Bin Laden Death Photos - Obama Won't Release

Obama: 'I Won't Release Bin Laden Death Photos'

VOA News May 04, 2011

 

U.S. President Barack Obama has decided not to release death photos of Osama bin Laden that were taken after he was killed by U.S. commandos early Monday.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday the president decided there is no purpose in releasing any of the photographs.  He said the graphic images would create a national security risk and could incite violence.

The president announced the decision in an interview Wednesday with the U.S. television network CBS.  Mr. Obama said he has no doubt that U.S. forces killed bin Laden. He said the man behind the September 11, 2001 attacks received the justice the deserved.

Carney said Wednesday the majority of Mr. Obama's closest advisors decided to keep the photos classified.  He said compelling arguments could be made for and against releasing a photo, but that no visual evidence of bin Laden's death will be made public.

The spokesman reiterated U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's statement that the raid was lawful.  He said the U.S. special forces would have taken the world's most wanted terrorist into custody if he had surrendered.

Holder also said the killing of bin Laden was an act of national self-defense.  He said the United States ultimately will be more safe because of it.  However, he warned of possible retaliatory attacks, and said the fight against terrorist threats is far from over.

Holder said he has ordered law enforcement agencies to be on alert, and said there still are serious concerns that the United States must address.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder said bin Laden's death is a "tremendous step forward" in obtaining justice for the thousands killed in the September 11 al-Qaida attacks against the United States. He called on Congress to reauthorize for a "substantial period of time" provisions in the Patriot Act that expire at the end of the month.

The provisions set to expire allow roving wiretaps on people with suspected terror ties, access to records, and tracking someone with no ties to a terrorist group, a so-called "lone wolf."  Holder said those provisions are needed now more than ever.

The chairman of the Senate committee, Democrat Patrick Leahy, welcomed the successful raid that killed bin Laden.  He said bin Laden paid for his actions against innocent Americans and people around the world, calling him a terrorist and murderer who "perpetuated hate and destruction."

Obama: 'I Won't Release Bin Laden Death Photos'

Article from VOA

Raw Footage Osama bin Laden Was Killed Here - Video

US Revises Description of bin Laden Killing

VOA - Kent Klein | White House May 03, 2011

U.S. officials on Tuesday revised their description of the circumstances surrounding the killing of al-Qaida terror leader Osama bin Laden, as more details became available.  As The new narrative says bin Laden resisted U.S. forces and was unarmed.   

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney gave reporters a revised narrative of Sunday’s events, supplied by the U.S. Defense Department.

In this version, U.S. forces were engaged in a firefight throughout the nearly 40-minute operation.

"On the first floor of bin Laden’s building, two al-Qaida couriers were killed, along with a woman who was killed in crossfire," said Carney. "Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building."

Carney said bin Laden resisted the invading U.S. forces, but was unarmed, contrary to earlier reports.

The information from the Pentagon backed away from earlier suggestions that bin Laden and others had used women as human shields during the fighting.

"Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building," he said. "There was concern that bin Laden would oppose the capture operation, and indeed, he did resist.  In the room with bin Laden, a woman, bin Laden’s wife, rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg, but not killed.  Bin Laden was then shot and killed.  He was not armed."

Carney did not explain what form bin Laden’s resistance took.

At Tuesday’s briefing, the president’s spokesman said officials are discussing whether to release a photograph of bin Laden after his death from bullet wounds to the chest and face.  Carney called the photo "gruesome," and said the image could be inflammatory.

"Well, I will be candid in that there are sensitivities here, in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photographs of Osama bin Laden in the aftermath of this firefight," said the White House press secretary. "And we are making an evaluation about the need to do that."

When asked about Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terror, Carney said the United States and Pakistan have disagreements.  But he praised the Islamabad government for its help.

"It is a complicated, but important relationship," said Jay Carney. "Pakistan is a partner, a key partner in the fight against al-Qaida and terrorism.  They have been extremely helpful.  And we look forward to cooperating into the future."

Earlier Tuesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta told Time  magazine that the intelligence agency had ruled out working with Pakistan on the bin Laden operation.  Officials were concerned that Pakistan might have jeopardized the mission by warning the terrorists.

Carney said Pakistan is a big country and that White House officials do not know who in the government might have known that bin Laden was in the compound.

The press secretary said the Obama administration hopes that information obtained from the compound will yield evidence of any planned attacks, information that will lead to other high-value targets or other terror networks, and information about how bin Laden was able to live in the suburban compound as long as he did.
Raw footage of the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed:







US Revises Description of bin Laden Killing
Article from VOA

Civil War History - Did you know Chinese Americans Fought in the US Civil War?

