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Man Unknowingly Tweets the Osama Raid 354

Posted by samzenpus from the all-seeing-twitter-eye dept.
Sohaib Athar, a.k.a. @ReallyVirtual, had no idea the helicopters he was complaining about on twitter were part of the top secret mission that killed Osama bin Laden Sunday night. 10 hours before bin Laden's death was announced Athar posted: "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).” From the article: "During the raid, Athar speculates that he was two or three kilometers away from the shooting that took place. Once news broke that bin Laden had been killed in Abbottabad, Athar tweeted, 'Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it.'”

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Man Unknowingly Tweets the Osama Raid More

Man Unknowingly Tweets the Osama Raid

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  • This is good to know (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ls671 ( 1122017 ) * on Monday May 02, 2011 @10:24AM (#36000614) Homepage

    This is good to know. Otherwise his tweet might have ended up on some conspiracy theorist sites with a "black helicopters" tag or something...

    A very interesting point is that it is said one of the 4 choppers was hit by enemy fire which I haven't heard about yet. President Obama said "no Americans were injured" so I would assume it was only a minor hit.

    On another topic, CNN just announced a few minutes ago that there is a DNA match confirming the body was indeed Osama. They also announced that the FBI has updated its most wanted list, it makes sense I guess...

  • Call me Crazy... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by MonsterTrimble ( 1205334 ) <{moc.liamtoh} {ta} {elbmirtretsnom}> on Monday May 02, 2011 @10:48AM (#36000868)

    But why would they take the body, promptly bury it at sea, then tell the world? I understand that they would want to minimize the impact in the islamic world by not defiling his body in any way which was recorded, but it seems like this would be something you show on television, that it's REALLY him. Who knows, maybe they made a deal with him and he's now in South America to live out his days in (even more) luxury. But that's the George Noory [coasttocoastam.com] in me.

    And I'm also quite mystified why so many people are celebrating this. It took almost 10 years, trillions of dollars, the invasion of two countries (neither of which he was found in), and an untold number of lives lost to find a 6 foot 6 inch multi-millionaire (with diabetes!) living in a private luxury compound (in a well populated city) which was at least eight times larger then anything nearby. I don't think there is too much to celebrate here.

    • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by corbettw ( 214229 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @10:53AM (#36000920) Journal

      The statement I saw was that they dumped him in the ocean to deny his followers a crypt they could go to to revere him. And since both the ISI and al Qaeda have confirmed he was killed, I don't think the deathers are gonna get a lot of followers on this latest conspiracy theory (but then again, there are a lot of crazy and stupid people out there, so I could be wrong).

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by LS ( 57954 )

        ISI and al Qaeda have confirmed he was killed

        Do you have a direct source? Please provide us with the link.

    • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mspohr ( 589790 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @10:55AM (#36000932)
      So why did we invade and occupy Iraq and Afghanistan? It seems to me that all we needed were a good investigation and a team of crack Navy Seals.

      Can we stop killing people now?

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by RingDev ( 879105 )

        We invaded Afghanistan because we demanded that they turn over Osama bin Laden, and they demanded we follow an extradition process.

        -Rick

        • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by i kan reed ( 749298 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:29AM (#36001324) Homepage Journal
          To be completely fair to the US, it's fairly reasonable that if someone commits an act of war from inside your country, you wash your hands of them immediately, otherwise there's a kind of tacit acknlowedgement that said act of war falls within your jurisdiction. Not the best excuse ever, but better than the excuse Iraq got.

      • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by WSOGMM ( 1460481 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:27AM (#36001302)

        So why did we invade and occupy Iraq and Afghanistan? It seems to me that all we needed were a good investigation and a team of crack Navy Seals.

        Can we stop killing people now?

        I really like your use of "we" in this post, because we really are the ones killing people. People seem to think we are separate from our government.

        • We can't choose not to. All we can do is blog or tweet about our dissatisfaction, and vote for the people that say they'll finish the wars. I'd rather fund the reconstruction, but something has to be done about the corruption first. We can't blame it on the fact that they're developing countries, or the false idea that they have some lower moral standard than we do in the US, we started off on the wrong foot with no-bid contracts to Halliburton.

        • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by egburr ( 141740 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @01:02PM (#36002434) Homepage

          49% of us *are* separate from our government. It only takes 51% to vote our leaders in.

          Ok, so that's not exactly true, but in spirit it's close enough. Many of us disagree with a lot of things the government does, but we're effectively powerless to change it. We can vote, but only the majority gets represented. We can revolt, but who has the better weapons, funds, and infrastructure? Until a vast majority of people are ready to revolt, it won't really matter; and, by then they really could just vote the leaders out instead.

