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Osama buried at sea
2011-05-02
Osama bin Laden, the long-time figurehead of the al Qaeda terrorist network, has been buried at sea after being killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan.

U.S. officials told CBS News that bin Laden's body would be handled in accordance with Muslim traditions, which include strict rules on burial taking place within 24 hours after death.

Sources confirmed to CBS News national security correspondent David Martin that his body was released into the sea from a U.S. Navy vessel on Monday, likely into the Indian Ocean.

Bin Laden was a Saudi national, but officials tell CBS News that the Kingdom was unwilling to have his remains repatriated.
From The Telegraph:
A senior US official told US television networks that he had been buried at sea, without giving further details.

Earlier an administration official said of the corpse: "We are ensuring that it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition.

"This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner."
Posted by:Angimp Glavise7223

#37  "This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner."

And to that end, Obean inisted that the captain call for all hands on deck to pay appropriate respects. Unfortunately for Obean, he couldn't have imagined how every last sailor, male and female alike, interpreted his orders, or he wouldn't have done that ...
Posted by: gorb   2011-05-02 22:41  

#36  Ahh, I was thinking attached to a point on a super hornet, but C-2 I guess would work. It seemed to be time-wise that this potential aftermath likely would have been considered beforehand?

Heh, Binney has crabs and a slimey eel.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2011-05-02 21:57  

#35  German name is "Schleimaal" (slimy eel).
Excellent.
Posted by: European Conservative   2011-05-02 21:30  

#34  BTW, hagfish are specifically not Halal. Its as if the Navy fed him to pigs. But not on purpose, nooooo.

Heh.
Posted by: OldSpook   2011-05-02 20:03  

#33  From what I've read, they came out of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Do the deed, back to Jalabad, Navy C-2 COD plane's on the runway, off the choppers onto the C-2, straight out to the Vinson.
Posted by: tu3031   2011-05-02 17:19  

#32  It is true that no photos and a quick dumping at sea is fuel for the "truthers" out there

But then again there are people so stuupid that they believe the planes that flew into the buildings never did... that it was just explosives planted by the CIA and or the joooooos that brought them down.

Well people are so dumb they'll believe night is day.

But not having any pictures to show, not having anything... this is hours later. That is going to fuel the fire even for those who are not stupid. People are asking: Where's the body? or... Where's the evidence?
Posted by: anon1   2011-05-02 17:14  

#31  Well this kind of action does create, as el prez joked around about the other night, Roswell-type thinking.

Example, I was/am having a tough time envisioning how they transferred the body from Afghan to a Navy Ship (I assume that is what they mean). Answer is likely simple to a military person or who knows about such things but I had been drawing a blank on what vehicle could make that trip and transfer cargo to a ship. I am also rightfully short on information such as origin and times. So I satisfy myself with the idea of the Air Force selling a C-130 to the Navy for $1, its now a Navy vessel, and they dropped it out the back at 10,000.

If an assignment, I do have a guess I'd be comfortable turning in, but if there is a conspiracy I like BP's.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2011-05-02 17:08  

#30  >"The reason he was buried at sea is simple"

Someone actually had a fun conspiracy theory. OBL got captured and we're getting medieval on his ass right now.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2011-05-02 16:43  

#29  Did they play Eternal Father strong to save when they dumped him?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2011-05-02 16:10  

#28  The reason he was buried at sea is simple: We wanted an Islamic-sanctioned burial to reduce backlash. Which is stupid of course, but Obama's in office. We couldn't bury him on land anyway since no country would EVER allow him to be buried on their soil.
Posted by: Charles   2011-05-02 16:01  

#27  Public exposure on the outskirts of Kabul or Kandahar. Let the media crawl all over it, then leave it exposed for the birds to pick over.

This crap about fearing that the corpse could become the nucleus of some sort of shrine is nonsense. al Queda is seriously, psychotically Wahhabist. They *blow up* saints' shrines, they don't found new ones. If you're worried about al Queda toads sneaking in under cover of night & pulling an Antigone, then rig the body with a booby trap, but I don't insist on that last point.
Posted by: Mitch H.   2011-05-02 15:20  

#26  Mitch, some people will have conspiratorial suspicions no matter what. As others here have pointed out, conspiracy theories require no connection to reality, and believers can't be reasoned with or appeased. Care should be taken not to fuel them, of course, but they shouldn't the drive decision-making either.

Many options were available for dispensing with the corpse. Which one would you have chosen?
Posted by: RandomJD   2011-05-02 14:43  

#25  I just had a conversation with what I thought was my least-political co-worker. She was convinced that the whole thing is a put-up job, completely manufactured.

Dumping the body at sea was the worst possible way to manage this sort of conspiratorial suspicions. They're going to regret that idiocy for a very long time.

For the record, I'm pretty sure this bullshit is on the level, it's the exact sort of halfassed PC imbecility you could expect from something stagemanaged by that jackass in the Oval Office.
Posted by: Mitch H.   2011-05-02 12:59  

#24  It's even better, moose. Check out a charming creature called the hagfish. They are devouring Osama bin Laden, from the inside out, as we speak.
Posted by: Grunter   2011-05-02 12:29  

#23  Just sayin'.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-05-02 12:18  

#22  I want a death certificate.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2011-05-02 11:46  

#21  Hopefully, they dropped his dead ass near GITMO in the Bay of PIGS!!
Posted by: VietVet68   2011-05-02 11:45  

#20  [Godfather]
"Osama bin Laden sleeps with the fishes."
[/Godfather]
Posted by: Mike   2011-05-02 11:18  

#19  Things that are fishy belong in the sea.
Posted by: 746   2011-05-02 10:20  

#18  tw: I suspect at this point that NorthCom was advised of the OPLAN and immediately issued the alert, possibly even *before* the mission went down, in case Osama had set up some "immediate action attacks" in the event he was killed.

