[ 2011-05-12 ]

Osama 'planned attacks' in diary
Osama Bin Laden calculated how many Americans
would have to be killed to force the US from the
Middle East, US officials say, citing his seized
journal and other files.

The al-Qaeda leader reportedly wrote that smaller
attacks since 9/11 were not having the desired
impact.

Bin Laden also urged his followers to strike
smaller cities and hit trains.

The documents were seized during last week's US
raid on Bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan in which
he was killed.

The US officials, who spoke to the Associated
Press news agency on condition of anonymity, say
Bin Laden's personal, handwritten diary and
computer files reveal his hand in every recent
major al-Qaeda threat.

Committees to see photos

These included plots in Europe last year that saw
travellers and embassies on alert, according to
the two officials.

The al-Qaeda leader envisaged attacks being staged
on significant dates, such as America's 4 July
Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of the
attacks of 11 September 2001.

He wrote that other American cities such as Los
Angeles should be considered for targeting, not
just New York.

In his writings, US officials say that Bin Laden
wondered how many American deaths it would take to
lead Washington to reconsider its policies on the
Middle East.

The al-Qaeda leader is said to have concluded that
only a body count of thousands, like that of the
9/11 attacks, would be enough.

Intelligence agents are continuing to analyse the
documents - said to be on around 100 flash drives
and five computers - seized in the 2 May raid in
Abbottabad by the US Navy Seals.

Bin Laden's communications are believed to have
been in missives sent via the flash drives, as his
compound had no telephone or internet access.

The CIA meanwhile has said it plans to allow
members of four US congressional committees to
view images of Bin Laden's body.

Until now, the US authorities had been saying the
pictures of Bin Laden - who was shot in the face
and chest - were too gruesome to be made public
and could inflame sentiment.

On Wednesday, Bin Laden's sons criticised the US
for carrying out his "arbitrary killing".

A statement given to the New York Times newspaper
said the family wanted to know why the al-Qaeda
leader had not been captured alive.

Another statement appeared on a jihadist website
saying the burial of Bin Laden at sea "demeans and
humiliates his family".

US officials have said that while Bin Laden was
unarmed he had given no indication to the US
troops that he wanted to surrender.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said that the
killing was lawful and "an act of national
self-defence".

Source - BBC

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