SAVE OUR TIGERS

WATER POLLUTION

2010-11-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater).

Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and, in almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.

Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Contents

* 1 Introduction
* 2 Water pollution categories
o 2.1 Point source pollution
o 2.2 Non–point source pollution
* 3 Groundwater pollution
* 4 Causes of water pollution
o 4.1 Pathogens
o 4.2 Chemical and other contaminants
o 4.3 Thermal pollution
* 5 Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants
* 6 Measurement of water pollution
o 6.1 Sampling
o 6.2 Physical testing
o 6.3 Chemical testing
o 6.4 Biological testing
* 7 Control of water pollution
o 7.1 Domestic sewage
o 7.2 Industrial wastewater
o 7.3 Agricultural wastewater
o 7.4 Construction site stormwater
o 7.5 Urban runoff (stormwater)

Introduction
Millions depend on the polluted Ganges river.

Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases,and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day.Some 90% of China's cities suffer from some degree of water pollution,and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water.In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, industrialized countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47 percent of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bay and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.

Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, like serving as drinking water, and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water.
Water pollution categories

Surface water and groundwater have often been studied and managed as separate resources, although they are interrelated.Sources of surface water pollution are generally grouped into two categories based on their origin.
Point source pollution
Point source pollution - Shipyard - Rio de Janeiro.

Point source pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway through a discrete conveyance, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city storm drain. The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) defines point source for regulatory enforcement purposes.The CWA definition of point source was amended in 1987 to include municipal storm sewer systems, as well as industrial stormwater, such as from construction sites.
Non–point source pollution

Non–point source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. The leaching out of nitrogen compounds from agricultural land which has been fertilized is a typical example. Nutrient runoff in stormwater from "sheet flow" over an agricultural field or a forest are also cited as examples of NPS pollution.

Contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and highways, called urban runoff, is sometimes included under the category of NPS pollution. However, this runoff is typically channeled into storm drain systems and discharged through pipes to local surface waters, and is a point source. However where such water is not channeled and drains directly to ground it is a non-point source.
Groundwater pollution
See also: Hydrogeology

Interactions between groundwater and surface water are complex. Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution. By its very nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to contamination from sources that may not directly affect surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs. non-point source may be irrelevant. A spill or ongoing releases of chemical or radionuclide contaminants into soil (located away from a surface water body) may not create point source or non-point source pollution, but can contaminate the aquifer below, defined as a toxin plume. The movement of the plume, a plume front, can be part of a Hydrological transport model or Groundwater model. Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on the soil characteristics and site geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, and the nature of the contaminants.
Causes of water pollution

The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, etc.) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water, and what is a contaminant.

Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials, such as plant matter (e.g. leaves and grass) as well as man-made chemicals. Other natural and anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species.

Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry includes acidity (change in pH), electrical conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem. Depending on the degree of eutrophication, subsequent negative environmental effects such as anoxia (oxygen depletion) and severe reductions in water quality may occur, affecting fish and other animal populations.
[edit] Pathogens
A manhole cover unable to contain a sanitary sewer overflow.

Coliform bacteria are a commonly used bacterial indicator of water pollution, although not an actual cause of disease. Other microorganisms sometimes found in surface waters which have caused human health problems include:

* Burkholderia pseudomallei
* Cryptosporidium parvum
* Giardia lamblia
* Salmonella
* Novovirus and other viruses
* Parasitic worms (helminths).

High levels of pathogens may result from inadequately treated sewage discharges.This can be caused by a sewage plant designed with less than secondary treatment (more typical in less-developed countries). In developed countries, older cities with aging infrastructure may have leaky sewage collection systems (pipes, pumps, valves), which can cause sanitary sewer overflows. Some cities also have combined sewers, which may discharge untreated sewage during rain storms.

Pathogen discharges may also be caused by poorly managed livestock operations.
Chemical and other contaminants
Muddy river polluted by sediment. Photo courtesy of United States Geological Survey.

Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.

Organic water pollutants include:

* Detergents
* Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such as chloroform
* Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats and grease
* Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical compounds
* Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from stormwater runoff
* Tree and bush debris from logging operations
* Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as industrial solvents, from improper storage. Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), may fall to the bottom of reservoirs, since they don't mix well with water and are denser.
* Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products

Inorganic water pollutants include:

* Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)
* Ammonia from food processing waste
* Chemical waste as industrial by-products
* Fertilizers containing nutrients--nitrates and phosphates--which are found in stormwater runoff from agriculture, as well as commercial and residential use
* Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban stormwater runoff) and acid mine drainage
* Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites

Macroscopic pollution—large visible items polluting the water—may be termed "floatables" in an urban stormwater context, or marine debris when found on the open seas, and can include such items as:

* Trash (e.g. paper, plastic, or food waste) discarded by people on the ground, and that are washed by rainfall into storm drains and eventually discharged into surface waters
* Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets
* Shipwrecks, large derelict ships

Potrero Generating Station discharges heated water into San Francisco Bay.
Thermal pollution
Main article: Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. Elevated water temperatures decreases oxygen levels (which can kill fish) and affects ecosystem composition, such as invasion by new thermophilic species. Urban runoff may also elevate temperature in surface waters.

Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.
Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants
See also: Marine pollution

Most water pollutants are eventually carried by rivers into the oceans. In some areas of the world the influence can be traced hundred miles from the mouth by studies using hydrology transport models. Advanced computer models such as SWMM or the DSSAM Model have been used in many locations worldwide to examine the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator filter feeding species such as copepods have also been used to study pollutant fates in the New York Bight, for example. The highest toxin loads are not directly at the mouth of the Hudson River, but 100 kilometers south, since several days are required for incorporation into planktonic tissue. The Hudson discharge flows south along the coast due to coriolis force. Further south then are areas of oxygen depletion, caused by chemicals using up oxygen and by algae blooms, caused by excess nutrients from algal cell death and decomposition. Fish and shellfish kills have been reported, because toxins climb the food chain after small fish consume copepods, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food chain causes a stepwise concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g. mercury) and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT. This is known as biomagnification, which is occasionally used interchangeably with bioaccumulation.
A polluted river draining an abandoned copper mine on Anglesey

Large gyres (vortexes) in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. The North Pacific Gyre for example has collected the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" that is now estimated at 100 times the size of Texas. Many of these long-lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of digestive pathways which leads to reduced appetite or even starvation.

Many chemicals undergo reactive decay or chemically change especially over long periods of time in groundwater reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such chemicals is the chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (used in industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing) and tetrachloroethylene used in the dry cleaning industry (note latest advances in liquid carbon dioxide in dry cleaning that avoids all use of chemicals). Both of these chemicals, which are carcinogens themselves, undergo partial decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals (including dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride).

Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution because groundwater can move great distances through unseen aquifers. Non-porous aquifers such as clays partially purify water of bacteria by simple filtration (adsorption and absorption), dilution, and, in some cases, chemical reactions and biological activity: however, in some cases, the pollutants merely transform to soil contaminants. Groundwater that moves through cracks and caverns is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact, this can be aggravated by the human tendency to use natural sinkholes as dumps in areas of Karst topography.

There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. An example is silt-bearing surface runoff, which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.
Measurement of water pollution
Environmental Scientists preparing water autosamplers.

Water pollution may be analyzed through several broad categories of methods: physical, chemical and biological. Most involve collection of samples, followed by specialized analytical tests. Some methods may be conducted in situ, without sampling, such as temperature. Government agencies and research organizations have published standardized, validated analytical test methods to facilitate the comparability of results from disparate testing events.
Sampling

Sampling of water for physical or chemical testing can be done by several methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the contaminant. Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most commonly in association with rain events. For this reason "grab" samples are often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or discharge intervals.

Sampling for biological testing involves collection of plants and/or animals from the surface water body. Depending on the type of assessment, the organisms may be identified for biosurveys (population counts) and returned to the water body, or they may be dissected for bioassays to determine toxicity.
Physical testing

Common physical tests of water include temperature, solids concentration like total suspended solids (TSS) and turbidity.
Chemical testing
See also: water chemistry analysis and environmental chemistry

Water samples may be examined using the principles of analytical chemistry. Many published test methods are available for both organic and inorganic compounds. Frequently used methods include pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients (nitrate and phosphorus compounds), metals (including copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury), oil and grease, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and pesticides.
Biological testing
Main article: Bioindicator

Biological testing involves the use of plant, animal, and/or microbial indicators to monitor the health of an aquatic ecosystem.

For microbial testing of drinking water, see Bacteriological water analysis.

Control of water pollution
Domestic sewage
Main article: Sewage treatment
Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant serving Boston, Massachusetts and vicinity.

Domestic sewage is 99.9% pure water, the other 0.1% are pollutants. While found in low concentrations, these pollutants pose risk on a large scale.In urban areas, domestic sewage is typically treated by centralized sewage treatment plants. In the U.S., most of these plants are operated by local government agencies, frequently referred to as publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Municipal treatment plants are designed to control conventional pollutants: BOD and suspended solids. Well-designed and operated systems (i.e., secondary treatment or better) can remove 90 percent or more of these pollutants. Some plants have additional sub-systems to treat nutrients and pathogens. Most municipal plants are not designed to treat toxic pollutants found in industrial wastewater.

Cities with sanitary sewer overflows or combined sewer overflows employ one or more engineering approaches to reduce discharges of untreated sewage, including:

* utilizing a green infrastructure approach to improve stormwater management capacity throughout the system, and reduce the hydraulic overloading of the treatment plant
* repair and replacement of leaking and malfunctioning equipment
* increasing overall hydraulic capacity of the sewage collection system (often a very expensive option).

A household or business not served by a municipal treatment plant may have an individual septic tank, which treats the wastewater on site and discharges into the soil. Alternatively, domestic wastewater may be sent to a nearby privately owned treatment system (e.g. in a rural community).
Industrial wastewater
Main article: Industrial wastewater treatment
Dissolved air flotation system for treating industrial wastewater.

Some industrial facilities generate ordinary domestic sewage that can be treated by municipal facilities. Industries that generate wastewater with high concentrations of conventional pollutants (e.g. oil and grease), toxic pollutants (e.g. heavy metals, volatile organic compounds) or other nonconventional pollutants such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems. Some of these facilities can install a pre-treatment system to remove the toxic components, and then send the partially treated wastewater to the municipal system. Industries generating large volumes of wastewater typically operate their own complete on-site treatment systems.

Some industries have been successful at redesigning their manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants, through a process called pollution prevention.

Heated water generated by power plants or manufacturing plants may be controlled with:

* cooling ponds, man-made bodies of water designed for cooling by evaporation, convection, and radiation
* cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to the atmosphere through evaporation and/or heat transfer
* cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled for domestic and/or industrial heating purposes.

Agricultural wastewater
Main article: Agricultural wastewater treatment
Riparian buffer lining a creek in Iowa

Nonpoint source controls
Sediment (loose soil) washed off fields is the largest source of agricultural pollution in the United States.Farmers may utilize erosion controls to reduce runoff flows and retain soil on their fields. Common techniques include contour plowing, crop mulching, crop rotation, planting perennial crops and installing riparian buffers.

Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are typically applied to farmland as commercial fertilizer; animal manure; or spraying of municipal or industrial wastewater (effluent) or sludge. Nutrients may also enter runoff from crop residues, irrigation water, wildlife, and atmospheric deposition.Farmers can develop and implement nutrient management plans to reduce excess application of nutrients.

To minimize pesticide impacts, farmers may use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques (which can include biological pest control) to maintain control over pests, reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, and protect water quality.
Confined Animal Feeding Operation in the United States

Point source wastewater treatment
Farms with large livestock and poultry operations, such as factory farms, are called concentrated animal feeding operations or confined animal feeding operations in the U.S. and are being subject to increasing government regulation.Animal slurries are usually treated by containment in lagoons before disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are sometimes used to facilitate treatment of animal wastes, as are anaerobic lagoons. Some animal slurries are treated by mixing with straw and composted at high temperature to produce a bacteriologically sterile and friable manure for soil improvement.
Construction site stormwater
Silt fence installed on a construction site.

Sediment from construction sites is managed by installation of:

* erosion controls, such as mulching and hydroseeding, and
* sediment controls, such as sediment basins and silt fences.

Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor fuels and concrete washout is prevented by use of:

* spill prevention and control plans, and
* specially designed containers (e.g. for concrete washout) and structures such as overflow controls and diversion berms.

Urban runoff (stormwater)
Main article: Urban runoff
Retention basin for controlling urban runoff

Effective control of urban runoff involves reducing the velocity and flow of stormwater, as well as reducing pollutant discharges. Local governments use a variety of stormwater management techniques to reduce the effects of urban runoff. These techniques, called best management practices (BMPs) in the U.S., may focus on water quantity control, while others focus on improving water quality, and some perform both functions.

Pollution prevention practices include low impact development techniques, installation of green roofs and improved chemical handling (e.g. management of motor fuels & oil, fertilizers and pesticides).Runoff mitigation systems include infiltration basins, bioretention systems, constructed wetlands, retention basins and similar devices.

Thermal pollution from runoff can be controlled by stormwater management facilities that absorb the runoff or direct it into groundwater, such as bioretention systems and infiltration basins. Retention basins tend to be less effective at reducing temperature, as the water may be heated by the sun before being discharged to a receiving stream

CASSOWARY VERY DANGER BIRD

2010-11-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

For other uses, see Cassowary (disambiguation).
Cassowary
Fossil range: Pliocene to present
Southern Cassowary at Jurong Bird Park, Singapore
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Casuariiformes
Family: Casuariidae
Genus: Casuarius
Brisson, 1760
Species

Casuarius casuarius
Southern Cassowary
Casuarius unappendiculatus
Northern Cassowary
Casuarius bennetti
Dwarf Cassowary
†Casuarius lydekki

The cassowary (genus Casuarius) is a very large flightless bird native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, nearby islands and northeastern Australia.[2]

The Southern Cassowary is the third tallest and second heaviest living bird, smaller only than the ostrich and emu.

Cassowaries feed mainly on fruits, though all species are truly omnivorous and will take a range of other plant food including shoots, grass seeds, and fungi in addition to invertebrates and small vertebrates.

Cassowaries are very shy, but when disturbed, they are capable of inflicting serious injuries to dogs and children.
Contents

* 1 Taxonomy and evolution
* 2 Description
* 3 Behaviour
o 3.1 Reproductive
o 3.2 Diet
* 4 Distribution and habitat
* 5 Threats
* 6 Cassowary attacks
* 7 Role in seed dispersal and germination

Taxonomy and evolution

Cassowaries (from the Malay name kesuari)are part of the ratite group, which also includes the Emu, rheas, ostriches, and kiwis, and the extinct moas and elephant birds. There are three extant species recognized today and one extinct:

* Casuarius casuarius, Southern Cassowary or Double-wattled Cassowary, found in southern New Guinea, northeastern Australia, and the Aru Islands,mainly in lowlands.
* Casuarius bennetti, Dwarf Cassowary or Bennett's Cassowary, found in New Guinea, New Britain, and on Yapen,mainly in highlands.
* Casuarius unappendiculatus, Northern Cassowary or Single-wattled Cassowary, found in the northern and western New Guinea, and Yapen,mainly in lowlands.
* Casuarius lydekki Extinct

Presently, most authorities consider the above monotypic, but several subspecies have been described of each (some have even been suggested as separate species, e.g., C. (b) papuanus).It has proven very difficult to confirm the validity of these due to individual variations, age-related variations, the relatively few available specimens (and the bright skin of the head and neck–the basis of which several subspecies have been described–fades in specimens), and that locals are known to have traded live cassowaries for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, some of which are likely to have escaped or deliberately introduced to regions away from their origin.
Illustration of cassowary skull

The evolutionary history of cassowaries, as of all ratites, is not well known. A fossil species was reported from Australia, but for reasons of biogeography this assignment is not certain and it might belong to the prehistoric "emuwaries", Emuarius, which were cassowary-like primitive emus.
Description

The Northern and Dwarf Cassowaries are not well known. All cassowaries are usually shy birds of the deep forest, adept at disappearing long before a human knows they are there. Even the more accessible Southern Cassowary of the far north Queensland rain forests is not well understood.

Females are bigger and more brightly coloured. Adult Southern Cassowaries are 1.5 to 1.8 metres (59–71 in) tall, although some females may reach 2 metres (79 in),[5] and weigh 58.5 kilograms (129 lb).

All cassowaries have feathers that consist of a shaft and loose barbules. They do not have retrices (tail feathers) or a preen gland. Cassowaries have small wings with 5-6 large remeges. These are reduced to stiff, keratinous quills, like porcupine quills, with no barbs.A claw is on each second finger.The furcula and coracoid are degenerate, and their palatal bones and sphenoid bones touch each other.These, along with their wedge-shaped body, are thought to be adaptations to ward off vines, thorns and saw-edged leaves, allowing them to run quickly through the rainforest.

A cassowary's three-toed feet have sharp claws. The second toe, the inner one in the medial position, sports a dagger-like claw that is 125 millimetres (5 in) long[6]. This claw is particularly fearsome since cassowaries sometimes kick humans and animals with their enormously powerful legs (see Cassowary Attacks, below). Cassowaries can run up to 50 km/h (31 mph) through the dense forest. They can jump up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft)[citation needed]and they are good swimmers, crossing wide rivers and swimming in the sea as well.
Detail of a Southern Cassowary head.

All three species have horn-like but soft and spongy crests called casques on their heads, up to 18 cm (7 in).These consist of "a keratinous skin over a core of firm, cellular foam-like material".Several purposes for the casques have been proposed. One possibility is that they are secondary sexual characteristics. Other suggestions include that they are used to batter through underbrush, as a weapon for dominance disputes, or as a tool for pushing aside leaf litter during foraging. The latter three are disputed by biologist Andrew Mack, whose personal observation suggests that the casque amplifies deep sounds.However, the earlier article by Crome and Moore says that the birds do lower their heads when they are running "full tilt through the vegetation, brushing saplings aside and occasionally careening into small trees. The casque would help protect the skull from such collisions." Mack and Jones also speculate that the casques play a role in either sound reception or acoustic communication. This is related to their discovery that at least the Dwarf Cassowary and Southern Cassowary produce very-low frequency sounds, which may aid in communication in dense rainforest.This "boom" is the lowest known bird call, and is on the edge of human hearing.

The average lifespan of wild cassowaries is believed to be about 40 to 50 years.
Behaviour

Cassowaries are solitary birds except during courtship, egg-laying, and sometimes around ample food supplies.[8] Male cassowaries defend a territory of about 7 square kilometres (2.8 square miles) for itself and its mate, while females have overlapping territories of several males.
Southern Cassowary at Brevard Zoo, USA
Reproductive

The breeding season starts in May or June. Females lay three to eight large, dark bright green or pale green-blue eggs in each clutch into a prepared heap of leaf litter.These eggs measure about 9 by 14 centimetres (3.5 by 5.5 in) — only Ostrich and Emu eggs are larger. The female does not care for the eggs or the chicks but moves on to lay eggs in the nests of several other males. The male incubates the eggs for 50–52 days, removing or adding litter to regulate the temperature, then protects the brown-striped chicks who stay in the nest for about nine months, defending them fiercely against all potential predators, including humans. The young males then go off to find a territory of their own.

"Young cassowaries are brown and have buffy stripes. They are often kept as pets in native villages [in New Guinea], where they are permitted to roam like barnyard fowl. Often they are kept until they become nearly grown and someone gets hurt. Mature cassowaries are placed beside native houses in cribs hardly larger than the birds themselves. Garbage and other vegetable food is fed them, and they live for years in such enclosures; for in some areas their plumage is still as valuable as shell money. Caged birds are regularly bereft of their fresh plumes."

Diet

Cassowaries are predominantly frugivorous, but they will take flowers, fungi, snails, insects, frogs, birds, fish, rats, mice, and carrion. Fruit from at least twenty-six plant families have been documented in the diet of cassowaries. Fruits from the laurel, podocarp, palm, wild grape, nightshade, and myrtle families are important items in the diet.The cassowary plum takes its name from the bird.

Where trees are dropping fruit, cassowaries will come in and feed, with each bird defending a tree from others for a few days. They move on when the fruit is depleted. Fruit is swallowed whole, even items as large as bananas and apples.

Cassowaries are a keystone species of rain forests because they eat fallen fruit whole and distribute seeds across the jungle floor via excrement.

As for eating the Cassowary, it is supposed to be quite tough. Australian administrative officers stationed in New Guinea were advised that it "should be cooked with a stone in the pot: when the stone is ready to eat so is the Cassowary".
Distribution and habitat

Cassowaries are native to the humid rainforests of New Guinea and nearby smaller islands, and northeastern Australia.They will, however, venture out into palm scrub, grassland, savanna, and swamp forest.It is unclear if some islands' populations are natural or the result of trade in young birds by natives.
Threats
A road sign in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

The Southern Cassowary is endangered in Queensland, Australia. Kofron and Chapman (2006) assessed the decline of this species. They found that, of the former cassowary habitat, only 20 - 25% remains. They stated that habitat loss and fragmentation is the primary cause of decline.They then studied 140 cases of cassowary mortality and found that motor vehicle strikes accounted for 55% of them, and dog attacks produced another 18%. Remaining causes of death included hunting (5 cases), entanglement in wire (1 case), the removal of cassowaries that attacked humans (4 cases), and natural causes (18 cases), including tuberculosis (4 cases). 15 cases were for unknown reasons.

Hand feeding of cassowaries poses a big threat to their survival, because it lures them into suburban areas. There, the birds are more susceptible to vehicles and dogs.Contact with humans encourages Cassowaries to take food from picnic tables.

Feral pigs are a huge problem. They destroy nests and eggs but their worst effect is as competitors for food, which could be catastrophic for the Cassowaries during lean times.
Cassowary attacks

Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and domestic animals. During World War II American and Australian troops stationed in New Guinea were warned to steer clear of them. Many internet entries about cassowaries state that they can disembowel a human or dog with one kick, with the long second toe claw cutting the gut open.

In his book "Living Birds of the World" from 1958, Ornithologist Thomas E. Gilliard wrote;

"The inner or second of the three toes is fitted with a long, straight, murderous nail which can sever an arm or eviscerate an abdomen with ease. There are many records of natives being killed by this bird."

However, Gilliard did not include any such records or any references for them, and although this assessment of the danger posed by cassowaries has been repeated in print by authors including Gregory S. Paul (1988)and Jared Diamond (1997), recent research on hundreds of cassowary attacks has only been able to find one human death. A 2003 study of attacks by the Southern Cassowary in Queensland found no wounds larger than punctures about 1.5 cm in diameter.Of 221 attacks studied, 150 were against humans. 75% of these were from cassowaries that had been fed by people. 71% of the time the bird chased or charged the victim. 15% of the time they kicked. Of the attacks, 73% involved the birds expecting or snatching food, 5% involved defending natural food sources, 15% involved defending themselves from attack, 7% involved defending their chicks or eggs. Of all 150 attacks there was only one human death.

The one documented human death caused by a cassowary was that of Phillip McClean, aged 16, and it happened on 6 April 1926. He and his brother, aged 13, were attempting to beat the cassowary to death with clubs. They were accompanied by their dog. The bird kicked the younger boy, who fell and ran away. Then the older boy struck the bird. The bird charged and knocked the older boy to the ground. While on the ground, Phillip was kicked in the neck, opening a 1.25 cm wound. Phillip got up and ran but died shortly afterwards from the hemorrhaging blood vessel in his neck.

Cassowary strikes to the abdomen are among the rarest of all, but there is one case of a dog that was kicked in the belly in 1995. The blow left no puncture, but there was severe bruising. The dog later died from an apparent intestinal rupture.
Role in seed dispersal and germination
Casuarius casuarius scat

Cassowaries feed on the fruits of several hundred rainforest species and usually pass viable seeds in large dense scats. They are known to disperse seeds over distances greater than a kilometre, and thus play an important role in the ecosystem. Germination rates for seeds of the rare Australian rainforest tree Ryparosa were found to be much higher after passing through a cassowary's gut (92% versus 4%).
In popular culture

In the video game series Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, the main antagonist of the series is a mammal-loathing cassowary named Boss Cass.

Cassowaries were in the animated film Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

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ABOUT GREEN ANACONDA

2010-11-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

This article is about the snake. For other uses, see Anaconda (disambiguation).
"Anaconda" is often used to refer only to the green anaconda, Eunectes murinus.

Anacondas are large, nonvenomous boas of the genus Eunectes. They are found in tropical South America.

The most familiar species is the green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, notable for being one of the world's largest snakes. Green anacondas can grow to more than 5.21 m (17 ft) in length and weighing 97.5 kg (215 lb).[1] They are found east of the Andes in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and on the island of Trinidad.

Other anacondas are the yellow anaconda, Eunectes notaeus, a smaller species found in eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina, the dark-spotted anaconda, Eunectes deschauenseei, a rare species found in northeastern Brazil, coastal French Guiana and Guyana; and the Bolivian anaconda, Eunectes beniensis, discovered in 2002 in the flood plains of Bolivia's Pando province. It was the first new anaconda species identified since 1936, and became only the fourth known type of that reptile, according to the WWF.

All four species are aquatic snakes that prey on other aquatic animals, including fish, river fowl, caiman, and capybaras. Some accounts exist of anacondas preying on domestic animals such as goats[citation needed] and ponies[citation needed] that venture too close to the water.

While encounters between people and anacondas may be dangerous, they do not regularly hunt humans. Nevertheless, threat from anacondas is a familiar trope in comics, movies and adventure stories set in the Amazon jungle. Anacondas have also figured prominently in South American folklore, where they are sometimes depicted as shapeshifting mythical creatures called encantados. Local communities and some European explorers have given accounts of giant anacondas, legendary snakes of much greater proportion than any confirmed specimen.