For the next couple of weeks, I wouldn't advise anyone to get too gleeful around any high security US installations, because I believe the expression "trigger happy" may be operable.

And, snarkily, the TSA will probably be grabbing people's genitalia *twice* as hard for a while.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-05-02 10:07  

#17  That's a shame, Scooter. I was about to shop around for a high quality 8x10 glossy, suitable for framing.
Posted by: Grunter   2011-05-02 10:00  

#16  I was awake at 10:43 last night when the POTUS came on to speak, Mighty ballsy if this was a Fake.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2011-05-02 09:41  

#15  Anonymoose, would the timing of that announcement have been tied to the raid or to President Obama's announcement of the raid? And thank you for posting it - knowing something is up, even without the details, is good.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-05-02 09:37  

#14  For future reference: I saw the notification from NorthCom and put it up in the O Club. Based on the time I got the notification, it was either right when the attack when down, or just before.

"NorthCom is sending out notifications that it has upped the threat condition to FPCON Bravo. This is its first threat elevation it has issued for some time.

FPCON BRAVO describes a situation with somewhat predictable terrorist threat. Security measures taken by agency personnel may affect the activities of local law enforcement and the general public."
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-05-02 09:00  

#13  " he's been dead for 10 years and we just now declared him so, as an excuse to exit A'stan and a diversion from economic problems."

Glenmore is prescient. He formulated my exact thoughts precisely and in less word than I tend to customarily use.

I) Burial at sea...which is end of story kind of no shrine, no flowers and no marker. AND it doesnt say WHERE. Somewhere off New Jersey?

2) No pictures. Yes I will be willing to bet there WILL be NO pictures. Head shots are usually not pretty, which is an understatement. A head shot tends to be a look,( long pause), squint and ohjzuz moment... and THEN you try again.

3) they blew up the house after they were done and burned it to the ground didnt they. After the raid, lots of explosives and gas cans emptied? What do you bet they did just that? Hmmmmm....

4) Bambo checked with Bush and Bill before releasing the statement concerning the Op. Getting all the big mouseys on the same page, as it were. Quick call, no pictures, no full briefing( take my word for it would I lie to you?). Have a nice day. hangup... the phone clicks... buzzzzzz....

5) I would be willing to bet Osama has been definitively dead for a decade and the govt. has known such with documentation. But we might have found it to our national advantage to continue as if he were still alive because we were still involved in certain real estate deals ongoing business, you can see how that might be the case? Of course, you can.

6) Bambo is going to "pull out" and its to his advantage with that scenario to sort of wrap things up, as it were and dump it in the Ocean and as the setting sun sinks in the West we bid a fond adieu, sort of thing. Now let's get on with the re-election?

7) more mustard?
Posted by: de Medici3489   2011-05-02 08:48  

#12  The KGB removed Hitler's remains from Berlin and disposed of them at a secret location unreported till the fall of the first Soviet Union. They too wanted to avoid the development of a shrine to the man. While it lead to speculation of 'alive and living in Argentina', it did accomplish the goal.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2011-05-02 08:31  

#11  Wouldn't a death shot be a war crime or something? Ditto his head on a pike at Ground Zero.
Now here's a conspiracy theory for you - he's been dead for 10 years and we just now declared him so, as an excuse to exit A'stan and a diversion from economic problems.
Posted by: Glenmore   2011-05-02 08:20  

#10  Burial at sea probably solves a lot of problems with people trying to get the body (or a piece of it - see 'car swarm') or digging him up.

Or having the ACLU start claiming his rights were violated because he had a bruise on his pecker or some such shit.

Perhaps they saved his head to be mounted on the pike at ground zero....
Posted by: CrazyFool   2011-05-02 08:14  

#9  why bury him at sea?
Posted by: Angeretle Snore6772   2011-05-02 08:09  

#8  Hey Grunter, I'm sorry to say that the image I had linked has now been definitively debunked as a fake.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder   2011-05-02 08:02  

#7  If you go to the "Good Morning" comments a little way down, Scooter Magruder has posted a headshot of the headshot, if you like. It's in comment number four, anon, just before your number 5.
And it is a good morning, too.
Posted by: Grunter   2011-05-02 07:46  

#6  I know it's early days, but er... what if they don't show us any photos or any proof?
Posted by: anon1   2011-05-02 07:38  

#5  One part of me doesn't believe this. The other part says just the usual PC lunacy.
Posted by: phil_b   2011-05-02 07:27  

#4  Very curious lack of PR skills being shown here.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2011-05-02 07:20  

#3  I think the 48 hours rule applies here
Posted by: European Conservative   2011-05-02 07:04  

#2  good idea, Bright Pebbles, I have been thinking the same
Posted by: anon1   2011-05-02 06:56  

#1  Did er no-one think to take a few pictures, get some proof?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2011-05-02 06:37  

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