Inside the raid that killed Osama bin Laden: “Crankshaft,” DEVGRU and a dog named Cairo

The world most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden was killed in a lightining raid by the US Navy Seal on May 2nd, 2011 in his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
















While the whole world knows about the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2nd 2011, many of the details of the mission have been shrouded in operational secrecy--until now.

In an astonishingly detailed reconstruction published on Monday 1st August 2011 by the New Yorker, reporter Nicholas Schmidle goes deep inside the planning and execution of the May 1st, 2011 raid.

(As just a sampler, see these few lines: "… Nine years, seven months, and twenty days after September 11th, an American was a trigger pull from ending bin Laden's life. The first round, a 5.56-mm. bullet, struck bin Laden in the chest. As he fell backward, the SEAL fired a second round into his head, just above his left eye. On his radio, he reported, 'For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo.' After a pause, he added, 'Geronimo E.K.I.A.'—'enemy killed in action.'"…)

While the whole piece is worth your attention, here are five things we learned from the New Yorker's reconstruction of the raid:

The team: 25 SEALs, a Pakistani-American translator, and a dog named Cairo (why Cairo and not Lassie or Joe??)

According to Schmidle, there were 25 Navy SEALS aboard the two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that raided bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. The SEALs were from Team Six, "which is officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU," he writes.

They were accompanied by a Pakistani-American translator (Schmidle gives him the pseudonym "Ahmed"), and a Belgian Malinois dog named Cairo.

"Outside the compound's walls, Ahmed, the translator, patrolled the dirt road in front of bin Laden's house, as if he were a plainclothes Pakistani police officer.

He looked the part, wearing a shalwar kameez atop a flak jacket. He, the dog Cairo, and four SEALs were responsible for closing off the perimeter of the house while James and six other SEALs—the contingent that was supposed to have dropped onto the roof—moved inside."

Bin Laden's code name was 'Crankshaft'

The Abbottabad raid "represented the team's first serious attempt since late 2001 at killing 'Crankshaft'—the target name that the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, had given bin Laden," Schmidle reports.

It was previously reported that "Geronimo" was the code name for bin Laden. But Schmidle adds new details: "Before the mission commenced, the SEALs had created a checklist of code words that had a Native American theme. Each code word represented a different stage of the mission: leaving Jalalabad, entering Pakistan, approaching the compound, and so on. 'Geronimo' was to signify that bin Laden had been found."

Who pulled the trigger on bin Laden.?

On May 6, 2011 "President Obama travelled to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where the 160th is based, to meet the DEVGRU unit and the pilots who pulled off the raid," Schmidle writes.

Using a 3-D model of bin Laden's compound, the SEALs reconstructed the operation for the president and presented him with an American flag that had been on the mission, that they had signed and which read: "From the Joint Task Force Operation Neptune's Spear, 01 May 2011: 'For God and country. Geronimo,'" Schmidle reports.

"Before the President returned to Washington, he posed for photographs with each team member and spoke with many of them, but he left one thing unsaid," Schmidle wrote: "He never asked who fired the kill shot, and the SEALs never volunteered to tell him."

There were multiple previous stealth raids in Pakistan.

According to Schmidle, the unit conducted as many as a dozen previous excursions into the country.

"The Abbottabad raid was not DEVGRU's maiden venture into Pakistan, either," he writes. "The team had surreptitiously entered the country on ten to twelve previous occasions, according to a special-operations officer who is deeply familiar with the bin Laden raid. Most of those missions were forays into North and South Waziristan, where many military and intelligence analysts had thought that bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders were hiding."

Indeed, the raid that killed bin Laden itself was described as so ordinary by the special operations team's standards, Schmidle recounts, that a Defense Department officer described the nighttime raid to Schmidle as "mowing the lawn."

Cairo the dog got to meet Obama.

After the Navy SEAL team leader 'James' mentioned the dog's role in the raid, Obama interrupted:

"There was a dog?" ... James nodded and said that Cairo was in an adjoining room, muzzled, at the request of the Secret Service.

"I want to meet that dog," Obama said.

"If you want to meet the dog, Mr. President, I advise you to bring treats," James joked. Obama went over to pet Cairo, but the dog's muzzle was left on.