Applied loosely, the term "anaconda" may also refer to any large snake that "crushes" its prey by constricting.
Etymology

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary states the word is probably a modification of the Sinhalese word henakandayā,which is used to refer to a small slender green whip snake found in Sri Lanka. However, certain other literature state henakandayā refers to a now extinct constrictor once found there. Richard Boyle (the Sri Lankan English consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary) writes in his book 'Sinbad In Serendib':
The first reference to the anaconda in English is by R. Edwin (probably a pseudonym) in a letter to the Scots magazine concerning an encounter with a tiger-devouring serpent in then Dutch-held Ceylon. This was published in the 1768 issue under the discursive heading, "Description of the ANACONDA, a monstrous species of serpent. In a letter from an English gentleman, many years resident in the island of Ceylon, in the East Indies."However, this account of an incident on the outskirts of Colombo is a figment of the imagination, full of the popular misconceptions regarding constrictors in an age of limited scientific knowledge of snakes.
—Richard Boyle

The Oxford English Dictionary gives a first source as John Ray's "List of Indian Serpents" from the Leyden Museum, as "anacandaia of the Ceylonese, i.e. he that crushes the limbs of buffaloes and yoke beasts," but that "anacandaia" is "not now a native name in Sri Lanka, and not satisfactorily explained either in Cingalese [Sinhalese] or Tamil"—though Henry Yule lists "āṇaik'k'onḍa" to means "having killed an elephant" in Tamil.

David Baltimore (Cal Tech) Part 1: Introduction to Viruses and HIV

2010-10-05T04:03:00.000-07:00

AHMED MOHAMMED HAMED ALI

2010-09-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

Aliases: Shuaib, Abu Islam Al-Surir, Ahmed Ahmed, Ahmed The Egyptian, Ahmed Hemed, Hamed Ali, Ahmed Shieb, Abu Islam, Ahmed Mohammed Ali, Ahmed Hamed, Ahmed Mohammed Abdurehman, Abu Khadiijah, Abu Fatima, Ahmad Al-Masri

DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth Used: Approximately 1965 Hair: Dark
Place of Birth: Egypt Eyes: Dark
Height: Approximately 5'6" to 5'8" Sex: Male
Weight: Unknown Complexion: Olive
Build: Medium Citizenship: Egyptian
Language: Arabic
Scars and Marks: None known
Remarks: Ali may have formal training in agriculture and may have worked in this field. He lived in Kenya until fleeing that country on August 2, 1998, to Karachi, Pakistan.

CAUTION

Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali was indicted in the Southern District of New York, for his alleged involvement in the bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, 1998.

REWARD

The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali (Arabic: أحمد محمّد حامد علي‎) (born about 1965) is an Egyptian national wanted by the United States government in connection with the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi.
Contents

* 1 Aliases
* 2 Life before the bombings
* 3 Role in the 1998 American embassy bombings
* 4 Current operations

Aliases
Shuaib شعيب
Abu Islam Al-Surir أبو إسلام أل-سورير
Ahmed the Egyptian أحمد المصري
Ahmed Hemed أحمد حمد
Hamed Ali حامد علي
Ahmed Shieb أحمد شعب
Abu Islam أبو إسلام
Ahmed Mohammed Ali أحمد محمّد علي
Ahmed Hamed أحمد حامد
Ahmed Mohammed Abdurehman احمد محمّد عبدالرحمن
Abu Khadiijah أبو خديجة
Abu Fatima أبو فاطمة
Ahmad Al-Masri حمد ال-مصري
Life before the bombings

It is thought that, before becoming an accomplice in bombing various American embassies, Hamed Ali worked in the field of agriculture, with formal training in the industry.[1] Hamed Ali lived in Kenya until fleeing the country on August 2, 1998. He located himself in Karachi, Pakistan until the bombings on August 7, 1998.[1]
Role in the 1998 American embassy bombings

For his role in the 1998 American embassy bombings, Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali was indicted for conspiracy to kill United States nationals, to murder, to destroy buildings and property of the United States, and to destroy national defense utilities of the United States by a grand jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[2][1] The United States Government is currently offering a five million dollar reward for information directly leading to the capture of Hamed Ali.
Current operations

Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali is considered a current operative of Al-Qaeda.[3]

He was suspected of being in Afghanistan as of October 2001.

On October 10, 2001, Ali was placed on the initial list of the FBI's top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists, which was released to the public by former President Bush.

2010-09-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

Aliases: Anas Al-Sabai, Anas Al-Libi, Nazih Al-Raghie, Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie

DESCRIPTION

Dates of Birth Used: March 30, 1964;
May 14, 1964 Hair: Dark
Place of Birth: Tripoli, Libya Eyes: Dark
Height: 5'10" to 6'2" Sex: Male
Weight: Unknown Complexion: Olive
Build: Medium Citizenship: Libyan
Languages: Arabic, English
Scars and Marks: Al-Liby has a scar on the left side of his face.
Remarks: Al-Liby recently lived in the United Kingdom, where he has political asylum. He usually wears a full beard.

CAUTION

Anas Al-Liby was indicted in the Southern District of New York, for his alleged involvement in the bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, 1998.

REWARD

The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Anas Al-Liby.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.
Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'i alias[1] Anas al-Liby (أنس الليبي) (born March 30, 1964 or May 14, 1964 ), a Libyan, is under indictment[2] in the United States for his part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings. He worked as a computer specialist for al-Qaeda.[3]

His aliases in the indictment are Nazih al Raghie and Anas al Sebai. In the FBI and State Department wanted posters[4][5] about this individual, another variant of his name is transliterated Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie.

The indictment accuses al-Liby of surveillance of potential British, French, and Israeli targets in Nairobi, in addition to the American embassy in that city, as part of a conspiracy by al-Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Life

Believed to have been tied to al-Qaeda since its 1994 roots in the Sudan,[6] al-Liby had lived in the United Kingdom, where he was granted political asylum, and was later believed to have fled to Afghanistan to avoid prosecution for his involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

He speaks Arabic and English. Because he was tall and bore a passing resemblance to Osama bin Laden, he was often used as a decoy when Bin Laden traveled.[6]

In January 2002, news reports stated that al-Liby had been captured by American forces in Afghanistan [7]. Following this, in March 2002 news reports stated that al-Liby had been arrested by the Sudanese government and was being held in a prison in Khartoum.[8] However U.S. officials soon denied those reports[9] and al-Liby is still being sought.[10]

Al-Liby has been on the USA's list of Most Wanted Terrorists since its inception on October 10, 2001. The United States Department of State, through the Rewards for Justice Program, is offering up to US$5,000,000 (formerly $25,000,000) for information about the location of Anas al-Liby.[4]
“ Mr. Williams' allegations about McMaster [are] on par a par with UFO reports and JFK conspiracy theories...that notion that because there are people on faculty from Egypt that McMaster is then a haven for terrorism is not only logically offensive, it smack of racism. ”

—Lawyer Peter Downard[11]

In October, FBI consultant Paul Williams wrote a book Dunces of Doomsday in which he claimed that Amer el-Maati, Jaber A. Elbaneh and al-Liby had all been seen around Hamilton, Ontario the previous year, and that Shukrijumah had been seen at McMaster University where he "wasted no time in gaining access to the nuclear reactor and stealing more than 180 pounds of nuclear material for the reation of radiological bombs". He was subsequently sued by the University for libel, as there had been no evidence to suggest any part of his story was true. The publisher later apologise for allowing Williams to print statements which "were without basis in fact".[11][12]

A February 2007 Human Rights Watch document[13] claims that al-Liby and others "may have once been held" in secret detention by the CIA, but the document includes no evidence or testimony to support that assertion.

On June 6, 2007, al-Liby was listed as a possible CIA "Secret Prisoner" by Amnesty International, without giving any reason or evidence, and despite the fact he remains on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list as of the published date (June 6, 2007). [14]
Aliases
Nazih Abdul-Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai'i نزيه عبد الحمد نبيه الرقيعي The surname is spelled لراجعي in the UN list.[1]
Anas al-Liby أنس الليبي
Abu Anas al-Liby أبو أنس الليبي Some Arabic press reports call him by this name.
Anas al-Sebai أنس السباعي
Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Raghie نزيه عبد الحمد الراغي

Ayman Al-Zawahiri

2010-09-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

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"Abu Muhammad" redirects here. For the Muslim lecturer called Abu Muhammad, see Khalid Yasin.
Ayman al-Zawahiri

Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2007.
Born June 19, 1951 (1951-06-19) (age 59)
Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
Occupation Pediatrician, Al-Qaeda leader

Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri[1] (Arabic: أيمن محمد ربيع الظواهري‎, Ayman Muḥammad Rabayaḥ aẓ-Ẓawāhirī; born June 19, 1951) is a prominent leader of al-Qaeda, and was the second and last "emir" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zummar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zummar to life imprisonment. Al-Zawahiri is a qualified surgeon, and is an author of works including numerous al-Qaeda statements. He speaks Arabic, English[2][3] and French.[citation needed] Al-Zawahiri is under worldwide embargo by the UN 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda.[4]

In 1998 al-Zawahiri formally merged Egyptian Islamic Jihad into al-Qaeda. According to reports by a former al-Qaeda member, he has worked in the al-Qaeda organization since its inception and was a senior member of the group's shura council. He is often described as a "lieutenant" to Osama bin Laden, though bin Laden's chosen biographer has referred to him as the "real brains" of al-Qaeda.[5] He was criticized by peoples for branding President-elect Barack Obama a "house negro".[6]
Contents

* 1 Alternate names and sobriquets
* 2 Biography
o 2.1 Upbringing and education
o 2.2 Marriage and family
o 2.3 Attempted coup
o 2.4 Imprisonment and torture
o 2.5 Leaving Egypt
o 2.6 Relation with Islamic Republic of Iran
o 2.7 Attacks in Egypt
o 2.8 Expulsion from Sudan and time spent in Russia
o 2.9 Fatwa with Osama bin Laden
* 3 Views on female combatants
* 4 Video and audio messages
* 5 Wanted in the USA and Egypt
* 6 Online Q&A
* 7 Emergence as Al Qaeda's Chief Commander
* 8 Bibliography
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links
o 11.1 Video

[edit] Alternate names and sobriquets

Ayman al-Zawahiri is usually spelled Zawahiri (the pronunciation of his name in his native Egyptian Arabic), but is sometimes spelled "Dhawahiri" if transliterated directly from Modern Standard Arabic, aka Literary Arabic, in certain academic circles. Using the Intelligence Community Standard for the Transliteration of Arabic Names, it is spelled Zawahiri.

Al-Zawahiri has also gone under the names of Abu Muhammad (Abu Mohammed), Abu Fatima, Muhammad Ibrahim, Abu Abdallah, Abu al-Mu'iz, The Doctor, The Teacher, Nur, Ustaz, Abu Mohammed Nur al-Deen, Abdel Muaz (Abdel Moez, Abdel Muez).[7] Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri is pronounced [ˈʔæjmæn mʊˈħæmːæd rɑˈbiːʕ azˤːɑˈwæːhɪriː] or [aðˤːɑˈwæːhɪriː] in Arabic (the latter is in the Classical).
[edit] Biography
[edit] Upbringing and education

Ayman al-Zawahiri was born to a prominent upper middle class family in Maadi, Egypt, a suburb of Cairo, and was reportedly a studious youth. His father, Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri, was a pharmacologist and a chemistry professor[8] coming from a large family of doctors and scholars, while his mother, Umayma Azzam, came from a wealthy, politically active clan. He excelled in school, loved poetry, "hated violent sports" — which he thought were 'inhumane' — and had a deep affection for his mother.[9]

His family was "religious but not overly pious",[10] and attended the Hussein Sedqi Mosque.[11] Zawahiri became both quite pious and political, under the influence of his uncle Mahfouz Azzam, and lecturer Mostafa Kamel Wasfi.[11]

Qutb preached that to restore Islam and free Muslims, a vanguard of true Muslims modeling itself after the original Companions of the Prophet had to be developed.[12]

By the age of 14, al-Zawahiri had joined the Muslim Brotherhood. The following year the Egyptian government executed Qutb for conspiracy, and al-Zawahiri, along with four other secondary school students, helped form an "underground cell devoted to overthrowing the government and establishing an Islamist state." It was at this early age that al-Zawahiri developed a mission in life, "to put Qutb's vision into action."[13] His cell eventually merged with others to form al-Jihad or Egyptian Islamic Jihad.[14] Al-Zawahiri graduating from Cairo University in 1974 with gayyid giddan. Following that he served three years as a surgeon in the Egyptian Army after which he established a clinic near his parents.[14] In 1978, he also earned a master's degree in surgery.[15]
[edit] Marriage and family

In 1978 he married his wife Azza Ahmed Nowari, who was studying philosophy at Cairo University.[11] Their wedding, at the Continental Hotel in Opera Square,[11] was very pious, with separate areas for both men and women, and no music, photographs, or light hearted humour.[16] Many years later, when the United States attacked Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Azza denied ever knowing that Zawahiri had been a jihadi emir (commander) for the last decade, although at least one acquaintance is skeptical of her ignorance of this fact.[17]

The couple had four daughters, Fatima (b. 1981), Umayma, Nabila (b. 1986) and Khadiga (b. 1987), and a son Mohammed, who was a "delicate, well-mannered boy" and "the pet of his older sisters," subject to teasing and bullying in a traditional all-male environment who preferred to "stay at home and help his mother."[18] Ten years after the birth of Mohammed, Azza gave birth to Assha, who had Down syndrome. In February 2004, Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded, and subsequently stated that Abu Turab Al-Urduni had married one of al-Zawahiri's daughters.[19]

Zaynab Khadr recalled celebrating the engagement of Umayma at the family's house for an all-day party, and al-Zawahiri knocking softly at Umayma's door asking the two girls to please keep their singing and partying quiet as it was nighttime.[20]

Azza and Aisha both died following 9/11. After American bombardment of a Taliban officials building at Gardez, Azza was pinned under debris of a guesthouse roof. Concerned for her modesty, she "refused to be excavated" because "men would see her face." Her four-year-old daughter Aisha had not been hurt by the bombing but died from exposure in the cold night while the rescuers tried to save Azza.[21]

In the first half of 2005, another daughter was born, named Nawwar.[22]
[edit] Attempted coup

He eventually became one of Egyptian Islamic Jihad's leading organizers and recruiters. Zawahiri's hope was to recruit military officers and accumulate weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch "a complete overthrow of the existing order."[23] Chief strategist of Al-Jihad was Aboud al-Zumar, a colonel in the military intelligence whose

plan was to kill the main leaders of the country, capture the headquarters of the army and State Security, the telephone exchange building, and of course the radio and television building, where news of the Islamic revolution would then be broadcast, unleashing – he expected – a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country."[23]

The plan was derailed when authorities were alerted to Al-Jihad's plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information, in February 1981. President Anwar Sadat ordered the roundup of more than 1500 people, including many Al-Jihad members, but missed a cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli, who succeeded in assassinating Sadat during a military parade that October.[24]
[edit] Imprisonment and torture

Al-Zawahiri was one of hundreds arrested following Sadat's assassination. Al-Zawahiri's lawyer, Montasser el-Zayat, contends that Zawahiri was tortured in prison.[25]

In his book, Al-Zawahiri as I Knew Him, Al-Zayyat maintains that under torture of the Egyptian police, following his arrest in connection with the murder of Sadat in 1981, Al-Zawahiri revealed the hiding place of Essam al-Qamari, a key member of the Maadi cell of al-Jihad, which led to Al-Qamari's "arrest and eventual execution."[26]

Al-Zawahiri was convicted of dealing in weapons and received a three-year sentence, which he completed in 1984 shortly after his conviction.[27]
[edit] Leaving Egypt

In 1985, al-Zawahiri went to Saudi Arabia on Hajj and stayed to practice medicine in Jeddah for a year.[28]

He then traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan where he worked in a Red Crescent hospital treating wounded refugees. There he became friends with the Canadian Ahmed Said Khadr, and the two shared a number of conversations about the need for Islamic government and the needs of the Afghan people.[29] During this time, al-Zawahiri also began reconstituting the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) along with other exiled militants.[30] The group had "very loose ties to their nominal imprisoned leader, Abud al-Zumur."

In Peshwar, al-Zawahiri is thought to have become radicalized by other Al-Jihad members, abandoning his old strategy of a swift coup d'etat to change society from above, and embracing the idea of takfir.[31] In 1991, EIJ broke with al-Zumur, and al-Zawahiri grabbed "the reins of power" to become EIJ leader.[32]

In Peshawar, he met Osama bin Laden, who was running a base for mujahideen called Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK); founded by the Palestinian Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Azzam. The radical position of al-Zawahiri and the other militants of Al-Jihad put them at odds with Sheikh Azzam, with whom they competed for bin Laden's financial resources.[33] Zawahiri carried two false passports, a Swiss one in the name of Amin Uthman and a Dutch one in the name of Mohmud Hifnawi.[34]
[edit] Relation with Islamic Republic of Iran

Zawahiri has allegedly worked with the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of al-Qaeda. Lawrence Wright reports that EIJ operative Ali Mohammed "told the FBI that al-Jihad had planned a coup in Egypt in 1990." Zawahiri had studied the 1979 Islamist Islamic Revolution and "sought training from the Iranians" as to how to duplicate their feat against the Egyptian government.

He offered Iran information about an Egyptian government plan to storm several islands in the Persian Gulf that both Iran and the United Arab Emirates lay claim to. According to Mohammed, in return for this information, the Iranian government paid Zawahiri $2 million and helped train members of al-Jihad in a coup attempt that never actually took place.[35]

However, in public Zawahiri has harshly denounced the Iranian government. In December 2007 he said, "We discovered Iran collaborating with America in its invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq."[36] In the same video messages, he moreover chides Iran for "repeating the ridiculous joke that says that al-Qaida and the Taliban are agents of America," before playing a video clip in which Ayatollah Rafsanjani says, "In Afghanistan, they were present in Afghanistan, because of Al-Qa'ida; and the Taliban, who created the Taliban? America is the one who created the Taliban, and America's friends in the region are the ones who financed and armed the Taliban."[36]

Zawahiri's criticism of Iran's government continues when he states,

Despite Iran's repetition of the slogan 'Death to America, death to Israel,' we haven't heard even one Fatwa from one Shiite authority, whether in Iran or elsewhere, calling for Jihad against the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.[36]

Zawahiri has dismissed that there is any cooperation between Iran and Al Qaeda against their common enemy, to wit, the United States.[37] He also said that "Iran Stabbed a Knife into the Back of the Islamic Nation."[38]

In April 2008, Zawahri blamed Iranian state media and Al-Manar for perpetuating the "lie" that "there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no-one else did in history" in order to discredit the Al Qaeda network.[39] Zawahri was referring to some 9/11 conspiracy theories which posit that Al Qaeda itself wasn't responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

On the 7th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th 2001, Zawahri released a 90-minute tape[40] in which he blasted "The guardian of Muslims in Tehran" for recognizing "the two hireling governments"[41] in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[edit] Attacks in Egypt

In 1993, Zawahiri traveled to the United States where he addressed several California mosques under his Abdul Mu'iz moniker and relying on his credentials from the Kuwaiti Red Crescent to raise money "for Afghan children who had been injured by Soviet land mines", but only managed to raise $2000.[42]

One result of Zawahiri and EIJ's connection with Iran may have been the use of suicide bombing in August 1993 in an attempt on the life of Egyptian Interior Minister Hasan al-Alfi, the man heading the effort to quash the campaign of Islamist killings in Egypt. It failed, as did an attempt to assassinate Egyptian prime minister Atef Sidqi three months later. The bombing of Sidqi's car did succeed in injuring 21 Egyptians and killing a young schoolgirl, Shayma Abdel-Halim. It also came following two years of killings by another Islamist group, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, that had killed over 200. Her funeral became a public spectacle, with her coffin carried through the streets of Cairo and crowds shouting, "Terrorism is the enemy of God!"[43] The police arrested 280 more of al-Jihad's members and executed six.

Zawahiri later wrote of his anger with the public reaction. "This meant that they wanted my daughter, who was two at the time, and the daughters of other colleagues, to be orphans. Who cried or cared for our daughters?"[43]

The 1995 attack on the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad was the Egyptian Islamic Jihad's first success under Zawahiri's leadership, but Bin Laden had disapproved of the operation. The bombing alienated the host of the embassy, Pakistan, and Pakistan was "the best route into Afghanistan"[44]
[edit] Expulsion from Sudan and time spent in Russia

Following the 1994 execution of the sons of Ahmad Salama Mabruk and Mohammed Sharaf for betraying Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the militants were ordered to leave the Sudan.[45][46] At this time he is said to have "become a phantom"[47] but is thought to have traveled widely to "Switzerland and Sarajevo. A fake passport he was using shows that he traveled to Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong."

On December 1, 1996, Ahmad Salama Mabruk and Mahmud Hisham al-Hennawi – both carrying false passports – accompanied al-Zawahiri on a trip to Chechnya, where they hoped to re-establish the faltering al-Jihad. Their leader was traveling under the name Abdullah Imam Mohammed Amin, and trading on his medical credentials for legitimacy. The group switched vehicles three times, but were arrested within hours of entering Russian territory and spent five months in a Makhachkala prison awaiting trial. The trio pled innocence, maintaining their disguise and having other al-Jihad members from Bavari-C send the Russian authorities pleas for leniency for their "merchant" colleagues who had been wrongly arrested; and Russian Member of Parliament Nadyr Khachiliev echoed the pleas for their speedy release as al-Jihad members Ibrahim Eidarous and Tharwat Salah Shehata traveled to Dagestan to plead for their release. Shehata received permission to visit the prisoners, and is believed to have smuggled them $3000 which was later confiscated from their cell, and to have given them a letter which the Russians didn't bother to translate.[48] In April 1997, the trio were sentenced to six months, and were subsequently released a month later and ran off without paying their court-appointed attorney Abulkhalik Abdusalamov his $1,800 legal fee citing their "poverty".[48] Shehata was sent on to Chechnya, where he met with Ibn Khattab.[47][48][49][50] However, some have raised doubts as to the true nature of al-Zawahiri's encounter with the Russians: Jamestown Foundation scholar Evgenii Novikov has argued that it seems unlikely that the Russians would not have been able to determine who he was, given their well-trained Arabists and the obviously suspicious act of Muslims crossing illegally a border with multiple false identities and encrypted documents in Arabic.[51][52] Assassinated former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko alleged, among other things, that during this time, al-Zawahiri was indeed being trained by the FSB,[53] and that he was not the only link between al-Qaeda and the FSB.[54] Former KGB officer and writer Konstantin Preobrazhenskiy supported Litvinenko's claim and said that Litvinenko "was responsible for securing the secrecy of Al-Zawahiri's arrival in Russia, who was trained by FSB instructors in Dagestan, Northern Caucasus, in 1996–1997."[55]

Zawahiri and other EIJ members found refuge in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where Al-Qaeda families had settled. About 250 people were gathered there altogether.[citation needed]

While there Zawahiri learned of a "Nonviolence Initiative" being organized in Egypt to end the terror campaign that had killed hundreds and resulting government crackdown that had imprisoned thousands. Zawahiri angrily opposed this "surrender" in letters to the London newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat.[56] Together with members of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, he helped organize a massive attack on tourists at the Temple of Hatshepsut to sabotage the initiative by provoking the government into repression.[57]
Main article: November 1997 Luxor massacre

The attack by six men dressed in police uniforms, succeeded in machine-gunning and hacking to death 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians, including "a five-year-old British child and four Japanese couples on their honeymoons," and devastated the Egyptian tourist industry for a number of years. Nonetheless the Egyptian reaction was not what Zawahiri had hoped for. The attack so stunned and angered Egyptian society that Islamists denied responsibility. Zawahiri blamed the police for the killing, but also held the tourists responsible for their own deaths for coming to Egypt,

The people of Egypt consider the presence of these foreign tourists to be aggression against Muslims and Egypt, ... The young men are saying that this is our country and not a place for frolicking and enjoyment, especially for you.[58]

The massacre was so unpopular that no terror attacks occurred in Egypt for several years thereafter. Zawahiri was sentenced to death in absentia in 1999 by an Egyptian military tribunal.[59]
[edit] Fatwa with Osama bin Laden
Zawahiri profile released by FBI.

On February 23, 1998, he issued a joint fatwa with Osama bin Laden under the title "World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders". Zawahiri, not bin Laden, is thought to have been the actual author of the fatwa.[60]

Following the 2000 USS Cole bombing, Mohammed Atef was moved to Kandahar, Zawahiri to Kabul, and Bin Laden fled to Kabul, later joining Atef when he realised no American reprisal attacks were forthcoming.[61]

Hamid Mir is reported to have said that he believed that Ayman al-Zawahiri was the operational head of al-Qaeda, and that "[h]e is the person who can do the things that happened on Sept. 11."[5] Within days of the attacks, Zawahiri's name was put forward as Bin Laden's second-in-command, with reports suggesting he represented "a more formidable US foe than bin Laden.".[62]

On October 10, 2001, al-Zawahiri appeared on the initial list of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's top 22 Most Wanted Terrorists, which was released to the public by U.S. President George W. Bush. In early November 2001, the Taliban government announced they were bestowing official Afghan citizenship on him, as well as Bin Laden, Mohammed Atef, Saif al-Adl, and Shaykh Asim Abdulrahman.[63]

In December 2001, al-Zawahiri published the book Knights Under the Prophet's Banner outlining al-Qaeda's ideology.[64] English translations of this book were published; excerpts are available online.[65]

Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, al-Zawahiri's whereabouts are unknown, but he is generally thought to be in tribal Pakistan. Although he releases videos of himself frequently (see Messages of Ayman al-Zawahiri), al-Zawahiri has not appeared alongside bin Laden in any of them since 2003. In 2003, it was rumored that he was under arrest by Iran, although no later confirmation appeared.[66]

On January 13, 2006, the Central Intelligence Agency launched an airstrike on Damadola, a Pakistani village near the Afghan border, where they believed al-Zawahiri was located. The airstrike was supposed to have killed al-Zawahiri and was thus reported in international news the following days. Many victims were buried without being identified. Anonymous U.S. government officials claimed that some terrorists were killed and the Bajaur tribal area government confirmed that at least four terrorists were among the dead.[67] Anti-American protests broke out around the country and the Pakistani government condemned the U.S. attack and the loss of innocent life.[68] On January 30, a new video was released showing al-Zawahiri unhurt. The video did discuss the airstrike, but did not reveal if al-Zawahiri was present in the village at that time.

