U.S. Forces Kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad
2011-05-02
American forces killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in Abbottabad in the early hours of 2 May 2011. It was still the evening of 1 May in Washington when Barack Obama announced that months of intelligence work had led to the raid he had personally authorized. [1] [3]
Obama acknowledged earlier Pakistani cooperation against al-Qaeda and said he had spoken to President Asif Ali Zardari, but Pakistan’s government denied having advance knowledge of the operation. Bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan and the American decision to act there unilaterally raised different questions of security and trust in the two capitals. [1] [3]
On 12 May, Pakistan’s cabinet defense committee condemned the raid as a violation of sovereignty. While reaffirming its opposition to terrorism, it ordered an interagency process to define the terms of future cooperation with the United States. [3]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- Obama’s announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden
Transcript: authorization, Abbottabad operation, and Pakistan
- Pakistan cabinet defence committee statement
Sovereignty and review of counterterrorism cooperation
- Pakistan Foreign Office documents, January–June 2011 — Pakistan Perspectives
pp. 241–242: prior knowledge; pp. 259–260: cabinet statement of 12 May
- 2017 Year in Review — incoming ambassadors, printed page 73
- Secondary ambassador chronology and biographical context
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Cite This Article
U.S. Forces Kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 8f9087d0ef5925dc5f18. https://chanceries.org/research/history/abbottabad-36aeb9ff11/