A crosspost of my comment to Glenn Greenwald’s excellent article today.
When I heard of the bin Laden assassination by Navy SEALs, one of the first things that crossed my mind was that a bin Laden-type operation almost, or even partly, took place a few years ago only a short distance away from where I live.
Newsweek and others reported in 2006 on the Bush administration’s plans for former Ansar al-Islam leader mullah Krekar, who lives in Oslo. Krekar came to Norway as a refugee in 1991, but was formally expelled in 2003 and in 2007 deemed a “danger to national security.”
However, so far, the expulsion has not been implemented, as Norway has treaty obligations that prevent us from sending people to countries where they risk execution, or torture.
As summarized by Wikipedia:
CIA, Pentagon and Navy SEALsIn 2003, agents for the CIA, including Cynthia Dame Logan and Gregory Asherleighs, were sent to Norway.[20][21][22] They arrived directly after the abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr from Milan, Italy. The agents are allegedly wanted within the Schengen area of jurisdiction. A few days before their arrival, mullah Krekar's lawyer, Brynjar Meling, asked for police protection of Krekar. The Norwegian Intelligence Service admits it had knowledge of the agents' visit to Norway, and Meling confirms he had heard rumours that Krekar was to be kidnapped and transferred to Guantanamo Bay. If the operation was not approved beforehand by Norway it would have been a violation of Norwegian law. Mullah Krekar was not kidnapped. According to an article in Newsweek, a Pentagon official proposed inserting a US Navy SEAL team to engage in a "snatch rope" operation against Krekar; however, the plan was allegedly rejected because of fears that the Norwegian police would fire at the invading SEALs.[23]
However, a week later the Los Angeles Times quoted a high ranking intelligence official who claimed that U.S. special forces were in fact inserted in a European country allied with the United States through NATO, in order to carry out a snatch operation under strikingly similar circumstances to the Krekar case. The revelation led to suspicion that the plan was in fact not cancelled, as the Pentagon had stated. According to the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, which was the original source of the CIA agents' mission in Oslo, the U.S. special forces, most likely Navy Seals, had been monitoring a "militant leader" over a period of time, and were in place ready to carry out the snatch. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Pentagon kept the allied country's government in the dark about the mission, which apparently failed or was aborted. [24]
I must admit he anarchist in me would have liked to see how the US, after a SEAL shoot-out with Norwegian police, would have celebrated the spectacle as a “lawful operation.” Those who object need to get their heads examined. After all, Norway harbors terrorists. P.S. Did anyone see the excellent NBC documentary series “The Wanted” back in 2009? The Elite Team was hardcore.
P.P.S. If you wonder how to best handle religious fundamentalist leaders, this is how to do it (1st video).
Read more about here.