Al-Zawahiri supplied direction for the Lal Masjid siege in July 2007. Pakistani Army troops taking control of the Red Mosque in Islamabad found letters from al-Zawahiri directing Islamic militants Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz Ghazi, who ran the mosque and adjacent madrasah. This conflict resulted in 100 deaths.[69]

On August 1, 2008, CBS News reported that it had obtained a copy of an intercepted letter dated July 29, 2008, from unnamed sources in Pakistan, which urgently requested a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. The letter indicated that al-Zawahiri was critically injured in a US missile strike at Azam Warsak village in South Waziristan on July 28 that also reportedly killed al Qaeda explosives expert Abu Khabab al-Masri. Taliban Mehsud spokesman Maulvi Umar told the Associated Press on August 2, 2008, that the report of al-Zawahiri's injury was false.[70]

In early September 2008, Pakistan military claimed that they "almost" captured al-Zawahiri after getting information that he and his wife were in the Mohmand Agency, in northwest Pakistan. After raiding the area, officials didn't find him.[71]
[edit] Views on female combatants
See also: Sex segregation and Islam

Zawahri has said in an interview that the group does not have women combatants and that a woman's role is limited to caring for the homes and children of al-Qaeda fighters.[72] This resulted in a debate regarding the role of mujahid women like Sajida al-Rishawi.
[edit] Video and audio messages
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Author:Ayman al-Zawahiri
Main article: Videos of Ayman al-Zawahiri

* May 2003: Tape was broadcast by al-Jazeera and included the directives (interpreted) "Raze/Singe the floor out from under their feet... the political and corporate interests of the United States... and Norway." which caused a global lockdown and extensive confusion for the country of Norway.
* Early September 2003: A video showing al-Zawahiri and bin Laden walking together, as well as an audiotape, is released to the al-Jazeera network.
* September 9, 2004: Another video is released announcing more assaults.
* August 4, 2005: He issues a televised statement blaming Tony Blair and his government's foreign policy for the July 2005 London bombings.[citation needed]
* September 1, 2005: al-Jazeera broadcasts a video message from Mohammed Sidique Khan, one of bombers of the London metro. His message is followed by another message from al-Zawahiri, blaming again Blair for the bombings.[citation needed]
* 19 September 2005: He claims responsibility for the London bombings.[citation needed]
* December 7, 2005: The full 40 minute interview from September is posted on the Internet with previously unseen video footage. See below for links.
* 3 April 2008: He said Al Qaeda does not kill innocents and that its leader Osama bin Laden is healthy. The questions asked his views about Egypt and Iraq as well as Hamas, the militant Islamic group that seized control of Gaza 2007.[73]
* 22 April 2008: An audio interview in which, among other subjects, Ayman al-Zawahiri attacks the Shiite Iran and Hezbollah for blaming the 9/11 attacks on Israel, and thus discrediting Al-Qaeda.[74]
* On the 7th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, Zawahri released a 90-minute tape[40] in which he blasted "The guardian of Muslims in Tehran" for "the two hireling governments"[41] in Iraq and Afghanistan.
* 7 January 2009: An audio message released where al-Zawahiri vows revenge for Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza and calls the Jewish state's actions against Hamas militants "a gift" from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama for the recent uprising conflict in Gaza.[75]
* 2 June 2009: Audio messages claiming Barack Obama is not welcome in Egypt.
* 15 July 2009: Al-Zawahiri urges Pakistanis to support the Taliban.
* October 4, 2009: The New York Times reported that Al Zawahiri had asserted that Libya had tortured Ibn Al Sheikh Al Libi to death.[76] Al Libi was a key source the George W. Bush Presidency had claimed established that Iraq had provided training to Al Qaeda in Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
* December 14, 2009: In an audio recording released on December 14, 2009, Zawahiri renewed calls to establish an Islamic state in Israel and urged his followers to “seek jihad against Jews” and their supporters. He also called for jihad against America and the West, and labeled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia as the “brothers of Satan”.[77]

[edit] Wanted in the USA and Egypt

* For their leading role in anti-Egyptian Government attacks in the 1990s, Ayman al-Zawahiri and his brother Muhammad al-Zawahiri were sentenced to death in the 1999 Egyptian case of the Returnees from Albania.
* Ayman al-Zawahiri is under indictment[78] in the United States for this role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. The Rewards for Justice Program of the U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to US$25 million for information about his location.[7][79]

[edit] Online Q&A

In mid-December 2007, Ayman al-Zawahiri's spokespeople announced plans for an "open interview" on a handful of Islamic Web sites. The administrators of four known jihadist web sites have been authorized to collect and forward questions, "unedited," they pledge, and "regardless of whether they are in support of or are against" al-Qaida, which would be forwarded to al-Zawahiri on 16 January.[80] Zawahiri responded to the questions later in 2008; among the things he said were that al-Qaeda did not kill innocents, and that al-Qaeda would move to target Israel once it was finished in Iraq.[81][82]
[edit] Emergence as Al Qaeda's Chief Commander

On April 30, 2009, the US State Department reported that Zawahiri had now emerged as the Al Qaeda's operational and strategic commander[83] and that Osama Bin Laden was now only the ideological figurehead of the organization.[83]
[edit] Bibliography

* Gilles Kepel & Jean-Pierre Milelli, Al Qaeda in its own words, Harvard University Press, Cambridge & London, ISBN 978-0-674-02804-3.
* Ayman al-Zawahiri, L'absolution, Milelli, Villepreux, ISBN 978-2-916590-05-9 (French translation of Al-Zawahiri's latest book).

Alligator gar

2010-09-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

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Alligator Gar
This ten-foot alligator gar was caught and photographed at Moon Lake in Mississippi in 1910
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lepisosteiformes
Family: Lepisosteidae
Genus: Atractosteus
Species: A. spatula
Binomial name
Atractosteus spatula
(Lacépède, 1803)
Synonyms

Lepisosteus spatula Lacépède, 1803
Atractosteus adamantinus Rafinesque, 1818

The Alligator Gar ("Gator Gar"), Atractosteus spatula, is a primitive ray-finned fish. Unlike other Gars, the mature Alligator Gar possesses a dual row of large teeth in the upper jaw. Its name derives from the alligator-like appearance of these teeth along with the fish's elongated snout. The dorsal surface of the Alligator Gar is a brown or olive-color, while the ventral surface tends to be lighter. Their scales are diamond-shaped and interlocking (ganoid) and are sometimes used by Native Americans for jewelry.

Along with its status as the largest species of Gar, the Alligator Gar is the largest exclusively freshwater fish found in North America, measuring eight to ten feet and weighing at least 200 lb (91 kg) at maturity. The current world record for the largest Alligator Gar caught on rod and reel is 279 lb (127 kg).The largest taken by Bowfishing is 365 lb (166 kg).[citation needed] The fish is also known for its ability to survive outside the water, being able to last for up to two hours above the surface.
Contents

* 1 Location
o 1.1 Natural
o 1.2 Outside the Natural Habitat
* 2 Behavior
o 2.1 Feeding
o 2.2 Breeding
* 3 Taxonomic history
* 4 Human usage
o 4.1 Sport fish
o 4.2 Food source
o 4.3 Aquaria
* 5 References
* 6 External links

Location
Natural

Alligator gar are found in the Lower Mississippi River Valley and Gulf Coast states of the Southeastern United States and Mexico as far south as Veracruz, encompassing the following US states: Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, and Georgia.They have also been known historically to come as far north as central Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, and west-central Illinois, where the most northerly verified catch was at Meredosia, Illinois in 1922 and an 8.5 ft (2.6 m) specimen, now preserved, was caught at nearby Beardstown.Specimens at locations further south in Illinois have been verified as recently as 1976, with the Illinois Academy of Sciences verifiying a total of 122 captures to that date.They inhabit sluggish pools and backwaters or large rivers, bayous, and lakes. They are found in brackish or saltwater, and are more adaptable to the latter than are other gars. In Louisiana it is common to see these large gar striking the surface in brackish marshes.
Outside the Natural Habitat

There have been a few notable sightings of Alligator Gar outside North America.

In February 2007, a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) Alligator Gar was found roaming far in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, when the city was hit by a major flood (see External Links below). In January 2008, a 3 kg (6.6 lb) Gator Gar was found by fishermen in Bera, Pahang (East Coast State of Malaysia), when it was caught entangled in a fishing net.

In November 2008, a 0.5 to 0.6 m (1.6 to 2.0 ft) long Alligator gar was caught in the north of Esenguly, Turkmenistan by two officials of Turkmenistan Fishery Protection. Dr. R. Mayden, Saint Louis University and Dr. Eric Hilton, Virginia Institute of Marine Science confirmed that it was probably an Atractosteus spatula.

On September 4, 2009 a 1 m (3.3 ft) long Alligator Gar was found in Tak Wah Park in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. In the next two days, at least 16 other Alligator Gars, with the largest one measuring 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long, were found in ponds in public parks in Hong Kong.As reported by nearby residents, the fish were released in the ponds by aquarium hobbyists and had lived there for some years. However, after a complaint made by a citizen who falsely identified the fish as crocodiles, terms like "Horrible Man-eating Fish" were found in the headlines of some major local newspapers.Government officials decided to remove all the fish from the ponds as they claimed the species had no conservation value and would affect the local ecology if left in the ponds. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said it would offer non-dangerous fish to animal welfare groups and charities. The fish that was caught first died later that day, and claims have been made that the local government does not treat the gars in an animal-friendly way - they were seen catching the fish with improvised nets and garbage cans.On September 6 the government euthanized all of the fish as it said that there were no organizations willing to take them.On September 8 however, the Hong Kong Ocean Park announced that it was willing to take the fish for exhibition and education to the public. Five surviving gars, caught on September 7, were sent to the Ocean Park.[citation needed]
Behavior
This Alligator Gar was swept onto the beach at North Padre Island following a storm
Feeding

The Alligator Gar is a relatively passive, solitary fish that lives in fresh and brackish water bodies in the southeastern U.S. It is carnivorous. The Alligator Gar feeds by lurking amongst reeds and other vegetation, ambushing prey.
Breeding

Though the Alligator Gar prefers slow-moving waters of rivers, bayous, and oxbows throughout most of the year, it appears to need spring time inundated floodplain fields or wetland vegetation in order to spawn.
Taxonomic history

Until relatively recently all gars have generally been classified in the genus Lepisosteus Lacepède, 1803. The Alligator Gar had been given the name Atractosteus adamantinus by the eccentric Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz in 1818, and for a long time Atractosteus was simply viewed as a junior synonym of Lepisosteus. E. O. Wiley resurrected this genus in 1976, in his work The phylogeny and biogeography of fossil and Recent Gars.

Based on Wiley's work, after 1976 the Gars were officially split into Lepisosteus and Atractosteus, and ever since then zoos, aquarium books, anglers, and so on have been gradually catching up with the proper terminology.
Human usage
Sport fish
This six-foot 129 pound Alligator Gar was caught in the Brazos River in Texas

Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana allow regulated sport fishing of the Alligator Gar.

The fish is popular amongst bowfishers because of its size and tendency to brawl. An interesting anatomical feature of this fish is that its buoyancy bladder is directly connected to its throat, giving it the ability to draw in air from above the water. For this reason, Alligator Gar are often found near the surface of a body of water.
Food source

In several Southern U.S. states, Alligator Gar are served in restaurants and considered a delicacy or novelty food akin to the American Alligator or crocodile.
Aquaria

Despite their large adult size, Alligator Gar are kept as aquarium fish, although many fish labelled as "Alligator Gar" in the aquarium trade are actually smaller species. This fish requires a very large aquarium or pond and ample resources to keep. They are also popular fish for public aquariums. True Gars are illegal as pets in multiple areas but will occasionally show up in fish stores.

2010-09-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

This article is about the Colombian drug lord. For the Colombian footballer, see Pablo Andrés Escobar. For the Paraguayan-Bolivian footballer, see Pablo Daniel Escobar.
This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Escobar and the second is Gaviria.
Pablo Escobar
Born December 1, 1949 (1949-12)
Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia
Died December 2, 1993 (1993-12-03) (aged 44)
Medellín, Colombia
Alias(es) El Patrón, Don Pablo, El Senor
Conviction(s) drug trafficking and smuggling, assassinations, bombing, bribery, racketeering, money laundering, murder, political corruption
Status Deceased
Occupation Head of the Medellín Cartel
Spouse Maria Victoria Henao
Children Juan Pablo, Manuela Escobar

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (December 1, 1949 - December 2, 1993) was a Colombian drug lord. Often referred to as the "World's Greatest Outlaw," Pablo Escobar was perhaps the most elusive cocaine trafficker to have ever existed.[1] He is regarded as the richest and most successful criminal in world history because, in the year 1989, Forbes magazine declared Escobar as the seventh richest man in the world, with an estimated personal fortune of US$ 9 billion.[2] He owned innumerable luxury residences and automobiles and in 1986 he attempted to enter Colombian politics, even offering to pay off the nation's $10 billion national debt.[3] It is said that Pablo Escobar once burnt $2m in cash just to keep warm while on the run.[4]
Contents

* 1 Early life
* 2 Rise to power
* 3 Height of power
* 4 Personal life
o 4.1 La Catedral prison
o 4.2 Search Bloc and Los Pepes
* 5 Death and afterward
o 5.1 Exhumation
o 5.2 Virginia Vallejo's version
o 5.3 Relatives
* 6 Quotes
* 7 Popular depiction
* 8 In popular culture
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

Early life

Escobar was born to a peasant farmer, named Abel de Jesus Escobar[citation needed], and an elementary school teacher, Hemilda Gaviria (died 2006).[5] Pablo was one of six children in the Escobar home. Pablo and his family lived in a house that had no electricity but had running water. He and his brother were once sent home from school because Pablo had no shoes. Escobar studied political science at the Universidad de Antioquia, but he was forced to drop out when he couldn't afford to pay the necessary fees. This was when he began his criminal career allegedly stealing gravestones and sanding them down for resale to smugglers. His brother refutes this, claiming that the gravestones came from cemetery owners whose clients had stopped paying for site care and that they had a relative who had a legitimate monuments business.[6]

After this alleged hustling business, Pablo started doing whatever else he could to make money—from running petty street scams with his gang to selling contraband cigarettes and fake lottery tickets. He even conned people out of their cash when they'd leave the bank. By the time he was 20, he was already an accomplished car thief.[1] In the early 1970s, he was a thief and bodyguard, and he made a quick $100,000 on the side kidnapping and ransoming a Medellin executive before entering the drug trade.[7] His next step on the ladder was to become a millionaire by working for the multi-millionaire contraband smuggler, Alvaro Prieto. Through his dedication and guile, Pablo became a millionaire by the time he was 22. [8]
Rise to power

A book released by Pablo's brother, Roberto Escobar, called The Accountant's Story discusses how Pablo rose from poverty and obscurity to become one of the richest men of the world. Arguably the largest and most successful criminal enterprise in world history, at times the Medellin drug cartel was smuggling 15 tons of cocaine a day, worth more than half a billion dollars, into the United States. According to Roberto, Pablo's accountant, he and his brother's operation spent $1,000 a week just purchasing rubber bands to wrap the stacks of cash—and since they had more illegal money than they could deposit in the banks, they stored the bricks of cash in their warehouses, annually writing off 10% as "spoilage" when the rats crept in at night and nibbled on the hundred dollar bills.[9]

In 1975, Escobar started developing his cocaine operation. He even flew a plane himself to smuggle a load into the United States. He then decommissioned the plane and hung it above the gate to his ranch at Hacienda Napoles. His reputation grew after a well known Medellín dealer named Fabio Restrepo was murdered in 1975 ostensibly by Escobar, from whom he had purchased 14 kilograms. Afterwards, all of Restrepo's men were informed that they now worked for Pablo Escobar. In May 1976 Escobar and several of his men were arrested and were found in possession of 39 pounds (18 kg) of white paste after returning to Medellín with a heavy load from Ecuador. Initially, Pablo tried unsuccessfully to bribe the Medellín judges who were forming the case against him. Instead, after many months of legal wrangling Pablo had the two arresting officers killed and the case was dropped. It was here that he began his pattern of dealing with the authorities by either bribing them or killing them.[10] Roberto Escobar maintains Pablo fell into the business simply because contraband became too dangerous to traffic. He could make more money with one truck loaded with cocaine than 40 carrying booze and cigarettes. There were no drug cartels then and only a few drug barons, so there was plenty of business for everyone. In Peru, they bought the cocaine paste, which they refined in a laboratory in a two-storey house in Medellín. On his first trip, Pablo bought a paltry £30 worth of paste in what was to become the first step towards the building of his empire. At first, he smuggled the cocaine in old plane tyres and a pilot could earn as much as £500,000 a flight depending on how much he could smuggle.[11]

Soon the demand for cocaine was skyrocketing in the United States and Pablo organized more smuggling shipments, routes, and distribution networks in South Florida, California and other parts of the USA. He and Carlos Lehder worked together to develop a new island trans-shipment point in the Bahamas, called Norman's Cay. Carlos and Robert Vesco purchased most of the land on the Island which included a 3,300 foot airstrip, a harbor, hotel, houses, boats, aircraft and even built a refrigerated warehouse to store the cocaine. From 1978–1982, this was used as a central smuggling route for the Medellin Cartel. (According to his brother's account, Pablo did not purchase Normans Cay. It was, instead, a sole venture of Carlos Lehder.) Escobar was able to purchase the 7.7 square miles (20 km2) of land, which included Hacienda Napoles, for several million dollars. He created a zoo, a lake and other diversions for his family and organization.[12] At one point it was estimated that 70 to 80 tonnes of cocaine were being shipped from Colombia to the U.S. every month. At the peak of his power in the mid-1980s, he was shipping as much as 11 tonnes per flight in jetliners to the United States (the biggest load shipped by pablo was 23,000 kg mixed with fish paste and shipped via boat, this is confirmed by his brother in the book Escobar). In addition to using the planes, Pablo's brother, Roberto Escobar said he also used two small remote-controlled submarines as a way to transport the massive loads (these subs were, in fact, manned and this is again documented in Roberto's book).[1]

In 1982, Escobar was elected as a deputy/alternative representative to the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia's Congress, as part of the Colombian Liberal Party.[13] During the 1980s, Escobar became known internationally as his drug network gained notoriety; the Medellín Cartel controlled a large portion of the drugs that entered into the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic with cocaine brought mostly from Peru and Bolivia, as Colombian coca was initially of substandard quality. Escobar's product reached many other nations, mostly around the Americas, although it is said that his network reached as far as Asia.

Corruption and intimidation characterized Escobar's dealings with the Colombian system. He had an effective, inescapable policy in dealing with law enforcement and the government, referred to as "plata o plomo," (literally silver or lead, colloquially [accept] money or [face] bullets). This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of individuals, including civilians, policemen and state officials. At the same time, Escobar bribed countless government officials, judges and other politicians. Escobar was responsible for the murder of Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán, one of three assassinated candidates who were all competing in the same election, as well as the bombing of Avianca Flight 203 and the DAS Building bombing in Bogotá in 1989. The Cartel de Medellín was also involved in a deadly drug war with its primary rival, the Cartel de Cali, for most of its existence. It is sometimes alleged that Escobar backed the 1985 storming of the Colombian Supreme Court by left-wing guerrillas from the 19th of April Movement, also known as M-19, which resulted in the murder of half the judges on the court. Some of these claims were included in a late 2006 report by a Truth Commission of three judges of the current Supreme Court. One of those who discusses the attack is "Popeye", a former Escobar hitman. At the time of the siege, the Supreme Court was studying the constitutionality of Colombia's extradition treaty with the U.S.[14]
Height of power

Pablo Escobar once said that the essence of the cocaine business was 'simple - you bribe someone here, you bribe someone there, and you pay a friendly banker to help you bring the money back.'[15] In 1987 Forbes magazine estimated Escobar to be the seventh-richest man in the world with a personal wealth of close to $9 billion,[citation needed] while his Medellín cartel controlled 80% of the global cocaine market. In most businesses, seeing a return on investment (ROI) of 100% would be more than enough for a company to thrive. By some estimates, Pablo Escobar enjoyed an ROI of as much as 20,000%. Put another way, for every $1 he put into his business, he got about $200 in return. It is said that rats ate $1 billion of Pablo Escobar's profits each year.[16]

While seen as an enemy of the United States and Colombian governments, Escobar was a hero to many in Medellín (especially the poor people); he was a natural at public relations and he worked to create goodwill among the poor people of Colombia. A lifelong sports fan, he was credited with building football fields and multi-sports courts, as well as sponsoring little league football teams.[17]

Escobar was responsible for the construction of many churches in Medellín, which gained him popularity inside the local Roman Catholic Church.[18] He worked hard to cultivate his "Robin Hood" image, and frequently distributed money to the poor through housing projects and other civic activities, which gained him notable popularity among the poor. The population of Medellín often helped Escobar by serving as lookouts, hiding information from the authorities, or doing whatever else they could do to protect him.

Despite his popular image among the Medellín community Escobar was well-known among his business associates to be an insecure, paranoid, ruthless murderer. It has been reported that his brother said Pablo was so violently committed to loyalty that he once threatened him at gun point over a minor misunderstanding. His brother said his ability to befriend the dangerous and intimidate the powerful is what made him as unstoppable as he was. At the height of his power, drug traffickers from Medellín and other areas were handing over between 20 and 35% of their Colombian cocaine-related profits to Escobar.

Escobar’s continuing struggles to maintain supremacy resulted in Colombia's quickly becoming the world’s murder capital with 7,081 victims in 1991 alone.[citation needed] This increased murder rate was fueled by Escobar's giving money to poor youths as a reward for killing police officers, over 600 of whom died in this way.[19] Today, Colombia is surpassed by several countries, such as Guatemala, South Africa and Venezuela.[20][21]
Personal life

In March 1976 at the age of 26, Escobar married Maria Victoria who was 15 years old. Together they had two children: Juan Pablo and Manuela. Escobar created and lived in a luxurious estate called Hacienda Nápoles (Spanish for Naples Estate) and had planned to construct a Greek-style citadel near it. Construction of the citadel was begun but never finished. The ranch, the zoo and the citadel were expropriated by the government and given to low-income families in the 1990s under a law called extinción de dominio (domain extinction). The property has been converted to a theme park.[22]
La Catedral prison
Main article: La Catedral

After the assassination of Luis Carlos Galán, a presidential candidate, the administration of César Gaviria moved against Escobar and the drug cartels. Eventually, the government negotiated with Escobar, convincing him to surrender and cease all criminal activity in exchange for a reduced sentence and preferential treatment during his captivity.

After declaring an end to a series of previous violent or terrorist acts meant to pressure authorities and public opinion, Escobar turned himself in. He was confined in what became his own luxurious private prison, La Catedral. Before Escobar gave himself up, the extradition of Colombian citizens had been prohibited by the newly approved Colombian Constitution of 1991. That was controversial, as it was suspected that Escobar or other drug lords had influenced members of the Constituent Assembly.

Accounts of Escobar's continued criminal activities began to surface in the media. Escobar brought the Moncada and Galeano brothers to La Catedral and had them murdered because he alleged that they were stealing from the cartel.[citation needed] When the government found out that Escobar was continuing his criminal activities within La Catedral, it attempted to move Escobar to another jail on July 22, 1992. Escobar's influence allowed him to discover the plan in advance and make a well-timed, unhurried escape. He was still worried that he could be extradited to the United States.
Search Bloc and Los Pepes
Main articles: Los Pepes and Search Bloc

In 1992 United States Operators from Delta Force, and Centra Spike joined the all-out manhunt for Escobar. They trained and advised a special Colombian police task force, known as the Search Bloc, which had been created to locate Escobar. Later, as the conflict between Escobar and United States and Colombian governments dragged on and the numbers of his enemies grew, a vigilante group known as Los Pepes (Los Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar) - or "People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar," financed by his rivals and former associates, including the Cali Cartel and right-wing paramilitaries led by Carlos Castaño, who would later found the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá. Los Pepes carried out a bloody campaign fueled by vengeance in which more than 300 of Escobar's associates and relatives were slain and large amounts of his cartel's property were destroyed.

Rumors abounded[18] that members of the Search Bloc, and also of Colombian and the United States intelligence agencies, in their efforts to find and punish Escobar, either colluded with Los Pepes or moonlighted as both Search Bloc and Los Pepes simultaneously. This coordination was allegedly conducted mainly through the sharing of intelligence in order to allow Los Pepes to bring down Escobar and his few remaining allies, but there are reports that some individual Search Bloc members directly participated in missions of the Los Pepes death squads.[18] One of the leaders of Los Pepes was Diego Murillo Bejarano (also known as "Don Berna"), a former Medellín Cartel associate who became a drug kingpin and eventually emerged as a leader of one of the most powerful factions within the AUC.
Death and afterward
Colombian policemen standing by Pablo Escobar's dead body.

The war against Escobar ended on December 2, 1993, as he tried to elude the Search Bloc one more time and that was his demise. Using radio triangulation technology provided as part of the United States efforts, a Colombian electronic surveillance team found him hiding in a middle-class barrio in Medellín. With authorities closing in, a firefight with Escobar and his bodyguard, Alvaro de Jesús Agudelo AKA El Limón, ensued. The two fugitives attempted to escape by running across the roofs of adjoining houses to reach a back street, but both were shot and killed by Colombian National Police.[23] He suffered gunshots to the leg, torso, and the fatal one in his ear. It has never been proven who actually fired the final shot into Escobar's head, whether this shot was made during the gunfight or as part of possible execution, and there is wide speculation about the subject. One very popular theory is that Hugo Aguilar shot Escobar with just one shot with his 9 mm pistol.[citation needed] Some of the family members believe that Escobar could have committed suicide.[24][25] His two brothers, Roberto Escobar and Fernando Sánchez Arellano, believe that he shot himself through the ears: "He committed suicide, he did not get killed. During all the years they went after him, he would say to me every day that if he was really cornered without a way out, he would shoot himself through the ears."[26] During the autopsy however, there was no stippling pattern found around the ear, which suggested that the shot which killed Escobar was fired from further than an arm's length away.[27]

After Escobar's death and the fragmentation of the Medellín Cartel the cocaine market soon became dominated by the rival Cali Cartel, until the mid-1990s when its leaders, too, were either killed or captured by the Colombian government.

