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Interesting World: Man Unwittingly Live Tweets Raid That Killed Osama Bin Laden

from the so-that-happened dept

Mon, May 2nd 2011 12:34am — Mike Masnick

There's really not much for us to say on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, since that's really not a topic for this blog... and, of course, it's being covered quite ably pretty much everywhere else. However, I do find this one minor side story, highlighted by Mike Butcher at TechCrunch, quite fascinating as an indication of the type of world we live in today. Apparently, while the helicopter raid was going on, an IT consultant in Abbottabad, Pakistan named Sohaib Athar, happened to be up and hear the helicopters and went to Twitter to talk about it on his account @ReallyVirtual (which is a great Twitter handle, by the way). You can read his tweets (and some of his retweets and responses) below. Start from the bottom to get them in order:

He seems a bit in shock from his sudden internet fame, which is certainly understandable. However, what gets me is that something like this is even possible today. Just a few years ago, almost no one have ever thought that the world would be connected to such a level. One can hope that the sort of connections and humanization that come about due to such technological advances might one day lead to a world where we don't have to deal with bombings and terrorists to chase down...

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Filed Under: communications, connectivity, killed, osama bin laden, sohaib athar, twitter
Companies: twitter

40 Comments

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The eejit (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 12:55am

An...interesting...way to start the day.
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MrWilson, 2 May 2011 @ 1:44am

The assassination will be twitterized?
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Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 2:46am

Bracing for retaliation
Well, I certainly hope our government feels its citizens are safe now, and repeals all the intrusive legislation and reins in their paranoid behavior.

Because if they don't, what's their excuse? First, WMDs were used as means to an end and Bin Laden became the new WMD. I'm sure the threat level has escalated as we should be expecting retaliatory action. I see more of the same, only faster and harder for awhile.
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Josef Anvil (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 3:20am

Re: Bracing for retaliation
I was thinking the exact same thing CLT.

Is the War on Terror (omg it hurts just to type that) over now? Did we beat an abstract concept to death? Can I Tweet it or post it in my FB status?

Yayyy! The USA beat Terror.

So why does this TSA guy still have his hands on my package?
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Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2011 @ 4:30am

The bit.ly link leads to a blog reporting of a helicopter crash in the area. Seems like a contemporary misinterpretation of what really happened.

http://paktidings.blogspot.com/2011/05/helicopter-crashed-in-abbottabad.html?spref=tw

Juat goes to show moving to a quiet spot doesn't help if the bad guys like it quiet as well.
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Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 4:51am

Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
Exactly.

If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, how come the cost (vigilance) keeps going up while the product (freedom) keeps getting lousier?
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Jay (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 5:07am

Re: Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
Because the price of eternal vigilance is never worth the asking price.

I just hope the Patriot Act is now a non-issue and is repealed. The war is over. Although, there is a great little thought going on about the cost of going after one person.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 5:44am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
"I just hope the Patriot Act is now a non-issue and is repealed. The war is over."

You're forgetting the painstaking groundwork done over the last 10 years w/everyone making the point that "bin Laden is NOT the objective". The war goes on because there are people to scare, profits to be had, and a nation to drive into the ground (ours)....
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Simon, 2 May 2011 @ 5:51am

Re:
The CNN report says a helicopter crash landed because of mechanical problems so they destroyed it as they left.
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Jay (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 5:57am

Barring a better, more official, story I'm going to assume they found bin Laden though his leaked PSN info.
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NullOp, 2 May 2011 @ 5:58am

Take note...
I hope authorities, JSOC in particular, take note of this and realize at certain times these types of services need to go quiet.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:04am

Re:
I've gone one further with my open letter to Barack Obama, which I titled: Pics Or It Didn't Happen.

Runner up titles for the letter included:

1. Where's His Long Form Death Certificate?

2. Does A Dead Man's Beard Float? (By Cracky)

and

3. Can You Assassinate Anyone Who Chants "USA! USA!" Next?
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Gnosti, 2 May 2011 @ 6:05am

Meanwhile, the Bush family are contacting the Bin Laden's to send their condolences.
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Skeptical Cynic (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:07am

We heard in the night..
We heard in the night a thud, a boom, and then a tweet. The US is now safe.
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harbingerofdoom (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:12am

Re:
perhaps you could, just for a moment, apply sufficient force with the use of a flatbar in order to reverse the severe craniorectal inversion you are suffering from.
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Jay (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
So war is peace.

And we battle Eurasia.
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harbingerofdoom (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:23am

i see no real change on the horizon. oh, the current administration will do their victory dance and perhaps claim some, none or all of the credit and all the while give lip service to how much safer we all actually are and gas prices will start to go down a bit (that will happen over the next couple days, but it wont be anything huge, just enough to get news outlets to report it).

but the big content industries will still be writing laws that benifit them and only them, the TSA will still be grabbing your junk and our millitary will still be deployed while our infrastructure continues to fall down around our ears.

but hey... youre all safe now!!
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xs (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:26am

Re: Take note...
umm, right. Shutting down part of the internet to suit political needs. Don't know why, it kind of remind me about some trouble spots and condemnations from US, and this sort of things.
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:48am

Re: Re:
Pics Or It Didn't Happen

Pundits actually were talking about this. To convince many in the Arab nations they will need pictures. Apparently DNA matching doesn't mean much to them...let alone tweets. =]
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Jesse (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 6:56am

"One can hope that the sort of connections and humanization that come about due to such technological advances might one day lead to a world where we don't have to deal with bombings and terrorists to chase down..."

Imagine all the people...using a Linux build...Woohooohooo...
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PolyPusher (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 7:21am

TMZ?
Last night when the news broke, a buddy online told me. I went to Google news to check out the stories and noticed that the oldest story at the time was from TMZ. There were about 400 articles 15 minutes after the news broke and of all the news agency's TMZ got the story out first... Not saying they were actually the first but they were on my Google news page...

Yes. Yes it is an interesting world...
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Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2011 @ 7:21am

Does not seem like a particularly good time for sarcasm, or remarks associated with TSA, Patriot Act, etc. Those will come in due course.

To me it is more than enough at this time to at least quitely reflect that an individual at the heart of murderous activity over the past 24+ years throughout the world no longer walks among those of us who value the sanctity of human life.

It is also a time to pay our respects to the thousands of innocent people everywhere whose lives were cut short by a man who led a radical movement that inflicted such pain and suffering on the families and friends of its victims.
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Fushta, 2 May 2011 @ 7:23am

Who's Winning Now?
Recently tweeted by Obama:

"I've taken down Osama bin Laden, Trump and Fox News all in one week. Who's winning now, Sheen?"
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grim, 2 May 2011 @ 7:38am

Re:
Yeah, let`s pay our respects to the victims of the USA.
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Skeptical Cynic (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 8:04am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
No Euthanasia. The killing of our own freedom.
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bean.java, 2 May 2011 @ 8:15am

worried
cut and pasted from my comment on slashdot http://politics.slashdot.org/story/11/05/02/0326243/Osama-Bin-Laden-Reported-Dead-Body-In-US-Hands

comment http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2118920&cid=36000330

I know everyone may believe that Osama was behind al Qaeda and directly ordered all of the attacks. However, i would like to remind everyone of something.

This Is The United States of America that killed him.

Here in the US we are supposed to be Innocent until proven guilty in a Court Of Law. I don't remember a trial of any kind. Do the "Terrorist's" deserve the presumption of innocence that the US constitution guarantees? That seems to be the argument surrounding Guantanamo. Should the US have killed Osama bin Laden without a trial?

My answer is no. I say that because it shows that the US government is demonstrating that the laws of the country do not apply to them. The US government(and likely alot of other governments around the world) all claim that they have proof of Osama bin Laden's role in al Qaeda, but the trial by public opinion is not a trial by LAW.

Before you moderate against me i would like to point out something. How many times....well lets narrow it down a little.... How many times since 9/11 has the US government be caught deceiving the people of the world. 10 times? 20 times? 100 times?
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Ryan Diederich, 2 May 2011 @ 8:37am

Just so you know...
Before we entered the Middle East, they held executions in the kids' soccer fields. They stoned women to death, made music and fun illegal, and held a grip of fear over the region.

As an American, I am proud to say that our nation is the ONLY ONE on the face of the Earth devoted to freedom.

And to the dumbass above me, he video taped himself admitting to being responsible. I dont know how much more of a CONFESSION you want, but why should be have to bring him back?

He was using a human shield, hes a monster, I feel bad that he died so quickly.

All of you people who are against these wars, think back for a second, to where the United States came from...

Hmmmmmm.... can we think of another situation where a foreign nation aided a country in getting its freedom? Think really hard now its a tough one.

Dont take your freedom for granted. The US has one of the highest standards of living on the planet. The poverty level begins at TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars per year. Can you wrap your brain around how much money that is? 99% of the planet makes less than our poverty level.

If you would rather watch people suffer under evil rulers, then I question your morals.
How can you complain about the US government. Hell, let them take over our whole country, lets not do anything about it, what do we need freedom for?
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bean.java, 2 May 2011 @ 9:21am

Re: Just so you know...
damn i wish i could remember any of the badass comments about liberty that Neil Gaiman made in the book American Gods.
Anyway back to your topic.