          So, although our government is theoretically "the people", most of "the people" really have no say in what goes on.

          Maybe if our government were more open and kept us better informed about what was happening and why things are done the way thy are done, there may be more agreement that those things are necessary. As it is now, though, we are generally treated like kids asking "why" and getting just "because I said so" as the answer. Is it really surprising that so many people don't trust our government?

      • So why did we invade and occupy Iraq and Afghanistan?

        The success of the Iraq mission is an open question...we will not know for a few decades. Certainly it was very poorly executed, with a shortage of necessary troops that resulted in many years of chaos. As to the Afghan situation, it is obvious why we are there. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. That is it. Period. Let me explain:

        Pakistan has a very strange government and political situation. There are forces that tend to be very anti-western and tend to a more fundamentalist religious bent. And there a

    • It is puzzling. The best explanation I've heard is that burial at sea within 24 hours of death fulfills Islamic tradition, but does not leave a shrine for terrorists to flock to.

      The only way this works politically, however, is if they took lots of pictures and video of the corpse as proof of identity. I expect those to come out before long.

      It took an outrageous fortune, and celebrating death is never a good thing, but this man was hated so much by so many that you can't begrudge them their celebration. N

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ari_j ( 90255 )
        I read one report that no country would really accept his remains for burial and therefore the only way to respect Islamic tradition and law was to bury him at sea promptly after his death. That does make sense, but of course it's impossible to know for certain whether ulterior motives were involved and even more impossible to silence conspiracy theorists.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        celebrating death is never a good thing

        You're obviously not Irish

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by vlm ( 69642 )

      Who knows, maybe they made a deal with him and he's now in South America to live out his days in (even more) luxury.

      More likely gitmo, spilling da beans about everyone else in his org whom are still (temporarily) alive? Later to be buried at sea in the gulf of mexico? Like anyone is ever gonna know. I suppose if the back pages report about 20 times as many people of interest have been captured this month than normal, then we'll "know".

    • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AHuxley ( 892839 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:12AM (#36001128) Journal
      Re And I'm also quite mystified why so many people are celebrating this.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Minutes_Hate [wikipedia.org]
      • Because human beings are quite vicious and horrible, and bin Laden was at least a few milli-hitlers of evil. I refuse to celebrate human beings dying, even if it really does protect other people in the future.

        • The fact that both Hitler and OSL died on the nearly the same day should keep the conspiracy theorists going for decades.

          Hitler 4/30/1945
          OSL 5/2/2011

           

      • I admit feeling guilty in taking pleasure at the death of another human being, but then i recall the mans' words (ive read his fatwas) and realize that 'justice is done'. From statements from his own mouth he declared WAR on us. I dont hate the middle east, I dont hate muslims or arabs or anyone. But I do HATE those that tell me to my face that they want me to not exist.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

          Why hate them? No point in wasting your time on that.
          Recognize them for what they are, mentally ill. I don't hate rabid dogs nor do I celebrate when one is euthanized.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Cinder6 ( 894572 )

            Rabid dogs usually find it difficult to commit mass murder and inspire others to do the same.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

              I did not say he was rabid, merely mentally defective. Mental defectives have been recruiting others since the beginning of time.

      • it is of course a sign of unintelligent obsession that so many can't bring themselves to view the world except through the lens of one mildly amusing piece of orwell fiction. i liked that book, "1984." i actually like "animal farm" better. but in either case, i didn't feel the need to form a religious cult around it and alter my entire perception of reality around the stupid book's themes

        it is especially ironic to see orwell cited under this story, a story about a guy using twitter to tell the world what th

    • > I'm also quite mystified why so many people are celebrating this

      We find a sort of closure and a degree of satisfaction when the bad guy gets his due. It's a justice thing.

      As to the expense, I agree - the money, carnage and innocent deaths have been too high a price. But perhaps you'll still allow us a moment to celebrate the Reckoning.

    • Re:Call me Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by vlm ( 69642 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:18AM (#36001198)

      And I'm also quite mystified why so many people are celebrating this. It took almost 10 years, trillions of dollars, the invasion of two countries (neither of which he was found in), and an untold number of lives lost to find a 6 foot 6 inch multi-millionaire (with diabetes!) living in a private luxury compound (in a well populated city) which was at least eight times larger then anything nearby. I don't think there is too much to celebrate here.

      Some of the guys I work with were all high five-ing and cheering, and I'm like "dude, you know we lost, right?" ... wake me when I can fly on an airplane without my wife and daughter being molested by govt agents, when we've got at least some of our civil rights back, when my tax dollars aren't paying for a concentration camp, etc. So the leader of the guys who won, is now dead. Who cares, as if its going to improve anything for us.

