Bin Laden active in terror plots
Source: Agencies |
May 9, 2011, Monday
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UNITED States officials will mine the secrets of Osama bin Laden by poring over a huge haul of material seized at the time of his death that a top White House aide describes as a wealth of intelligence about al-Qaida.
"This is the largest cache of intelligence derived from the scene of any single terrorist," national security adviser Tom Donilon told NBC's "Meet the Press. "It's about the size, the CIA tells us, of a small college library."
The information gathered after bin Laden was shot dead in his compound in Pakistan last week is said to show that the world's most wanted terrorist was actively involved in planning and directing al-Qaida's plots.
"What we now know, again taking a look initially here, is that he had obviously an operational and strategic role, and a propaganda role, for al-Qaida," Donilon said on CNN's "State of the Union" program.
Donilon was making the rounds of the Sunday talk shows a day after a handful of videos were released showing bin Laden in propaganda tapes. A less-than-flattering video showed the 54-year-old terrorist appearing hunched and tired, seated on the floor, watching television while wrapped in a wool blanket and wearing a knitted cap.
Out-takes of his propaganda tapes show they were heavily scripted affairs. He dyed and trimmed his beard for the cameras, then shot and reshot his remarks until the timing and lighting were just right. The new material shows bin Laden in a much more candid, unflattering light than the rare propaganda videos that trickled out during his life portraying him as a charismatic religious figure unfazed at being the target of a worldwide manhunt.
Notes and computer material gathered after the pre-dawn raid last Monday revealed bin Laden's home was a command-and-control center for the terrorist network, a senior US intelligence official said on Saturday.
Bin Laden was eager to strike US cities again and discussed ways to attack trains, US officials said, though the plans did not appear to have progressed beyond early discussions.
The evidence seized during the raid includes phone numbers and documents that officials hope will help break the back of the organization behind the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
A task force headed by the CIA is working through the material, combing it round the clock to find clues to plots that might already be under way.
Even though bin Laden was killed in the town of Abbottabad, about 55 kilometers from the Pakistani capital Islamabad and not far from a top military academy, Donilon said he had seen no evidence that the Pakistani government knew he was there.
"I can tell you directly that I've not seen evidence that would tell us that the political, the military, or the intelligence leadership had foreknowledge of bin Laden," he said.
Donilon said the circumstances of where bin Laden was living required investigation, and Pakistan was doing that.
He said the US had asked for access to people who were around bin Laden and were now in custody. The US also wants access to additional material collected, he said.
Donilon said the administration has considered the risk of terrorist retaliation. "We fully expect the threat to continue," he said.
"This is the largest cache of intelligence derived from the scene of any single terrorist," national security adviser Tom Donilon told NBC's "Meet the Press. "It's about the size, the CIA tells us, of a small college library."
The information gathered after bin Laden was shot dead in his compound in Pakistan last week is said to show that the world's most wanted terrorist was actively involved in planning and directing al-Qaida's plots.
"What we now know, again taking a look initially here, is that he had obviously an operational and strategic role, and a propaganda role, for al-Qaida," Donilon said on CNN's "State of the Union" program.
Donilon was making the rounds of the Sunday talk shows a day after a handful of videos were released showing bin Laden in propaganda tapes. A less-than-flattering video showed the 54-year-old terrorist appearing hunched and tired, seated on the floor, watching television while wrapped in a wool blanket and wearing a knitted cap.
Out-takes of his propaganda tapes show they were heavily scripted affairs. He dyed and trimmed his beard for the cameras, then shot and reshot his remarks until the timing and lighting were just right. The new material shows bin Laden in a much more candid, unflattering light than the rare propaganda videos that trickled out during his life portraying him as a charismatic religious figure unfazed at being the target of a worldwide manhunt.
Notes and computer material gathered after the pre-dawn raid last Monday revealed bin Laden's home was a command-and-control center for the terrorist network, a senior US intelligence official said on Saturday.
Bin Laden was eager to strike US cities again and discussed ways to attack trains, US officials said, though the plans did not appear to have progressed beyond early discussions.
The evidence seized during the raid includes phone numbers and documents that officials hope will help break the back of the organization behind the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
A task force headed by the CIA is working through the material, combing it round the clock to find clues to plots that might already be under way.
Even though bin Laden was killed in the town of Abbottabad, about 55 kilometers from the Pakistani capital Islamabad and not far from a top military academy, Donilon said he had seen no evidence that the Pakistani government knew he was there.
"I can tell you directly that I've not seen evidence that would tell us that the political, the military, or the intelligence leadership had foreknowledge of bin Laden," he said.
Donilon said the circumstances of where bin Laden was living required investigation, and Pakistan was doing that.
He said the US had asked for access to people who were around bin Laden and were now in custody. The US also wants access to additional material collected, he said.
Donilon said the administration has considered the risk of terrorist retaliation. "We fully expect the threat to continue," he said.
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