The US has seemingly always maintained that "We Are the World's Police". What does that imply?
I will tell you. That implies that we bring JUSTICE to the world. What is justice?

World English Dictionary #!via http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Justice !#
justice (ˈdʒʌstɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]

� n
1. the quality or fact of being just
2. ethics
a. the principle of fairness that like cases should be treated alike
b. a particular distribution of benefits and burdens fairly in accordance with a particular conception of what are to count as like cases
c. the principle that punishment should be proportionate to the offence
3. the administration of law according to prescribed and accepted principles
4. conformity to the law; legal validity
5. a judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature
6. short for justice of the peace
7. good reason (esp in the phrase with justice ): he was disgusted by their behaviour, and with justice
8. do justice to
a. to show to full advantage: the picture did justice to her beauty
b. to show full appreciation of by action: he did justice to the meal
c. to treat or judge fairly
9. do oneself justice to make full use of one's abilities
10. bring to justice to capture, try, and usually punish (a criminal, an outlaw, etc)

Was his assassination Justice? OR Was his assassination Vengeance?

The answer SEEMS to be....Vengeance.

If the US wanted him to come to JUSTICE they might have used that operation to capture him, but they either would have brought him the the local authorities(however Pakistan deals with authorities). They might also have made an endrun around Pakistani authorities and brought him to US authorities. However they brought him to authorities he would have stood trial(by whoever's definition). Since he did not stand trial, he was murdered out of vengeance. I don't know what you believe but, How many attacks will now be made against the US people(not against the government) in the name of vengeance?

Murder begets Murder. Vengeance begets Vengeance. If we apply the concept of "An Eye for an Eye" we will ALL end up blind.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 9:54am

Re: worried
Er, bin Laden was tried in Absentia in NYC, actually. Now, whether you want to argue how responsible he actually was or whether or not his CIA days were actually over is another matter. But he was tried and convicted....
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JB, 2 May 2011 @ 10:13am

Re: Re: Just so you know...
@bean.java:

1. Take a look at your definition for Justice, particularly letter c, "the principle that punishment should be proportionate to the offence." This is fully inline with what has occurred.

2. How do you know that the mission's goal was assassination? It very well could have been a mission to capture him alive. When the service men were attacked and their lives put in grave danger or the lives of others (in the case of him using a woman as a human shield), then lethal force was appropriate.

3. If we truly apply the concept of "An eye for an eye," then it stops with only two eyes gone; the victim's and the attacker's. The person carrying out the punishment is not held liable for the punishment as long as it is properly administered; including determination of guilt and in full observance of the law. Therefore, unless every person in the world were to carry out the punishment maliciously and with disregard to law, the process would stop short of everyone being blind.
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Hiiragi Kagami (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 10:20am

Re: Re: worried
"Er, bin Laden was tried in Absentia in NYC, actually."
Except, it wasn't for the events of 9/11, as that came a full 7 months after his conviction.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 10:25am

Re: Re: Re: worried
Fair enough. Dude said he was never tried/convicted. He was. For terrorism acts. I don't see what the point of that statement was....
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Someantimalwareguy, 2 May 2011 @ 11:13am

Re: Just so you know...
Hmmmmmm.... can we think of another situation where a foreign nation aided a country in getting its freedom? Think really hard now its a tough one.

Ermmm - France circa the US Revolutionary war perhaps? Not certain why that would be germain to this topic though...
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The eejit (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 11:24am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bracing for retaliation
It's not Euthanasia; it's Youthanasia, the killing of the Childhood.
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The eejit (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 11:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re: worried
Osama wasn't sentenced to death until after the WTC atttack, and that sentencing was in the court of public opinion. Seems pretty ironic when a mass murderer by proxy gets off scot-free, whilst another masds murderer by proxy is killed in the name of civilization.
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Justin Olbrantz (Quantam), 2 May 2011 @ 11:50am

A tweet by someone I know that is worth repeating: "Everybody watch what the US gov does and says extra closely next week while they think we're all obsessed with the news about OBL."
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Any Mouse (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 1:27pm

Re: Take note...
You have to know that if they need a communication source to go silent in a foreign country that they'll just bomb the hell out of it, right?
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slander (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 1:31pm

Now that the bogeyman's gone...
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slander (profile), 2 May 2011 @ 1:33pm

Now that the bogeyman's gone... [FIXED]
Does this mean I get to carry large bottles of shampoo with me on the plane?
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josh, 2 May 2011 @ 6:10pm

Re: Bracing for retaliation
well you know osama wasnt tho only guy on the team of "we hate america" he just happened to be yelling "were number one were number one" :P

were trying to kill an idea and this is only the start
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