Rest in Peace Osama.

North Korea shells South Korea in fiercest attack in decades

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (L) listens to Defence Minister Kim Tae-young (2nd R) during the urgent security conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul November 23, 2010.






















Smoke rises from South Korea's Yeonpyeong island near the border against North Korea.

The surprise attack occured at a time when South Korean and North Korean athletes are competing for honour, in full sportmanships valour as a symbol of peace, at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China



After the Korean War ended in 1953, the South and North Korea are still technically at war. Naval clashes at disputed maritime borders were reported in the past, as shown in this news item reported by the world media on March 2010. (video above)

Reuters reported today on Tuesday, 23rd November 2010 that North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at a South Korean island, killing two soldiers and setting dozens of houses ablaze.

It is one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbour since the Korean War ended in 1953.

The attack was condemned by the world including the US and the UK.

South Koreans watch the news on television showing smoke rising from Yeonpyeong Island after it was hit by dozens of artillery shells fired by North Korea, at Seoul railway station November 23, 2010.

AT LEAST 200 SHELLS

YTN news agency said at least 200 North Korean shells hit Yeonpyeong, which lies off the west coast of the divided peninsula near a disputed maritime border. Most landed on a military base there.

South Korea's military said two soldiers were killed in the attack, 17 were wounded and three civilians were also hurt. South Korean military returned the fire and sent a jet fighter to the area.

YTN showed pictures of plumes of smoke pouring from the island and quoted a witness as saying fires were burning out of control.

The attack comes as the reclusive state has been pressing regional powers to return to negotiations about its nuclear weapons programme and follows revelations at the weekend it is fast developing another source of material to make atomic bombs.

It also follows moves by iron leader Kim Jong-il to make his youngest son heir apparent to the family dynasty.

For decades, the Korean leadership has played a carefully calibrated game of provocations to win concessions from the international community and impress his own military. The risk is that the leadership transition has upset this balance and that events spin out of control.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who has pursued a hard line with the reclusive North since taking office nearly three years ago, said a response had to be firm following the attack on Yeonpyeong island, just 120 km (75 miles) west of Seoul.

The two Koreas are still technically at war -- the Korean War ended only with a truce -- and tension rose sharply early this year after Seoul accused the North of torpedoing one of its navy vessels, killing 46 sailors.

"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN Television before the shelling ended after about an hour.

China, the impoverished North's only powerful ally, was careful to avoid taking sides, calling on both Koreas to "do more to contribute to peace".

"China hopes that the relevant parties will do more to contribute to peace and stability in the region ... it is imperative now to resume the six-party talks," a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hong Lei, told reporters.

Those talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme -- involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- have long been on ice.

However, the reclusive North has more recently been pushing to resume the talks, which previously it has used to win massive aid in return for promises to end its weapons programme.

WON TUMBLES

News of the exchange of fire sent the won tumbling in offshore markets with the 1-month won down about four percent in NDF trading. U.S. 10-year Treasury futures rose and the Japanese yen fell.

It also rattled global markets, already unsettled by Ireland's debt problems and worries about riskier markets.

The South Korean central bank is holding an emergency meeting to assess the possible market impact of the shelling.

The attack comes just as a U.S. envoy is in Beijing on a tour of the region and is expected to ask China to use its influence to help tame North Korea.

Washington has branded the North a danger to the region and expressed concern Pyongyang would sell nuclear weapons technology to other states.

It has said it was ready to return to talks but wants to see more commitment to denuclearisation by the North beforehand.

The White House condemned the attack, telling the North to halt its "belligerent action" and saying it was committed to defend the South.

It has about 28,000 troops in South Korea, their combined forces facing an estimated one million North Korean soldiers who make up one of the world's biggest standing armies.

BRITAIN CONDEMNS NORTH KOREA'S ATTACK ON SOUTH KOREA

BRITAIN strongly condemned North Korea's attack on an island in South Korea today, 23rd November 2010.

Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Pyongyang to refrain from further attacks, which he described as “unprovoked”.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office in London, Mr Hague said: “The UK strongly condemns North Korea’s unprovoked attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong Island.


