Gallery: Watch: Osama's Blooper Reel, Courtesy of the Navy SEALs

  • Osama Gets The Silent Treatment
    01

    osama-gets-the-silent-treatment

    In life, Osama bin Laden carefully crafted his image as a pious, anti-American leader. In death, he surely wouldn't appreciate the U.S. government releasing his blooper reel. As part of what a senior U.S. intelligence official called "the greatest intelligence success, perhaps, of a generation," the government has released five videos captured during Sunday's dramatic storming of Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. None of them [display his execution](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/no-pictures-it-did-happen-al-qaida-confirms-osama-death/). All have had the sound excised so as not to spread al-Qaida propaganda. The official told a packed room of reporters at the Pentagon on Saturday afternoon that an alphabet soup of intelligence agencies are working "around the clock" to exploit information from [dozens of bin Laden's thumb drives, computers, recording devices and cellular phones](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/what-theyre-looking-for-inside-osamas-thumb-drives/) to unlock clues to future terrorist attacks and the whereabouts of al-Qaida's operatives. That trove is "the largest collection of senior terrorist materials, ever" the official said. Despite years of speculation that bin Laden was a mere figurehead in the organization, he was "an active player," directing "even tactical details of the group's management" from his Abbottabad hideout. Within the trove: at least five unreleased videos of bin Laden. According to an initial U.S. intelligence assessment, it's "highly unlikely" anyone besides the terrorist leader ever saw this footage. Most display bin Laden recording propaganda videos. One shows a haggard bin Laden watching his own TV appearances. Still others seem like outtakes: "Pakistan's funniest home videos," one reporter joked. Recorded at unknown dates, they now represent some of the last media appearances the charismatic terrorist would ever make -- and for the first time, their release is out of the control of bin Laden's propagandists. Osama Gets The Silent Treatment ------------------------------- The U.S. wouldn't release the audio accompanying this or the other four videos, out of a reluctance to spread al-Qaida propaganda. But a senior U.S. intelligence official briefing reporters said that this is a clip from an unreleased bin Laden video recorded probably between October 9 and November 5, 2010. The terrorist leader "rehashes" his usual themes, the official said: attacking U.S. foreign policy and "denigrating capitalism." The video carries the logo of al-Qaida's media arm, as-Sahab. And the intel official noted that bin Laden appears to have dyed his beard -- as the next video indicates.
  • Watching bin Laden Watch bin Laden
    02

    watching-bin-laden-watch-bin-laden

    Watching bin Laden Watch bin Laden ---------------------------------- In this undated video, a grey-bearded bin Laden wraps himself in a blanket and watches himself on a small television with what looks like a satellite hookup. (The reveal comes about a minute in.) He flips channels to view his appearances -- al-Jazeera, BBC Arabic, al-Arabiya. Some of the shots display famous propaganda footage of him ruggedly climbing mountains, even while he sits quietly on the squalid floor of what may be his Abbottabad compound. p> According to the senior intelligence official who briefed reporters on these videos, bin Laden's beard was grey at the time he was shot, while in all these videos, it's black -- the discrepancy between the way bin Laden wished to present himself to the world and the way he really was.
  • The Blooper Reel Begins bin Laden With Armoire
    03

    the-blooper-reel-begins-bin-laden-with-armoire

    The Blooper Reel Begins: bin Laden, With Armoire ------------------------------------------------ This is the only video of the five that the senior U.S. intelligence official said with confidence comes from the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was killed. The armoire he stands in front of apparently matched a piece of furniture from inside the compound. It's also the first of three apparent pieces of scrapped footage. It's believed this is an outtake from a different propaganda film as the first -- despite the similarity in bin Laden's wardrobe -- shot at an unknown time.
  • There Was No Ironing Board in Abbottabad
    04

    there-was-no-ironing-board-in-abbottabad

    There Was No Ironing Board in Abbottabad ---------------------------------------- All the U.S. intelligence official said of this video was that it appeared to be an outtake from a different propaganda video, using a wrinkled sheet as background. (A million dollar compound, and they couldn't find an iron?) It might display a rehearsal session not intended for release.
  • Who Dares Give Osama bin Laden Director's Notes
    05

    who-dares-give-osama-bin-laden-directors-notes

    Who Dares Give Osama bin Laden Director's Notes? ------------------------------------------------ Another apparent outtake. In this undated video, bin Laden appears to have missed a cue or awaits direction from his handler behind the camera. One wonders which al-Qaida videographer drew the short straw for telling bin Laden he missed his mark. In a statement accompanying the release of the videos, CIA Director Leon Panetta said the material found inside the compound "only further confirms how important it was to go after bin Laden. Since 9/11, this is what the American people have expected of us. In this critical operation, we delivered."
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