Five years on, the Central Intelligence Agency came up with an unusual idea to mark the anniversary of the killing of what was once the FBI's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, by the US Navy Seals in the Pakistani hideout of Abbottabad.
To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today.#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) 1 мая 2016 г.
The CIA, which provided intelligence for the operation, tweeted a timeline of the events as if it was happening in real time.
3:30 pm EDT — 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) 1 мая 2016 г.
3:39 pm EDT — Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) 1 мая 2016 г.
Many found the idea unprofessional, distasteful and arrogant.
Imagine what the @CIA are planning for the 10th anniversary — Puppets? Opera? Pixelated animated gifs? #UBLRaid
— James Saunders (@Jimbolinos) 1 мая 2016 г.
Back then it was announced that Bin Laden was killed shortly after 1am on May 2, 2011, local time, after the Seal Team stormed the compound in Pakistan where he had been in hiding for years.
@CIA This is unprofessional and serves no edifying purpose. Please stop. Will you reprise this bad idea every year or just to help #Hillary?
— Zippyman818 (@zippyman818) 1 мая 2016 г.
The body of the infamous terrorist however was never displayed to the public.
So CIA expense out trillions on war against UBL. All were tax money. But citizens have no right to see the body of UBL?#FalseFlag#UBLRaid
— Osama Sultan (@MuJahidSheroze) 1 мая 2016 г.
In a process that the US government said was carried out for security reasons, Osama bin Laden’s body was reportedly then buried at sea off a US aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson.
#UBLRaid
— سبینا صدیقی (@sabena_siddiqi) 2 мая 2016 г.
Once an anti-Soviet warrior, then a terrorist.
After ops they lost the body. pic.twitter.com/KWFIRwkbHX
Images of the burial at sea, along with other pictures of the corpse were reportedly taken, but the Obama administration has resisted all efforts by media sources and other groups to obtain them.
Usama Bin Ladin the perfect example for "how to use an agent"@CIA #UBLRaid
— christos karamanov (@CKaramanov) 1 мая 2016 г.
This fact has caused many Internet users doubt the truth of the operation.
Why dont @CIA begins from the day when Bin Laden was recruited by CIA. We surely want to know the complete and hidden story. #UBLRaid
— kiran Raza (@kiranraza_01) 1 мая 2016 г.
Seymour Hersh, the Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist renowned for breaking the My Lai and Abu Ghraib stories, believes the actual story of bin Laden’s killing differs from the official one.
Heres what really happened during #UBLRaid, the story @CIA wont livetweet: https://t.co/Af5abc8DDT
— Young Lefty (@chalkupydaytona) 2 мая 2016 г.
In his new book “The killing of Osama bin Laden” he called it a “targeted assassination,” quoting a retired US official as saying the bin Laden killing was “clearly and absolutely a premeditated murder” and a former SEAL commander as saying “by law we know what we’re doing inside Pakistan is homicide.”
Shameless @CIA. Live tweeting #UBLRaid while the man who got BinLaden was left behind. Remember Dr. Afridi #Clinton? https://t.co/9bVKLKvHbh
— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) 1 мая 2016 г.
“He was a prisoner of war! The SEALs weren’t proud of that mission; they were so mad it was outed,” Hersh said in an interview with the US-based website Salon.
I bet, if ever Americans found UBL's body, they had put it in museum to show it to living world.
— Dr Shahid Bhutta (@DrBhutta1) 2 мая 2016 г.
That wasn't Usama, #UBLRaid is just a drama
“I know a lot about what they think and what they thought and what they were debriefed, I will tell you that. They were very unhappy about the attention paid to that because they went in and it was just a hit.”
