WASHINGTON: The CIA has marked the anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden by live-tweeting — with a five-year delay — the raid by US special forces on the Al-Qaeda founder’s compound in Pakistan.
Using the hashtag #UBLRaid, the CIA blasted out updates of the May 2011 strike as if it was unfolding in real time — in a highly unusual move for the secretive spy agency.
“To mark the 5th anniversary of the Osama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today. #UBLRaid,” @CIA said in announcing its social media blitz.
Tweets included the now famous picture of President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials watching matters unfold from the White House’s Situation Room.
“1:51 p.m. EDT — Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan #UBLRaid,” read one tweet.
“3:30 p.m. EDT — 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury #UBLRaid,” read another.
That was followed just minutes later by: “3:39 p.m. EDT — Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed #UBLRaid.”
The CIA’s Twitter move got quite a bit of attention, with not everyone enthused.
“@CIA Are we tweeting Hiroshima on August 6th too? Or is THAT in bad taste?” tweeted one user, Kris Knight.
Another who identities as Amber V tweeted: “Don’t you have better things to do, like catch living and breathing bad guys, or secretly invade our privacy, or something? @CIA#UBLRaid“
But others reacted positively.
“Watching the @CIA relive on Twitter the #UBLRaid today reminds me of how proud I am of the men and women who do what they do. Thank you,” tweeted Toby Knapp.
With 1.33 million Twitter followers, the Central Intelligence Agency has sent 1,662 tweets since it joined the social media service in February 2014.
“We are the Nation’s first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go,” reads the Twitter bio.
Previous @CIA tweets in recent days have featured a video about the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine and a counterfeit Nazi stamp.
Amid the tweetstorm, CIA chief John Brennan said Sunday that taking out the head of the Daesh group would have a “great impact.”
With five-year delay, CIA ‘live-tweets’ Bin Laden raid
With five-year delay, CIA ‘live-tweets’ Bin Laden raid
Colorado funeral home owner who abused nearly 200 corpses gets 40 years
- Hallford’s attorney unsuccessfully sought a 30 year sentence, arguing that it was not a crime of violence
COLORADO SPRINGS: A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed 189 decomposing bodies in a building over four years and gave grieving families fake ashes was sentenced to 40 years in state prison on Friday.
During the sentencing hearing, family members told Judge Eric Bentley they have had recurring nightmares about decomposing flesh and maggots since learning what happened to their loved ones.
They called defendant Jon Hallford a “monster” and urged the judge to give him the maximum sentence of 50 years.
Bentley told Hallford he caused “unspeakable and incomprehensible” harm. “It is my personal belief that every one of us, every human being, is basically good at the core, but we live in a world that tests that belief every day, and Mr. Hallford your crimes are testing that belief,” Bentley said.
Hallford apologized before his sentencing and said he would regret his actions for the rest of his life. “I had so many chances to put a stop to everything and walk away, but I did not,” he said. “My mistakes will echo for a generation. Everything I did was wrong.”
Hallford’s attorney unsuccessfully sought a 30 year sentence, arguing that it was not a crime of violence and he had no prior criminal record.
His former wife, Carie Hallford, who co-owned the Return to Nature Funeral Home, is due to be sentenced April 24. She faces 25 to 35 years in prison.
Both pleaded guilty in December to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse under an agreement with prosecutors.
During the years they were stashing bodies, the Hallfords spent lavishly. That included purchasing a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, pricey goods from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co. and laser body sculpting.
