US

‘Kill as Many Americans as Possible’: U.S. Seizes Osama’s Handwritten Diary

Kill as Many Americans as Possible: U.S. Seizes Osamas Handwritten Diary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep in hiding, his terror organization becoming battered and fragmented, Osama bin Laden kept pressing followers to find new ways to hit the U.S., officials say, citing his private journal and other documents recovered in last week’s raid.

Strike smaller cities, bin Laden suggested. Target trains as well as planes. Above all, kill as many Americans as possible in a single attack.

Though he was out of the public eye and al-Qaida seemed to be weakening, bin Laden never yielded control of his worldwide organization, U.S. officials said Wednesday. His personal, handwritten journal and his massive collection of computer files reveal his hand at work in every recent major al-Qaida threat, including plots in Europe last year that had travelers and embassies on high alert, two officials said.

They described the intelligence to The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about what was found in bin Laden’s hideout. Analysts are continuing to review the documents.

The information shatters the government’s conventional thinking about bin Laden, who had been regarded for years as mostly an inspirational figurehead whose years in hiding made him too marginalized to maintain operational control of the organization he founded.

Instead, bin Laden was communicating from his walled compound in Pakistan with al-Qaida’s offshoots, including the Yemen branch that has emerged as the leading threat to the United States, the documents indicate. Though there is no evidence yet that he was directly behind the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner or the nearly successful attack on cargo planes heading for Chicago and Philadelphia, it‘s now clear that they bear some of bin Laden’s hallmarks.

Don’t limit attacks to New York City, he said in his writings. Consider other areas such as Los Angeles or smaller cities. Spread out the targets.

In one particularly macabre bit of mathematics, bin Laden’s writings show him musing over just how many Americans he must kill to force the U.S. to withdraw from the Arab world. He concludes that small attacks had not been enough. He tells his disciples that only a body count of thousands, something on the scale of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, would shift U.S. policy.

He also schemed about ways to sow political dissent in Washington and play political figures against one another, officials said.

The communications were in missives sent via plug-in computer storage devices called flash drives. The devices were ferried to bin Laden’s compound by couriers, a process that is slow but exceptionally difficult to track.

Intelligence officials have not identified any new planned targets or plots in their initial analysis of the 100 or so flash drives and five computers that Navy SEALs hauled away after killing bin Laden. Last week, the FBI and Homeland Security Department warned law enforcement officials nationwide to be on alert for possible attacks against trains, though officials said there was no specific plot.

Officials have not yet seen any indication that bin Laden had the ability to coordinate timing of attacks across the various al-Qaida affiliates in Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Somalia, and it is also unclear from bin Laden’s documents how much the affiliate groups relied on his guidance. The Yemen group, for instance, has embraced the smaller-scale attacks that bin Laden’s writings indicate he regarded as unsuccessful. The Yemen branch had already surpassed his central operation as al-Qaida’s leading fundraising, propaganda and operational arm.

Al-Qaida has not named bin Laden’s successor, but all indications point to his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri. The question is whether Zawahiri, or anyone, has the ability to keep so many disparate groups under the al-Qaida banner. The groups in Somalia and Algeria, for instance, have very different goals focused on local grievances. Without bin Laden to serve as their shepherd, it’s possible al-Qaida will further fragment.

Comments (94)

1 2 3
  • texasfarmer
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:57pm

    Diary of a mad man.

    Report Post » texasfarmer  
  • Texas woman56
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:51pm

    Give a thought to this, why are we being given all this information? This is not something past presidents would have put in the press. Maybe we would have heard about it years from now. Obama is using all of this to run for Pres. again or maybe he is putting all this including his birth cert. and killing Ben Laudin to keep off our minds off the book that is coming out on May 17.

    Report Post »  
  • ShyMan
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:45pm

    I knew it.

    Only dorks keep diaries.

    Just kidding. ;)

    Report Post » ShyMan  
  • texasfarmer
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:39pm

    They should have packaged him as fish food.

    Report Post » texasfarmer  
  • tacomia
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:38pm

    Lets get real folks. Has anyone done a side by side photo comparison of the supposed photo of Osama in the gold robe with other photos and video on him? It clearly isnt the same man, maybe a relative. And how about the elderly man photo (which only shows the back of his head with a little side view) who is watching tv?

    Report Post » tacomia  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:34pm

    There is no such thing as a moderate Muslim. If you don’t believe me then read the headlines and listen to the news. You will see Muslims killing infidels all over the world. So don’t kid yourself when they say they want peace.