“Such unprovoked attacks will only lead to further tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from such attacks and adhere to the Korean Armistice agreement.

“I welcome South Korean president Lee Myung-bak’s call for restraint.”

The annoucnment came minutes after North Korea threatened to continue to launch strikes against South Korea if the country violates their disputed sea border ´even 0.001 millimeter.

North Korea’s supreme military command said that it would "launch merciless military retaliatory strikes."

The warning was carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Military Strength of North Korea

According to Global Fire Power, North Korea as at 2008, has 1.17 million active military personells, 4.7 million active military reserves and 189,000 paramilitary units.

North Korean ARMY

Total Land-Based Weapons: 16,400
Tanks: 3,500 [2006]
Armored Personnel Carriers: 2,500 [2006]
Towed Artillery: 3,500 [2006]
Self-Propelled Guns: 4,400 [2006]
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 2,500 [2006]
Mortars: 7,500 [2006]
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 11,000 [2006]


North Korean AIR FORCE

Total Aircraft: 1,778 [2006]
Helicopters: 612 [2006]
Serviceable Airports: 77 [2007]


North Korean NAVY

Total Navy Ships: 708
Merchant Marine Strength: 167 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: 12
Aircraft Carriers: 0 [2008]
Destroyers: 0 [2008]
Submarines: 97 [2008]
Frigates: 3 [2006]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: 492 [2006]
Mine Warfare Craft: 23 [2006]
Amphibious Craft: 140 [2006]


And as for South Korea, Global Power reports that it has 687,000 active military personells and 4.5 million active military reserve.

South Korean ARMY

Total Land-Based Weapons: 8,325
Tanks: 1,060 [2004]
Armored Personnel Carriers: 2,480 [2004]
Towed Artillery: 4,000 [2004]
Self-Propelled Guns: 500 [2004]
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 185 [2004]
Mortars: 6,000 [2004]
Anti-Tank Guided Weapons: 58 [2004]
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 1,692 [2004]


South Korean AIR FORCE

Total Aircraft: 538 [2004]
Helicopters: 502 [2004]
Serviceable Airports: 150 [2007]


South Korean NAVY

Total Navy Ships: 85
Merchant Marine Strength: 812 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: 4
Aircraft Carriers: 0 [2008]
Destroyers: 6 [2004]
Submarines: 20 [2004]
Frigates: 9 [2004]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: 75 [2004]
Mine Warfare Craft: 15 [2004]
Amphibious Craft: 28 [2004]

Report : 1/3 of Women in US Military, Raped..!!!

One of the most shocking of these cases is that of 19-year-old LaVena Johnson, whose dead body was found on her base in Balad, Iraq in July 2005. Her father, who has pictures of her body, said her face was battered; she had been stripped, raped, burned, re-clothed, dragged across the ground bleeding and shot in the head. The Army initiated an investigation, then suddenly closed the case and labeled her death a suicide. Her father and Colonel Wright have been trying to get Congress and the Army to reopen the investigation ever since, but so far the Army has declined to cooperate.

In 2003, a survey of female veterans found that 30 percent said they were raped in the military.

A 2004 study of veterans who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while serving.

And a 1995 study of female veterans of the Gulf and earlier wars, found that 90 percent had been sexually harassed.

The Defense Department, DoD, shows much lower numbers, but that is because it only counts reported rapes—and, as the DoD admits itself in this year's annual Pentagon report on military sexual assault, some 90 percent of rapes in the military are ever reported at all.

Nonetheless, that same report showed that in 2008, reports of assault increased by 8 percent military-wide, and by 26 percent in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

For many women soldiers, the result of all this persecution is that instead of finding camaraderie among their fellow soldiers, or being able to rely on comrades to watch their backs in battle, they feel dangerously alone.

As specialist Carlye Garcia, who was sexually harassed throughout her service with the Army Military Police in Baghdad from 2003-04, put it, "It got so I didn't trust anybody in my company after a few months. I didn't trust anybody at all. I still don't."

The hostility and rejection can run right up through the ranks, too, as women commonly find when they try to report an assault.

