[LINK] bin Laden is dead

[Alex (Maxious) Sadleir]

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 5:40 PM, Martin Barry <marty at supine.com> wrote:
> $quoted_author = "Jan Whitaker" ;
>>
>> They are being cagey about this with regard to ObL, though, saying he
>> used his wife as a shield. It's hard to determine if ObL was actually
>> shooting at the SEALS or resisting otherwise.
>
> Jan (or any of the others who have written this as well) do you have a
> reference for OBL using his wife as a shield?
>
> All the news sources I have read indicated that a woman was killed while
> being used as a shield but they didn't identify the woman nor did they
> specify who was using her as a shield.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/02/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-and-assistant-president-homela

  Q    Were there any civilian -- I mean, how many civilian casualties
were there?

      MR. BRENNAN:  Bin Laden died; the two al Qaeda facilitators --
the brothers, who were -- the courier and his brother in the compound;
bin Laden’s son Hamza; and the woman, presumed to be his wife, who was
shielding bin Laden.

      Q    Did he use her as a -- did he actually take her as a shield
or did someone put her in front of him?

      MR. BRENNAN:  I wasn’t there so I hesitate to say --

      Q    But she was in front of him --

      MR. BRENNAN:  -- but it was an effort to try to shield bin Laden
from the --

      Q    Bin Laden’s wife or his son’s wife?

      MR. BRENNAN:  Bin Laden’s wife.
[...]
 Q    I’m sorry.  I just want to clear something up because I think a
few of us are confused.  The woman that was killed was bin Laden’s
wife?

      MR. BRENNAN:  That's my understanding.  It was one of them.

      Q    And he was using her as a shield?

      MR. BRENNAN:  She served as a shield.  Again, this is my
understanding -- and we’re still getting the reports of exactly what
happened at particular moments -- that when -- she fought back; when
there was the opportunity to get to bin Laden, she was positioned in a
way that indicated that she was being used as a shield -- whether or
not bin Laden or the son, or whatever, put her there, or she put
herself there, but, yes, that's again, my understanding that she met
her demise, and my understanding is that she was one of bin Laden’s
wives.