Historian Recounts Role of Chinese Americans Who Fought in US Civil War VOA - Dave DeForest April 20, 2011 Many people would be surprised to know that there were some Asian faces in the crowds of white and black soldiers serving in the American Civil War. The participation of Asians, and in particular Chinese Americans, comes into focus this month as the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the war. It began in 1861 after the election of an anti-slavery president, Abraham Lincoln. Fearing the eventual abolition of slavery, eleven southern states bolted from the union, setting up the pro-slavery Confederate States of America. The rebels resisted military efforts by the North to bring them back into the union, sparking four years of war that left more than 600,000 people dead. Even though there were only about 200 Chinese-Americans living in the eastern United States at the time, 58 of them fought in the Civil War. Because of their previous experiences at sea, many of them served in the U.S. Navy. Only one Chinese-American soldier was actually born on American soil.  The rest had come to the U.S. through the Pacific slave trade, adoption by Americans, independent immigration or the influence of missionaries. Author Ruthanne Lum McCunn, an expert on Chinese-American history, says three Chinese-Americans rose to the rank of corporal in all-white units. “This might not seem like much but if you look at the way the armed services were operating at that time, it actually was significant,” she said. Corporal Joseph Pierce, who as a child was brought to the United States from China by his adoptive father, fought in several major campaigns of the war including Antietam and Gettysburg. He was honored by having his picture displayed at the Gettysburg Museum. “It is also important to remember that not all the Chinese who fought in the Civil War fought for the Union,” McCunn said. “At least five have been identified as fighting for the Confederacy,” she pointed out. Two of these, Christopher and Stephen Bunker, were children of Siamese twins Chang and Eng, who had been brought to the U.S. to appear in the Barnum and Bailey Circus.  The twins, of Chinese heritage, became prosperous, slave-owning farmers in North Carolina. It was not surprising, therefore, that their sons should fight for the South . With so few Asians in the country, many Americans were puzzled as to how Chinese should be classified racially. "At the time of the 1860 census, there was only the differentiation of white, black and mulatto [mixed race],” McCunn explained. Many people in 1800’s America had never even seen a person of Asian background. “There was a young Chinese, John Tomney, who served in a New York outfit, and when he was captured, a rebel general asked him, ‘What are you—a Mulatto, Indian or what?’” McCunn said. Indications are that the Chinese soldiers were treated fairly well in the ranks. “I think whereas these men seemed to have been accepted by their fellow soldiers, what’s important to remember is the institutional racism of the time,” McCunn said. Racism, of course, was at the heart of the system of black slavery and it is not surprising that Asians would also suffer discrimination. Even though an 1862 act of Congress promised U.S. citizenship to any honorably discharged foreign veteran, Chinese Americans were denied that right because an earlier law allowed the naturalization of whites only. “There were Chinese, like Edward Day Cohota, who not only served in the Civil War, but became a soldier in the regular army after the war, and served for 20 years—he was denied citizenship,” McCunn said. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which until 1943 made it technically illegal for Chinese to become citizens, although the law was inconsistently enforced. Years after the war, Cohota was said to have enjoyed telling his children that he had voted repeatedly--in fact, had cast his ballots for Republicans for 30 years--before it was found out that he was not really a citizen and therefore not qualified to vote. In 2008, Congressman Mike Honda, himself of Asian descent, persuaded Congress to pass a resolution honoring the contribution of Asian-Americans in the U.S. Civil War. Even so, Ruthanne McCumm points out, Chinese-Americans are yet to be included in any histories of the war and their participation is unknown to many.

Historian Recounts Role of Chinese Americans Who Fought in US Civil War Civil War Article from VOA

Biofuels Powering Jets, Helicopters and Boats in U.S. Navy

Biofuels Powering Navy Jets, Helicopters and Boats
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus speaks to VOA about the Navy's use of biofuels made from algae and mustard seed.

Rebecca Ward | Washington, D.C. February  2011 - VOA

Environmentalists have long complained that so long as diesel or gasoline remains relatively inexpensive, there is little incentive to come up with alternative, greener energies for transportation. But the price of oil and gasoline isn't the only reason to go green. The United States Navy says they are making a tactical decision to find cleaner alternatives. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus says that by 2012, the military branch plans to demonstrate a carrier strike group that uses alternative fuels.

“We're calling that the 'great green fleet,’ like we call the F-18 Hornet that's flying on biofuels, the Green Hornet.”

The Navy has successfully tested biofuels in various air and sea craft. Secretary Mabus says instead of purchasing new vehicles that run on alternative energy, the Navy has found biofuels that can work with its current fleet.

