Why did Osama only have a few couriers and women in his compound? That doesnt make

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why did Osama only have a few couriers and women in his compound? That doesnt make (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:24:02 AM EDT

sense to me.

He had two guard towers and you would think he would have men in there.

Second you would think that he would have men on the ground as well.

At least a small squad or platoon of men.

Either he got complacent or they knew something was up and called in sick.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:25:01 AM EDT

[#1]

dONCHA know it never really happened? Bullets can't melt steel...!

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:25:56 AM EDT

[#2]

He had to be low key. A large group of people would draw more attention.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:27:31 AM EDT

[#3]

Less women=less gossip=low key...

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:29:11 AM EDT

[#4]

Spoken like someone that's never dealt with anything illegal.

narc homie narcs. the less people know the better.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:29:58 AM EDT

[#5]

Why bother having a large contingent? He had to know that if the US military found him and decided to take him out, they would be able to, no matter how many bodyguards he had.

He must have just been biding his time hoping that we wouldn't locate him, and if we did, we would blow it before we got to him.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:30:12 AM EDT

[#6]

When you're asshole number one on the FBI's Most Wanted list and have millions of people that want you dead... you tend to keep a close group of friends.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:30:23 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Less women=less gossip=low key...

ESPECIALLY women. Im surprised they even had one. Hell it was probably her fault he got caught.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:30:52 AM EDT

[#8]

Mail only comes on Sundays...

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:32:19 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

When you're asshole number one on the FBI's Most Wanted list and have millions of people that want you dead... you tend to keep a close group of friends.

Also evil geniuses only live in hollowed out volcanoes in movies.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:32:20 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
sense to me.

He had two guard towers and you would think he would have men in there.

Second you would think that he would have men on the ground as well.

At least a small squad or platoon of men.

Either he got complacent or they knew something was up and called in sick.

The more people you bring in, the more people will have to be fed, clothed, etc. The bigger the operation the more liklely it is that there will be people that blab.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:34:20 AM EDT

[#11]

I concur that a small footprint is what he was maintaining, but the extreme smallness of it made me scratch my head too.

The list I've read is:

OBL
One son of OBL
Homeowner and one relative
Three women

We know they won't use women as guards or much of anything, so it REALLY surprises me that he didn't have one or two other bodyguards of some kind. An elder son is not a bodyguard, and the host would not really be treated as that either.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:38:50 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:

I concur that a small footprint is what he was maintaining, but the extreme smallness of it made me scratch my head too.
The list I've read is:
OBL

One son of OBL

Homeowner and one relative

Three women
We know they won't use women as guards or much of anything, so it REALLY surprises me that he didn't have one or two other bodyguards of some kind. An elder son is not a bodyguard, and the host would not really be treated as that either.

I think this shows they where trying to blend in and seem as normal as possible. Which is more important than SEAL fodder. Very smart.

eta or not according to link below.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:39:02 AM EDT

[#13]

How many would it take to protect him from the US? He didn't last this long by being stupid. More people means more chance of being found. Once found the game is over.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:39:45 AM EDT

[#14]

Last article I read said 22 dead or captured. link

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:41:16 AM EDT

[#15]

There was one hell of a cash reward out for bin Laden. Too many guards equals "loose lips sink ships".

He stayed alive and on the run for almost 10 years, he was doing something right up until the end.

Steve

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:42:15 AM EDT

[#16]

The entire charade makes no sense.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:46:12 AM EDT

[#17]

I think osama dropped his guard because he didnt think obama was going to look to hard.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:50:45 AM EDT

[#18]

Report is that 22 people were killed or captured.

I love that one of the cowardly sonsofbitches used his woman as a shield and fair play to the SEAL for playing through.

Other than the obvious:bigger footprint is easier to find,I think the real answer is that the proximity to the Paki army base gave a good deal of security by itself. It's like having your grow op across the street from the police station...which is maybe more helpful when the cops are at the very best incompetent to the extreme and at the worst directly complicit.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:50:58 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Less women=less gossip=low key...

ESPECIALLY women. Im surprised they even had one. Hell it was probably her fault he got caught.

I know I shouldn't laugh at this but I'm dying over here.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:56:03 AM EDT

[#20]

Osama was only a high value target for historical purposes. His demise means nothing at this point except as a symbolic victory. I doubt he currently had any role in Al Qaeda's activities except as a mouthpiece, and even that role was barely used.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:58:13 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Last article I read said 22 dead or captured. link

I'll be glad when all of the details come out.

If he only had 5 bodyguards, how are 22 people dead when we didn't take any casualties.

Posted: 5/2/2011 9:58:19 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
I concur that a small footprint is what he was maintaining, but the extreme smallness of it made me scratch my head too.

The list I've read is:

OBL
One son of OBL
Homeowner and one relative
Three women

We know they won't use women as guards or much of anything, so it REALLY surprises me that he didn't have one or two other bodyguards of some kind. An elder son is not a bodyguard, and the host would not really be treated as that either.