    Report Post »  
  • trooper
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:33pm

    It was obama who gave him the initial plan and promised him he would follow up on it once he became president.

    Report Post »  
  • libbsrnuts
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:30pm

    Well if his minions didn’t get the memo yet on what to do, they do now. I wish the administration would stop broadcasting this nutjobs details.

    Report Post »  
    • riseandshine
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:41pm

      Oh they‘re not anybody’s details……don’t let them play you

      Report Post » riseandshine  
  • trooper
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:29pm

    Are they sure it wasn‘t obama’s diary?

    Report Post »  
  • geonj
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:26pm

    wait a minute. with all this talk about terror attacks and driving America out of the arab world, could we possibly be at war with islam? no, obama says not, and he is our president and a foreign policy savant.

    Report Post » geonj  
  • TheGreyPiper
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:20pm

    B- b- b- but PMSNBC told me al qaeda was a myth invented by Bad Ol’ Bush!

    Report Post » TheGreyPiper  
  • Texas Grasshopper
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:20pm

    Did I miss this Decree of National emergency ? Any information on this woruld be helpfull

    http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/25/obama_declares_national_state_of_emergency_over_libya

    Report Post »  
  • curtmavi38
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:17pm

    To all of you bleeding hearts, when you find a rattlesnake, you kill it so it doesn’t harm anyone else. Osama
    knew what he was and he knew if caught he would be killed but he chose this way of life. You live by the sword you die by the sword.finis.

    Report Post »  
  • Bob1943
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:15pm

    How about what was the date of the last entry in Obama’s diary?

    Weeks ago, months ago…or maybe years ago?

    Report Post »  
  • jeff.cooper
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:11pm

    The story keeps going on and on and on after this: http://t.co/i8zIHib

    Report Post » jeff.cooper  
  • Outlaw_Josey_Wales
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:09pm

    You going to pull then pistols or whistle dixie.

    Report Post » Outlaw_Josey_Wales  
  • oldasdirt
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:09pm

    Has anyone tried the new drink,the “Osama Bin Laden”
    It is easy to make! Just 2 shots,and a splash of water.

    Report Post » oldasdirt  
  • UpstateNYConservative
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:08pm

    Dear Diary,

    Frolicked in the yard with the goats all morning. They’re getting so big now, though I still find the youngest ones to be the cutest. I tell you, the Prophet sure was right about the kids being the most pleasant!

    Well, off to plot my next moves. I hope the wives all leave me alone today. My babies in the yard plum tuckered me out!

    Love,
    Osama

    Report Post » UpstateNYConservative  
  • No1YaKnow
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:08pm

    It may be possible for them to “fragment”, but it doesn’t change their ability to reorganize in other ways, in which they have been successful at. Their MAIN goal is not to serve Bin Laden or a figure second in line like him—it is to serve their god in the way they believe they have to. That means doing anything and everything they can–other leaders of other groups have and will continue to emerge. Scale of casualty is not the issue to me—it’s the casualties PERIOD. When are many in this country going to wake up and realize how many of these people live AMONG us?? Add that to a border our government not only refuses to guard and further allows any and all to walk through while suing states that do try to protect themselves, and we have an open risk-free invitation to our enemies. Yes, many of us already KNOW this to be the truth, but many of our elected officials continue to say there IS no problem, and convince one of two types of persons of the same–those too busy to do the research for truth and who believe our media will tell the truth, and those who will agree to further their own agenda of the type of America they want to see. Sad, very sad.

    Report Post » Marci  
  • Jessff00
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:07pm

    are you sure thats not obamas diary…haha

    Report Post »  
  • matinva
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:07pm

    Wonder how he’s getting along with those 72 Virginians….

    Report Post » matinva  
  • grumpyt
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:05pm

    Just remember that THERE ARE 1000′S MORE TO TAKE HIS PLACE. This is no time to be complacent!

    Report Post » grumpyt  
    • vennoye
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:39pm

      Oh, but now we have the secular, democratic loving, peaceful Muslim Brotherhood only wanting to take over all 57 states to deal with…….just let this administration spiffy up their image some more!! When did they start thinking we are all stupid!!!

      Report Post » vennoye  
  • BLACKDIAMONDSKIER
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:03pm

    I urge all those who post on the Blaze.com as an American to other American friends. PLEASE watch the Glenn Beck show on FOX NEWS scheduled for 5/11/11 which is today. I believe a replay will be on early in the morning hours if you did not get to see it today. Please take the time to watch this episode.