The Robin Hood image that he had cultivated continued to have lasting influence in Medellín. Many there, especially many of the city's poor that had been aided by him while he was alive, lamented his death.
Exhumation

On 28 October 2006, Escobar's body was exhumed by request of his nephew Nicolás Escobar, two days after the death of mother Hermilda Gaviria (who opposed exhumation) to verify that the body in the tomb was in fact that of Escobar and also to collect DNA for a paternity test claim. According to the report by the El Tiempo newspaper, Escobar's ex-wife Maria Victoria was present recording the exhumation with a video camera.
Virginia Vallejo's version
See also: Virginia Vallejo, Alberto Santofimio, Alfonso López Michelsen, Ernesto Samper, and Álvaro Uribe

On July 4, 2006, Virginia Vallejo, the television anchorwoman who was romantically involved with Escobar from 1983 to 1987, offered her testimony in the trial against former Senator Alberto Santofimio, accused of conspiracy in the 1989 assassination of Presidential Candidate Luis Carlos Galán, to the Colombian Attorney General Mario Iguaran. Mr. Iguaran acknowledged that, although Vallejo contacted his office on the 4th, the judge had decided to close the trial on the 9th, several weeks before the prospective closing date and, in (Iguaran's) opinion, “too soon”.[28]

On July 16, 2006, Vallejo was taken to the United States in a special flight of the Drug Enforcement Administration.[29] According to the American Embassy in Bogotá, this was done for "safety and security reasons" because Ms. Vallejo’s cooperation was needed in high-profile criminal cases.[30] On July 24, 2006, a video in which Virginia Vallejo accused former Senator Alberto Santofimio of instigating Escobar to eliminate presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán in her presence was aired on Colombian television. In 2007, Vallejo published her book Amando a Pablo, odiando a Escobar (Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar), where she describes her relationship with the drug lord during the early years of the cocaine boom and his charity projects for the poor when he was a deputy congressman. She gives her account of Escobar’s relationship with Caribbean governments and dictators and his role in the birth of the M.A.S (Death to Kidnappers) and Los Extraditables (The Extraditables). Vallejo also gives her account of numerous incidents throughout Escobar's criminal career, such as the assassination of Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla in 1984, her lover’s feud with the Cali Cartel and the era of narcoterrorism that began after the couple's separation in September 1987.

In July 2008, Vallejo testified in the reopened case of the Palace of Justice siege [31] and she stated that Escobar had financed the coup. In August 2009, she testified in the case of Luis Carlos Galán's assassination, which had also been reopened .[32] Vallejo also claimed that several politicians, including Colombian presidents Alfonso López Michelsen, Ernesto Samper and Álvaro Uribe, were involved with the drug cartels in different ways. Uribe denied Vallejo's allegations.[33]
Relatives

Escobar's widow, Victoria Henao Vallejo's (now Maria Isabel Santos Caballero), son, Juan Pablo (now Juan Sebastian Marroquín Santos), and daughter, Manuela, fled Colombia in 1995 after failing to find a country that would grant asylum.[34] Argentinian filmmaker Nicolas Entel's documentary "Sins of My Father" chronicles Marroquín's efforts to seek forgiveness from the sons of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, Colombia's justice minister in the early 1980s, who was assassinated in 1984, as well as the sons of Luis Carlos Galán, the presidential candidate, who was assassinated in 1989.[35]

He is also survived by his godson, Daniel Ray Rodríguez Gacha, the son of Jose Rodríguez Gacha.[citation needed]

The rest of Escobar's family is thought to have migrated to Venezuela, including his aunt Leticia Escobar and her 2 daughters, one of whom now lives in Texas.[citation needed] Some have fled to the United States.[citation needed]
Quotes

Some of Pablo Escobar's memorable quotations are:

* "I prefer to be in a grave in Colombia than in a jail cell in the United States."[36]
* "I'm a decent man who exports flowers."[36]
* "All empires are created of blood and fire."[36]
* "I can replace things, but I could never replace my wife and kids."[36]
* "Everyone has a price, the important thing is to find out what it is."[36]
* "There can only be one king."[36]
* "Sometimes I am God, if I say a man dies, he dies that same day."[36]
* "There are two hundred million idiots, manipulated by a million intelligent men."[36]
* "Plata o Plomo?" - lit. "Silver or Lead?"; figuratively, "a bribe or death".
* "The difference between a good man and a bad man is and will always be the one who does not get caught."

Popular depiction

Two major feature films on the Colombian drug lord, Escobar and Killing Pablo, were announced in 2007,[37] around the same time. Escobar has been delayed due to producer Oliver Stone's involvement with the George W. Bush biopic W. The date of Escobar’s release is still unconfirmed.[38] Producer Oliver Stone even said "This is a great project about a fascinating man who took on the system. I think I have to thank, Scarface, and maybe even Ari Gold."[39]

Killing Pablo, in development for several years and directed by Joe Carnahan, is based on Mark Bowden’s book Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw.[40][41] The plot tells the true story of how the Colombian gangster Pablo Escobar was killed and his Medellín cocaine cartel dismantled by US special forces and intelligence, the Colombian military, and a vigilante gang called Los Pepes, controlled by the Cali cartel. The cast was reported to include Christian Bale as Major Steve Jacoby and Venezuelan actor Édgar Ramírez as Escobar.[42][43] In December 2008, Bob Yari, producer of Killing Pablo, filed for bankruptcy.[44]
In popular culture
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2010)

* Escobar is the inspiration behind Mexican Death Metal band Brujeria's song "El Patron" on their 1995 album "Raza Odidada"

Artist Fernando Botero, a native of Antioquia, the same region as Escobar, portrayed Pablo Escobar's death in one of his paintings about the violence in Colombia.

* Escobar is depicted in the 2001 drama film Blow in which Escobar becomes a business contact of the main character George Jung. The movie highlights George Jung's role in Escobar's early cocaine smuggling operation.

* Photographer James Mollison's book The Memory of Pablo Escobar tells Pablo's story with over 350 photographs and documents. The journalist Rainbow Nelson conducted over 100 interviews with family members, Medellin Cartel associates, Colombian police & judges, and survivors of Escobar's killing sprees.

* Escobar is mentioned as a cartel leader in the 2006 documentary film Cocaine Cowboys.

* In the HBO television series Entourage, actor Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) plays Escobar in a fictional film entitled Medellin.

* Gabriel García Márquez' book, News of a Kidnapping,[45] details the series of abductions that Escobar masterminded to pressure the then Colombian government into guaranteeing him non-extradition if he turned himself in.

* Escobar is also the subject of an episode in a documentary series called Situation Critical, in production as of September 2007.

* In the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City the airport is named after him ("Escobar International").[citation needed]

* Colombian writer Laura Restrepo uses Escobar as a character to move part of the plot in Delirio.

* Rapper Nas called himself Nas Escobar.

* Argentine rock and roll band Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota made a song about Escobar's death called "Me matan Limón" ("They kill me Limón") which is based upon the last days of the drug lord and his only loyal bodyguard Álvaro de Jesús Agudelo known as "El Limón" (The Lemon). Limon was killed while fleeing police with Escobar, giving his life attempting to protect him.

* Escobar is compared to Attila the Hun in episode 2 of the History Channel program Ancients Behaving Badly.

* On The Boondocks character Riley Freeman has various nicknames but one of them is Riley Escobar.

* In late 2007 a street mix version of Rick Ross song Hustlin' featuring Busta Rhymes emerged, in which Busta Rhymes makes reference to Escobar, his children and his publicized route of drug smuggling into the USA.

* In January 2010 after several failed attempts to take Pablo Escobar's life to the big screen by numerous Hollywood filmmakers, the documentary "Sins of My Father", directed by Nicolas Entel premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It was received with wide acclaim, The Hollywood reporter called it "masterwork". US rights were quickly nabbed by HBO which is planning to air the film in late 2010.

* In episode 8 series 3 of the television show Breaking Bad, Pablo Escobar is mentioned. One of the characters is reading a book about some of the members of the police who were responsible for finding him.

* An episode of Deadliest Warrior had the Medellín Drug Cartel pitted against the Somali Pirates. In the simulated battle, Pablo Escobar and his men are under attack by the Somali Pirates. Escobar tries to escape, but is shot by the pirates' leader. However, he manages to survive long enough to detonate a nearby car bomb, killing both him and the head pirate.

* In the 2010 ESPN broadcast "30 for 30", a series of sports-themed documentaries timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Entertainment and Sports Network. "The Two Escobars" by directors Jeff and Michael Zimbalist looked back at Colombia's World Cup run in 1994 and the relationship of sports and the country's criminal gangs—notably the Medellin narcotics cartel run by Escobar. The other Escobar in the film title refers to former Colombian National Team defender Andrés Escobar, who was shot and killed one month after an own goal cost Colombia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

* In 2010 tour operator ZORBA began Pablo Escobar tours in Medellin to satisfy the hundreds of tourists whom each year travel to the city to find out more about the drug lord.
* In the 2008 video game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Escobar is mentioned by the character Victor Sullivan.
External links

* Pablo Escobar - King of Cocaine doc on YouTube
* Cocaine Cowboys (documentary about the Medellín Cartel)
* Pablo Escobar, the coke's tzar
* Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar
* Video of Pablo Escobar's home, Hacienda Napoles, with private zoo and hippos
* My Father, the Drug Lord: Pablo Escobar's Son
* In the shame of the father
* Sins of the Father
* Pablo Escobar Tours in the news

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar"
Categories: 1949 births | 1993 deaths | People from Antioquia Department | Folk saints | Medellín Cartel traffickers | Deaths by firearm in Colombia | Mob bosses | Colombian drug traffickers | Colombian people convicted of murder | People convicted of murder by Colombia

SADDAM HUSSEIN

2010-08-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti
صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي

President of Iraq
In office
16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003
Prime Minister Sa'dun Hammadi
Mohammed Amza Zubeidi
Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai
Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Succeeded by Jay Garner (Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq)
Prime Minister of Iraq
In office
29 May 1994 – 9 April 2003
Preceded by Ahmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai
Succeeded by Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Acting President of the Governing Council of Iraq)
In office
16 July 1979 – 23 March 1991
Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Succeeded by Sa'dun Hammadi
Born 28 April 1937(1937-04-28)
Al-Awja, Iraq
Died 30 December 2006 (aged 69)
Kadhimiya, Iraq
Political party Ba'ath Party
Spouse(s) Sajida Talfah, Samira Shahbandar
Children Uday
Qusay
Raghad
Rana
Hala
Religion Orthodox Sunni Islam
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (Arabic: صدام حسين التكريتي Ṣaddām Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Tikrītī[1]; 28 April 1937[2] – 30 December 2006)[3] was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.[4][5] A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power.

As vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, and at a time when many groups were considered capable of overthrowing the government, Saddam created security forces through which he tightly controlled conflict between the government and the armed forces. In the early 1970s, Saddam spearheaded Iraq's nationalization of the Western-owned Iraq Petroleum Company, which had long held a monopoly on the country's oil. Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as Iraq's economy grew at a rapid pace.[6]

As president, Saddam maintained power during the Iran–Iraq War of 1980 through 1988, and throughout the Persian Gulf War of 1991. During these conflicts, Saddam suppressed several movements, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence, respectively. Whereas some Arabs venerated him for his aggressive stance against foreign intervention and for his support for the Palestinians,[7] other Arabs and Western leaders vilified him as the force behind both a deadly attack on northern Iraq in 1988 and, two years later, an invasion of Kuwait to the south.

By 2003, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush perceived that Saddam remained sufficiently relevant and dangerous to be overthrown. In March of that year, the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq, eventually deposing Saddam. Captured by U.S. forces on 13 December 2003, Saddam was brought to trial under the Iraqi interim government set up by U.S.-led forces. On 5 November 2006, he was convicted of charges related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites convicted of planning an assassination attempt against him, and was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam was executed on 30 December 2006.[8] By the time of his death, Saddam had become a prolific author.[9][10][11][12] Among his works are multiple novels dealing with themes of romance, politics, and war.[13][14][15][16]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Youth
* 2 Rise to power
o 2.1 Modernization program
o 2.2 Succession
* 3 Secular leadership
* 4 Foreign affairs
o 4.1 Iran–Iraq War
o 4.2 Tensions with Kuwait
* 5 Gulf War
* 6 Postwar period
* 7 2003 invasion of Iraq
* 8 Incarceration and trial
o 8.1 Capture and incarceration
o 8.2 Trial
* 9 Execution
* 10 Marriage and family relationships
* 11 List of government positions held
* 12 See also
* 13 References
* 14 Further reading
* 15 External links

Youth

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was born in the town of Al-Awja, 13 km (8 mi) from the Iraqi town of Tikrit, to a family of shepherds from the al-Begat tribal group, a sub-group of the Al-Bu Nasir (البو ناصر) tribe. His mother, Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat, named her newborn son Saddam, which in Arabic means "One who confronts"; he is always referred to by this personal name, which may be followed by the patronymic and other elements. He never knew his father, Hussein 'Abid al-Majid, who disappeared six months before Saddam was born. Shortly afterward, Saddam's 13-year-old brother died of cancer. The infant Saddam was sent to the family of his maternal uncle Khairallah Talfah until he was three.[17]

His mother remarried, and Saddam gained three half-brothers through this marriage. His stepfather, Ibrahim al-Hassan, treated Saddam harshly after his return. At around 10 Saddam fled the family and returned to live in Baghdad with his uncle Kharaillah Tulfah. Tulfah, the father of Saddam's future wife, was a devout Sunni Muslim and a veteran from the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War between Iraqi nationalists and the United Kingdom, which remained a major colonial power in the region.[18] Later in his life relatives from his native Tikrit became some of his closest advisors and supporters. Under the guidance of his uncle he attended a nationalistic high school in Baghdad. After secondary school Saddam studied at an Iraqi law school for three years, dropping out in 1957 at the age of 20 to join the revolutionary pan-Arab Ba'ath Party, of which his uncle was a supporter. During this time, Saddam apparently supported himself as a secondary school teacher.[19]
Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party student cell, Cairo, in the period 1959–63

Revolutionary sentiment was characteristic of the era in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. In Iraq progressives and socialists assailed traditional political elites (colonial era bureaucrats and landowners, wealthy merchants and tribal chiefs, monarchists).[20] Moreover, the pan-Arab nationalism of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt profoundly influenced young Ba'athists like Saddam. The rise of Nasser foreshadowed a wave of revolutions throughout the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960s, with the collapse of the monarchies of Iraq, Egypt, and Libya. Nasser inspired nationalists throughout the Middle East by fighting the British and the French during the Suez Crisis of 1956, modernizing Egypt, and uniting the Arab world politically.[21]

In 1958, a year after Saddam had joined the Ba'ath party, army officers led by General Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrew Faisal II of Iraq. The Ba'athists opposed the new government, and in 1959 Saddam was involved in the unsuccessful United States-backed plot to assassinate Abdul Karim Qassim.[22]
Rise to power
Saddam Hussein after the successful 1963 Ba'ath party coup
Saddam Hussein in Cairo after fleeing there following the failed assassination attempt against Qassim

Army officers with ties to the Ba'ath Party overthrew Qassim in a coup in 1963. Ba'athist leaders were appointed to the cabinet and Abdul Salam Arif became president. Arif dismissed and arrested the Ba'athist leaders later that year. Saddam returned to Iraq, but was imprisoned in 1964. Just prior to his imprisonment and until 1968, Saddam held the position of Ba'ath party secretary.[23] He escaped from prison in 1967 and quickly became a leading member of the party. In 1968, Saddam participated in a bloodless coup led by Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr that overthrew Abdul Rahman Arif. Al-Bakr was named president and Saddam was named his deputy, and deputy chairman of the Baathist Revolutionary Command Council. According to biographers, Saddam never forgot the tensions within the first Ba'athist government, which formed the basis for his measures to promote Ba'ath party unity as well as his resolve to maintain power and programs to ensure social stability.

Saddam Hussein in the past was seen by U.S. intelligence services as a bulwark of anti-communism in the 1960s and 1970s.[24] Although Saddam was al-Bakr's deputy, he was a strong behind-the-scenes party politician. Al-Bakr was the older and more prestigious of the two, but by 1969 Saddam Hussein clearly had become the moving force behind the party.
Modernization program
Promoting women's literacy and education in the 1970s

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, formally the al-Bakr's second-in-command, Saddam built a reputation as a progressive, effective politician.[25] At this time, Saddam moved up the ranks in the new government by aiding attempts to strengthen and unify the Ba'ath party and taking a leading role in addressing the country's major domestic problems and expanding the party's following.

After the Baathists took power in 1968, Saddam focused on attaining stability in a nation riddled with profound tensions. Long before Saddam, Iraq had been split along social, ethnic, religious, and economic fault lines: Sunni versus Shi'ite, Arab versus Kurd, tribal chief versus urban merchant, nomad versus peasant.[26] Stable rule in a country rife with factionalism required both massive repression and the improvement of living standards.[26]

Saddam actively fostered the modernization of the Iraqi economy along with the creation of a strong security apparatus to prevent coups within the power structure and insurrections apart from it. Ever concerned with broadening his base of support among the diverse elements of Iraqi society and mobilizing mass support, he closely followed the administration of state welfare and development programs.

At the center of this strategy was Iraq's oil. On 1 June 1972, Saddam oversaw the seizure of international oil interests, which, at the time, dominated the country's oil sector. A year later, world oil prices rose dramatically as a result of the 1973 energy crisis, and skyrocketing revenues enabled Saddam to expand his agenda.

Within just a few years, Iraq was providing social services that were unprecedented among Middle Eastern countries. Saddam established and controlled the "National Campaign for the Eradication of Illiteracy" and the campaign for "Compulsory Free Education in Iraq," and largely under his auspices, the government established universal free schooling up to the highest education levels; hundreds of thousands learned to read in the years following the initiation of the program. The government also supported families of soldiers, granted free hospitalization to everyone, and gave subsidies to farmers. Iraq created one of the most modernized public-health systems in the Middle East, earning Saddam an award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[27][28]

To diversify the largely oil-based Iraqi economy, Saddam implemented a national infrastructure campaign that made great progress in building roads, promoting mining, and developing other industries. The campaign revolutionized Iraq's energy industries. Electricity was brought to nearly every city in Iraq, and many outlying areas.

Before the 1970s, most of Iraq's people lived in the countryside, where Saddam himself was born and raised, and roughly two-thirds were peasants. This number would decrease quickly during the 1970s as the country invested much of its oil profits into industrial expansion.

Nevertheless, Saddam focused on fostering loyalty to the Ba'athist government in the rural areas. After nationalizing foreign oil interests, Saddam supervised the modernization of the countryside, mechanizing agriculture on a large scale, and distributing land to peasant farmers.[19] The Ba'athists established farm cooperatives, in which profits were distributed according to the labors of the individual and the unskilled were trained. The government also doubled expenditures for agricultural development in 1974–1975. Moreover, agrarian reform in Iraq improved the living standard of the peasantry and increased production.

Saddam became personally associated with Ba'athist welfare and economic development programs in the eyes of many Iraqis, widening his appeal both within his traditional base and among new sectors of the population. These programs were part of a combination of "carrot and stick" tactics to enhance support in the working class, the peasantry, and within the party and the government bureaucracy.

Saddam's organizational prowess was credited with Iraq's rapid pace of development in the 1970s; development went forward at such a fevered pitch that two million people from other Arab countries and even Yugoslavia worked in Iraq to meet the growing demand for labor.
Succession

In 1976, Saddam rose to the position of general in the Iraqi armed forces, and rapidly became the strongman of the government. As the ailing, elderly al-Bakr became unable to execute his duties, Saddam took on an increasingly prominent role as the face of the government both internally and externally. He soon became the architect of Iraq's foreign policy and represented the nation in all diplomatic situations. He was the de facto leader of Iraq some years before he formally came to power in 1979. He slowly began to consolidate his power over Iraq's government and the Ba'ath party. Relationships with fellow party members were carefully cultivated, and Saddam soon accumulated a powerful circle of support within the party.

In 1979 al-Bakr started to make treaties with Syria, also under Ba'athist leadership, that would lead to unification between the two countries. Syrian President Hafez al-Assad would become deputy leader in a union, and this would drive Saddam to obscurity. Saddam acted to secure his grip on power. He forced the ailing al-Bakr to resign on 16 July 1979, and formally assumed the presidency.

Shortly afterwards, he convened an assembly of Ba'ath party leaders on 22 July 1979. During the assembly, which he ordered videotaped (viewable via this reference[29]), Saddam claimed to have found a fifth column within the Ba'ath Party and directed Muhyi Abdel-Hussein to read out a confession and the names of 68 alleged co-conspirators. These members were labelled "disloyal" and were removed from the room one by one and taken into custody. After the list was read, Saddam congratulated those still seated in the room for their past and future loyalty. The 68 people arrested at the meeting were subsequently tried together and found guilty of treason. 22 were sentenced to execution. Other high-ranking members of the party formed the firing squad. By 1 August 1979, hundreds of high-ranking Ba'ath party members had been executed.[30][31]
Secular leadership

To the consternation of Islamic conservatives, Saddam's government gave women added freedoms and offered them high-level government and industry jobs. Saddam also created a Western-style legal system, making Iraq the only country in the Persian Gulf region not ruled according to traditional Islamic law (Sharia). Saddam abolished the Sharia courts, except for personal injury claims.

Domestic conflict impeded Saddam's modernizing projects. Iraqi society is divided along lines of language, religion and ethnicity; Saddam's government rested on the support of the 20% minority of largely working class, peasant, and lower middle class Sunnis, continuing a pattern that dates back at least to the British colonial authority's reliance on them as administrators.

The Shi'a majority were long a source of opposition to the government's secular policies, and the Ba'ath Party was increasingly concerned about potential Shi'a Islamist influence following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The Kurds of northern Iraq (who are Sunni but not Arabs) were also permanently hostile to the Ba'athist party's pan-Arabism. To maintain power Saddam tended either to provide them with benefits so as to co-opt them into the regime, or to take repressive measures against them. The major instruments for accomplishing this control were the paramilitary and police organizations. Beginning in 1974, Taha Yassin Ramadan, a close associate of Saddam, commanded the People's Army, which was responsible for internal security. As the Ba'ath Party's paramilitary, the People's Army acted as a counterweight against any coup attempts by the regular armed forces. In addition to the People's Army, the Department of General Intelligence (Mukhabarat) was the most notorious arm of the state security system, feared for its use of torture and assassination. It was commanded by Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam's younger half-brother. Since 1982, foreign observers believed that this department operated both at home and abroad in their mission to seek out and eliminate Saddam's perceived opponents.[32]

Saddam justified Iraqi nationalism by claiming a unique role of Iraq in the history of the Arab world. As president, Saddam made frequent references to the Abbasid period, when Baghdad was the political, cultural, and economic capital of the Arab world. He also promoted Iraq's pre-Islamic role as Mesopotamia, the ancient cradle of civilization, alluding to such historical figures as Nebuchadnezzar II and Hammurabi. He devoted resources to archaeological explorations. In effect, Saddam sought to combine pan-Arabism and Iraqi nationalism, by promoting the vision of an Arab world united and led by Iraq.

As a sign of his consolidation of power, Saddam's personality cult pervaded Iraqi society. Thousands of portraits, posters, statues and murals were erected in his honor all over Iraq. His face could be seen on the sides of office buildings, schools, airports, and shops, as well as on Iraqi currency. Saddam's personality cult reflected his efforts to appeal to the various elements in Iraqi society. He appeared in the costumes of the Bedouin, the traditional clothes of the Iraqi peasant (which he essentially wore during his childhood), and even Kurdish clothing, but also appeared in Western suits, projecting the image of an urbane and modern leader. Sometimes he would also be portrayed as a devout Muslim, wearing full headdress and robe, praying toward Mecca.
Foreign affairs
See also: Saddam Hussein – United States relations
See also: Iraq–Russia relations
Donald Rumsfeld, at the time Ronald Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East, meeting Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983. During the 1980s, the United States maintained cordial relations with Saddam as a bulwark against Iran.

In foreign affairs, Saddam sought to have Iraq play a leading role in the Middle East. Iraq signed an aid pact with the Soviet Union in 1972, and arms were sent along with several thousand advisers. However, the 1978 crackdown on Iraqi Communists and a shift of trade toward the West strained Iraqi relations with the Soviet Union; Iraq then took on a more Western orientation until the Persian Gulf War in 1991.[33]

After the oil crisis of 1973, France had changed to a more pro-Arab policy and was accordingly rewarded by Saddam with closer ties. He made a state visit to France in 1976, cementing close ties with some French business and ruling political circles. In 1975 Saddam negotiated an accord with Iran that contained Iraqi concessions on border disputes. In return, Iran agreed to stop supporting opposition Kurds in Iraq. Saddam led Arab opposition to the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel (1979).

Saddam initiated Iraq's nuclear enrichment project in the 1980s, with French assistance. The first Iraqi nuclear reactor was named by the French "Osirak". Osirak was destroyed on 7 June 1981[34] by an Israeli air strike (Operation Opera).