"We have certified the F-18. We have certified the helicopter. We have certified the Riverine boat. We're working on other combatants now. And it's because we've got most of the airplanes, we've got most of the ships, most of the boats we're going to have over the next 10 years. And if we're going to reach the goal of producing half of all our energy from non-fossil fuel sources, we're going to have to do it with the equipment we've got."

Using greener fuels, Secretary Mabus says, may be good for the environment and the economy. But the push toward alternative energies is also a strategic move.

"We buy too much fuel from the most potentially volatile places on earth. We wouldn't allow them to buy our ships and aircraft. But we do give them a 'vote' on whether those ships sail and those aircraft fly because we do buy fuel from them. We also have very tactical reasons for it. To get a gallon of gasoline to a Marine frontline in Afghanistan, it's very expensive, it's very difficult, and it's very dangerous.”

For consumers, fuel produced from algae, wood chips, mustard seed or other organic sources has yet to be mass marketed. But Secretary Mabus says that is likely to change as the military’s demand for alternative energy grows.

"The military oftentimes is the cutting edge of technology and the rest of America follows. And I think that's because (of) how much energy we use, the market we can establish and driving the price down, making sure the infrastructure is being constructed. Then it makes it really easy to move it into the bigger economy and move it out of the military sphere."

For now, the U.S. Navy is using a biofuel blend that includes petroleum products. The reason about 50 percent of petroleum fuel is included is for engine lubrication. But Secretary Mabus says with continued research, biofuels may eventually be able to deliver the correct amount of lubrication on their own.





Biofuels Powering Navy Jets, Helicopters and Boats

Article from VOA Feb 1, 2011

U.S. Navy's Ship Model Program

This US Navy Fleet Never Sets Sail

June Soh | Washington, D.C. January 27, 2011

Photo: VOA - J. Soh

Conservator Colan Ratliff has spent 24 years working on this model of a US Navy ship.

For every U.S. Navy ship that sets sail, there is a model replica of it somewhere in the world.

Conservators with the U.S. Navy's Ship Model Program build, preserve and display scale models of ships in museums and facilities. The program dates to the 1880s. Since then, models of each new class of Navy ships have been  handmade with excruciating attention to detail. There are now more than 2,500 models in the Navy's collection.

Conservator Colan Ratliff has been building a model of the USS Wampanoag - a famous US Navy ship from the American Civil War - for the past 24 years at the Naval Surface Warfare Center near Washington D.C.
"It was the fastest ship in the world and held that record for over 25 years before it was broken by the USS Columbia," he says. "Thousands of man-hours go into replicating every detail on the ship."

Ratliff is experimenting with new modeling techniques such as copper plating, which has always been a problem in the museum community since the copper plates fall off as time passes. The 5,000 miniscule copper plates Ratliff has applied are expected to stay put for more than a century. 

Building, repairing and preparing ship models for display are the mission of  Ratliff and his colleagues, Dana Wegner and Michael Condon. They've been at it for almost 30 years.

"We have to be a historian, understanding what parts need to go on to the ship, making sure the appropriate gun goes on the appropriate period of ship, the rigging is correct for that time period," says Ratliff. "There are so many little facets. We have to be as fine as a jeweler."
Dana Wegner is the team's curator. "We keep very few of them here. Our goal is to get as many of them out on display and to be seen by the public as possible."

While some models were assembled at the Naval Surface Warfare Center workshop, the older ones were mostly built by craftsmen at the shipyards when the ships were being built.

VOA - J. Soh

Thousands of man-hours go into replicating every detail on the model ships.

"We have two-and-a-half thousand models. The entire collection is valued at about a half-billion dollars," says Wegner. "Most are on display in the lobbies of buildings and museums.  We support many museums worldwide. Here in Washington, D.C., the Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard has over 100 of our models."

Some of the creations, like one from 1892, are irreplaceable. A model of the USS Katahdin is one of a kind, say Wegner. "They only built one ship of this type."

With only three conservators and 2,500 models to oversee, the trio has to be all things to the models. Detailed records guide them in their work.
"Some of our models of course have been around well over 100 years," says Wegner. "We can track when they were built, how much they cost, where they have been in their lifetime, and repairs have been done to them over the years."

The three conservators are all 63 years old. Even though they have no immediate plans to retire, a young conservator has been added to the staff.  

"I am trying to learn as much as I can before that day happens," says Brian Potter, 26. "So trying to learn everything that they know and also bring something that I know new to the table."

This US Navy Fleet Never Sets Sail article and video about the U.S. Navy's Ship Model Program - from VOA