Within two years of the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden was an ailing, delusional and irrelevant figure who had been shuffled out of Al Qaeda's leadership and was eventually sold out to the Americans by the organisation.
That is the controversial report compiled by Shaukat Qadir, a columnist for The National and a former Pakistan military officer, who said he got much of the information from the highest levels in Pakistan's military and intelligence services. He also visited the compound and tribal areas where bin Laden had stayed.
That allowed Brig Qadir to construct his independent version of events that is sharply at odds with the American one.
Bin Laden was killed last May by a US Navy Seal team that raided the compound in Abbottabad where he had been in hiding since 2005. The Americans say they traced bin Laden's whereabouts through a trusted courier.
The Americans say they then launched the raid from their airbases in Afghanistan without the involvement or knowledge of Pakistan authorities.
However Brig Qadir, now a security analyst, said he believes bin Laden was sold out to the Americans by members of Al Qaeda, who needed a share of the US$25 million bounty to continue operating.
"I have reached the conclusion that [bin Laden] was set up for the hit. Al Qaeda finally decided that he was too much of a problem and that this dying ghost of a human being was better finally buried," he wrote in his report.
Although he was assisted by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, he insists his report is independent and not sponsored by ISI.
Brig Qadir said that in August 2003, bin Laden was in hiding in Afghanistan's Nangahar Province, a predominantly Pashtun area near the border with Pakistan.
"Osama bin Laden had been rapidly and visibly ailing physically and mentally for over a year."
He was allowing Ayman Al Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's number two, to run the day-to-day affairs.
Bin Laden "seemed content to permit Zawahiri considerable liberty of action, but when it came to planning major operations, [bin Laden] insisted on being present and, frequently disrupted everything by coming up with fantasies."
The report said bin Laden even wanted "to attack and capture Pakistan's nuclear [weapons grade plutonium] facility at Kahuta!
"The consensus view of the Al Qaeda Shoora [high council] was that [bin Laden] had to be 'retired'. Nobody [then] wanted him dead; he was, after all, the founder and his name still raised donations from rich Arabs. The question was how."
While paying lip service to bin Laden's plan to attack Kahuta, they arranged for him to be housed somewhere safe. In truth, he was effectively sidelined from any part in his former organisation.
Al Qaeda bought the compound in Abbottabad and built a 13-bedroom home. Bin Laden, along with some of his wives, children, grandchildren and his courier, Arshad Khan, moved in around June 2005. Despite the nearby presence of the Pakistan Military Academy, the area was not Pashtun and not closely monitored by the intelligence agencies.
Brig Qadir said that Khan had come to the attention of the ISI in 2007 because they had questions about his claim of being a money changer. But his link to bin Laden was not recognised immediately.
Brig Qadir quoted an ISI Counter Terrorism Wing officer who liaised with the CIA as saying: "Over time, by around 2007/8 it began to seem that [bin Laden] had become irrelevant even to CIA. From about 2008 onwards, there was almost no mention of [bin Laden] by the CIA." The Americans did not appear to be even looking for him. Brig Qadir said he believed that instead of following Khan, bin Laden's location was either revealed to the Americans by Al Qaeda itself, or the Americans had been tipped off to follow another of bin Laden's wives, Khairee, who moved to the compound in early 2011 after being released from custody in Iran.
He postulated that the Americans' decision to act alone was because of a combination of not wanting to share the glory of killing bin Laden, of wanting to make sure he was killed and not captured, and to undermine and embarrass the Pakistan military.
jhenzell@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
'O'
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More on animal trafficking
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Spec%20sheet
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers