Osama bin Laden and the fatal phone call

Osama bin Laden was caught because of a 60-second phone call. His most trusted courier, Sheikh Abu Ahmed broke the golden rule - never talk to another al-Qaeda operative on a mobile. He and other senior figures were ordered to only speak to each other face to face. Little did he know that the associate he called was being bugged by the CIA.

Kuwaiti-born Ahmed had been with bin Laden since 2001 when he vanished from the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan. He helped plan the 9/11 terror attacks and because he was an IT specialist, gave the hijackers instructions on how to use computers. He also delivered the tape recordings made by his leader to TV stations. Since July last year, the compound has been watched by drones, satellites and agents. CIA suspected a “high-value target” was living there but didn’t have any proof until a photo was taken of bin Laden inside the compound last month. Ahmed and his brother are now dead, both killed in the raid.

The White House now says that bin Laden was not armed when he was killed but he did resist. His wife was with him in the room and rushed at the soldiers and was shot in the leg but is still alive.

Children playing near the compound knew there was something odd going on behind the high walls but didn’t know what. When their soccer ball sailed over the wall into the property, they were not allowed to retrieve it. “They were given money instead, about $2 or $3 per ball” the ice cream vendor said. A sixteen year old boy who often played soccer and cricket near the compound said he saw a Suzuki van drive into the compound every day with a live goat. Another neighbour occasionally saw two or three wives and their children outside and because the women always wore black burqas, they were conspicuous in the moderate Islamic city made up of retired businessmen and army officers.

With world attention now focused on Pakistan, they must explain why they didn't know that Osama bin Laden was living among them in a town full of policemen and army personnel. Abbottabad is a garrison town with several air bases and Pakistan's most prestigious military academy. In their defence, they arrested Umar Patek, an al-Qaida terrorist linked to the Bali bombings in the same town on 25th January this year so why didn't Obama make a run for it then? So many unanswered questions.

Osama bin Laden Buried at Sea

Osama bin Laden, number one on America’s most wanted list was found in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Abbottabad is a town where wealthy people come to retire and he was living in a house eight times bigger than those around him. Abbottabad was named after Englishman Major James Abbott, the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara who founded the town in 1853. Before he went home to Britain, he wrote a poem called Abbottabad and waxed lyrical about his love for the town and his sadness at having to leave it.

Now the town of Abbottabad is about to be written into the history books again because of what happened there in the early hours of Monday morning. In all, 79 American commandos and one dog were involved in the capture of Osama bin Laden and after a fierce gun battle which lasted for around 40 minutes, he was shot in the head and killed. A heart-stopping moment occurred when one of two helicopters stalled as it flew over the 18 foot compound wall and they had to blow it up and call for one of two backups.

One of Bin Laden’s wives who was living in the compound with him identified his body and there was a 100 per cent DNA match. Some would argue that because Pakistan wasn’t officially informed of what was about to happen, their mission was a success.

American intelligence knew last summer that there was a “high-value target” being protected in Abbottabad and have been working on plan of how to catch him ever since. On Friday, President Obama gave the final order for the Navy Seals and CIA operatives to go ahead. Three men besides Bin Laden were killed - his son and two of his couriers. One woman was also killed as she attempted to shield Bin Laden and two other people were wounded. No Americans were injured or killed in the shoot-out.

Later, aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, an officer read religious rites translated into Arabic. His body was washed in accordance with Islamic custom, wrapped in a white sheet and placed inside a weighted bag on a board which was then tipped up and eased into the sea.

Instead of rejoicing over the death of a cruel terrorist who last week sent a 12 year old boy on a suicide mission to blow up himself and others, people like Donald Trump will probably want proof of identity. Others will say he should have been taken alive. But now there is no shrine and there won’t be a trial, so well done America.

The Royal Reception

Three hundred close friends and family were at the royal reception and Prince William was so worried about keeping the event private, he asked some guests to sign a secrecy agreement. When William and Kate arrived at the palace, they walked through a passage lined with flaming torches and as they stepped into the ballroom, they were greeted with thunderous applause.

The 30 circular tables were named after the couple’s favourite places such as Rhoscolyn - a village on Anglesey, Tetbury - a Gloucestershire village, Lewa - a Kenyan game reserve and Maun - a town in Botswana. The menu was all British and relatively simple. To start they had Welsh crayfish, prawn and salmon langoustine, followed by roast lamb from Charles’ Highgrove estate and for desert, three mini deserts on a single plate – sherry trifle, chocolate mousse and honeycomb ice-cream in a brandy snap basket.

When it was time for the speeches, William and Harry both paid tribute to their mother. But by far the best speech of the night was given by Kate’s father Mike Middleton and was described by a few guests as ‘brilliant'. Among other things, he made reference to the time when William landed an RAF Chinook on his lawn as part of a training exercise. He said “I knew things were getting serious when I found a helicopter in my garden and thought he must really like my daughter.”

After the speeches, guests drank Pol Roger champagne, Sambuca slammers, cocktails including mojitos and Crack Baby – vodka, passion fruit, raspberry liqueur and champagne. The song William and Kate chose for their first dance was Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ sung by Ellie Goulding.

When Charles and Camilla and Princess Anne and her husband left around 12.30, Kate appeared to relax – she took off her fluffy white cardigan and danced the night away. And in early morning hours the stragglers all piled into mini buses to continue the party at the Goring hotel.

Pippa Middleton's Dress

Royal Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton's dress was a triumph. Simple and elegant, it was unusual because it was white, a colour normally reserved for the bride, and her slim figure showed it off perfectly. She caused such a stir that she now has a new nickname - Her Royal Hotness. The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry were obviously smitten with her charms and she caused so much activity on Twitter, it almost crashed.

But she's taken. The rumour is she will announce her wedding date to handsome 30 year old city broker Alex Loudon as soon as her sister's wedding fades from memory. And yes, he's rich, Pippa is a regular visitor to his family's stately home in Kent.

Philippa Middleton is the middle child. Like her sister, she attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire but unlike her sister, went to a Scottish university.

Prince Harry kept Pippa giggling all the way down the aisle after the service and it was Harry who crept into the garage to decorate his father's Aston Martin after the wedding breakfast. The convertible, complete with balloons and the number plate JU5T WED sped off into the distance after one of the most memorable weddings in recent history.

The Royal Wedding

It must have been a huge undertaking for those responsible for security at the royal wedding of Kate and Prince William yesterday - how to keep 50 British royals, 40 foreign royals and 60 Commonwealth dignitaries safe, but they managed to pull it off without a hitch.

And what a location - the magnificent Westminster Abbey - in all its glory. They said the British people didn't care about the wedding but they were wrong. The affection for the royal couple was clear as thousands turned out and surged towards the palace, waiting for the balcony kiss.

And Diana was there, Prince William didn't forget his mother. The opening Welsh anthem, Guide me, O thou Great Redeemer, was sung at Diana's 1997 funeral and the service ended with her favourite march, Crown Imperial, played at her wedding in 1981.

Kate, now renamed Catherine, is officially Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, as well as a countess and a baroness, after the Queen awarded William the titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. A duke is the highest rank in the British peerage. The Duchy of Cambridge has been vacant since 1904 and was set to go to Prince Edward when he married in 1999, but he preferred the title Earl of Wessex.

Unlike the wedding of Charles and Dianna, there were more friends of the bride and groom and a large number of sporting and other celebrities including Sir Elton John. Aussie swimmer Ian Thorpe sat three rows in front of David and Victoria Beckham.

James Middleton, Kate's brother, delivered a moving, faultless bible reading which included the verses "do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are". The Middletons and the Spencers, sat on one side of the aisle facing the Queen and her family.

The British Foreign Office announced that it had withdrawn the invitation of Syria's ambassador after 500 protesters were killed and the Crown Prince of Bahrain and the King of Swaziland chose to stay away. I think the biggest shock was the decision not to invite Tony Blair who was instrumental in helping the royal family handle the public hatred towards them when Diana died.

It's good to see an ordinary person join to the loyal line. The Queen Mum was also a commoner and much loved by the British people but she only became Queen after her husband's brother abdicated, so it wasn't planned. The last monarch to marry a commoner was Henry VIII, when he took Anne Boleyn as his bride.

Australian Defence Force Academy Arrests

Commodore Kafer

Police arrested two cadets from the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) this morning over secretly fiming a female cadet having sex without her knowledge and broadcasting it over the internet. Daniel McDonald 19 and Dylan De Blaquiere 18 were released on strict bail conditions. McDonald's lawyer applied for a suppression order of his client's name, citing national security, but it was refused.

The complainant, an 18 year old first year cadet said she was humiliated when a sexual encounter with another first year cadet was transmitted via Skype to six cadets in another room without her knowledge. Still photos were also taken and distributed around the Academy.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith was appalled by the incident and acted quickly to launch an inquiry. Since then, a string of other complaints have emerged about the abusive treatment of women in the military with allegations of bullying, bastardisation and sexual assault.

Minister Smith said he had no confidence in Commodore Bruce Kafer, who has taken leave over the handling of the affair and was told to stand down. Senior serving military officers have been implicated in crimes covered up by the Defence Force, including male rape and assault.

Gabe Watson to stand trial in Alabama

I wrote about Gabe Watson on 11th November 2010 when he was put on a plane back to the US to face murder charges. He has already served an 18 month jail sentence in Queensland for the manslaughter of his wife Tina while scuba diving near Townsville in 2003.

I remember the case well because of Tina's dad Tommy Thomas - a loving father who never gave up. He has no doubt that his son-in-law murdered his daughter. He couldn't figure out why the flowers he took to his daughter's grave kept disappearing so he set up a video camera and caught Gabe Watson on film taking them - why, no one knows. But thanks to his relentless campaign, Watson now faces two capital murder charges.

There was a lot of talk about the light sentence Watson received in Australia and about the sloppy handling of the case. He originally received a custodial sentence of 12 months, which was increased to 18 months on appeal from Queensland prosecutors.

The new charges against Watson allege the plan to murder his wife was pre-meditated and conceived in Alabama even before he left on his honeymoon. If found guilty, the death penalty applies in Alabama. This put the Australian government in a difficult position, they refused to allow his deportation back to the US unless Alabama's Attorney General gave his word that any future conviction would not involve the death penalty, but rather a maximum sentence of a life in prison. This was agreed and Watson was put on a plane back to the US.

Alabama Judge Nail has had a change of heart. Last December he granted Watson bail on the grounds that he was not a flight risk and thought the Prosecution's case was weak, but yesterday he accepted that a trial should proceed. Watson's lawyers put a motion that the prosecution case amounted to a violation of the double jeopardy principle but Judge Nail dismissed it and cited three precedents in which people convicted of murder outside the US had again faced prosecution over the same crime in the US later.

Tina Watson, so much in love with her husband, died in the first few minutes of the first full dive of their scuba trip to the Great Barrier Reef. And before they left home, Gabe Watson asked his wife to increase her work-related life insurance and made him the beneficiary.