Wednesday, 20 May 2015

OSAMA Bin Laden raid: US releases more documents


A BBC journalist looking at the website
The documents are now available on a US government website
US officials have released documents that they say were found at Osama Bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan during a raid in 2011.
Special operators killed the al-Qaeda chief during that operation and recovered the documents that officials have branded Bin Laden's Bookshelf.
As well as Arabic correspondence, there are English language books by Bob Woodward and Noam Chomsky, and others on economic and military theory.
More documents may yet be released.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said a "rigorous" review had taken place before the documents were released.
People gathering outside of the safe house
The documents were recovered at this house in Abottabad, Pakistan
The documents include a number of translated letters, notes, and other material detailing al-Qaeda operations. Many of the documents also have a version available in Arabic.
There is also section entitled Materials Regarding France, which includes a number of academic reports and articles about the France's military, politics and economy.
Also included is a document described as a "suicide prevention guide", several English language books including Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars, several maps, and a few video game guides.
The documents are being released in the wake of President Obama's calls for greater transparency, said Jeffrey Anchukaitis, a spokesman for the ODNI.
Printouts of the documents laying on a wood table
Many of the documents on the US government website were in the form of English language translations, as seen in these printouts
"The Intelligence Community will be reviewing hundreds more documents in the near future for possible declassification and release," he said.
"All documents whose publication will not hurt ongoing operations against al-Qaeida or their affiliates will be released."
Some of the material that has been included in the trove was previously declassified for use in federal prosecutions.
In 2012, some documents recovered in the raid were released by the research wing of the US military academy, West Point.

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