Nearly from its founding as a modern state in 1920, Iraq has had to deal with Kurdish separatists in the northern part of the country.[35] Saddam did negotiate an agreement in 1970 with separatist Kurdish leaders, giving them autonomy, but the agreement broke down. The result was brutal fighting between the government and Kurdish groups and even Iraqi bombing of Kurdish villages in Iran, which caused Iraqi relations with Iran to deteriorate. However, after Saddam had negotiated the 1975 treaty with Iran, the Shah withdrew support for the Kurds, who suffered a total defeat.
Iran–Iraq War
Main article: Iran–Iraq War
Saddam Hussein greeting Carlos Cardoen, a Chilean businessman who provided the regime with cluster bombs in the 1980s

In 1979 Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution, thus giving way to an Islamic republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. The influence of revolutionary Shi'ite Islam grew apace in the region, particularly in countries with large Shi'ite populations, especially Iraq. Saddam feared that radical Islamic ideas—hostile to his secular rule—were rapidly spreading inside his country among the majority Shi'ite population.

There had also been bitter enmity between Saddam and Khomeini since the 1970s. Khomeini, having been exiled from Iran in 1964, took up residence in Iraq, at the Shi'ite holy city of An Najaf. There he involved himself with Iraqi Shi'ites and developed a strong, worldwide religious and political following against the Iranian Government, whom Saddam tolerated. However, when Khomeini began to urge the Shi'ites there to overthrow Saddam and under pressure from the Shah, who had agreed to a rapprochement between Iraq and Iran in 1975, Saddam agreed to expel Khomeini in 1978 to France. However this turned out to be an imminent failure and a political catalyst, for Khomeini had access to more media connections and also collaborated with a much larger Iranian community under his support whom he used to his advantage.

After Khomeini gained power, skirmishes between Iraq and revolutionary Iran occurred for ten months over the sovereignty of the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway, which divides the two countries. During this period, Saddam Hussein publicly maintained that it was in Iraq's interest not to engage with Iran, and that it was in the interests of both nations to maintain peaceful relations. However, in a private meeting with Salah Omar Al-Ali, Iraq's permanent ambassador to the United Nations, he revealed that he intended to invade and occupy a large part of Iran within months. Later (probably to appeal for support from the United States and most Western nations), he would make toppling the Islamic government one of his intentions as well. Iraq invaded Iran, first attacking Mehrabad Airport of Tehran and then entering the oil-rich Iranian land of Khuzestan, which also has a sizable Arab minority, on 22 September 1980 and declared it a new province of Iraq. With the support of the Arab states, the United States, and Europe, and heavily financed by the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Saddam Hussein had become "the defender of the Arab world" against a revolutionary Iran. The only exception was The Soviet Union, who initially refused to supply Iraq on the basis of Neutrality in the conflict, although in his memoirs, Mikhail Gorbachev claimed that Leonid Brezhnev refused to aid Saddam over infuriation of Saddam's treatment of Iraqi Communists. Consequently, many viewed Iraq as "an agent of the civilized world".[36] The blatant disregard of international law and violations of international borders were ignored. Instead Iraq received economic and military support from its allies, who conveniently overlooked Saddam's use of chemical warfare against the Kurds and the Iranians and Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.[36]

In the first days of the war, there was heavy ground fighting around strategic ports as Iraq launched an attack on Khuzestan. After making some initial gains, Iraq's troops began to suffer losses from human wave attacks by Iran. By 1982, Iraq was on the defensive and looking for ways to end the war.

At this point, Saddam asked his ministers for candid advice. Health Minister Dr Riyadh Ibrahim suggested that Saddam temporarily step down to promote peace negotiations. Initially, Saddam Hussein appeared to take in this opinion as part of his cabinet democracy. A few weeks later, Dr Ibrahim was sacked when held responsible for a fatal incident in an Iraqi hospital where a patient died from intravenous administration of the wrong concentration of Potassium supplement.

Dr Ibrahim was arrested a few days after he started his new life as a sacked Minister. He was known to have publicly declared before that arrest that he was "glad that he got away alive." Pieces of Ibrahim's dismembered body were delivered to his wife the next day.[37]

Iraq quickly found itself bogged down in one of the longest and most destructive wars of attrition of the twentieth century. During the war, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iranian forces fighting on the southern front and Kurdish separatists who were attempting to open up a northern front in Iraq with the help of Iran. These chemical weapons were developed by Iraq from materials and technology supplied primarily by West German companies.[38]

Saddam reached out to other Arab governments for cash and political support during the war, particularly after Iraq's oil industry severely suffered at the hands of the Iranian navy in the Persian Gulf. Iraq successfully gained some military and financial aid, as well as diplomatic and moral support, from the Soviet Union, China, France, and the United States, which together feared the prospects of the expansion of revolutionary Iran's influence in the region. The Iranians, demanding that the international community should force Iraq to pay war reparations to Iran, refused any suggestions for a cease-fire. Despite several calls for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, hostilities continued until 20 August 1988.

On 16 March 1988, the Kurdish town of Halabja was attacked with a mix of mustard gas and nerve agents, killing 5,000 civilians, and maiming, disfiguring, or seriously debilitating 10,000 more. (see Halabja poison gas attack)[39] The attack occurred in conjunction with the 1988 al-Anfal campaign designed to reassert central control of the mostly Kurdish population of areas of northern Iraq and defeat the Kurdish peshmerga rebel forces. The United States now maintains that Saddam ordered the attack to terrorize the Kurdish population in northern Iraq,[39] but Saddam's regime claimed at the time that Iran was responsible for the attack[40] and US analysts supported the claim until several years later. (See also Halabja poison gas attack - Early U.S. allegations of Iranian involvement.)

The bloody eight-year war ended in a stalemate. There were hundreds of thousands of casualties with estimates of up to one million dead. Neither side had achieved what they had originally desired and at the borders were left nearly unchanged. The southern, oil rich and prosperous Khuzestan and Basra area (the main focus of the war, and the primary source of their economies) were almost completely destroyed and were left at the pre 1979 border, while Iran managed to make some small gains on its borders in the Northern Kurdish area. Both economies, previously healthy and expanding, were left in ruins.

Borrowing money from the U.S. was making Iraq dependent on outside loans, embarrassing a leader who had sought to define Arab nationalism. Saddam also borrowed a tremendous amount of money from other Arab states during the 1980s to fight Iran, mainly to prevent the expansion of Shiite radicalism. However, this had proven to completely backfire both on Iraq and on the part of the Arab states, for Khomeini was praised as a hero for managing to defend Iran and maintain the war with little foreign support against the heavily backed Iraq, and only managed to boost Islamic radicalism in the Arab states. Faced with rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, Saddam desperately sought out cash once again, this time for postwar reconstruction.
Tensions with Kuwait
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The end of the war with Iran served to deepen latent tensions between Iraq and its wealthy neighbor Kuwait. Saddam urged the Kuwaitis to forgive the Iraqi debt accumulated in the war, some $30 billion, but they refused.[41]

Saddam pushed oil-exporting countries to raise oil prices by cutting back production; Kuwait refused, however. In addition to refusing the request, Kuwait spearheaded the opposition in OPEC to the cuts that Saddam had requested. Kuwait was pumping large amounts of oil, and thus keeping prices low, when Iraq needed to sell high-priced oil from its wells to pay off a huge debt.

Saddam had always argued that Kuwait was historically an integral part of Iraq, and that Kuwait had only come into being through the maneuverings of British imperialism; this echoed a belief that Iraqi nationalists had voiced for the past 50 years. This belief was one of the few articles of faith uniting the political scene in a nation rife with sharp social, ethnic, religious, and ideological divides.[41]

The extent of Kuwaiti oil reserves also intensified tensions in the region. The oil reserves of Kuwait (with a population of 2 million next to Iraq's 25) were roughly equal to those of Iraq. Taken together, Iraq and Kuwait sat on top of some 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves; as an article of comparison, Saudi Arabia holds 25 percent.[41]

Saddam complained to the U.S. State Department that the Kuwaiti monarchy had slant drilled oil out of wells that Iraq considered to be within its disputed border with Kuwait. Saddam still had an experienced and well-equipped army, which he used to influence regional affairs. He later ordered troops to the Iraq–Kuwait border.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq April Catherine Glaspie meets Saddam for an emergency meeting.

As Iraq-Kuwait relations rapidly deteriorated, Saddam was receiving conflicting information about how the U.S. would respond to the prospects of an invasion. For one, Washington had been taking measures to cultivate a constructive relationship with Iraq for roughly a decade. The Reagan administration gave Saddam roughly $40 billion in aid in the 1980s to fight Iran, nearly all of it on credit. The U.S. also gave Saddam billions of dollars to keep him from forming a strong alliance with the Soviets.[42] Saddam's Iraq became "the third-largest recipient of US assistance".[43]

U.S. ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie met with Saddam in an emergency meeting on 25 July, where the Iraqi leader stated his intention to give negotiations only.. one more brief chance before forcing Iraq's claims on Kuwait.[44] U.S. officials attempted to maintain a conciliatory line with Iraq, indicating that while George H. W. Bush and James Baker did not want force used, they would not take any position on the Iraq–Kuwait boundary dispute and did not want to become involved.[45] Whatever Glapsie did or did not say in her interview with Saddam, the Iraqis assumed that the United States had invested too much in building relations with Iraq over the 1980s to sacrifice them for Kuwait.[46] Later, Iraq and Kuwait met for a final negotiation session, which failed. Saddam then sent his troops into Kuwait. As tensions between Washington and Saddam began to escalate, the Soviet Union, under Mikhail Gorbachev, strengthened its military relationship with the Iraqi leader, providing him military advisers, arms and aid.[47]
Gulf War
Saddam Hussein with the flag of Iraq he implemented during the Gulf War
Main articles: Invasion of Kuwait and Gulf War

On 2 August 1990, Saddam invaded and annexed Kuwait, thus sparking an international crisis. Just two years after the 1988 Iraq and Iran truce, "Saddam Hussein did what his Gulf patrons had earlier paid him to prevent." Having removed the threat of Iranian fundamentalism he "overran Kuwait and confronted his Gulf neighbors in the name of Arab nationalism and Islam."[36]

The U.S. had provided assistance to Saddam Hussein in the war with Iran, but with Iraq's seizure of the oil-rich emirate of Kuwait in August 1990 the United States led a United Nations coalition that drove Iraq's troops from Kuwait in February 1991. The ability for Saddam Hussein to pursue such military aggression was from a "military machine paid for in large part by the tens of billions of dollars Kuwait and the Gulf states had poured into Iraq and the weapons and technology provided by the Soviet Union, Germany, and France."[36]

U.S. President George H. W. Bush responded cautiously for the first several days. On one hand, Kuwait, prior to this point, had been a virulent enemy of Israel and was the Persian Gulf monarchy that had had the most friendly relations with the Soviets.[48] On the other hand, Washington foreign policymakers, along with Middle East experts, military critics, and firms heavily invested in the region, were extremely concerned with stability in this region.[49] The invasion immediately triggered fears that the world's price of oil, and therefore control of the world economy, was at stake. Britain profited heavily from billions of dollars of Kuwaiti investments and bank deposits. Bush was perhaps swayed while meeting with British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who happened to be in the U.S. at the time.[50]

Co-operation between the United States and the Soviet Union made possible the passage of resolutions in the United Nations Security Council giving Iraq a deadline to leave Kuwait and approving the use of force if Saddam did not comply with the timetable. U.S. officials feared Iraqi retaliation against oil-rich Saudi Arabia, since the 1940s a close ally of Washington, for the Saudis' opposition to the invasion of Kuwait. Accordingly, the U.S. and a group of allies, including countries as diverse as Egypt, Syria and Czechoslovakia, deployed a massive amount of troops along the Saudi border with Kuwait and Iraq in order to encircle the Iraqi army, the largest in the Middle East.

During the period of negotiations and threats following the invasion, Saddam focused renewed attention on the Palestinian problem by promising to withdraw his forces from Kuwait if Israel would relinquish the occupied territories in the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Gaza Strip. Saddam's proposal further split the Arab world, pitting U.S.- and Western-supported Arab states against the Palestinians. The allies ultimately rejected any linkage between the Kuwait crisis and Palestinian issues.

Saddam ignored the Security Council deadline. Backed by the Security Council, a U.S.-led coalition launched round-the-clock missile and aerial attacks on Iraq, beginning 16 January 1991. Israel, though subjected to attack by Iraqi missiles, refrained from retaliating in order not to provoke Arab states into leaving the coalition. A ground force consisting largely of U.S. and British armoured and infantry divisions ejected Saddam's army from Kuwait in February 1991 and occupied the southern portion of Iraq as far as the Euphrates.

On 6 March 1991, Bush announced:
“ What is at stake is more than one small country, it is a big idea — a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom, and the rule of law. ”

In the end, the over-manned and under-equipped Iraqi army proved unable to compete on the battlefield with the highly mobile coalition land forces and their overpowering air support. Some 175,000 Iraqis were taken prisoner and casualties were estimated at over 85,000. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iraq agreed to scrap all poison gas and germ weapons and allow UN observers to inspect the sites. UN trade sanctions would remain in effect until Iraq complied with all terms. Saddam publicly claimed victory at the end of the war.
Postwar period

Iraq's ethnic and religious divisions, together with the brutality of the conflict that this had engendered, laid the groundwork for postwar rebellions. In the aftermath of the fighting, social and ethnic unrest among Shi'ite Muslims, Kurds, and dissident military units threatened the stability of Saddam's government. Uprisings erupted in the Kurdish north and Shi'a southern and central parts of Iraq, but were ruthlessly repressed.

The United States, which had urged Iraqis to rise up against Saddam, did nothing to assist the rebellions. The Iranians, who had earlier called for the overthrow of Saddam, were in no state to even intervene on behalf of the rebellions due to the disastrous state of its economy and military. Turkey opposed any prospect of Kurdish independence, and the Saudis and other conservative Arab states feared an Iran-style Shi'ite revolution. Saddam, having survived the immediate crisis in the wake of defeat, was left firmly in control of Iraq, although the country never recovered either economically or militarily from the Gulf War. Saddam routinely cited his survival as "proof" that Iraq had in fact won the war against the U.S. This message earned Saddam a great deal of popularity in many sectors of the Arab world. John Esposito, however, claims that "Arabs and Muslims were pulled in two directions. That they rallied not so much to Saddam Hussein as to the bipolar nature of the confrontation (the West versus the Arab Muslim world) and the issues that Saddam proclaimed: Arab unity, self-sufficiency, and social justice." As a result, Saddam Hussein appealed to many people for the same reasons that attracted more and more followers to Islamic revivalism and also for the same reasons that fueled anti-Western feelings. "As one U.S. Muslim observer noted: People forgot about Saddam's record and concentrated on America...Saddam Hussein might be wrong, but it is not America who should correct him." A shift was, therefore, clearly visible among many Islamic movements in the post war period "from an initial Islamic ideological rejection of Saddam Hussein, the secular persecutor of Islamic movements, and his invasion of Kuwait to a more populist Arab nationalist, anti-imperialist support for Saddam (or more precisely those issues he represented or championed) and the condemnation of foreign intervention and occupation."[36]

Saddam, therefore, increasingly portrayed himself as a devout Muslim, in an effort to co-opt the conservative religious segments of society. Some elements of Sharia law were re-introduced, and the ritual phrase "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great"), in Saddam's handwriting, was added to the national flag.

Relations between the United States and Iraq remained tense following the Gulf War. The U.S. launched a missile attack aimed at Iraq's intelligence headquarters in Baghdad 26 June 1993, citing evidence of repeated Iraqi violations of the "no fly zones" imposed after the Gulf War and for incursions into Kuwait.

The UN sanctions placed upon Iraq when it invaded Kuwait were not lifted, blocking Iraqi oil exports. This caused immense hardship in Iraq and virtually destroyed the Iraqi economy and state infrastructure. Only smuggling across the Syrian border, and humanitarian aid ameliorated the humanitarian crisis.[51] On 9 December 1996 the United Nations allowed Saddam's government to begin selling limited amounts of oil for food and medicine. Limited amounts of income from the United Nations started flowing into Iraq through the UN Oil for Food program.

U.S. officials continued to accuse Saddam of violating the terms of the Gulf War's cease fire, by developing weapons of mass destruction and other banned weaponry, and violating the UN-imposed sanctions and "no-fly zones." Isolated military strikes by U.S. and British forces continued on Iraq sporadically, the largest being Operation Desert Fox in 1998. Western charges of Iraqi resistance to UN access to suspected weapons were the pretext for crises between 1997 and 1998, culminating in intensive U.S. and British missile strikes on Iraq, 16–19 December 1998. After two years of intermittent activity, U.S. and British warplanes struck harder at sites near Baghdad in February 2001.

Saddam's support base of Tikriti tribesmen, family members, and other supporters was divided after the war, and in the following years, contributing to the government's increasingly repressive and arbitrary nature. Domestic repression inside Iraq grew worse, and Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, became increasingly powerful and carried out a private reign of terror.

Iraqi co-operation with UN weapons inspection teams was intermittent throughout the 1990s.
2003 invasion of Iraq
Main article: 2003 invasion of Iraq
Satellite channels broadcasting the besieged Iraqi leader among cheering crowds as U.S.-led troops push toward the capital city.[52]
4 April 2003.

The U.S. continued to view Saddam as a bellicose tyrant who was a threat to the stability of the region. During the 1990s, President Bill Clinton maintained sanctions and ordered air strikes in the "Iraqi no-fly zones" (Operation Desert Fox), in the hope that Saddam would be overthrown by political enemies inside Iraq.

The domestic political equation changed in the U.S. after the September 11, 2001 attacks; in his January 2002 state of the union address to Congress, President George W. Bush spoke of an "axis of evil" consisting of Iran, North Korea, and Iraq. Moreover, Bush announced that he would possibly take action to topple the Iraqi government, because of the alleged threat of its "weapons of mass destruction". Bush claimed, "The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade... Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror."[53][54] Saddam Hussein claimed that he falsely led the world to believe Iraq possessed nuclear weapons in order to appear strong against Iran.[55]

With war looming on 24 February 2003, Saddam Hussein took part in an interview with CBS News reporter Dan Rather. Talking for more than three hours, he expressed a wish to have a live televised debate with George W. Bush, which was declined. It was his first interview with a U.S. reporter in over a decade.[56] CBS aired the taped interview later that week.

The Iraqi government and military collapsed within three weeks of the beginning of the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq on 20 March. The United States made at least two attempts to kill Saddam with targeted air strikes, but both failed to hit their target, killing civilians instead. By the beginning of April, U.S.-led forces occupied much of Iraq. The resistance of the much-weakened Iraqi Army either crumbled or shifted to guerrilla tactics, and it appeared that Saddam had lost control of Iraq. He was last seen in a video which purported to show him in the Baghdad suburbs surrounded by supporters. When Baghdad fell to U.S-led forces on 9 April, Saddam was nowhere to be found.
Incarceration and trial
Capture and incarceration
Main articles: Operation Red Dawn and Interrogation of Saddam Hussein

Saddam shortly after capture by American forces, and after being shaved to confirm his identity

In April 2003, Saddam's whereabouts remained in question during the weeks following the fall of Baghdad and the conclusion of the major fighting of the war. Various sightings of Saddam were reported in the weeks following the war but none was authenticated. At various times Saddam released audio tapes promoting popular resistance to the U.S.-led occupation.

Saddam was placed at the top of the U.S. list of "most-wanted Iraqis". In July 2003, his sons Uday and Qusay and 14-year-old grandson Mustapha were killed in a three-hour[57] gunfight with U.S. forces.

On 14 December 2003, U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer announced that Saddam Hussein had been captured at a farmhouse in ad-Dawr near Tikrit.[58] Bremer presented video footage of Saddam in custody.

Saddam was shown with a full beard and hair longer than his familiar appearance. He was described by U.S. officials as being in good health. Bremer reported plans to put Saddam on trial, but claimed that the details of such a trial had not yet been determined. Iraqis and Americans who spoke with Saddam after his capture generally reported that he remained self-assured, describing himself as a "firm but just leader."

According to U.S. military sources, following his capture by U.S. forces on 13 December Saddam was transported to a U.S. base near Tikrit, and later taken to the U.S. base near Baghdad. The day after his capture he was reportedly visited by longtime opponents such as Ahmed Chalabi.

British tabloid newspaper The Sun posted a picture of Saddam wearing white briefs on the front cover of a newspaper. Other photographs inside the paper show Saddam washing his trousers, shuffling, and sleeping. The United States Government stated that it considers the release of the pictures a violation of the Geneva Convention, and that it would investigate the photographs.[59][60] During this period Hussein was interrogated by FBI agent George Piro.[61]

The guards at the Baghdad detention facility called their prisoner "Vic," and let him plant a little garden near his cell. The nickname and the garden are among the details about the former Iraqi leader that emerged during a 27 March 2008 tour of prison of the Baghdad cell where Saddam slept, bathed, and kept a journal in the final days before his execution.[62]
Trial
Main article: Trial of Saddam Hussein
Saddam speaking at a pre-trial hearing

On 30 June 2004, Saddam Hussein, held in custody by U.S. forces at the U.S. base "Camp Cropper", along with 11 other senior Baathist leaders, were handed over legally (though not physically) to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial for crimes against humanity and other offences.

A few weeks later, he was charged by the Iraqi Special Tribunal with crimes committed against residents of Dujail in 1982, following a failed assassination attempt against him. Specific charges included the murder of 148 people, torture of women and children and the illegal arrest of 399 others.[63][64]
Main article: Dujail Massacre

Among the many challenges of the trial were:

* Saddam and his lawyers' contesting the court's authority and maintaining that he was still the President of Iraq.[65]
* The assassinations and attempts on the lives of several of Saddam's lawyers.
* The replacement of the chief presiding judge, midway through the trial.

On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam's half brother, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court in 1982, were convicted of similar charges. The verdict and sentencing were both appealed but subsequently affirmed by Iraq's Supreme Court of Appeals.[66] On 30 December 2006, Saddam was hanged.[8]
Execution
Main article: Execution of Saddam Hussein

Saddam was hanged on the first day of Eid ul-Adha, 30 December 2006, despite his wish to be shot (which he felt would be more dignified).[67] The execution was carried out at Camp Justice, an Iraqi army base in Kadhimiya, a neighborhood of northeast Baghdad.

The execution was videotaped on a mobile phone and his captors could be heard insulting Saddam. The video was leaked to electronic media and posted on the Internet within hours, becoming the subject of global controversy.[68] It was later claimed by the head guard at the tomb where his body remains that Saddam's body was stabbed six times after the execution.[69]

Not long before the execution, Saddam's lawyers released his last letter. The following includes several excerpts:
“ To the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity,

Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful, honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgment, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state ... and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.

You have known your brother and leader very well and he never bowed to the despots and, in accordance with the wishes of those who loved him, remained a sword and a banner.

This is how you want your brother, son or leader to be ... and those who will lead you (in the future) should have the same qualifications.

Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if He wants, He will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or, He will postpone that ... so let us be patient and depend on Him against the unjust nations.

Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence ... I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice.

I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and peoples. Anyone who repents - whether in Iraq or abroad - you must forgive him.

You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defence of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein ... some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me.

Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer ... God is Great ... God is great ... Long live our nation ... Long live our great struggling people ... Long live Iraq, long live Iraq ... Long live Palestine ... Long live jihad and the mujahedeen (the insurgency).

Saddam Hussein President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahed Armed Forces

Additional clarification note:

I have written this letter because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court—established and named by the invaders—will allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word. But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence—dictated by the invaders—without presenting the evidence. I wanted the people to know this.[70]
”

— Letter by Saddam Hussein

A second unofficial video, apparently showing Saddam's body on a trolley, emerged several days later. It sparked speculation that the execution was carried out incorrectly as Saddam Hussein had a gaping hole in his neck.[71]

Saddam was buried at his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, 3 km (2 mi) from his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, on 31 December 2006.[72]
Marriage and family relationships
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Saddam Hussein's family (clockwise from top L), son-in-law Saddam Kamel and daughter Rana, son Qusay and daughter-in-law Sahar, daughter Raghad and son-in-law Hussein Kamal, son Uday, daughter Hala, Saddam Hussein and his first wife Sajda Talfah, pose in this undated photo from the private archive of an official photographer for the regime.

