Osama bin Laden lived in plain sight for almost a decade and was once even pulled over for speeding but not apprehended, thanks to the incompetence of Pakistan's intelligence and security services, an official report into his killing said on Monday.
The 337-page report is widely believed to have been completed months ago, but it only became public Monday after the news organization Al Jazeera obtained a copy and uploaded the report to its Web site.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the authenticity of the report but declined to comment on it.
The independent committee was commissioned following outrage within Pakistan over the U.S. raid in 2011. The panel interviewed more than 200 people, including bin Laden’s wives and couriers, senior military and intelligence officials and local officials in Abbottabad.
According to those interviews, the report establishes a timeline that first places bin Laden in Pakistan in early 2002 after he evaded U.S. capture during the battle of Bora Bora in Afghanistan. Though gaps remain in his whereabouts during that time, the report suggests bin Laden traveled throughout northwestern Pakistan for several years, settling at different times in Peshawar and Swat, a militant stronghold. For two years, bin Laden then lived in “a big house with two hallways, three bedrooms” in Haripur, less than 50 miles from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
In 2005, bin Laden moved his extended family to Abbottabad, where he likely remained for six years until the Navy Seals landed two helicopters and blasted through a door and killed him, according to a report. Local officials said they were surprised he was there, and the report notes that bin Laden was isolated and that his children rarely went outside.
But local officials missed several signs that could have signaled to the country’s usually diligent intelligence services that they needed to take a closer look.
The report noted, for example, that bin Laden’s compound had four electric meters, presumably to “ensure that none would indicate any excessive consumption of gas and electricity.” Local officials “should have immediately noticed the ruse,” the report states.
The report offers fascinating details about life on the run for the world's most wanted man, who, it says, wore a cowboy hat to avoid being spotted from above.
Written by a judge-led commission that the Pakistani government set up shortly after U.S. special forces killed bin Laden in 2011, the 336-page report is based on interviews with 201 sources including members of his family and various officials.
In one testimony showing how close bin Laden came to being captured, "Maryam", the wife of one of his most trusted aides, recounted how his car was stopped by Pakistani police in the Swat region.
"Once when they were all ... on a visit to the bazaar they were stopped for speeding by a policeman," the report says. "But her (Maryam's) husband quickly settled the matter with the policeman and they drove on."
To avoid detection from the sky, bin Laden took to wearing a cowboy hat when moving about his compound in the city of Abbottabad, his wives told investigators.
The inquiry's findings - which have not yet been officially published - include evidence of incompetence at almost every level of Pakistan's security apparatus. The report is also fiercely critical of the "illegal manner" in which the United States conducted the raid.
It chastises Pakistan's leadership for failing to detect CIA activities on its soil, and does not rule out the involvement of rogue elements within the Pakistani intelligence service - a sensitive issue even to touch on in a high-profile inquiry.
"The U.S. acted like a criminal thug," says the report by the Abbottabad Commission.
"But above all, the tragedy refers to the comprehensive failure of Pakistan to detect the presence of OBL (Osama bin Laden) on its territory for almost a decade or to discern the direction of U.S. policy towards Pakistan that culminated in the avoidable humiliation of the people of Pakistan."
CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE
After a decade-long hunt, the CIA finally tracked down the al Qaeda leader to a compound within sight of an elite Pakistani military academy in Abbottabad, close to the capital Islamabad.
In a night-time mission by U.S. Navy SEALs, bin Laden was killed on May 2 that year in an episode that humiliated Pakistan's military and strained relations between the strategic allies Washington and Islamabad.
"As for (failing to detect) the CIA network, there was culpable negligence and incompetence," the report says.
"Although the possibility of some degree of connivance inside or outside the government cannot be entirely discounted, no individual can be identified as guilty of connivance."
Pakistan's government and security officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bin Laden's network killed nearly 3,000 people when al Qaeda hijackers crashed commercial planes into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon outside Washington and a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
Some U.S. officials have voiced suspicions that Pakistan's intelligence agencies sheltered bin Laden, but Pakistan has dismissed the idea.
LIFE ON THE RUN
The report offers insights into the dramatic night of his death and paints a picture of a restless and paranoid man who often hit the road to avoid being caught.
Bin Laden arrived in Pakistan in the spring or summer of 2002, the report says, at one point spending two years in Haripur before moving to the Abbottabad compound with his big family in August 2005.
"All the places in Pakistan where OBL stayed are not fully known," the report says. "But it included FATA (South Waziristan and Bajaur), Peshawar, Swat and Haripur."
It found that he probably crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan's Tora Bora area, where U.S. forces were hunting him, sometime in 2002. His family moved from Afghanistan's Kandahar to Karachi shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"They kept a very low profile and lived extremely frugally. They never exposed themselves to public view. They had minimum security," the report says.
"OBL successfully minimized any 'signature' of his presence. His minimal support group blended easily with the surrounding community ... His wives, children and grandchildren hardly ever emerged from the places where they stayed. No one ever visited them, not even trusted al Qaeda members."
His wives, in their testimonies, said bin Laden was not fond of personal possessions and had very few clothes.
"Before coming to Abbottabad he had just three pairs of shalwar kameez (traditional dress) for summer, and three pairs for winter," the report says.He also had a black jacket and two sweaters, the report said. Why didn't bin Laden have tougher protection? He "trusted in Allah for his protection" and had just two bodyguards.