      Roosevelt died right around the end of WWII ... were any of the Germans dumb enough to celebrate, despite their obvious loss? Yeah we're totally screwed here, uh huh, but the boss of the other guys is dead, so lets party like its 1935 again?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by treeves ( 963993 )

        Of course, the Germans had no foreknowledge of it, but we (meaning the US) turned around after WWII and helped Germany rebuild. Does the analogy between the US from Germany's perspective after WWII and al Qaeda today from the US perspective really work?
        Besides, do you really even think that all Germans wanted to "win" the war - meaning Hitler stays in power? I doubt it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Reapman ( 740286 )

        1935? Really? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that was a typo..

        Ya, the USA in 2011 is just like Germany in 1945, except in every possible way. Because TSA's dumb laws totally are the same as the living conditions back then. Stop insulting those that have actually had to live through that.

    • No pictures released because by most reports it was at least one, possibly two, shots to the head with an assault rifle. There are several reasons that you wouldn't want to show that picture. First, it wouldn't prove anything, because he almost certainly wouldn't be recognizable. Second, you'll just piss off his allies even more. Third, it's just plain gory, they want to let people celebrate the guy is gone, not be reminded just how violent an end he came to (not that there aren't many, many people arou

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *

      Throwing him into the ocean assures that he never has a "shrine" gravesite.

    • It took .. trillions of dollars [to kill him]

      That expense is spread over many other goals. Trillions of dollars weren't spent to kill Bin Laden (but probably a few million were). Trillions of dollars were spent to overthrow the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq, suppress Al Quaida, make profit for contractors who have friends in government, etc. Killing a particular person is only part of that overall objective.

      I understand that they would want to minimize the impact in the islamic world by not defil

    • living in a private luxury compound (right outside the main military Academy on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital) which was at least eight times larger then anything nearby.

      Well, to be fair, I don't think most people would ever have suspected that was where he was. I mean, that's some _legendary_ hiding in plain sight, reverse psychology concealment right there. To get more audacious, he'd have to holed up in like, Washington D.C., or New York or something.

      This tops Radovan Karadzic's disguise [bbc.co.uk] by a long

  • I thought I read somewhere that Osama was killed a week ago, not on Sunday. They were waiting for official confirmation before releasing the information that he was killed....

    Did I mis-read? Was I mis-informed?

    Or is this tweet mis-matched to the event?

    • I thought I read somewhere that Osama was killed a week ago, not on Sunday. They were waiting for official confirmation before releasing the information that he was killed....

      I think the confusion here is that the operation was authorized a week ago. It didn't happen immediately. I believe I saw/heard a report that there was a rehearsal done by the team before the actual op.

      • Yup, many reports of rehearsals being performed by Team 6 ahead of time after a long period of surveillance and planning.

        Also, a few of the major news outlets repeatedly botched facts about it. Also /. still has a bogus update posted in the summary as of Monday, 11:30 CST. Still says he was killed by a bomb a week ago. O_o

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        Sounds reasonable. They've had intel. on the location since August. They've been collecting more over time, generating plans and probably rehearsing alternate scenarios for weeks (months?).

        The raid happened as it was reported (TFA Twitter evidence backs this up). And I doubt there was much delay between the final go-ahead and the operation, as that produces opportunities for leaks.

    • They were probably waiting for "Mission Accomplished Day" to come around before giving the news. Everything is scripted for the best theatre.

    • You were misinformed. A source I read said that Obama gave the 'go' order to the special ops guys during the Royal wedding.

      That brings up an interesting image. Bin Laden, lounging in his chair watching TV with tears of joys in his eyes as William puts the ring on Kate's finger...and then gunfire erupts around him.

  • How they finally found Osama (Score:4, Funny)

    by Old97 ( 1341297 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:00AM (#36000988)
    Osama had an iPhone and it kept track of his location. Good job, Steve!

  • Dude on vacation (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vlm ( 69642 ) on Monday May 02, 2011 @11:10AM (#36001092)

    I read about this dude, he's on vacation, "trying to get away from it all" and after all this breaks he's complaining that he can't get away from it all.

    Dude, your problem is your idea of "getting away from it all" is warped, in that you're twittering every 30 minutes when you see a F-ing airplane. Give your cellphone a burial at sea, then chill on a lawn chair (they have those in pakistan, right?) with a religiously appropriate mood enhancing substance and enjoy the solitude.

  • Well, Osama's compound had no internet, anyways, so it's not like he could have gotten any early warning.

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