The smaller, the better, for someone like him.

Posted: 5/2/2011 10:01:12 AM EDT

[#23]

he probably had assurances from the Paki gov't that they'd warn him if anyone started an op to come get him

Posted: 5/2/2011 10:17:16 AM EDT

[#24]

Makes perfect sense. He did the opposite of what everyone was looking for for the past 10 years.

My guess is the people there (women and brother) was to make it look like a normal house with normal affluent people, knowing that no one would ever really ask or know in the area. In those parts of the world no one knows you and no one cares. You're just that family living down the street, and if you happen to chat with the neighbors that reinforces that image - just the family down the street.

Obviously down the line he (or the family) got sloppy and hints started to be dropped. All those hints put together told us SOMEONE of high value must have been there.

The rest is now history.

FWIW he hid for almost 10 years, so he was doing something right for that time - and that was doing everything no one expected him to do.

Posted: 5/2/2011 10:35:30 AM EDT

[#25]

25,000,000 reasons why he kept it small. More people more chit chat. More chance of getting sold out. More logistical needs...etc. And so what if he had 50+ people, you think thats gonna make a difference when jsoc comes knocking

Posted: 5/2/2011 10:36:25 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Less women=less gossip=low key...

ESPECIALLY women. Im surprised they even had one. Hell it was probably her fault he got caught.

that is a funny line right there

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:08:55 AM EDT

[#27]

He had a large contingent of the Pakistani Military about a 1/2 mile away, that was all the "protection" that he thought he would need.

One thing is obvious, we need to stop acting like Pakistan can be a trusted partner in the GWOT.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:17:08 AM EDT

[#28]

He didn't feel he needed a larger garrison of men as protection. It is now very obvious that he was living under the protection of the Pakistani military, but that they had been very effective at keeping him hidden. The last ten years had proven to him that large forces in the most remote and inhospitable locations were not safe, as the American Military proved to him in Tora Bora. The Pakistani Military had proven its loyalty and ability to keep him secure many times, by giving him plenty of advance notice when the US had discovered where he was, and then giving him a new place to hide out.

A larger security detail would have draw far more attention than would be desirable in an upscale neighborhood, and just wasn't required. It wouldn't have mattered if he was surrounded by a battalion of Pakistan's finest soldiers, we would have spared nothing to get to him once we found him. The only thing different about this raid as opposed to countless others, the people planning and conducting the raid refused to include Pakistani Intelligence personnel, and amazingly on the umpteenth raid, found terrific success.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:21:14 AM EDT

[#29]

Well, our boys did kill 20+ people & it took them 40 minutes. They also reported that there was an intense firefight. It may not have been a "company," but I'm sure he had a group of his most trusted. Either way, if you don't want to be discovered, you don't have a brigade of soldiers just hanging around.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:24:41 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Well, our boys did kill 20+ people & it took them 40 minutes. They also reported that there was an intense firefight. It may not have been a "company," but I'm sure he had a group of his most trusted. Either way, if you don't want to be discovered, you don't have a brigade of soldiers just hanging around.

20+ is way more than was reported for the first 18hrs or so, and makes a lot more sense than what was being first said.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:26:42 AM EDT

[#31]

I am surprised it was not booby-trapped with Clay mores and such, and that there was not an escape tunnel.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:27:55 AM EDT

[#32]

I think the proximity to the pak military was more to prevent any drone/cruise missile attacks rather than any overt complicity on the part of their military. Not saying there weren't sympathizers, but think about it. We do all sorts of ops right by the border, unapproved drone attacks, etc. Would he have to worry about a drone attack by the US on a target inside a major city, yards from a military facility? Nope. We start dropping bombs there, and things get to a whole additional level of tense. It was really pretty clever. Also consider that he's not walking out to get his morning paper and chit chat with his neighbors. If he leaves, it's probably in the middle of the night, and he is probably riding in the trunk.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:29:40 AM EDT

[#33]

He felt safe with the top dogs in the Pakistan gov protecting him. the reason the raid worked is that the Paki's were not informed till it was over.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:37:18 AM EDT

[#34]

He didn't need guards. The whole power of the State of Pakistan was protecting him. And if we would have done the good and proper thing and called Musharrif then it would have been another dry run. The whole country was on the take.

By some accounts there were guards in the towers. I'm thinking if you're making a hundred bucks a month guarding someone who you know is on America's shit list you vacate the area when the black helicopters arrive. If it would have been more heavily guarded we would have sent more troops. The guards might have kept prying eyes at bay but there's no way a few guys with AK's could do anything to a Seal team other than bleed on them.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:40:06 AM EDT

[#35]

This is like the moon landing.

It's all done under water, and you'll never know for sure.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:41:12 AM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

I think the proximity to the pak military was more to prevent any drone/cruise missile attacks rather than any overt complicity on the part of their military. Not saying there weren't sympathizers, but think about it. We do all sorts of ops right by the border, unapproved drone attacks, etc. Would he have to worry about a drone attack by the US on a target inside a major city, yards from a military facility? Nope. We start dropping bombs there, and things get to a whole additional level of tense. It was really pretty clever. Also consider that he's not walking out to get his morning paper and chit chat with his neighbors. If he leaves, it's probably in the middle of the night, and he is probably riding in the trunk.

You're naive. The ISI created the taliban. When we told the Pakistanis in the 1990's we were sending cruise missiles into their airspace because we were hitting OBL in Afghanistan, they said thanks for the notice and informed OBL to get out of his camp. The ISI coordinated that massacre in Mumbai a couple of years ago. They're snakes, and there's no question they were protecting OBL from us.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:43:56 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Last article I read said 22 dead or captured. link

I'll be glad when all of the details come out.

If he only had 5 bodyguards, how are 22 people dead when we didn't take any casualties.

Chicago voting officials were used to count the bodies.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:45:36 AM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

He had a large contingent of the Pakistani Military about a 1/2 mile away, that was all the "protection" that he thought he would need.

One thing is obvious, we need to stop acting like Pakistan can be a trusted partner in the GWOT.

Yeah we have given them billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Money you and I work for everyday, ENOUGH of sending money to foreign countries who steal it and use it against us - Mexico, South America, Iraq, Afghan, etc. The list goes on and on. We give everyone money, wth. We are broke.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:50:27 AM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Last article I read said 22 dead or captured. link

I'll be glad when all of the details come out.

If he only had 5 bodyguards, how are 22 people dead when we didn't take any casualties.

Chicago voting officials were used to count the bodies.

OK thats funny right there!

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:51:48 AM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I think the proximity to the pak military was more to prevent any drone/cruise missile attacks rather than any overt complicity on the part of their military. Not saying there weren't sympathizers, but think about it. We do all sorts of ops right by the border, unapproved drone attacks, etc. Would he have to worry about a drone attack by the US on a target inside a major city, yards from a military facility? Nope. We start dropping bombs there, and things get to a whole additional level of tense. It was really pretty clever. Also consider that he's not walking out to get his morning paper and chit chat with his neighbors. If he leaves, it's probably in the middle of the night, and he is probably riding in the trunk.

You're naive. The ISI created the taliban. When we told the Pakistanis in the 1990's we were sending cruise missiles into their airspace because we were hitting OBL in Afghanistan, they said thanks for the notice and informed OBL to get out of his camp. The ISI coordinated that massacre in Mumbai a couple of years ago. They're snakes, and there's no question they were protecting OBL from us.

The ISI is not the whole military.

Posted: 5/2/2011 11:51:50 AM EDT

[#41]

I wouldn't be surprised if a neighboring house had some guards as well.

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:00:39 PM EDT

[#42]

There was a large number of guards. I'm a super Delta-Recon-SEAL-Ranger, I know how it went down:

We surrounded the crowded compound on thursday night, all stealth-like. Under cover of darkness we st up our gear, and some special radio equipment. At 0001 local time we started blasting Rebecca Black's song Friday.

The guards vacated quickly, and we stormed the compound, only to find Bin Laden had offed himself by the time we got to his room. Pussy couldn't even handle the Noriega treatment.

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:19:00 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:

Less women=less gossip=low key...

Goats don't gossip.

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:20:56 PM EDT

[#44]

according to one account I read, in addition to the KIA, there were another 22 wounded or captured.

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:22:32 PM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Less women=less gossip=low key...

ESPECIALLY women. Im surprised they even had one. Hell it was probably her fault he got caught.

I know I shouldn't laugh at this but I'm dying over here.

I have to admit I laughed at that also

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:23:22 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
There was a large number of guards. I'm a super Delta-Recon-SEAL-Ranger, I know how it went down:

We surrounded the crowded compound on thursday night, all stealth-like. Under cover of darkness we st up our gear, and some special radio equipment. At 0001 local time we started blasting Rebecca Black's song Friday.

The guards vacated quickly, and we stormed the compound, only to find Bin Laden had offed himself by the time we got to his room. Pussy couldn't even handle the Noriega treatment.

I heard an interesting story about the Noriega hand-over this weekend. It turns out that a priest I know had a hand in that.

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:26:27 PM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:
I concur that a small footprint is what he was maintaining, but the extreme smallness of it made me scratch my head too.

The list I've read is:

OBL
One son of OBL
Homeowner and one relative
Three women

We know they won't use women as guards or much of anything, so it REALLY surprises me that he didn't have one or two other bodyguards of some kind. An elder son is not a bodyguard, and the host would not really be treated as that either.

I've heard that his house was 100 yards from a Paki military compound. Perhaps he thought they would have his six?

Posted: 5/2/2011 12:29:28 PM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:
Osama was only a high value target for historical purposes. His demise means nothing at this point except as a symbolic victory. I doubt he currently had any role in Al Qaeda's activities except as a mouthpiece, and even that role was barely used.

And from what I have read most of that mouthpiece ended up against the wall thanks to a double tap.