Some examples: when Lieutenant Jennifer Dyer refused to return to post with an officer she had reported for raping her, the army threatened to prosecute her for desertion.

When Specialist Suzanne Swift reported her sergeant for repeatedly raping her over months and then refused to redeploy under him, the army tried her by court martial for desertion and put her in prison for a month.

When Cassandra Hernandez of the Air Force reported being gang-raped by three comrades at her training acadamy, her command charged her with indecent behavior for consorting with her rapists.

When Sergeant Marti Ribeiro reported being raped by a fellow serviceman while she was on guard duty in Afghanistan, the Air Force threatened to court martial her for leaving her weapon behind during the attack. "That would have ruined by career," she said. "So I shut up."

All the men who were accused in these cases went unpunished. Several of them even won promotions.

The Defense Department claims that since 2005, it has instigated reforms that have created a "climate of confidentiality" that allows women to report without fear of being disbelieved, blamed, or punished like this.

As Kaye Whitley, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), said at a press briefing at the Pentagon this past March 17, "The numbers have gone up and I reiterate, this does not mean sexual assaults have gone up, this means the number of reports have gone up, which we see as very positive as we're getting the victims in to get care."

In fact, nobody knows whether an increase in reported rapes means more rapes or more reports. And all the cases described above happened after the reforms of 2005.

Even when the military does accept a report of sexual assault, the consequences to the perpetrators tend to be negligible.

Of the assaults reported and recorded by the Defense Department in the fiscal year 2008, 49 percent were dismissed as unfounded or unsubstantiated—meaning there wasn't enough proof of assault, or that the women recanted or died—and only 10.9 percent resulted in court martial.

Even those few men who are found guilty of sexual assault or rape tend to receive absurdly mild punishments, such as suspension, demotion, or a scolding letter for their file.

In 2008, 62 percent of offenders found guilty received mild punishments like this. This amounts to a tiny fraction of the men accused of sexual assault.

One particularly grotesque example of this sort of justice is the 2006 case of army sergeant Damon D. Shell, who ran over and killed 20-year-old Private First Class Hannah Gunterman McKinney of the 44th Corps Support Battalion on her base in Iraq on September 4.

Shell pleaded guilty to drinking in a war zone, drunken driving and "consensual sodomy" with McKinney, an underage junior soldier to whom he had supplied alcohol until she was incapacitated.

Having sex with a person incapacitated by alcohol is legally rape, and using rank to coerce a junior into a sexual act is legally rape in the military, too.

Yet a military judge ruled McKinney's death an accident, said nothing about rape, and sentenced Shell to thirteen months in prison and demotion to private. Shell was not even kicked out of the army.

The military's retrograde attitude towards rape gets even more sinister.

More female troops have died in Iraq of non-hostile causes than have been killed in battle, and several of those deaths have either been labeled suicides or been left unexplained by the military.

Four of those women had earlier been raped, and at least sixteen others died in such suspicious circumstances that retired Army Colonel Ann Wright and Congressman Ike Skelton have called for Congress to compel the military to reopen the cases and investigate, so far to no avail.

One of the most shocking of these cases is that of 19-year-old LaVena Johnson, whose dead body was found on her base in Balad, Iraq in July 2005. Her father, who has pictures of her body, said her face was battered; she had been stripped, raped, burned, re-clothed, dragged across the ground bleeding and shot in the head. The Army initiated an investigation, then suddenly closed the case and labeled her death a suicide. Her father and Colonel Wright have been trying to get Congress and the Army to reopen the investigation ever since, but so far the Army has declined to cooperate.

The Defense Department has made some effort lately to improve its dismal record on military sexual assault.

After a set of Congressional hearings on military sexual assault in July and September 2008, and again in January 2009, the army announced fresh programs designed to educate the troops on the prevention of sexual assault, and the hiring of more litigators to prosecute it. The other military branches, too, are revamping the sexual assault prevention classes that every new recruit must attend.

Whether these changes will make any difference is soon to be put to the test. The collapsing economy is driving numerous new recruits to the military, 16 to 29 percent of whom are women, depending on the branch of service. It remains to be seen whether these female troops will be as isolated, harassed or abused as their predecessors, or finally given the respect they deserve.