Data Show Bin Laden Plots; C.I.A. Hid Near Raided House

NY Times ^ | 05/05/2011 | MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE

[OldDeckHand]

WASHINGTON — After reviewing computer files and documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, American intelligence analysts have concluded that the chief of Al Qaeda played a direct role for years in plotting terror attacks from his hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, United States officials said Thursday.

The C.I.A. had Bin Laden’s compound under surveillance for months before American commandos killed him in an assault on Monday, watching and photographing residents and visitors from a rented house nearby, according to several officials briefed on the operation.

-snip-

With his whereabouts and activities a mystery in recent years, many intelligence analysts and terrorism experts had concluded that he had been relegated to an inspirational figure with little role in current and future Qaeda operations.

[XHogPilot]

The storyline is now specifically built to stop the questions surrounding the non-judicial killing of Osama bin Ladin. If OBL was no longer involved in the leadership of al-Qa’ida he would no longer be a military target. At that point he could only be prosecuted in a court of law, special or otherwise. Non-judicial killing of non-combatants, aka political killings, are illegal. The only way to get away with them is to 1. Be on the winning team when the dust settles, and/or 2. Keep it quiet. Well, Obama has certainly thrown away option 2.