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Bin Laden dead!


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According to this they were inserted by what sounds like the 160th. And that one of the 47's was damaged during the raid and was subsequently destroyed by US forces. Would love to see the stories of the raid when they come to light :rock:

Looks like a -60 to me. Maybe even a gull-gray one.

Of course some jackass (a.k.a. "a US military source") is quoted in one of the Time articles as saying the crash wasn't due to mechanical failure, but the height of the walls preventing the rotors from gaining lift. UFB.... At least none of our guys got hurt.

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Guest CAVEMAN

One thing I regret... there are plenty of good people on the bottom of that sea, this POS does not deserve to share it with them. A world of respect for the Seals Teams!

I hope sharks consume his remains before he gets that far.

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According to this they were inserted by what sounds like the 160th. And that one of the 47's was damaged during the raid and was subsequently destroyed by US forces. Would love to see the stories of the raid when they come to light :rock:

From the same link:

U.S. officials say that Pakistani fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the choppers, but didn't reach them. The U.S. team was back inside Afghanistan before 6 p.m Washington time.

Uh, what? Not only did the Pakistanis (allegedly) turn a blind eye to the fortified compound down the street from their military academy, they attempted to intercept the mission? With Vipers that we sold (gave) them no doubt! While they still have another dozen or so on order!

The President could win even more political capital by cutting ties with these douchers cold-turkey.

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The President could win even more political capital by cutting ties with these douchers cold-turkey.

And save a nice chunk of change by turning off the foreign aid as well.

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From the same link:

U.S. officials say that Pakistani fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the choppers, but didn't reach them. The U.S. team was back inside Afghanistan before 6 p.m Washington time.

Uh, what? Not only did the Pakistanis (allegedly) turn a blind eye to the fortified compound down the street from their military academy, they attempted to intercept the mission? With Vipers that we sold (gave) them no doubt! While they still have another dozen or so on order!

The President could win even more political capital by cutting ties with these douchers cold-turkey.

Perhaps...but you find a route from some of our favorite non-disclosed locations that don't depend on overflight of either Iran or Pakistan.

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Perhaps...but you find a route from some of our favorite non-disclosed locations that don't depend on overflight of either Iran or Pakistan.

Well at some point you had to overfly Pakistan considering, ya know, Abbottabad is in Pakistan...not sure what you mean by this. Whether they actually launched the vipers to intercept or perhaps passively participated in the operation by letting us in is probably not to be known by us or discussed here.

:salut::beer: to the BAMFs who put a bullet in his face, dragged his body off, and dumped in in the ocean. AMF, I hope some of the SEALs tea-bagged you before throwing you overboard. :flag_waving:

Edited by nsplayr
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The President could win even more political capital by cutting ties with these douchers cold-turkey.

Perhaps...but you find a route from some of our favorite non-disclosed locations that don't depend on overflight of either Iran or Pakistan.

Well at some point you had to overfly Pakistan considering, ya know, Abbottabad is in Pakistan...not sure what you mean by this.

He means we can't completely cut ties because we still need to transit Paki airspace to get to/from airbases inside Afghanistan to/from locations outside Afghanistan.

Edited by Spoo
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Short article from the UAE-based Gulf News that might ask even more questions about what Pakistani military and government officials might have known about bin Laden's location.

Bin Laden compound in Pakistan was once an ISI safe house

Dubai: The compound in Abbottabad where Osama Bin Laden was killed was once used as a safe house by Pakistan's premier intelligence agency ISI, Gulf News has learnt.

"This area had been used as ISI's safe house, but it was not under their use any more because they keep on changing their locations," a senior intelligence official confided to Gulf News. However, he did not reveal when and for how long it was used by the ISI operatives. Another official cautiously said "it may not be the same house but the same compound or area used by the ISI".

The official also confirmed that the house was rented out by Afghan nationals and is not owned by the government. The house is located just 800 metres away from the Pakistan Military Academy and some former senior military officials live nearby.

Abbottabad is a garrison town located just 50 kilometres north of Islamabad and it is a popular summer resort, originally built by the British during colonial rule. The city houses a number of upscale educational institutions and religious schools as well.

Secluded affluence

According to the briefing by senior US officials on the killing of Bin Laden, the area is relatively affluent, with lots of retired military staff. It is also insulated from the natural disasters and terrorist attacks that have afflicted other parts of Pakistan — an extraordinarily unique compound. The compound sits on a large plot of land in an area that was relatively secluded when it was built. It is roughly eight times larger than nearby homes.

The physical security measures of the compound are extraordinary.

It has 12-to-18-foot outer walls, topped with barbed wires. Internal walls sectioned off different portions of the compound to provide extra privacy.

Access to the compound is restricted by two security gates and the residents of the compound burnt their trash, unlike their neighbours, who put the trash out for collection.

The property is valued at approximately $1 million (Dh3.67 million), but has no telephone or Internet connection.

post-1551-0-98553800-1304479239_thumb.jp

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Guest Miclhstrase

On a related note, would it fall upon the Army to carry out SEAL insertions (heli), AF, or rather the Navy? I suppose it probably falls upon whoever can get the job done, but I know I have read about the AF at least extracting SEALs...

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Well at some point you had to overfly Pakistan considering, ya know, Abbottabad is in Pakistan...not sure what you mean by this. Whether they actually launched the vipers to intercept or perhaps passively participated in the operation by letting us in is probably not to be known by us or discussed here.

:salut::beer: to the BAMFs who put a bullet in his face, dragged his body off, and dumped in in the ocean. AMF, I hope some of the SEALs tea-bagged you before throwing you overboard. :flag_waving:

Edit: What Spoo said.

Edited by pawnman
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And save a nice chunk of change by turning off the foreign aid as well.

Yes cutting the $1.6B we gave them last year would cut our yearly spending by 0.04%- what a huge chunk of savings! Holy cow, if I had $100 to spend and could save myself 4 cents I'd be all over it- it would be a life changer.

To clarify: I'm not arguing against your point. Just pointing out the fact that the amount we give them in foreign aid is anything but a "nice chunk of change".

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In today's AFA Daily...

Mystery Blackhawk: US officials described the helicopter that crashed during the takedown of Osama bin Laden on Sunday in Pakistan as a Blackhawk. However, images of the wrecked helicopter's tail section—making Internet rounds on Tuesday—reveal that this aircraft is seemingly unlike any other publicly acknowledged Blackhawk variant. The aircraft's empennage features faceted and presumably stealthy surfaces with no fasteners or apparent seams. Its six-bladed tail rotor is embedded in a saucer-shaped rotorhead—possibly a noise-reduction system. The tailplanes are forward swept. The empennage is not that of the Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche stealth scout/attack chopper canceled in 2004, although its features resemble the Comanche's. The Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based out of Fort Campbell, Ky., has been known to field a number of one-off special helicopter variants, but US officials haven't publicly discussed the unit's role in the bin Laden raid. A Sikorsky spokesman referred the Daily Report's query to US Special Operations Command, a spokesman for which said only the White House was authorized to discuss the bin Laden operation. The White House declined comment. (To view photos, see Britain's Daily Mail report, DEW Line blog entry, and Wall Street Journal photo collection)
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