Force) consisting of my Infantry Platoon, a Marine Force Recon Platoon, a SEAL Team and aviation assets. I was part of this team for 1 1/2 years (peacetime) and we had three missions; hostage rescues (from terrorist groups), Oil Platform Take Downs (GoPlatts) and Ship Take Downs (MIO's; Mari Time Interdiction OPs) The one constant during all training evolutions (live fire) was never shoot an unarmed person, regardless of situation. The SEALS are highly trained and highly professional. Additionally they were under direct surveillance from the Pres himself. I find it very hard to believe they would "take the shot" if he was unarmed. I think he is strapped to a chair right now and some third world operative who doesn't care what the "Berkeley Elite" think about torture and is picking his brain so to speak. Just a thought.
Kurt
First off thank you for your service to this country!!
Second, " So you found this strange also it gets weirder as everyday passes
"U.S. officials now say that three of the four men shot and killed during the raid were unarmed... including bin Laden, himself"
with 24 SWAT's????
What other information will come out tomorrow!!!! Stay Tuned!!!!
It was a kill mission. PLAIN & SIMPLE. I am proud they took the shot & killed bin laden, the rest is secondary.
I agree with you Jason, and you know that is a first. I also believe he is dead, but I am just thinking outloud. I am allowed to do that now since SL Cabby diagnosed me with PTSD.
Jason,
Kurt says he's not a conspiracy theorist, and yet I'm getting the impression you don't believe him... :)
BTW, Kurt, I do have a strong counseling background (addictions). You could use some cognitive restructuring...
Thanks again Cabbie!
You know, you may indeed be right! I'm wondering if we will ever know.
I think he is strapped to a chair right now and some third world operative who doesn't care ------------------ The military & pols have told so many fabrications, none of us know, just the brave fighters who were there.
Hey Jason- here you are again old buddy, trying to play with the adults. It's past your bedtime.
You conspiracy people are truly crazy. Since when do you know as much as the people who were involved in the planning and execution of this? How do you know there is no comparative DNA. Ever heard of debriefing and the fact that that can change the explanation/timing of the events. Who wants to see a blown-apart head anyhow? You wouldn't believe that it wasn't photoshopped. And, as a capper, some of you doubt that our President was an excellent student. How moronic. Of course, heading the Harvard Law Review always goes to the dunce. Keep watching Faux News. Just be careful you don't fall off the edge of the world. It's flat, you know.
Fact Check Mary
So how exactly did you verify the facts Mary?
Since every channel as well as every cable channel are in bed with President Obama except for the Fox News Channel, is that how you call your opinion balanced????
"Keep watching Faux News. Just be careful you don't fall off the edge of the world. It's flat, you know."????
@Fact Check Mary - Very well said. Flat landers hahahahaha classic
I am a long time MSNBC fan but agreed that it was time for Keith to go away; my hope was that Lawrence was an interim because he is a leight weight and tonight proves it. This lead story is bull @!$%#. It serves no purpose. Guys like Lawrence, in their tailored suits need to spend a few minutes in the shooting house. Leave the damn story alone. OBL is dead and the Seales did well -- very well. Let it go Larry and grow up if you are to keep this time slot
Keith Gone?
Welcome to your nightmare... type http: into your browser window and then copy-and-paste the following... I still haven't been granted link posting privileges...
//foknewschannel.com/video/special-announcement-about-the-new-show/
It will run right up against O'Donnell's time slot, but I'm not worried; The Last Word runs three times here in the heart o' the Wasatch... And it looks like Olbermann will be on twice on the new station...
And yeah, if you check the comments, you'll find that's my taxi parked there...
Nice, I wish Keith all the best. I hope it will be available online.
Desperate again?
Given a lot of the company available here, he has good reason to be...
Goodness, a troll in panty hose... That's a first for me... Don't get a run in 'em when you try to get out of my taxi, though, and if you need throw up during the ride, just let me know, and I'll pull over... But I wouldn't be getting out in a strange neighborhood...
You histrionic sorts always put a double helping of ho' in ad hominem, but your hypersensitivity gives you away...
I hope you're paying attention Ann... Buzzwords are nice and nuanced, but for this sort a rhetorical baseball bat is quicker...
Ignition in 5-4-3....
Somebody get me that damn Motrin, please...
Just what do you think it takes to graduate Magna cum laude from Harvard? You do know that put him in the top 20% of his class?
wow u really just had an 8 minute commercial break... 6 at LEAST.. literally.