While Saddam has no official marital history he is believed to have been married to at least four women, two of whom have been confirmed as his wives, and had five children.[citation needed]

* Saddam married his first wife and cousin Sajida Talfah (or Tulfah/Tilfah) [73] in 1958[74] in an arranged marriage. Sajida is the daughter of Khairallah Talfah, Saddam's uncle and mentor. Their marriage was arranged for Hussein at age five when Sajida was seven; however, the two never met until their wedding. They were married in Egypt during his exile. The couple had five children.[73]

* Uday Hussein (18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003), was Saddam's oldest son, who ran the Iraqi Football Association, Fedayeen Saddam, and several media corporations in Iraq including Iraqi TV and the newspaper Babel. Uday, while originally Saddam's favorite son and raised to succeed him he eventually fell out of favour with his father due to his erratic behavior; he was responsible for many car crashes and rapes around Baghdad, constant feuds with other members of his family, and killing his father's favorite valet and food taster Kamel Hana Gegeo at a party in Egypt honoring Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak. He was widely known for his paranoia and his obsession with torturing people who disappointed him in any way, which included tardy girlfriends, friends who disagreed with him and, most notoriously, Iraqi athletes who performed poorly. He was briefly married to Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri's daughter but later divorced her. The couple had no children. He was killed in a gun battle with US Forces in Mosul.[citation needed]
* Qusay Hussein (17 May 1966 – 22 July 2003), was Saddam's second—and, after the mid-1990s, his favorite—son. Qusay was believed to have been Saddam's later intended successor as he was less erratic than his older brother and kept a low profile. He was second in command of the military (behind his father) and ran the elite Iraqi Republican Guard and the SSO. He was believed to have ordered the army to kill thousands of rebelling Marsh Arabs and frequently ordered airstrikes on Kurdish and Shi'ite settlements. He was also believed to have assisted Ali Hassan al-Majid in the 1988 Halabja chemical attack. He was married once and had three children. His oldest son, Mustapha Hussein, was killed along with Uday and Qusay in Mosul.[citation needed]

* Raghad Hussein (2 September 1968) is Saddam's oldest daughter. After the war, Raghad fled to Amman, Jordan where she received sanctuary from the royal family. She is currently wanted by the Iraqi Government for allegedly financing and supporting the insurgency and the now banned Iraqi Ba'ath Party.[75][76] The Jordanian royal family refused to hand her over. She married Hussein Kamel al-Majid and has five children from this marriage.[citation needed]
* Rana Hussein (c. 1969), is Saddam's second daughter. She like her sister fled to Jordan and has stood up for her father's rights. She was married to Saddam Kamel and has had four children from this marriage.
* Hala Hussein (c. 1972), is Saddam's third and youngest daughter. Very little information is known about her. Her father arranged for her to marry General Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti in 1998. She fled with her children and sisters to Jordan. The couple have two children.[citation needed]

* Saddam married his second wife, Samira Shahbandar,[73] in 1986. She was originally the wife of an Iraqi Airways executive but later became the mistress of Saddam. Eventually, Saddam forced Samira's husband to divorce her so he could marry her.[73] There have been no political issues from this marriage. After the war, Samira fled to Beirut, Lebanon. She is believed to have mothered Hussein's sixth son .[73] Members of Hussein's family have denied this.
* Saddam had allegedly married a third wife, Nidal al-Hamdani, the general manager of the Solar Energy Research Center in the Council of Scientific Research.[77] She bore him no children. Her current whereabouts are unknown.[citation needed]
* Wafa el-Mullah al-Howeish is rumoured to have married Saddam as his fourth wife in 2002. There is no firm evidence for this marriage. Wafa is the daughter of Abdul Tawab el-Mullah Howeish, a former minister of military industry in Iraq and Saddam's last deputy Prime Minister. There were no children from this marriage. Her current whereabouts are unknown.[citation needed]

In August 1995, Raghad and her husband Hussein Kamel al-Majid and Rana and her husband, Saddam Kamel al-Majid, defected to Jordan, taking their children with them. They returned to Iraq when they received assurances that Saddam would pardon them. Within three days of their return in February 1996, both of the Kamel brothers were attacked and killed in a gunfight with other clan members who considered them traitors. Saddam had made it clear that although pardoned, they would lose all status and would not receive any protection.[citation needed]

In August 2003, Saddam's daughters Raghad and Rana received sanctuary in Amman, Jordan, where they are currently staying with their nine children. That month, they spoke with CNN and the Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya in Amman. When asked about her father, Raghad told CNN, "He was a very good father, loving, has a big heart." Asked if she wanted to give a message to her father, she said: "I love you and I miss you." Her sister Rana also remarked, "He had so many feelings and he was very tender with all of us."[78]
List of government positions held

* Head of Iraqi Intelligence Service (1963)
* Vice President of the Republic of Iraq (1968–1979)
* President of the Republic of Iraq (1979–2003)
* Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq (1979–1991 and 1994–2003)
* Head of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council (1979–2003)

VEERAPPAN

2010-08-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan

Veerappan leading his men around Namadalli forests
Born January 18, 1952(1952-01-18)
Died October 18, 2004
Alias(es) Veerappan
Occupation Elephant poacher
Sandalwood smuggler
Spouse Muthulakshmi
Children 3
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan (Tamil: கூஸ் முனிசாமி வீரப்பன், Kannada: ಕೂಸ್ ಮುನಿಸ್ವಾಮೀ ವೀರಪ್ಪನ್ ಗೌಂದೆರ್, January 18, 1952 – October 18, 2004) commonly known as Veerappan, was a notorious dacoit, or robber bandit, of India. He was active for a period of years in a broad swath of land covering 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He long defied three state governments and Indian Border security paramilitary forces, maintaining at one point a small army numbering in the hundreds.

He was wanted for killing approximately 184 people,[1] including senior police and forest officials, poaching about 200 elephants, and smuggling ivory worth US$2,600,000 and sandalwood of about 10,000 tonnes worth US$22,000,000. He had a price of Rs. 50 million (Rs. 5 crore or US$1.1 million) on his head, but evaded arrest for 20 years until he was killed by police in 2004.[2]
Contents

* 1 Early years
* 2 Robin Hood image
* 3 Special task force
* 4 Religion
* 5 Death
* 6 Timeline
* 7 Cultural references
* 8 References
* 9 See also

Early years

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, alias Veerappan, was born at 08:17 hrs (IST) on January 18, 1952 in Gopinatham village in Karnataka to a family of cattle-grazers. He was commonly known as "Molakai" in his childhood days by the locals.

His gang of forty members indulged in killing and kidnapping, taking revenge[citation needed] for what government officials had done to the local people who lived near the forest. Most of his victims were police, forest officials, informers and movie stars. He felt the police were responsible for the suicides of his sister Mala and brother Arjunan. He was also known for his kidnapping of prominent people for ransoming, starting with a forest official in 1987. He trapped and brutally killed senior Indian Forest Service [IFS] officer Pandillapalli Srinivas on November 10, 1991 in the Namadalli forests of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajanagr district. He also killed Harikrishna IPS, senior police officer, Shakeel Ahmed, along with others on August 14, 1992 near Meenyam of Kollegal taluk by ambushing the police party in a raid.

He married Muthulakshmi, in 1991. He had three daughters Yuvarani,Prabha and another.
Robin Hood image

Veerappan had a Robin Hood-like image as a social bandit among some villagers adjoining his native village Gopinatham.[3] Sympathetic villagers are said to have covered for him and kept him informed of police activity. They also provided food and clothing to the gang. However, the villagers said they helped him out of fear of reprisal, and that Veerappan helped the villagers with money only to protect himself from being captured. Veerappan is known for being ruthless to villagers who provided the police with information.
Special task force

In 1990, the Karnataka government formed a Special Task Force to capture him and put an end to the menace. Soon after, the task force captured several of Veerappan's men. In February 1992, the special task force killed his lieutenant Gurunathan. SI Shakeel Ahmed was single-handedly responsible for Gurunathan's capture. Three months later, Veerappan attacked the Ramapura police station of Kollegal taluk in the Chamarajanagar district, killing several policemen and capturing arms and ammunition. In August 1992, Veerappan laid a trap for SP Harikrishna and SI Shakeel Ahmed and killed them along with four others. In 1993, the task force arrested his wife Muthulakshmi.
Indian actor Dr. Rajkumar was kidnapped by Veerappan in 2000. He was held for more than 100 days before his eventual release.

On February 17, 1996, he ambushed a team of Tamil Nadu STF personnel from a high ground while they were on their patrol vehicle. The police were able to counter attack and called for backup. The ambush which took place in the evening claimed the life of a Police Constable named Selvaraj from Madurai and seriously injured other police officers including Police officer Tamilselvan. By the time the Karnataka police arrived the bandit and his crew had fled.

A little over a year later, on July 12, 1997, he kidnapped nine forest officials at a place called Marapala in the Burude forests of Kollegala taluk, Chamarajanagara district. He made demands for releasing them, including amnesty, but none were met. The hostages were released without being harmed in the last week of August the same year.

On July 30, 2000, Veerappan kidnapped the famed southern Indian film star Rajkumar.[4] This placed the Karnataka government in a political dilemma of whether or not to call in the army. The decision was that to do so would set a poor precedent. Thus, Rajkumar was held for 109 days and was finally released without harm on November 15, 2000. There were allegations by several people that about 500,000,000 rupees were paid to Veerappan for the safe release.[5] A police official later suggested that 300,000,000 rupees ($6.5m) had been paid for his release.[4]

On August 25, 2002, Veerappan abducted H. Nagappa, a former state minister. Nagappa was found dead in the forest three months later. The reward offered by the Karnataka state government was increased to 50,000,000 rupees (US $1.25 million at that time.
Religion

Veerappan attended the Bannari Amman Kovil temple regularly and was known to be a strong devotee to Kali, a Goddess in Hinduism. It is also said that he built a Kali temple. Veerappan belonged to the Vanniar caste. Some people of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which is based on that Vanniar caste, hoisted a half-mast flag of their party on the death of Veerappan.
Death

On October 18, 2004, following a tip-off, Veerappan and his two associates were allegedly killed after being arrested by the Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force, near the village of Papparapatti in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu.[6] Veerappan's wife claimed that he had been arrested a few days earlier, interrogated and killed by the police (Veerappan had repeatedly threatened, if ever brought to trial, to point a finger at every policeman and politician he had bribed to ensure his three-decade long run from justice).

According to media reports, postmortem photos of Veerappan with a bullet hole above his left eye seemed to contradict the official story that the STF, lying in ambush, stopped the ambulance Veerappan and his gang was traveling in, offered them surrender and gunned them down when someone from inside the van opened fire.

Veerappan was buried in the village of Moolakadu, Tamil Nadu. The police said they did not let the burial take place in his home village in Karnataka, fearing the large crowds that had gathered there. Although the police had planned for a cremation, this was objected to by the relatives of Veerappan suggesting that exhumation would be required if there was ever a subsequent investigation into his death. Thousands of people turned out for the funeral, while others were kept away from the burial ground by heavy security.[7]

Rumors persist that Veerappan may have stashed vast sums of money and treasure, in secret forest caves, which remain undiscovered.[8]
Timeline

Timeline of Veerappan's activities:[9]

* 1970
o Joined a gang of poachers.
* 1986
o Arrested and lodged at Boodipada forest guest house but escaped under mysterious circumstances (reportedly bribed a police officer).
* 1987
o Kidnapped and hacked forest officer Chidambaram. Kidnapped and killed 5 members of a rival gang.
* 1989
o Killed 3 forest personnel of Begur forest range.
* 1990
o Killed 2 police personnel as revenge for killing of 2 members of his gang.
o Killed another 13 police officials of Karnataka. The Karnataka government constitutes Special Task Force (STF) to catch Veerappan.
o Shot and beheaded Karnataka deputy conservator of forests, Srinivas as revenge for Veerappan's sister Mala's suicide (the victim's head was traced 3 years later)
* 1992
o Attacked a police station in Ramapura, killing thirteen policemen and stealing arms and ammunition. STF killed 2 gang members in retaliation
o Trapped STF police official Harikrishna, SI Shakeel Ahmed and 25 constables through a false informant. Killed 29 of the party using hand grenades and bombs.
* 1993
o Blew up a bus of 43 passengers including police and civilians, using a landmine.
o Killed 17 policemen of Karnataka special SP Gopal Hosur's party.
o Tamil Nadu government deploys Border Security Force (BSF)
o Joint operations of BSF and STF arrested 9 gang members and killed 6. Three policemen were killed.
o Veerappan requested amnesty. Victim's relatives opposed any government negotiations
* 1996
o Killed a police informer.
o Killed another 19 police personnel.
o Assassinated police official Tamilselvan and killed a constable as revenge for the suicide of Veerappan's brother Arjunan in police custody.
* 1997
o The gang kidnapped wildlife photographers Senani & Krupakar.
o Apparently killed heir apparent 'Baby' Veerappan.
o Kidnapped and released another photographer Krupakar.
o Kidnapped and executed 9 Karnataka Forest officials from Burude forests.
* 2000
o Kidnapped Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar. Released him after 109 days (ransomed).
* 2002
o Kidnapped and allegedly killed former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa. There are other sources, including police of Karnataka who claim that the bullet in the body of the former minister was from a rifle used by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (possibly the rifle used was stolen from Tamil Nadu task force).
* 2004
o Killed, presumably by Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force members

Cultural references

Veerappan was the inspiration behind some films and their characters.

* The character of Veeran (played by Govind Namdeo) in the Hindi film Sarfarosh (1999). The character is of a terrorist who arms the forest-dwellers with rifles.
* The character of Durga Narayan Chaudhary (played by Sushant Singh) in the Hindi film Jungle (2000). The character is of a forest gang leader who kidnaps a bus full of passengers, kills some of them and holds others to ransom.
* Veerappan, the film directed by Prashant Pandey and produced by Ram Gopal Varma is under production currently. [10][11][12]
* There were scores of regional films in Tamil and Kannada than had Veerappan as its antagonist like the Tamil movie Captain Prabhakaran and Kannada movie Veerappan, all of which were super hits.
* Makkal TV had aired TV serial based on Veerappan's life called Santhanakaadu (means Sandal Wood forest in Tamil). Karate Raja played Veerappan and Goutham directed the serial. The serials sheds some light on the positive side of Veerapan as well as their own presumed version of how Veerapan was killed which is by poisoning.
* The Malayalam Actor Mamukkoya did the title role in the comedy film Korappan, the great (2001) which depicted him as Veerappan.
* The character of Veeraiya(played by Vikram) in the Tamil film Raavanan(2010) resembles strongly to the life of Veerappan.

Books on Veerappan

* Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man by Sunaad Raghuram. The film Let's Kill Veerappan is based on a chapter in this book.

ABU-SALEM

2010-08-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

Abu salem
Born 1968
Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupation underworld don
Spouse(s) none
Abu Salem (born 1968) is an underworld don originally from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, India. He is convicted for the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case and killing of India's music baron Gulshan Kumar in 1997.
Contents

* 1 Biography
o 1.1 Personal life
o 1.2 Association with D-Company
+ 1.2.1 First arrest
o 1.3 Rise in Underworld
+ 1.3.1 Arrest
o 1.4 Behaviour
o 1.5 Net worth
* 2 Timeline
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

Biography

Abu Salem was born in a lower middle class family in Sarai Mir village of Azamgarh district. Abu's father was an advocate by profession. Abu could not complete his education after his father died in a road accident. Initially Abu started a small mechanic shop in his home town to support his family. But soon after he moved to Delhi, the capital city of India. In Delhi he worked as a taxi driver. After some time Abu shifted base to Bombay, the financial capital of India. In Bombay he worked again as a driver. It was in Bombay that he met Dawood, the underworld don, and joined his mafia. Abu Salem split from the Dawood gang in 1998.[1]

He has unsuccessfully attempted to kill Bollywood film directors Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan.[1] At one time was a close associate of Dawood Ibrahim. Before becoming a professional criminal, he worked as a driver and hawker in Mumbai. He is also wanted in India for various murder and extortion cases.

On September 20, 2002, he and his girl-friend-companion Monica Bedi were arrested by Interpol in Lisbon, Portugal. His satellite phone was tracked using GPS technology. He has been accused in the 1993 bomb blasts as well as killing of Bollywood producer Gulshan Kumar, Indian actress Manisha Koirala's secretary, a builder and more than 50 other cases.

In February 2004, a Portugal court cleared his extradition to India to face trial in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case. In November 2005, Portuguese authorities handed him over along with Monica Bedi to Indian authorities on the assurance by then India's Home Minister L.K. Advani that death penalty would not be meted either on him or his partner Monica Bedi.

In March 2006, a special TADA court filed eight charges against him and his alleged associate Riaz Siddiqui for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He stands accused of ferrying and distributing weapons.

Abu Salem is currently in high-security Arthur Jail in Mumbai.[citation needed]
Personal life

He married his first wife Samira Jumani (then a college girl and a minor - 17 years old who was allegedly forcefully married by Salem[2]) in 1991 from whom he has one or two sons. They later divorced.[3] Sameera currently lives in Duluth, Georgia, United States. The name she used in a fake passport, Sabina Azmi, is the name she has retained till now. But Sameera Jumani is her maiden name.[4] Samira Jumani aka Neha Asif Jafri is also, thus, wanted by the CBI and Interpol in a passport forgery case.[5][6]

Salem later allegedly married his second wife, Bollywood actress Monica Bedi, and is yet to receive a divorce from her.

His brother Abu Hatim, a.k.a. Chunchun miyan, who still lives in Azamgarh and owns a shop called Alamat Tatari, says: "We have no contacts with our brother and even the police know that. He left us after completing his inter-college and never came back." Locals say Abu Salem went to Bombay to study further, hoping to go to the Gulf later for better opportunities. But he somehow got trapped in gangster Dawood Ibrahim's circle, they claim.[7]

The residents of his native village allegedly don't love him. “I don’t know why he is given such attention. We have no affection for him. Salem left the village after completing his inter college and never came back,” says Tariq Mian, an elderly man who is preparing for his namaz. “His elder brother Abu Hatim, or Chunchun miyan as we call him, still owns a shop here,” he says.[8]
Association with D-Company

Ten years ago, the man who later became Bollywood’s biggest real-life baddie was still conning buyers with cheap electronic goods outside Andheri station. Then his association with Dawood’s brother Anees paid off and he took charge of the D-Company’s Bollywood deals. Salem first worked under Chhota Shakeel but later split and took to threatening film personalities for extortion sums. He’s now cooling his heels in Mumbai's Arthur road jail. Common belief is that Shakeel tipped off the cops—juicy revenge for Salem’s unprofessional ways and out-of-control style.[9]
First arrest

It was in 1991 when Aftab Ahmed Khan, then additional commissioner of police (north west Mumbai) who was also behind the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, heard of a thug trying to extort money from small time businessmen. "I sent two men to go pick him up. When he was presented before me, he appeared to be an ordinary scared miserable chap who thought we were going to bump him off. He was so small time. There was nothing impressive about him." Salem was released soon but the routine fingerprint record that was taken would come to haunt him. When Salem was in Lisbon fighting India's extradition attempt, the only proof that he was indeed Salem was provided by the fingerprint and photographs taken after his arrest by A A Khan. This characterisation of Khan of a petrified lad is very different from the perception of Abu Salem by his victims. After being released from jail for his petty extortion attempt, his ascent in the underworld was spectacular. He rose very quickly to become an integral part of the don's inner circle with a specialty in extorting from the Hindi film industry, channeling illicit money into film production, forcibly getting the dates of stars, and usurping overseas rights. He continued more aggressively on this path after his estrangement with Dawood Ibrahim who had by then evolved into being some sort of a paid protector of filmdom. His friction with Shakeel and Dawood's favouring of Shakeel is said to be the reason behind Salem's split from the D-Company.[10]
Rise in Underworld

Abu Salem drove a taxi in Delhi before becoming the second-in-command of crime lord Dawood Ibrahim. He was a petty criminal who rose in status in Mumbai’s underworld to be India’s most-wanted man.

Mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Abu Salem shot to fame with the killings of music baron Gulshan Kumar, actress Manisha Koirala’s secretary Ajit Dewan and builder Omprakash Kukreja. The don also allegedly attempted to kill cine figures such as Rajeev Rai, Rakesh Roshan and Manmohan Shetty. In the early ’90s Nineties, Salem stayed with his cousin Akthar, a small-time criminal working with gangster Sayyed Topi in Mumbai. Salem later shifted to Santacruze and started a travel agency. He got in touch with one J K Ibrahim, who was working for Dawood. Through him, Salem came under the wings of Dawood.[11]

How he rose[12]

Charming yet intimidating, Salem could unnerve people. The D-gang needed just someone like him to make threatening calls to people. Salem was given a free hand to extort money from Bollywood bigwigs. In the meantime, he also started staging shows in Dubai, where he invited big actors to impress his boss. Salem plotted the murder of Gulshan Kumar on August 12, 1997. The operation angered Dawood no end. Salem fled Dubai, fearing Dawood’s wrath.

His modus operandi[13]

Salem always used his own men to carry out operations for Dawood. These men hailed from UP and worked for a small fee. Salem used different people for different tasks — one to deliver the weapon (usually, a woman), another to locate the target and a third one to finish the job. The same weapon was used for many killings, so that in case it was detected the police thought the same person was behind all the attacks.
Arrest

A special team, formed under the leadership of then additional commissioner of police A A Khan, arrested him in the early nineties from his travel agency in Santacruz, northwest Mumbai. He was handed over to the D N Nagar police station in Andheri, northwest Mumbai, where Salem's in-laws had registered a case against him (mSalem had married a college girl against her parents' wishes. His in-laws filed a case of abduction against him at the D N Nagar police station). But after spending two days in jail, he was released.[14]
Behaviour

While in the United States, his first wife, Samira Jumani, gave some interviews. Salem “was a violent "psychotic man" according to her.”[15] She also said[16]:
“

- Salem is a cowardly person

- He almost killed me

- Salem beat up Monica (Bedi) as well

- Dawood apologized for Anis' (Anees Ibrahim) bad behavior
”

“He was never a family person. I never led a life I would say I was married,” she maintains.[17]

However, Pramod Mahajan's brother, Pravin, who shared time in prison with Abu Salem, said that "Abu Salem is polite."[18]

Subhash Ghai, in an interview with this reporter a few years ago said while admitting that Salem had called him up asking for overseas rights of Pardes (film), "He actually started the conversation this way, "Sir, I want the rights for Pardes. Don't mistake me. I have been your fan ever since I saw Karz." When Ghai told Salem that the matter of overseas rights was already settled, Salem very respectfully asked for a print of the film so that he could pirate it. He is known to have made such polite requests to several film-makers. Struggling actors in his vigil have found jobs after he made pleasant calls.[19]
Net worth

Abu Salem is said to be a billionaire gangster worth Rs. 4000 crores ($1 billion).[20] The man's cash and property have been valued at least Rs 1,000 crore, which is divided between him and his two wives, Samira Jumani and Monica Bedi. While Salem stakes a claim to Rs 200 crore, his wives jointly possess Rs 800 crore in cash and property. Salem's investments in Bollywood and hawala rackets are estimated to be at least another Rs 3,000 crore. The CBI arrived at the figures on the basis of one-years transactions (2000–2001), and are said to be a conservative estimate.[21]

How he did it

Salem possessed a non-immigrant work visa in the US, where he was employed as a maintenance manager for a marine engineering company. As he operated under different names, he could buy property worth crores, despite his employment background. Preliminary calculations by the CBI officials reveal transactions worth Rs 200 crore were carried out by Salem in the year 2000 itself. Details of his earlier transactions were not known as his whereabouts are not known. Police sources say that his benami but legal businesses in the Middle East are run by his close associates.[22]
Timeline

An article about him in The Times of India mentioned[23]:
“

Name : Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari

Aliases : Aqil Ahmed Azmi, Captain and Abu Samaan, among others

Born : 1969 (according to the CBI, although the Mumbai police says 1962), in Mir Sarai, District Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, the second son in a lower middle-class family. Though some reports maintain that he was the eldest of four brothers. His father, an advocate, was killed in a road accident. Studied in a primary school. Fair complexion, height 5'4, medium built, speaks Urdu, Hindi, Marathi. Reportedly has 12 passports.

Started off as a motor mechanic in Azamgarh after his father died before moving to Delhi where he reportedly worked as a taxi driver.

1985 : Came to Mumbai to earn a livelihood.

1986: Worked as a bread delivery boy between Bandra and Andheri; later worked at a garment shop in Andheri (W).

1987 : Became a real estate broker, operated from Arasa Market in Andheri (W).

1988: Assaulted a colleague over a monetary issue and the first case against him was registered at Andheri police station.

In the meantime, married Samira Jumani, a girl from Jogeshwari, now in the US. Has two sons from her. Salem's passion for movies reportedly extends to naming his sons after his favourite stars.

1989 : Handled a few land deals for Dawood gang, came in contact with Anees Ibrahim, Dawood's younger brother, over telephone. Anees offered him a job and he worked as a driver and transported arms. His proficiency at delivering goods at the right time and place earned him the nickname Abu Samaan

1990 : Recruited to oversee Dawood Ibrahim gang's (D-Company) Mumbai operations.

1992 : Allegedly supplied weapons to film actor Sanjay Dutt.

March 1993: Played an active role in serial bomb blasts which killed over 250 people, left 700 injured and damaged property worth Rs 27 crore.

1993: Conspired to kill builder Omprakash Kukreja. Left the country when the police started rounding up suspects in serial blasts case.

1994-97 : Dawood's overseas pointsman for extorting money from film personalities and builders. Was closest to Dawood after Chhota Shakeel.

Moved to Dubai where he had a business establishment called Kings of Car Trading. Organised stage shows where he invited actors. Was introduced to Monica Bedi who had gone with producer Mukesh Duggal for a show.

1997: Masterminded the killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar. In mid-1997, reportedly went to Pakistan to make arrangements for the marriage of Dawood's brother Humayun.

1998 : Parted ways with Dawood after being sidelined

2000 : Planned kidnapping of Milton Plastics owner for ransom of Rs 3 crore.

January, 2001 : His men shot Ajit Diwani, personal secretary to film actress Manisha Koirala.

October, 2001: Four members of Salem gang shot down in Bandra before they could target film personalities Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowarikar and Jhamu Sughand.

July 2002 : Two shooters of Salem gang opened fire on film director Lawrence D'souza who survived.

September 18, 2002: Salem and second wife Monica Bedi intercepted in Portugal for carrying forged documents. Along with Bedi sentenced to five years' jail term.

