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Obama to Meet Military Personnel Involved in bin Laden Raid

   VOA News  May 06, 2011
   Navy SEALs are maritime special operations forces who strike from the
   sea, air and land, (File)

Photo: COMNAVSPECWARCOM

   Navy SEALs are maritime special operations forces who strike from the
   sea, air and land, (File)

   U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Friday with members of the elite
   military team involved in the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama
   bin Laden in Pakistan.
   The president will travel to the Fort Campbell army base in the state
   of Kentucky to personally thank participants in the early Monday raid
   on bin Laden's compound. Administration officials said Obama will
   privately meet with participants before making public remarks.
   Navy SEALs
   White House spokesman Jay Carney described the raid participants who
   will be meeting President Obama as "special operators," but would not
   say if they include the Navy SEALs who carried out the raid and did the
   actual shooting.
   Carney said the U.S. is being, "extremely vigilant" about possible
   retaliatory attacks by al-Qaida.
   In his public remarks, the president will commend soldiers who have
   recently returned from Afghanistan.
   Documents seized
   U.S. officials say an initial review of documents seized from bin
   Laden's compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad shows al-Qaida
   considered a terrorist attack against trains at an unspecified location
   in the United States on the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001,
   attacks.
   A Homeland Security Department document obtained Thursday by U.S. news
   organizations says al-Qaida thought about tampering with rail tracks so
   a train would fall from a bridge or into a valley. U.S. officials say
   they have no evidence the plot was active.
   Safe house
   The CIA is reported to have maintained a safe house in Abbottabad for a
   small team of spies who conducted surveillance for months on the
   compound where bin Laden was found. The Washington Post, citing U.S.
   officials, said the CIA went to Congress last December to secure
   authority to reallocate tens of millions of dollars within assorted
   agency budgets to fund the safe house.
   The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the house
   has since been shut down, due to concerns about the safety of CIA
   assets in the aftermath of the raid and because the intelligence
   agency's work was considered finished.
   On Thursday, President Obama laid a wreath at the site of the destroyed
   World Trade Center buildings in New York to pay tribute to the
   thousands killed in the September 11 attacks by al-Qaida. Thousands of
   people lined the streets around Ground Zero, hoping to get a glimpse of
   Obama during his visit.

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