Lawrence, with all due respect, I strongly disagree with you and Richard Wolf and every member of the media who are attempting to make an issue of the "changing stories". I agree with you most of the time and your attempts to shake the truth out of irresponsible politicians but in this instance, your commentary verges on nonsense. You imply that by virtue of the "change" that something illicit is afoot. The media is failing to see the forest. The people providing the narrative were third/forth hand. The first hand accounts will never be told, well, at least not for a long time.
Additionally, I disagree with yours and others' inference that Osama bin Laden was shot in cold blood. Fact: the orders on his apprehension were "Dead or Alive". Fact: bin Laden was a renowned terrorist. Fact: If you were a Navy seal operating in an area in a clandestine fashion without authorization from the host country and in close quarters working within darkness and with serious time constraints in order to maintain the discreet nature of your operation and against an enemy or enemies with the assumption that those enemies are armed, your actions would be no different. They accomplished their assignment. There is no story here.
blobert
blobert's Own Comment:
"Additionally, I disagree with yours and others' inference that Osama bin Laden was shot in cold blood"
What do you call it???
"U.S. officials now say that three of the four men shot and killed during the raid were unarmed... including bin Laden, himself"
with 24 SWAT's????
What other information will come out tomorrow!!!! Stay Tuned!!!!
yes stay TOONed indeed, you must watch out for the FlUoRiDe, It iS In ThE WatEr & iT wIlL Be WaTcHiNg YoU
It was up to the Navy SEALs to decide whether they were safe or not. The SEALs felt that they it was not a safe enough situation to capture Bin Laden alive. The SEALs used their instincts and their instincts were telling them that they needed to kill Bin Laden. You must remember, Bin Laden was a former CIA agent and was paid in the 1980's by the Reagan administration. In fact, they gave Bin Laden over one billion dollars. Bin Laden also trained with our Special Forces during the Reagan administration as well. This was a trained guy they attacked and the SEALs believed that the safe path was to kill and not capture Bin Laden.
Another great one from,Dr. Ann Adams well said --------------- I think we as Americans do not want to admit we helped train bin laden with our own tax dollars, mostly b/c if we did somebody might think the republicans would not know how to run the military.
How do you know what the Seals thought Ann?
My husband was in the Special Forces. He was an Army RANGER that often worked with the Navy SEALs. He has also been in those situations.
Also Melanie from Missouri, the word SEALs should be captialized. That's because each letter stands for something.
Please excuse melanie Dr. Adams, she knows not what she speaks.
But Ann- you never did answer my question did you? I have 37 members (including 1st cousins) in the military. So John in Texas you tread lighty with your words.
Is that a personal threath there melly?
Melanie, how does your brother Mark feel about you spilling hate on the computer when at his job, some of his clients at the Packaging company are Democrats?
Osama bin Laden is dead. Do I care that he was unarmed? No.
That compound was not large enough for him to have a plane to use as a weapon.
Agreed, who gives a rats ass if he was armed? OH I see who, just those who hate the fact Obama did something great.
you got it, Jason
There are many ways to present a threat without showing a gun.
Here's a bit of history for those who would question whether there was a legal and historical precedent for the shooting of Bin Laden...
On April 18, 1943, U.S. P-38 fighters shot down a Japanese bomber aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese officer who conducted the raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
(the usual "type in" http: protocols apply)
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vengeance
Per Wiki...
>To boost morale following the defeat at Guadalcanal, Yamamoto decided to make an inspection tour throughout the South Pacific. On 14 April 1943, the US naval intelligence effort, code-named "Magic," intercepted and decrypted a message containing specific details regarding Yamamoto's tour, including arrival and departure times and locations, as well as the number and types of planes that would transport and accompany him on the journey.
>U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox to "Get Yamamoto." Knox instructed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of Roosevelt's wishes. Admiral Nimitz consulted Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander, South Pacific, then authorized a mission on 17 April to intercept Yamamoto's flight en route and shoot it down.
>The crash site and body of Yamamoto were found the next day in the jungle north of the then-coastal site of the former Australian patrol post of Buin by a Japanese search and rescue party, led by army engineer, Lieutenant Hamasuna. According to Hamasuna, Yamamoto had been thrown clear of the plane's wreckage, his white-gloved hand grasping the hilt of his katana, still upright in his seat under a tree. Hamasuna said Yamamoto was instantly recognizable, head dipped down as if deep in thought. A post-mortum of the body disclosed that Yamamoto had received two gunshot wounds, one to the back of his left shoulder and another to his left lower jaw that exited above his right eye.