"Whenever OBL felt unwell (unofficial U.S. accounts indicate he suffered from Addison's disease), he treated himself with traditional Arab medicine ... and whenever he felt sluggish he would take some chocolate with an apple."
He "did not discuss political matters with his wives." But Bin Laden "personally saw to the religious education of his grandchildren and supervised their play time, which included cultivating vegetable plots with simple prizes for best performances."
The witnesses said that the Americans made off with a hard disc that belonged to bin Laden—but also with what the report calls 20 gold “biscuits” and two gold lockets with emeralds (page 40).
“They also took a purse that contained the will of Osama bin Laden,” the report says.
One of bin Laden's wives “had previously read the will but did not wish to divulge the details. She said it was not political and pertained only to personal and family related matters. Other reports suggested that the will said his children should not seek the leadership of Al-Qaida.”
据外媒报道，巴基斯坦一份官方报告7月8日曝光，披露了基地组织前头目本·拉登在巴境内的鲜为人知的生活细节。
*** 逃难阿伯塔巴德
这份报告共有337页。有人认为，报告早在几个月前便已经完成。半岛电视台于8日上传到网上，这份报告才大白于天下。巴基斯坦外交部证实，这份报告是真的，但拒绝评论。
2011年，巴基斯坦政府派遣一个独立委员会，询问了201人，其中包括拉登的妻子和信使、巴基斯坦高级军官、情报官员、以及拉登藏身之处——阿伯塔巴德的当地官员。
报告显示，2002年初，拉登为躲避美国追捕，逃离阿富汗，进入巴基斯坦。后来，拉登在巴基斯坦西北部游荡了好几年，曾先后出现在军事重地白沙瓦和斯瓦特。拉登在哈里普尔住过2年，他的住处“有2个走廊和3间卧室”。哈里普尔距离巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡不到80公里。
2005年，拉登带着全家人移居阿伯塔巴德，在那里住了大约6年。最后，美国海豹突击队派出两架直升机发动突击，将拉登击毙。当地官员称，他们很惊讶拉登就在这里。报告还提到，拉登过着与世隔绝的生活，他的孩子们也很少外出。
报告指出，当地官员忽略了诸多可疑迹象。比如拉登的住宅大院有四个电表，当地官员“应该立刻注意到这一点”。
***牛仔帽护身
另外，这个全世界头号通缉犯在潜逃生涯中还有一些有趣的细节。据说，拉登出门时戴着一顶宽边牛仔帽，以防止被空中侦察系统发现。
拉登亲信的妻子“玛利亚姆”表示，拉登曾因超速驾驶被警察拦下，却并未被捕。报告写道：“有一次，他们在去一个集市的路上因为超速被一名警察拦住了，但她（玛丽亚姆）的丈夫迅速打发掉了警察，他们得以继续上路。”
*** 官方疏忽受批评
这份报告有证据表明，巴基斯坦各个层次的安全机 构效能低下。报告同时猛烈批评美国采取“非法手段”击毙拉登。报告说：“将近10年来，巴基斯坦未能在自己的国土内发现拉登，并且未能看清楚美国的对巴政 策，致使巴基斯坦人民受到侮辱。……中央情报局未能有所发现，其疏忽和无能应该受到批评。”
经过10年的追踪，美国中央情报局终于在阿伯塔巴德某高级军事学院附近的一个院落里发现了拉登。2011年5月2日，美国海军海豹突击队在夜间行动中击毙。这次行动也是对巴方军队的侮辱，并导致美巴两国关系紧张。
2001年9月11日，基地组织劫机者驾驶商用飞机撞向纽约世贸大厦、五角大楼和宾夕法尼亚州，约3000人遇难。
有美国官员怀疑巴基斯坦情报机构掩护拉登，但巴基斯坦予以否认。
*** 两个保镖
这份报告不仅提供了拉登死亡当晚的戏剧性情节，还透露不安和偏执的拉登常常为躲避搜捕而亡命天涯。
报告称：“拉登家人行动非常低调，生活极为简朴。他们从不让自己暴露在公众的目光中。他们只有最低安保措施，”
“拉登成功地掩盖了表明他存在的“标志”。他精简的后勤团队很容易与周围的社区融和......他的妻子、儿女和孙子孙女很少走出他们居住的大院。没人来拜访他们，即使是最受信任的基地组织成员。”
他的两位妻子在证词中说，拉登不喜欢私人财物，他的衣服也很少。
报告说，“他来到阿伯塔巴德之前，冬夏各有三套服装”，还有一件黑色夹克和两件毛衣。拉登“相信真主会保护他”，只带了两名贴身保镖。
“他感到身体不适的时候（美国非官方报道暗示他患有阿笛森氏病），就用传统的阿拉伯药物进行治疗......他无精打采的时候，就吃巧克力和苹果。”
拉登“从不与妻子讨论政治问题，但亲自指导孙儿们的宗教教育，带他们玩游戏。拉登鼓励孩子们开垦小块菜地，表现最好的还有小礼物。”
***美军带走拉登珠宝和遗嘱
据证人说，美国人拿走了拉登的1个硬盘、20个“金饼”、2个有祖母绿的金匣子、以及装有拉登遗嘱的钱包。
拉登的一个妻子“此前曾读过这份遗嘱，但不想泄露细节。她说，遗嘱和政治无关，只涉及私人和家庭事务。其他报告暗示，拉登在遗嘱中嘱咐，他的孩子不应担任基地组织的领导者。