    Thanks,

    Report Post »  
  • Ethereal
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:00pm

    I feel even better about having this guy dead than before!

    Report Post » Ethereal  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:06pm

      good we are safe now, let’s rescind the un-Patriot act now

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • OhSuzieQ
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:13pm

      Ethereal, I would feel even better when Obamama is out of the White House!

      Report Post » OhSuzieQ  
  • Susan Harkins
    Posted on May 11, 2011 at 5:57pm

    Sorry OhSlimeball,

    We gotcha first.

    Report Post » Susan Harkins  
    • D0ntTread0nMe
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 5:59pm

      Ooops! I think he may need a new plan… now the question is, how to untangle from all those virgins long enough to kill the infidels…
      http://www.mythoughtsfromthemiddle.blogspot.com

      Report Post » D0ntTread0nMe  
    • Revere1
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:02pm

      Bin Laden’s diary seems rather poorly written. He should have asked Bill Ayers for some literary tips. http://www.elephantwatcher.com/2011/05/after-bin-laden-should-republicans-be.html

      Report Post » Revere1  
    • Silent_Majority
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:02pm

      What a waste of skin

      Report Post » Silent_Majority  
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:03pm

      And we should believe this AP report because ?????????

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:04pm

      Kill as Many Americans as Possible ?
      Agenda 21 ? Bill Gate Population control ?
      Sounds like the Flu shots and Aspartame to me…

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:05pm

      Gate’s

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • americansfightingforcommonsense
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:06pm

      Glad he is gone, but this doesn‘t mean it’s over by any stretch of the imagination. There will be many more to contend with. May God Bless this country and help us to stay a free land. Come on GOP I’m counting on you to get the right person for 2012. Obama will destroy our way of life if we let him.

      Report Post » americansfightingforcommonsense  
    • BLACKDIAMONDSKIER
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:08pm

      I urge all those who post on the Blaze.com as an American to other American friends. PLEASE watch the Glenn Beck show on FOX NEWS scheduled for 5/11/11 which is today. I believe a replay will be on early in the morning hours if you did not get to see it today. Please take the time to watch this episode.

      Thanks,

      Report Post »  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:09pm

      Maybe he was going to kill us with Chem trails ?
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR6KVYJ73AU&feature=related

      then he would be a big time terrorist

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • pajamash
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:12pm

      “Strike smaller cities, bin Laden suggested. Target trains as well as planes. Above all, kill as many Americans as possible in a single attack.
      _________________________________________________________________________________

      Well, Omar Bin Laden, sounds like your father was all for giving Americans due process and deserved such as well.

      NOT! It does not sound like he gave any consideration as to the innocence or guilt of those he killed on 9/11. It does not sound like he gave any consideration as to the innocence or guilt of the Americans he was condeming to deth with the above terrorist plot suggestions.

      So Omar, I am sorry you lost your father, but I have to say that there were many that lost fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, loved ones, friends, etc. on 9/11. Your father was an evil man. He would continue to kill if allowed to live. He lived 10 more years than those that died on 9/11 were afforded.

      Report Post »  
    • ILUVAMERICA
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:23pm

      What a BUNCH of BULL!!!!!!!!!!!
      They think we are SOOO STUPID!!!!!

      Report Post » ILUVAMERICA  
    • pajamash
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:29pm

      Let me ask the Blazers this question. Does anyone else see the folly in constantly throwing out information that was gleened from the raid on Bin Laden’s complex in Pakistan? Seems to me that the information looses its impact if it is out in the open rather than being used for intelligence.

      Report Post »  
    • Showtime
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:30pm

      @FemaTower~

      Have you been in touch wih MSH lately?

      Report Post » Showtime  
    • copatriots
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:33pm

      @ PAJAMASH

      Absolutely agree with you. It is also interesting what the administration chooses to release. We get a diary but no photos. Further, by releasing this information, we are publicizing for bin Laden what he wanted his followers to do. Amateur hour in DC rolls on………

      Report Post »  
    • Restored One
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:35pm

      Maybe I am being skeptical, but by US releasing this contents of this diary does it not spread his word and the message on a greater scale? I mean, I know that we should know what role he still played, but it just seems that we are now possibly encouraging the violence on his behalf.

      Report Post »  
    • copatriots
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:38pm

      My thought precisely, Restored One! Beat you by 2 minutes. LOL

      Report Post »  
    • copatriots
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:49pm

      This is interesting……..

      “Iran can prove Bin Laden was dead long before US raid – Iranian minister”

      http://rt.com/news/osama-dead-raid/

      Report Post »  
    • tifosa
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 6:54pm

      The House Republicans refuse to hold a vote (Rep. Cantor “didn’t have time”) to vote on honoring the NAVY SEALS and intel community who got binLaden and TONS of intel, but had the time to vote to add GHWB and GWB names to the fedhouse in Midland! THEY ARE UNAMERICAN!!! He was on a mission to kill as many Americans as possible! UNAMERICAN HOUSE GOP!!!

      Report Post » tifosa  
    • John 1776
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:02pm

      Wow, he really missed the point!
      It is 911 that got us over there in force! Another such attack would only double our resolve. If he really wanted us to leave, his best strategy would have been to do nothing. Eventually, we would get bored and go home. There is a fundamental error in how he and his merry band of murderers think.

      Report Post » John 1776  
    • sbeejustsaying
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:06pm

      @cheesewiz: Yea I hear you. We should beleive the reports?

      Report Post » sbeejustsaying  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 7:34pm

      He’s dead? He wrote a Diary? He lived in a Winnebago? He plays defense for the dead wings? Do I care anymore, let the dead worry for the dead.
      Have you seen what this supposed death did to our peoples, the knee jerk reaction to any little fear? That’s the point, that’s the intent little sheep, react as you are led too because they know how to make you react. When it’s time, the viper squads and the Federalized cops will fan out and arrest those who have been telling you this truth, for your protection of course. Then dear sheep it’s TSA on the cross streets and at the bridgeheads, in your schools and church. Did you note I said church, not church’s , yes you will all be good little globalist socialist church going sheep, one government one church, She’s waited 1457 years, so clever too be the only thing ever to survive so long and to get people to not see you, only Lucifer.
      As for me, I’ll be dead.

      Report Post »  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:09pm

      Showtime I am sorry but I am not CIA so I don’t know your acronym of MSH ???
      is that Elfin or Troll ?

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:11pm

      Showtime Do you mean my Sacred Honor ?
      No I have not been, I wonder where he is ?

      Keep on trolling in the free world.

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:12pm

      I am just Trolling against the Machine …

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:13pm

      Showtime do you think we will ever get our freedom back ?

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:16pm

      Hey DASH come out and play ….

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • Robert Hawk
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 8:19pm

      What most here do not understand is that the fight between the Middle East and the West has a dual fold purpose from a third player in the game.
      Think boys and girls. Who benefits from the fight between the Middle East and the West? Does the West benefit? How?
      Does the Middle East benefit? How?
      Does the West gain more oil from this fight? The answer is No. The West gets 10% or less of its oil from the Middle East.
      Does the Middle East gain by not having the US military there to patrol the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, keeping them open at a great cost to the USA.
      So who benefits? Who gets to sell oil to the EU? Who just received the rights to refine Iraq’s oil (2010)?
      Who benefits financially by replacing the US dollar as the reserve currency which is used for all oil transactions? Who benefits if the US dollar looses its spot as the worlds reserve currency? Who benefits if the US economy falls apart?
      Who has spent the last two decades acquiring energy contracts to sell everything from natural gas to nuclear Uranium to the EU and China. Who is building at least 14 nuclear plants all over the world with the rights to supply each one uranium. Who is the one that sells weapons to Bin Laden’s group to allow them to attack their targets?

      The answer boys and girls …… RUSSIA…….
      Yep thats right. Russia will benefit through the sale of refined gasoline to the EU and China. Russia benefits if its currency becomes the currency of oil tr

      Report Post » Robert Hawk  
    • pitboss711
      Posted on May 11, 2011 at 9:43pm

      Who’s next??

      Report Post » pitboss711  
    • 101
      Posted on May 12, 2011 at 12:10am

      Anybody really believing in this crap? “kill as many Americans as possible in a single attack” what a lame azz line, it has US politics written all over it.

      Report Post »  
    • UPSETVET
      Posted on May 12, 2011 at 2:23pm

      Was Osama-bin-Laden killed in his compound hidaway in Pakistan ? There is a recent rumor floating around that Osama-bin-Laden is NOT dead and has been SEEN in a North Carolina Shopping Mall while shopping with Elvis Presley. This yet to be confirmed sighting, took place at the Mall Food Court while Elvis and Osama were eating “Carolina Style Pork Barbecue”. Both ordered the special of the day, a heaping plate of vinegar seasoned pork ribs, served with cabbage slaw, beans, corn on the cobb and of course ( It’s North Carolina) collard greens!

      Report Post »  
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