>To cover up the fact that the Allies were reading Japanese code, American news agencies were told that civilian coast-watchers in the Solomon Islands saw Yamamoto boarding a bomber in the area. They did not publicize the names of most of the pilots that attacked Yamamoto's plane because one of them had a brother who was a prisoner of the Japanese, and U.S. military officials feared for his safety.
Now that's the kind of cover-up I approve of...
And yes, there was considerable controversy over what happened on that day, and some of it persists even now...
We don't need to be PC and I don't care if Usama was armed! we were ther to kill him and everyone else and we did that! Good work!!
We don't need to be PC and I don't care if Usama was armed! we were ther to kill him and everyone else and we did that! Good work!!
I agree. Im tired of all the bleeding hearts out there. Who gives a crap how they will react. The only reaction that mattered was how bin laden reacted to a shot to the head.
To Lawrence O'donnel. Really not a bad show tonight. Factual, with even some new information. But then you just could not help yourself. You had to tell a big fat lie. Could not help yourself? The republican "debates" have been advertised for weeks. Your lie of "how could they at our hour of unity" completly wiped out the other 95% of your show. Why why why can't you go 1 day be a real man, sit up straight and not have to put somebody else down, so you feel a little bit bigger?
How do you know he couldn't help himself?
Maybe he did it just to piss you off...
Be borrowing from the FAUX Noise playbook, but then they're always trying to steal from our sides...
Problem is, most of the time the truth gets in their way and not the Democrats...
Talking points Faux Cabbie
ooooopsy, guess i went to far
Stuff up of the century......
Q. How many Americans does it take to catch an unarmed 54
year old with only 2 armed bodyguards?
A. 25 Navy Seals, 2 Stealth Equiped BlackHawk Choppers with crews, 1 Chinook with crew.
And then they get trigger happy kill the target and 3 other unarmed men and wound the 2 armed guards and the targets unarmed wife, and lose one of the Blackhawks in the process. What a great success. All Americans can be very proud of their efforts.
Stuff up of the century!!!
Q. How many Americans does it take to catch an unarmed 54 year old with only 2 armed bodyguards?
A. 25 Navy Seals, 2 Stealth Equiped BlackHawk Choppers with crews, 1 Chinook with crew.
And then they get trigger happy kill the target and 3 other unarmed men and wound the 2 armed guards and the targets unarmed wife, and lose one of the Blackhawks in the process.
What a great success. All Americans can be very proud of their efforts.
Don't get me wrong I'm glad he's dead but to claim the operation as a huge sucess is a crock. The man should have been brought back to New York and put on trial. and then publicly stoned to death by the families of the victims.
I was banned from Huffington Post last Monday for daring to suggest that the White House version of the op wasn't squeaky-clean.
There is no conspiracy here - merely a SNAFU job from the President's 'advisers'..
Burial at sea - why? Detonated copter - why? Told Time they could have the corpse pictures, then backtracked - why? Told us Bin Laden was armed and cowering behind wife - all untrue. Strongly suggested they'd watched it live on Skype: now also admitted to be untrue.
There is no fake death here - just missing pictures, autopsy, verifiable DNA, track-record of veracity and - natch - a body. 'How to start off a million conspiracy theories by John Brennan'. AAbsolutely kerrrrazy incompetence!
Obama's people hyped this event to get his ratings up - they got exactly what they wanted. Job done? Nope....when the rest of the stuff comes out, they will destroy him.
Hoist by their own facade, you might say. ....
@ The Slog , you should stick to fluoride & fake moon landings.
An incredibly uninformed, rude and disgraceful comment which absolutely typifies Establishment 'framing' at its worst.
Visit the site some time. You might just perhaps notice that I am an avowed opponent of conspiracy theory.....and incompetence management.
Sleep well, my friend: ignorance is bliss.
People have been lied to, by our government, for so long now that they think it's "normal" and expect it. I think we, currently, have a very honest president. I can understand the distrust of government. Thank Bush for that.
I don't need to "see" anything. I don't care how he was shot ... but lest we forget, the "why" was the only thing important. This guy, bin Laden, had said/demonstrated that he'd go to "any lengths necessary" to harm americans. Spew that sort of crap and expect a pass? ... please.