2008 Mumbai attacks

2010-08-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Mumbai attacks were more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, by Islamic terrorists[6][7] from Pakistan.[8] The attacks, which drew widespread condemnation across the world, began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308.[2][3][9]

Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident,[10] the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower,[10] Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital (a women and children's hospital),[10] the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House,[11] the Metro Cinema,[12] and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College.[10] There was also an explosion at Mazagaon, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle.[13] By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj hotel had been secured by Mumbai Police and security forces. An action by India's National Security Guards (NSG) on 29 November (the action is officially named Operation Black Tornado) resulted in the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj hotel, ending all fighting in the attacks.[14]

Ajmal Kasab,[15] the only attacker who was captured alive, disclosed that the attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant organization, considered a terrorist organization by India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations,[16] among others.[17] The Indian Government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers were in Pakistan.[18]

On 7 January 2009, after more than a month of denying the nationality of the attackers,[19] Pakistan's Information Minister Sherry Rehman officially accepted Ajmal Kasab's nationality as Pakistani.[20] On 12 February 2009, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik, in a televised news briefing, confirmed that parts of the attack had been planned in Pakistan and said that six people, including the alleged mastermind, were being held in connection with the attacks.[21] A trial court on May 6, 2010 awarded Ajmal Kasab the death sentence on five counts.
Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Attacks
o 2.1 Entry into India
* 3 Attack Sites
o 3.1 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
o 3.2 Leopold Cafe
o 3.3 Bomb blasts in taxis
o 3.4 Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Trident
o 3.5 Nariman House
o 3.6 End of the attacks
o 3.7 Method
* 4 Attribution
o 4.1 Cooperation with Pakistan
o 4.2 Attackers
o 4.3 Arrests
* 5 Casualties and compensation
* 6 Aftermath
o 6.1 Movement of Troops
o 6.2 Reactions
o 6.3 Kasab's trial
o 6.4 Trials in Pakistan
* 7 Locations
* 8 Memorials
* 9 References
* 10 External links

Background
Main article: Terrorism in Mumbai
One of the bomb-damaged coaches at the Mahim station in Mumbai during the 11 July 2006 train bombings

There have been many terrorist bombings in Mumbai since 13 co-ordinated bomb explosions killed 257 people and injured 700 on 12 March 1993.[22] The 1993 attacks are believed to be retaliation for the Babri Mosque demolition.[23]

On 6 December 2002, a blast in a BEST bus near Ghatkopar station killed two people and injured 28.[24] The bombing occurred on the tenth anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya.[25] A bicycle bomb exploded near the Vile Parle station in Mumbai, killing one person and injuring 25 on 27 January 2003, a day before the visit of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India to the city.[26] On 13 March 2003, a day after the tenth anniversary of the 1993 Bombay bombings, a bomb exploded in a train compartment near the Mulund station, killing 10 people and injuring 70.[27] On 28 July 2003, a blast in a BEST bus in Ghatkopar killed 4 people and injured 32.[28] On 25 August 2003 two bombs exploded in South Mumbai, one near the Gateway of India and the other at Zaveri Bazaar in Kalbadevi. At least 44 people were killed and 150 injured.[29] On 11 July 2006, seven bombs exploded within 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai.[30] 209 people were killed, including 22 foreigners[31] and over 700 injured.[32] According to Mumbai Police, the bombings were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).[33][34]
[edit] Attacks
Main article: Timeline of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
Entry into India

According to investigations the attackers traveled by sea from Karachi, Pakistan across the Arabian Sea, hijacked the Indian fishing trawler 'Kuber', killing the crew of four, and then forced the captain to sail to Mumbai. After killing the captain, the terrorists entered Mumbai on a rubber dinghy. The captain of 'Kuber', Amar Singh Solanki, had earlier been imprisoned for six months in a Pakistani jail for illegally fishing in Pakistani waters.[35] The attackers stayed and were trained by the Lashkar-e-Taiba in a safehouse at Azizabad near Karachi before boarding a small boat for Mumbai.[36]

The first events were detailed around 20:00 Indian Standard Time (IST) on 26 November, when 10 men in inflatable speedboats came ashore at two locations in Colaba. They reportedly told local Marathi-speaking fishermen who asked them who they were to "mind their own business" before they split up and headed two different ways. The fishermen's subsequent report to police received little response.[37]
Attack Sites
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Bullet marks on the wall of the suburban terminus at CST

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) was attacked by two gunmen, one of whom, Ajmal Kasab, was later caught alive by the police and identified by eyewitnesses. The attacks began around 21:30 when the two men entered the passenger hall and opened fire,[38] using AK-47 rifles.[39] The attackers killed 58 people and injured 104 others,[39] their assault ending at about 22:45.[3][38] Security forces and emergency services arrived shortly afterwards. The two gunmen fled the scene and fired at pedestrians and police officers in the streets, killing eight police officers. The terrorists passed a police station. Many of the outgunned police officers were afraid to confront the terrorists, and instead switched off the lights and secured the gates. The terrorists headed towards Cama hospital intending to kill patients, but the hospital staff locked all of the patient wards. The two men reached the hospital and attempted to enter the patient wards. They demanded a glass of water from the hospital staff. They asked the man who gave it to them what his religion was, and shot him dead when he said he was a Hindu. When local police arrived, Kasab and Khan threw grenades and shot a police officer dead before fleeing. A team of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad led by Police chief Hemant Karkare searched the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and then headed out in pursuit of Kasab and Khan. Kasab and Khan opened fire on the pursuing vehicle, and the police returned fire. Karkare and four of his officers were killed, and the only survivor was wounded. However, the terrorists ran into a police roadblock, which had been set up after the wounded police officer radioed for help, leading to a gun battle in which Khan was killed, and Kasab was wounded. Kasab struggled with police as they arrested him.
Leopold Cafe

The Leopold Cafe, a popular restaurant and bar on Colaba Causeway in South Mumbai, was one of the first sites to be attacked.[40] Two attackers opened fire on the cafe on 26 November night, killing at least 10 people (including some foreigners), and injuring many more.[41] The terrorists fired into the street as they fled the scene.
Bullet marks left at Leopold Cafe
Bomb blasts in taxis

There were two explosions in taxis caused by timer bombs. The first one occurred at 22:40 at Vile Parle, killing the driver and a passenger. The second explosion took place at Wadi Bunder between 22:20 and 22:25. Three people including the driver of the taxi were killed, and about 15 other people were injured.[13][42]
Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Trident
Main articles: Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and Oberoi Trident
The damaged Oberoi Trident hotel

Two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and the Oberoi Trident, were amongst the four locations targeted. Six explosions were reported at the Taj hotel and one at the Oberoi Trident.[43][44] At the Taj Mahal, firefighters rescued 200 hostages from windows using ladders during the first night.

CNN initially reported on the morning of the 27 November 2008 that the hostage situation at the Taj had been resolved and quoted the police chief of Maharashtra stating that all hostages were freed;[45] however, it was learned later that day that there were still two attackers holding hostages, including foreigners, in the Taj Mahal hotel.[46]
The Wasabi restaurant on the first floor of the Taj Hotel was completely gutted.

During the attacks, both hotels were surrounded by Rapid Action Force personnel and Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and National Security Guards (NSG) commandos.[47][48] When reports emerged that attackers were receiving television broadcasts, feeds to the hotels were blocked.[49] All attackers were out of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels by the early morning of 29 November.[50][51] Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan of the NSG lost his life as a result of a gun shot during the evacuation of Commando Sunil Yadav who was hit in the leg by a bullet during the rescue operations at Taj.[52][53]

A number of European Parliament Committee on International Trade delegates were staying in the Taj Mahal hotel when it was attacked,[54] but none of them were injured.[55] British Conservative Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Sajjad Karim (who was in the lobby when attackers initially opened fire there) and German Social Democrat MEP Erika Mann were hiding in different parts of the building.[56] Also reported present was Spanish MEP Ignasi Guardans, who was barricaded in a hotel room.[57] Another British Conservative MEP, Syed Kamall, reported that he along with several other MEPs left the hotel and went to a nearby restaurant shortly before the attack.[56] Kamall also reported that Polish MEP Jan Masiel was thought to have been sleeping in his hotel room when the attacks started, but eventually left the hotel safely.[58] Kamall and Guardans reported that a Hungarian MEP's assistant was shot.[56][59] Also caught up in the shooting were the President of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, while checking in at the Oberoi Trident,[59] and Indian MP N. N. Krishnadas of Kerala and Sir Gulam Noon while having dinner at a restaurant in the Taj hotel.[60][61]
Nariman House
Main article: Nariman House
Front view of the Nariman House a week after the attacks

Nariman House, a Chabad Lubavitch Jewish center in Colaba known as the Mumbai Chabad House, was taken over by two attackers and several residents were held hostage.[62] Police evacuated adjacent buildings and exchanged fire with terrorists, wounding one. Local residents were told to stay inside. Terrorists threw a grenade into a nearby lane, causing no casualties. NSG commandos arrived from Delhi, and a Naval helicopter took an aerial survey. During the first day, 9 hostages were rescued from the first floor. The following day, the house was stormed by NSG commandos fast-roping from helicopters onto the roof, covered by snipers positioned in nearby buildings. After a long battle, one NSG commando and both terrorists were killed.[63] Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka Holtzberg, who was six months pregnant, were murdered with other hostages inside the house by the attackers.[64]
End of the attacks

By the morning of 27 November, the army had secured the Jewish outreach center at Nariman House as well as the Oberoi Trident hotel. They also incorrectly believed that the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers had been cleared of attackers, and soldiers were leading hostages and holed-up guests to safety, and removing bodies of those killed in the attacks.[65][66][67] However, later news reports indicated that there were still two or three attackers in the Taj, with explosions heard and gunfire exchanged.[67] Fires were also reported at the ground floor of the Taj with plumes of smoke arising from the first floor.[67] The final operation at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel was completed by the NSG commandos at 08:00 on 29 November, killing three attackers and resulting in the conclusion of the attacks.[68] The security forces rescued 250 people from the Oberoi, 300 from the Taj and 60 people (members of 12 different families) from Nariman House.[69] In addition, police seized a boat filled with arms and explosives anchored at Mazgaon dock off Mumbai harbour.[70]
Method

The attackers had planned the attack several months ahead of time and knew some areas well enough for the attackers to vanish, and reappear after security forces had left. Several sources have quoted Kasab telling the police that the group received help from Mumbai residents.[71][72] The attackers used at least three SIM cards purchased on the Indian side of the border with Bangladesh, pointing to some local collusion.[73] There were also reports of one SIM card purchased in New Jersey, USA.[74] Police had also mentioned that Faheem Ansari, an Indian Lashkar operative who had been arrested in February 2008, had scouted the Mumbai targets for the November attacks.[75] Later, the police arrested two Indian suspects, Mikhtar Ahmad, who is from Srinagar in Kashmir, and Tausif Rehman, a resident of Kolkata. They supplied the SIM cards, one in Calcutta, and the other in New Delhi.[76]

Type 86 Grenades made by China's state-owned Norinco were used in the attacks.[77]

Blood tests on the attackers indicate that they had taken cocaine and LSD during the attacks, to sustain their energy and stay awake for 50 hours. Police say that they found syringes on the scenes of the attacks. There were also indications that they had been taking steroids.[78] The gunman who survived said that the attackers had used Google Earth to familiarise themselves with the locations of buildings used in the attacks.[79]
Attribution
Main article: Attribution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
See also: Erroneous reporting on the 2008 Mumbai attacks
Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

The Mumbai attacks were planned and directed by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants inside Pakistan, and carried out by ten young armed men trained and sent to Mumbai and directed from inside Pakistan via mobile phones and VoIP.[17][80][81]

In July 2009 Pakistani authorities confirmed that LeT plotted and financed the attacks from LeT camps in Karachi and Thatta.[82] In November 2009, Pakistani authorities charged seven men they had arrested earlier, of planning and executing the assault.[83]

Mumbai police originally identified 37 suspects –-including two army officers-– for their alleged involvement in the plot. All but two of the suspects, many of whom are identified only through aliases, are Pakistani.[84] Two more suspects arrested in the United States in October 2009 for other attacks were also found to have been involved in planning the Mumbai attacks.[85][86] One of these men, Pakistani American David Headley, was found to have made several trips to India before the attacks and gathered video and GPS information on behalf of the plotters.
Cooperation with Pakistan

Pakistan initially contested that Pakistanis were responsible for the attacks, blaming plotters in Bangladesh and Indian criminals,[87] a claim rubbished by India,[88] and saying they needed information from India on other bombings first.[89]

Pakistani authorities finally agreed the attackers were Pakistani on 7 January 2009,[19][90][91] and registered a case against three Pakistani nationals.[92]

The Indian government supplied evidence to Pakistan and other governments, in the form of interrogations, weapons, and call records of conversations during the attacks.[4][93] In addition, Indian government officials said that the attacks were so sophisticated that they must have had official backing from Pakistani "agencies", an accusation denied by Pakistan.[81][90]

Under U.S. and U.N. pressure, Pakistan arrested a few members of Jamaat ud-Dawa and briefly put its founder under house arrest, but he was found to be free a few days later.[94] A year after the attacks, Mumbai police continued to complain that Pakistani authorities are not cooperating by providing information for their investigation.[95] Meanwhile, journalists in Pakistan said security agencies were preventing them from interviewing people from Kasab's village.[96][97] Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the Pakistani authorities had not shared any information about American suspects Headley and Rana, but that the FBI had been more forthcoming.[98]
Attackers
Police looking for attackers outside Colaba

There were ten gunmen, nine of whom were subsequently shot dead and one captured by security forces.[99][100] Witnesses reported that they looked to be in their early twenties, wore black t-shirts and jeans, and that they smiled and looked happy as they shot their victims.[101]

It was initially reported that some of the attackers were British citizens,[102][103] but the Indian Government later stated that there was no evidence to confirm this.[104] Similarly, early reports of twelve gunmen[105] were also later shown to be incorrect.[4]

On 9 December, the ten attackers were identified by Mumbai police, along with their home towns in Pakistan: Ajmal Amir from Faridkot, Abu Ismail Dera Ismail Khan from Dera Ismail Khan, Hafiz Arshad and Babr Imran from Multan, Javed from Okara, Shoaib from Narowal, Nazih and Nasr from Faisalabad, Abdul Rahman from Arifwalla, and Fahad Ullah from Dipalpur Taluka. Dera Ismail Khan is in the North-West Frontier Province; the rest of the towns are in Pakistani Punjab.[106]

On April 6, 2010; the Home minister of Maharashtra State, which includes Mumbai, informed the assembly that the bodies of the 9 killed Pakistani gunmen from the 2008 attack on Mumbai were buried in a secret location in January 2010. The bodies had been in the mortuary of a Mumbai hospital after Muslim clerics in the city refused to let them be buried on their grounds.[107]
Arrests
Main article: Ajmal Kasab

Ajmal Kasab was the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently under arrest.[108] Much of the information about the attackers' preparation, travel, and movements comes from his confessions to the Mumbai police.[109]

On 12 February 2009 Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Pakistani national Javed Iqbal, who acquired VoIP phones in Spain for the Mumbai attackers, and Hamad Ameen Sadiq, who had facilitated money transfer for the attack, had been arrested.[92] Two other men known as Khan and Riaz, but whose full names were not given, were also arrested.[110] Two Pakistanis were arrested in Brescia, Italy on 21 November 2009, after being accused of providing logistical support to the attacks.[111]

In October 2009, two Chicago men were arrested and charged by the FBI for involvement in terrorism abroad, David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana. Headley, a Pakistani-American, was charged in November 2009 with scouting locations for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[112][113] Headley is reported to have posed as an American Jew and is believed to have links with terrorist outfits based in Bangladesh.[114] On March 18, 2010, Headley plead guilty to a dozen charges against him thereby avoiding going to trial.

In December 2009, the FBI charged Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, a retired major in the Pakistani army, for planning the terror attacks in association with Headley.[115]

On January 15, 2010, in a successful snatch operation R&AW agents nabbed Sheikh Abdul Khwaja, one of the handlers of the 26/11 attacks, chief of HuJI India operations and a most wanted terror suspect in India, from Colombo, Sri Lanka and brought him over to Hyderabad, India for formal arrest.[116]

On May 6, 2010 Ajmal Kasab was sentenced to be hanged to death on charges of murder and waging war on India.[117]
Casualties and compensation
Main article: Casualties of the 2008 Mumbai attacks

At least 166 victims (civilians and security personnel) and 9 attackers were killed in the attacks. Among the dead were 28 foreign nationals from 10 countries.[2][3][45][118][119][120] One attacker was captured.[121] The bodies of many of the dead hostages showed signs of torture or disfigurement.[122] A number of those killed were notable figures in business, media, and security services.[123][124][125]

The Government of Maharashtra announced about $10,000 as compensation to the kin of each of those killed in the terror attacks and about $1,000 to the seriously injured.[126] In August 2009, Indian Hotels Company and the Oberoi Group received about $28 million as part-payment of the insurance claims, on account of the attacks on Taj Mahal and Trident, from General Insurance Corporation of India.[127]
Aftermath
Main article: Aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
Flowers at the spot of Hemant Karkare's death

The attacks are commonly referred to in India as "26/11", after the date in 2008 that they began. A commission of inquiry appointed by the Maharashtra state government produced a report that was tabled before the assembly over one year after the events. The report said the "war-like" attack was beyond the capacity of any police force, but it also found fault with the city Police Commissioner's lack of leadership during the crisis.[128]

The Maharashtra state government has planned to buy 36 speed boats to patrol the coastal areas and several helicopters for the same purpose. It will also create an anti-terror force called "Force One" and upgrade all the weapons that Mumbai police currently have.[129] Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on an all party conference declared that legal framework will be strengthened in the battle against terrorism and a federal anti-terrorist intelligence and investigation agency, like the FBI, will be set up soon to co-ordinate actions against terrorism.[130] Government strengthened Anti terror laws by UAPA 2008, and federal National Investigating Agency was formed.

The attacks have damaged India's already strained relationship with Pakistan. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee declared that India may indulge in military strikes against terror camps in Pakistan to protect its territorial integrity. There were also after-effects on the United States's relationships with both countries,[131] the US-led NATO war in Afghanistan,[132] and on the Global War on Terror.[133] According to Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble, Indian intelligence agencies did not share any information with them.[134] However, FBI chief Robert Mueller praised the "unprecedented cooperation" between American and Indian intelligence agencies over Mumbai terror attack probe.[135]
Movement of Troops

The Pakistan Government moved troops towards the India-Pakistan border voicing concerns about the Indian Government's possible plans to launch attacks on Pakistani soil after 26/11 if Pakistan Government did not cooperate, but after days of talks, the Pakistan Government decided to start moving troops away from the border.[136]
Reactions
Main article: Reactions to the 2008 Mumbai attacks
Candlelight vigils at the Gateway of India in Mumbai

Indians criticised their political leaders after the attacks, saying that their ineptness was partly responsible. The Times of India commented on its front page that "Our politicians fiddle as innocents die."[137] Political reactions in Mumbai and India included a range of resignations and political changes, including the resignations of Minister for Home Affairs, Shivraj Patil,[138] Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh,[139] and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharastra R. R. Patil.[140] Prominent Muslim personalities such as Bollywood actor Aamir Khan appealed to the community members in the country to observe Eid al-Adha as a day of mourning on 9 December 2008.[141] The business establishment also reacted, with changes to transport, and requests for an increase in self-defense capabilities.[142] The attacks also triggered a chain of citizens' movements across India such as the India Today Group's "War Against Terror" campaign. There were vigils held across all of India with candles and placards commemorating the victims of the attacks.[143] The NSG commandos based in Delhi also met criticism for taking 10 hours to reach the terrorists.[144][145]

International reaction for the attacks was widespread, with many countries and international organizations condemning the attacks and expressing their condolences to the civilian victims. Many important personalities around the world also condemned the attacks.[146] Outgoing US President George W. Bush said "We pledge the full support of the United States as India investigates these attacks, brings the guilty to justice and sustains its democratic way of life."[147] Likewise, a spokesman for then President-elect Barack Obama said that Mr. Obama “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India.“[148]

Media coverage highlighted the use of new media and Internet social networking tools, including Twitter and Flickr, in spreading information about the attacks. In addition, many Indian bloggers and Wikipedia offered live textual coverage of the attacks.[149] A map of the attacks was set up by a web journalist using Google Maps.[150][151] The New York Times, in July 2009, described the event as "what may be the most well-documented terrorist attack anywhere."[152]
Kasab's trial

Kasab's trial was delayed due to legal issues, as many Indian lawyers were unwilling to represent him. A Mumbai Bar Association passed a resolution proclaiming that none of its members would represent Kasab. However, the Chief Justice of India stated that Kasab needed a lawyer for a fair trial. A lawyer for Kasab was eventually found, but was replaced due to a conflict of interest. On 25 February 2009, Indian investigators filed an 11,000-page Chargesheet, formally charging Kasab with murder, conspiracy, and waging war against India among other charges. Kasab's trial began on 6 May 2009. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later admitted his guilt on 20 July 2009. He initially apologized for the attacks and claimed that he deserved the death penalty for his crimes, but later retracted these claims, saying that he had been tortured by police to force his confession, and that he had been arrested while roaming the beach. The court had accepted his plea, but due to the lack of completeness within his admittance, the judge had deemed that many of the 86 charges were not addressed and therefore the trial continued. Kasab could, and will almost certainly, be hanged if given the maximum penalty of death.[153] Kasab was convicted of all 86 charges on 3 May 2010. He was found guilty of murder for directly killing seven people, conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of the 166 people killed in the three-day terror siege, waging war against India, causing terror, and of conspiracy to murder two high-ranking police officers. On 6 May 2010, he was sentenced to death by hanging.[154] [155] [156]
Trials in Pakistan

Indian and Pakistani police have exchanged DNA evidence, photographs and items found with the attackers to piece together a detailed portrait of the Mumbai plot. Police in Pakistan have arrested seven people, including Hammad Amin Sadiq, a homeopathic pharmacist, who arranged bank accounts and secured supplies, and he and six others begin their formal trial on 3 Oct 2009 in Pakistan, though Indian authorities say the prosecution stops well short of top Lashkar leaders.[157] In November 2009, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that Pakistan has not done enough to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.[158]
On the eve of the first anniversary of 26/11, a Pakistani anti-terror court has formally charged seven accused, including LeT operations commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi.
Locations
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All the incidents except the explosion at Vile Parle took place in downtown South Mumbai.

* Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; 18°55′38″N 72°49′14″E / 18.927118°N 72.820618°E / 18.927118; 72.820618
* Taj Mahal Palace & Tower near the Gateway of India; 18°55′18″N 72°50′00″E / 18.921739°N 72.83331°E / 18.921739; 72.83331
* Leopold Cafe, a popular tourist restaurant in Colaba; 18°55′20″N 72°49′54″E / 18.922272°N 72.831566°E / 18.922272; 72.831566
* Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station; 18°56′26″N 72°50′11″E / 18.940631°N 72.836426°E / 18.940631; 72.836426 (express train terminus), 18°56′26″N 72°50′07″E / 18.94061°N 72.835343°E / 18.94061; 72.835343 (suburban terminus)
* Badruddin Tayabji Lane behind the Times of India building.18°56′32″N 72°50′01″E / 18.942117°N 72.833734°E / 18.942117; 72.833734
* Near St. Xavier's College 18°56′38″N 72°49′55″E / 18.943919°N 72.831942°E / 18.943919; 72.831942.
* Cama and Albless Hospital; 18°56′34″N 72°49′59″E / 18.94266°N 72.832993°E / 18.94266; 72.832993
* Nariman House (Chabad House) Jewish outreach center; 18°54′59″N 72°49′40″E / 18.916517°N 72.827682°E / 18.916517; 72.827682
* Metro Cinema 18°56′35″N 72°49′46″E / 18.943178°N 72.829474°E / 18.943178; 72.829474
* Mazagaon docks in Mumbai's port area;
* Vile Parle near the airport

Memorials

On the first anniversary of the event, the nation paid its respects to the victims of the attack. Force One-a new security force created by the Maharashtra Government, staged a parade from Nariman Point to Chowpatty on 26 November 2009. Memorials and candlelight vigils were organized at the various locations where the attacks were held

MAOIST ATTACK

2010-08-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Maoist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India.[1] It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC). The merger was announced to the public on October 14 the same year. In the merger a provisional central committee was constituted, with the erstwhile People's War Group leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi as General Secretary.[2]

They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribes in the forest belt around central India. That region contains deposits of minerals[3] which are of interest to mining companies like Tata and Essar. There have been numerous human rights violations of the tribal people at the hands of government agencies. [4] [5]

The CPI (Maoist) are often referred to as Naxalites in reference to the Naxalbari insurrection conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal in 1967.

In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh referred to the Naxalites as "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."[6][7] The Indian government, led by the United Progressive Alliance, banned the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as a terrorist organisation on 22 June 2009.

As of June 2010, Indian Government has identified 83 districts in 9 states as "Naxal-hit".[8]
Contents

* 1 Ideology
* 2 Location
* 3 Organisation
* 4 Strategy
o 4.1 Governance tactics
o 4.2 Military tactics
* 5 Funding
* 6 Legal status
* 7 Controversial organisation
o 7.1 Opposition
* 8 International connections
* 9 Recent violent activities by Maoists
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links

Ideology
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v • d • e

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the two factions adhered to differing strands of communism prior to their 2004 merger although "both organizations shared their belief in the 'annihilation of class enemies' and in extreme violence as a means to secure organizational goals." The People's War Group (PWG) maintained a Marxist-Leninist stance while the MCC took a Maoist stance. After the merger, the PWG secretary of Andhra Pradesh announced the newly formed CPI-Maoist would follow Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as its "ideological basis guiding its thinking in all spheres of its activities." Included in this ideology is a commitment to "protracted armed struggle" to undermine and to seize power from the state.[2]

The ideology of the merged group is contained in a "Party Programme." In the document, the Maoists denounce globalization as a war on the people by market fundamentalists and the caste system as a form of social oppression.[9]

It is claimed by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) that it is conducting 'people's war', a strategical line developed by Mao Zedong during the phase of guerrilla warfare of the Communist Party of China. The eventual objective is to install a "people’s government" via a New Democratic Revolution.

The party also views Islamist militancy as a struggle towards national liberation against imperialism, rather than as a clash of civilizations, and condones it as having parallel goals to the group's own. In the words of deputy leader Koteshwar Rao, or Kishanji: "The Islamic upsurge should not be opposed as it is basically anti-US and anti-Imperialist in nature. We, therefore, want it to grow."[9]
Location

Currently it has presence in remote regions of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh as well as presence in Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. The CPI (Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in this area and establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone from which to advance the people's war in other parts of India.[2]

A 2005 Frontline cover story called the Bhamragad Taluka, where the Madia Gond Adivasis live, the heart of the Naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra.[10]
Organisation

The current general secretary of the party is Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapati. The highest decision making body of the party is its Politburo, comprising 14 (or 13[11]) members, 6 of whom were either killed or arrested between 2007-10. Amongst those arrested, Kobad Ghandy is the senior-most member.[12] Other arrested Politburo members include Pramod Mishra, Ashutosh Tudu and Amitabha Bagchi.[11] Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji[13] and Katakam Sudarshan alias Anand are the two prominent members of its Politburo. Kishenji and Anand currently head the Eastern Regional Bureau and the Central Regional Bureau of the party respectively.[14] Cherukuri Raj Kumar alias Azad is another Politburo member.[11] The Central Committee of the party, which takes command from the Politburo and passes on the information to its members, comprises 32 members. The party hierarchy consists of the Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees and the dalams (armed squads).[12]

The military wings of the respective organisations, People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (military wing of MCCI) and People's Guerrilla Army (military wing of PW), were also merged. The name of the unified military organisation is People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. P.V. Ramana, of the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi estimates the Naxilities' current strength at 9,000 -10,000 armed fighters, with access to about 6,500 firearms.[15] Other estimates by Indian intelligence officials and Maoist leaders suggest that the rebel ranks in India number between 10,000 and 20,000, with at least 50,000 active supporters.[7][16]
Strategy
Governance tactics

In their efforts to intimidate and consolidate control, the Naxalites tax local villagers, extort businesses, abduct and kill "class enemies" such as government officials and police officers, and prevent aid from getting through to people who need it.[7] To help fill their ranks, the Maoists force each family under their domain to supply one family member and threaten those who resist with violence.[17]

The organisation has been holding 'Public Court's, which have been described as kangaroo courts,[18][19][20] against the people who have opposed the Maoists. These "courts" function in the areas under de-facto Maoist control.[21] The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government institutions under their de facto jurisdiction.[22]
Military tactics

It retains the tactics of its predecessor Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War of rejecting parliamentary democracy and capturing political power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. This strategy entails building up of bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then as "liberated zones", besides the area-wise seizure and encircling cities.

The military hardware used by Maoists, as proved through a number of seizures, include RDX cable wires, gelatine sticks, detonators, country-made weapons, INSAS rifles, AK-47s, SLR and improvised explosive devices. According to MHA reports, the CRPF seized over 6000 kg of explosives in Bihar and 893 kg in Jharkhand till October 2008. Security forces also recovered codex wire in Jharkhand for the first time, a highly potent explosive with a blast-range of up to 720 meters, which has so far been used only by modern national armies (The Telegraph, 16 October 2008).
Funding

The funding for the Maoists come from abductions, extortion and by setting up unofficial administrations to collect taxes in rural areas where official government appears absent.[7][23]

Another major source of funding for Maoists allegedly comes from poppy cultivation in the Ghagra area of Gumla district in Jharkhand and in parts of Gumla, Kishanganj and Purnia districts in Bihar. Security forces claim that opium fields are screened and hidden behind peripheral maize cultivation. The Naxals are also believed to be patronizing hemp cultivation to fund their activities as reported from Debagarh district in Orissa.[24]
Legal status
[show]Organizations listed as terrorist groups by India
Northeastern India
National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
Naga National Council-Federal (NNCF)
National Council of Nagaland-Khaplang
United Liberation Front of Asom
People's Liberation Army
(Manipur)
Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)
Zomi Revolutionary Front
Kashmir
Al-Badr
Al-Badr Mujahideen
Al Barq (ABQ)
Al Fateh Force (AFF)
Al Jihad Force (AJF)/Al Jihad
Al Mujahid Force (AMF)
Al Umar Mujahideen (AUR/Al Umar)
Awami Action Committee (AAC)
Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM)
Harakat-ul-Ansar
Harakat-ul-Jihad-I-Islami
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HUM)
Ikhwan-ul-Musalmeen (IUM)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Lashkar-e-Mohammadi
Jammat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM)
Jammat-ul-Mujahideen Almi (JUMA)
Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP)
Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF)
Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami (JKJEI)
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET)
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Kul Jammat Hurriyat Conference (KJHC)
Mahaz-e-Azadi (MEA)
Muslim Janbaaz Force (MJF/Jaanbaz Force)
Muslim Mujahideen (MM)
Hizbul Mujahideen
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Farzandan-e-Milat
United Jihad Council
Al-Qaeda
Students Islamic Movement of India Tehreek-e-Jihad (TEJ)
Pasban-e-Islami (PEI/Hizbul Momineen HMM)
Shora-e-Jihad (SEJ)
Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TUM)
North India
Babbar Khalsa
Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Dashmesh Regiment
International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)
Kamagata Maru Dal of Khalistan
Khalistan Armed Force
Khalistan Liberation Force
Khalistan Commando Force
Khalistan Liberation Army
Khalistan Liberation Front
Khalistan Liberation Organisation
Khalistan National Army
Khalistan Guerilla Force
Khalistan Security Force
Khalistan Zindabad Force
Shaheed Khalsa Force
Central India
People's war group
Balbir militias
Naxals
Ranvir Sena
v • d • e

The party is regarded as a "left-wing extremist entity" and a terrorist outfit and several of their members had been arrested by the Indian Government under the defunct Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA).[2][25] The group is officially banned by the State Governments of Orissa,[26] Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans.[27] On 22 June 2009, the central home ministry, keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, banned it under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).[28] Earlier, the union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram had asked the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, to ban the Maoists following the Lalgarh Violence.[29]

Following the ban, the Maoists are liable for arrest under the UAPA. After the ban they are barred from holding rallies, public meetings and demonstrations, and their offices if any, will be sealed and bank account frozen.
Controversial organisation
Opposition

They are regarded as a serious security threat and the Indian government is taking countermeasures, pulling the affected states together to coordinate their response. It says it will combine improved policing with socio-economic measures to defuse grievances that fuel the Maoist cause.[17] In 2005, Chattisgarh State sponsored an anti-Maoist movement and called it the Salwa Judum. The group, which the BBC alleges is "government backed" [30], an allegation rejected by the government as biased and Indophobic[31][32], has come under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups[33] for "perpetrating atrocities and abuse against women,"[34] using child soldiers[21], and the looting of property and destruction of homes[34]. These allegations were addressed and rejected by a fact finding commission of National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), appointed by Supreme Court of India, who determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribals against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them[35][36]. The camps are guarded by police officers, paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum activists[17][21] empowered with the official title "special police officer."[21][37]
[edit] International connections

The CPI (Maoist) maintains dialogue with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) who control most of Nepal in the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA) according to several intelligence sources and think tanks.[2] These links are however denied by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)[38]

While under detention in June 2009, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative indicated that the LeT and the CPI (Maoist) had attempted to coordinate activities in Jharkhand state.[39]

Latest reports indicates that the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines Southeast Asia’s longest-lived communist insurgent group—has been reported to have engaged in conducting training activities for guerrilla warfare for Indian Maoists. [40]

The Indian Maoists deny operational links with foreign groups, such as Nepalese Maoists, but do claim comradeship[41]. Some members of the Indian government accept this[42], others argue that operational links do exist, with training coming from Sri-Lankan Maoists and small-arms from China[43]. China denies and is embarrassed by any suggestion that it supports foreign Maoist rebels, citing improvements in relations between India and China, including movement towards resolving their border disputes. Maoists in Nepal, India and the Phillipines are less reticent about their shared goals[44].

2010-08-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

Dawood Ibrahim

Dawood Ibrahim
Born Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar
December 26, 1955 (1955-12-26) (age 54)
Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India
Spouse(s) Zubeena Zareen (Mehajabeen)
Dawood Ibrahim (Urdu: داوود ابراهيم, born Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar "Mangutkars"; December 26, 1955), is a terrorist with a criminal record. Dawood's D-Company has been identified as a criminal-terrorism syndicate by the US Congress.[1] Dawood is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting, besides association with Al-Qaeda as identified in UN Security Council resolutions 1822 (2008) and 1267 (1999).[2] He was No. 4 on the Forbes 2008 list of The World's 10 Most Wanted criminals,[3] and no. 50 on the Forbes 2009 list of The World's Most Powerful People.

Dawood Ibrahim is accused of heading a vast and sprawling illegal empire. After the 1993 Bombay bombings, which Ibrahim allegedly organized and financed, he became India's most wanted man.[4] According to the United States, Ibrahim maintains close links with al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden.[5] As a consequence, the United States declared Dawood Ibrahim a "global terrorist" in 2003 and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations. The Bush administration has since imposed several sanctions on Ibrahim and his associates.[6] Indian and Russian intelligence agencies have pointed out Ibrahim's possible involvement in several other terror attacks, including the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.[7][8]

Pakistan denies any knowledge of his existence. Indian intelligence agencies, such as Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), believe that some of his addresses include House No. 37, 30th street, DHA, Karachi [9] and White House, Near Saudi Mosque, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan, and is provided protection by Pakistani intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).[10] The issue of extradition of Dawood Ibrahim is one of the major hurdles in the frosty relations between India and Pakistan.[11]
Contents

* 1 Biography and criminal-career
o 1.1 Background
o 1.2 Early life
o 1.3 Early crimes
o 1.4 Relationship with fellow gangsters
+ 1.4.1 Chhota Rajan and split
+ 1.4.2 Abu Salem and split
o 1.5 Net worth
o 1.6 Family
+ 1.6.1 His daughter
+ 1.6.2 Crimes by family members
* 2 Main crimes
o 2.1 Narcotics trafficking & money-laundering
o 2.2 Terrorism
+ 2.2.1 United States deportation resistance
* 3 Recent Developments
* 4 Popular culture
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

Biography and criminal-career
Background

Dawood Ibrahim, son of a police constable Ibrahim Kaskar, was born in Mumka village[12][13] in Ratnagiri in the Indian state of Maharashtra on December 26, 1955.[14] He was brought up in Dongri, a poor area of Central Bombay with a large but not exclusively Muslim population.[15] He is of Konkani descent.[16]
Early life

Dawood's foster brother Hanif Seven recalls[17]:
“

‘‘Nobody ever guessed that Dawood and his brothers would one day be so rich, running a mafia network across the globe,’’ says Mohammed Hanif Ibrahim Kaskar alias Hanif Seven, who is now a small-time contractor in Dongri, after having spent 11 years in jail on a drug charge.

In Dawood's home, kitchen vessels were often empty. The senior Kaskar — Dawood's father, a police havaldar — would wait for visits from erstwhile smuggling kingpins Haji Mastan and Karim Lala, who would give them some baksheesh (money) to keep them going.

Dawood and older brother Shabir took to small-time textile and low-value goods smuggling while Noora and Anees worked in a garage near Maharashtra College. The family usually met at dinner and shared the day’s experiences.

Hanif Seven says it was the father who was instrumental in making the brothers what they are today. ‘‘Whenever there was a complaint, he would pretend to scold them, but would later pat them on their backs,’’ he remembers.

Through Hanif’s tale emerges the story of Dawood Ibrahim’s changing fortunes. In 1977, he and some associates looted a boat carrying contraband off Haji Ali. The 12 partners distributed among themselves goods valued at around Rs 14 lakh. Suddenly the family saw money. Soon, Dawood was seen driving a second-hand white chevrolet malibu car and visiting expensive tailors.

Trouble started when he crossed swords with Basu Dada from nearby Telli Mohalla. Dada ran an akhada and had musclemen like Khalid Pehalwan, Anjum Pehalwan and Lalkhan Pehalwan for support. Dawood then formed an alliance with Bauji Saheb and Rama Naik to balance the power equation. His gang then came to be known as Young Company and later, the D-Company.
”

When Dawood was young, his father police constable Ibrahim Kaskar knew the then Don Haji Mastan. With Haji’s help, he opened an electronics shop for his son Dawood. In this electronics shop of Manish Market, now smuggled goods started coming in. Haji delegated the responsibility of smuggling electronics’ goods to Dawood. These were Dawood’s initial days in the smuggling business. However, Syed Batla, a local hoodlum working for Mastan, suspected that Dawood was getting writings against him published in a newspaper. So Batla killed the editor of the newspaper. The editor of Urdu daily Rajdar, Iqbal Naatik was a good friend of Dawood’s. Batla was unaware that Naatik was also a friend of Haji. When Haji got to know of this he verbally abused Batla and also slapped him. Dawood was not satisfied with this and was thinking of getting Batla killed. Thus Dawood decided to split up with Mastan.[18]

Siddhi Mohalla is an old five-storey building at the Bhendi Bazaar junction in Mumbai. On its terrace, the ‘old hats’ had held their “sacred meeting” in 1980, demarcating territorial boundaries for the gangs to operate. On one side were the Pathans, headed by Samad Khan, Syed Batla and Amirzada. On the other side of the table were the Konkanis, led by Dawood. “Dawood breached the pact and attacked Batla. This incident catapulted him to the upper echelons of the underworld,” said an old-timer who had seen Dawood grow from a small-time smuggler to one of the world’s most wanted men.[19]
Early crimes

From being a retail extortionist to being the third most wanted don of the world, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar (54) has indeed come a long, long way in a highly-globalised underworld. Said Munawar Amin, a long-time resident of Bhendi Bazar, in whose mean streets Dawood, son of a constable, grew up: "Along with his brother Shabbir, he used to extort money from the Moplah businessmen who sell smuggled goods in our area. Nobody visualised that he would go up so high in mafiadom."[20]

With his friends and brothers, he would go down to the bustling Crawford Market and scam gullible bargain hunters. "His first trick was to offer a customer an expensive foreign watch," recalled a member of his youthful gang. "After taking the money, he would vanish, while the customer would be discovering that Dawood had switched the watch for a stone or some such worthless object during the wrapping"(Glenny 127). A natural leader, by his late teens Ibrahim had created Dodi Omar Company aka D-Company (his own gang). He was charged with murder as a result of his audacious bid to destroy the near monopoly enjoyed in the underworld by the competing Lala clan. D-Company emerged victorious after an intense period of bloodshed, but Ibrahim was forced to flee his beloved Bombay, and by all accounts he has never overcome his melancholy at leaving.

He is said to have begun his real criminal career in Bombay working for the Karim Lala gang (which later became his own gang's rival) exploiting the rapid expansion in the Bombay (now Mumbai) textiles industry to his advantage[14], though another version says that he began his criminal career working as a career for smuggler Haji Mastan. In either case, he eventually split from both of them and started his own gang, D-Company. He soon moved his residence to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he has business interests alongside India. Dawood started out smuggling gold, expanded into various forms of extortion, and finally turned to trafficking in heroin bound for Europe and Mandrax (an addictive sedative) going to South Africa with the help of international mafia don Rayzz Santana .[21]
Relationship with fellow gangsters
Chhota Rajan and split
Further information: Chhota Rajan and Gang wars between Chota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim

Chhota Rajan was inducted into the ‘big game’ (killings) under Rama Naik during his stint at ‘‘Lal Vite Ki Chawl’’ (the red-brick structure) near Byculla railway station in central Bombay. It was here that he came in touch with Dawood Ibrahim, who saw potential in the cocky youth. It was not long before Dawood was able to sell the famous ‘Dubai dream’ to this school dropout (Chhota Rajan). From an understudy, Chhota Rajan rose to become Dawood’s second-in-command, using Dubai as a base to motivate a clutch of shooters from Tilak Nagar in Chembur and Dadar. The deadly formation led to the decimation of the rival Pathan gang. However, they later fell out. ‘‘The bomb blasts in 1993 were one of the reasons why I split with Dawood. He also killed my men,’’ said Nana, as Rajan is known in his ‘inner circle’. When asked, the anti-extortion cell went on record to say that, of late, the number of Rajan threats in the city have been ‘‘negligible’’.[22] As a result of their falling, many gansgters and notable personalities from both sides were killed, notable among them being Sharad Shetty, Dawood's financier and long term confidant, and Mirza Dilshad Beg, Nepal MP and one time minister, who was reportedly a point man for Dawood in Nepal.
Abu Salem and split

Gangster Abu Salem was also under the patronage of Dawood but he is said to have split from him after some differences arose between them due to the assassination of Gulshan Kumar and also because Dawood started favouring gangster Chhota Shakeel over Abu Salem.
Net worth

His net worth is said to be $6-7 billion (INR 30000 crores) and his ‘business interests’ are spread in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Dubai, Germany, France, the UK and several countries in Africa.[23] Some sources estimate his net worth at close to 900 billion rupees (~$20billion)[24]. Despite this, he has never been listed by the Forbes in its annual list of billionaires, though other criminals such as Joaquín Guzmán Loera have been, putting the size of Dawood's fortune in question. Some sources say that his net worth is less than one billion dollars because he has never been included in any rich lists.
Family

The Tribune mentions the following information about Don Dawood:

Name: Dawood Sheikh Ibrahim Kaskar

Father’s name: Late Sheikh Ibrahim Ali Kaskar

Mother’s name: Late Amina Bi

Wife’s name: Mehjabeen, alias Zubeena Zareen

Children: Mahrook, 25 years; Mehreen, 23 years; Moeen, 20 years; Maria, 14 years.

Siblings: Brothers - Late Noor-ul-Haq alias Noora (allegedly shot dead by gangsters in Karachi)[25]; Anees Ibrahim Kaskar[26]; Iqbal Kaskar; a sister known as Aapi (reportedly 11 siblings, names of others not known)
His daughter

Dawood Ibrahim's daughter Mahrukh Ibrahim married Junaid Miandad the son of a former Pakistan National Cricket Team captain, Javed Miandad.[27] Miandad told the press that his son and Ibrahim's daughter met while studying together in the UK.[28]
Crimes by family members

Sameer Wagle (33)[when?] |He is the son of Dawood’s elder sister Shahida and runs a travel agency at Mazgaon. He, along with four others, was arrested by the Byculla police in February 2006 on charges of extortion. The accused were arrested after the victim, confined in a room at Dockyard Road, dialled 100. The police then rescued the victim and his brother. The suspects had allegedly forced the victim to sign on a stamp paper, giving Wagle the ownership rights of his butcher shop at Mazgaon. Haseena and her associates had taken Rs 1 crore from him “to help sell off a property’’. However, the deal never materialised. When Avlani demanded his money back, he was allegedly threatened. Avlani then approached the police. The crime branch has filed a chargesheet against Haseena. The trial is pending.

Danish Parkar (28) | Another nephew, he was Haseena’s son. There was one criminal case registered against him in the JJ Marg police station. He died in a road accident in 2005. His friends allege he was killed in a “planned operation’’.

Iqbal Kaskar | Dawood’s younger brother, he was deported from the UAE in 2003 and booked in murder and land-grabbing cases. He was subsequently discharged from the murder case. On June 14, 2007 a special MCOCA court acquitted him in the controversial Sara-Sahara shopping complex case for lack of evidence. With no cases pending against him, Kaskar was released from jail.

Haseena Parkar | Dawood’s younger sister, she came under the crime branch scanner in 2006 for allegedly extorting money from a builder. While the 48-year-old widow managed to dodge the police, her lawyers proved in the court that it was not a case of extortion but cheating and was granted bail. A real estate broker, Vinod Avlani, had complained to the police that Parkar had threatened him.

Sajid Wagle (38) | Dawood’s nephew, Sajid Wagle, was arrested in July 2008 for targeting cable operators in several areas of south Mumbai. Popularly known as Bhanja, Wagle has a group of boys working for him who go about threatening cable operators to pay hafta. The don’s nephew owns Nawaz cable and internet service agency. Son of a technical head clerk in the Merchant Navy, Bhanja is the second among four siblings. He was earlier arrested in February 2008 in an extortion case. A Std-VI dropout, Wagle, stepped into the world of crime in 1999 when he was first arrested in connection with an extortion case. Though Bhanja has never met his uncle in the past 25 years, he never fails to use his name. His mother, Shahida who was Dawood’s elder sister, died last year
Main crimes
Narcotics trafficking & money-laundering

Dawood Ibrahim is believed to control much of the 'hawala' system , which is the commonly used unofficial system for transferring money and remittances outside the view of official agencies, mainly proceeds from narcotics trafficking and illegal business dealings. Much of the organisation's operations are in India.[29][30]
Terrorism

Ibrahim is widely believed to have masterminded the 1993 Bombay Bombings, a series of terrorist attacks carried out in the city on March 12 of the year. In 2003, the Indian and United States governments declared Ibrahim a "Global Terrorist". The then Deputy Prime Minister,described it as a major development and that India stands "vindicated". Ibrahim is currently on India's "Most wanted List".[31]

The United States Department of Treasury has also designated Ibrahim as a terrorist as part of its international sanctions program — effectively forbidding U.S. financial entities from working with him and seizing assets believed to be under his control. The Department of Treasury keeps a fact sheet on Ibrahim which contains reports of his syndicate having smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle-East and Africa shared with and used by terrorist organisation al-Qaeda. The fact sheet also said that Ibrahim's syndicate is involved in largescale shipment of narcotics in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. He is also believed to have contacts with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden. In the late 1990s, Ibrahim traveled in Afghanistan under the Taliban's protection. The syndicate has consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through riots, terrorism and civil disobedience.[32]

Washington added that they will request the United Nations to list Ibrahim "in pursuance of relevant Security Council resolutions". The UN listing will require that all UN member states freeze Ibrahim's assets and impose a travel ban. Juan Zarate, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said that they are committed to identifying and attacking financial ties between terrorism and the underworld.[31] Ibrahim is also suspected to have connections with terrorist organisations, and in 2002 was linked to the financing of increasing attacks in Gujarat by Lashkar-e-Toiba.[31] New Delhi handed over to Islamabad a list of 38 most wanted criminals, including Ibrahim.[6]

In a major blow to Ibrahim, ten members of his gang were arrested by Mumbai Crime Branch on November 21, 2006. They were extradited from the United Arab Emirates, from where they had been deported.[33]

Sources reported in India Today indicate that Dawood Ibrahim provided the logistics for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.[34]
United States deportation resistance

In January 2002, a month after the Parliament attack, Indian officials visited the US, where they had meetings with Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. A list of the Top 20 most-wanted terrorists in Pakistan was handed to the US. Ibrahim was wanted in connection with the 1993 Bombay serial blasts.

Ajmal Amir Kasab, a gunman arrested for participation in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 173 (164 civilians and security personnel and 9 terrorists), has confessed to authorities according to reports that Ibrahim's organization provided arms and explosives to the Lashkar-e-Toiba group that were used to carry out the attacks.[35]
Recent Developments

The past few years have seen a dramatic decline in Dawood's fortunes from the heady heights of the life depicted in Portrait of a Don - the exposé by Ghulam Hasnain in 2001.[36]

Firstly came the death of Sharad Shetty, Dawood's financier and long term confidant, an assassination carried out by Dawood's long time rival Chotta Rajan. News media outlets reported the murder as a sign of a dramatic shift of power between the crime lords.[37] This was the seminal event in a series of blows to his criminal empire from which Ibrahim has never fully recovered. The loss of Shetty was followed by the declaration by the United States Treasury Department declaring Ibrahim a global terrorist because of his links with Osama bin Laden.[38][38] Ibrahim then lost one of his closest aides, Pakistani Underworld Don Shoaib Khan (not to be confused with the Pakistani cricketer also named Shoaib Khan) in 2005.[38] Shoaib allegedly died due to a 'heart attack' though he had no previous such condition.[39] However Dawood is still considered a strong figure and enjoys influence in the Indian underworld.[40]
Popular culture

Dawood Ibrahim's life has been subject of Bollywood films.

* Company - based on rift between Ibrahim and Chota Rajan.
* Risk - based on Ibrahim's life.
* D - based on Ibrahim's rise and growth.
* Black Friday - based on the 1993 Bombay bombings.
* Shootout at Lokhandwala - based on five gangsters active in 1991
* Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai - based on Haji Mastan and Ibrahim [41]

Most wanted Osama bin Laden

2010-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Usāmah bin Muḥammad bin `Awaḍ bin Lādin
(Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎)
Born March 10, 1957 (1957-03-10) (age 53)
Bin Laden Poster2.jpeg
Osama bin Laden on an al-Qaeda propaganda poster
Place of birth Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Allegiance Al-Qaeda
Battles/wars Soviet war in Afghanistan
War on Terror:

* War in Afghanistan
* War in North-West Pakistan
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (with numerous variations; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎, Usāmah bin Muḥammad bin ‘Awaḍ bin Lādin; born March 10, 1957) is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founding leader of the terrorist Islamist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian targets. Bin Laden is on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives due to several 1998 US embassy bombings.

Since 2001, Osama bin Laden and his organization have been major targets of the United States' War on Terror. Bin Laden and fellow Al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Contents

* 1 Variations of bin Laden's name
* 2 Childhood, education and personal life
* 3 Beliefs and ideology
* 4 Militant activity
o 4.1 Mujahideen in Afghanistan
o 4.2 Formation and structuring of Al-Qaeda
o 4.3 Sudan
o 4.4 Early attacks and aid for attacks
o 4.5 Balkan wars
o 4.6 September 11, 2001 attacks
* 5 Criminal charges
* 6 Attempted capture by the United States
o 6.1 Clinton Administration
o 6.2 Bush Administration
o 6.3 Obama Administration
* 7 Conflicting reports of his death and his survival since 9/11
o 7.1 Reports of his death
o 7.2 Reports of his current whereabouts
* 8 Criticism
* 9 See also
* 10 Footnotes
* 11 References
* 12 External links

Variations of bin Laden's name

There is no universally accepted standard in the West for transliterating Arabic words and names into English, so bin Laden's name is spelled in many different ways. The version translation most often used by English-language mass media is Osama bin Laden. Most American government agencies, including the FBI and CIA, use either "Usama bin Laden" or "Usama bin Ladin", both of which are often abbreviated to UBL. Less common renderings include "Ussamah Bin Ladin" and "Oussama Ben Laden" (French-language mass media). The last two words of the name can also be found as "Binladen" or (as used by his family in the West) "Binladin". The spelling with 'o' and 'e' comes from a Persian-influenced pronunciation used in Afghanistan where he was for a long time.

Strictly speaking, Arabic linguistic conventions dictate that he be referred to as "Osama" or "Osama bin Laden", not "bin Laden," as "Bin Laden" is not used as a surname in the Western manner, but simply as part of his name, which in its long form means "Osama, son of Mohammed, son of 'Awad, son of Laden". Still, "bin Laden" has become nearly universal in Western references to him.

Bin Laden's admirers commonly use several aliases and nicknames, including the Prince/Al-Amir, the Sheikh, Abu Abdallah, Sheikh Al-Mujahid, the Lion Sheik,[3] the Director.[4]
Childhood, education and personal life
Main article: Childhood, education and personal life of Osama bin Laden
See also: Bin Laden family

Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[5] In a 1998 interview, he gave his birth date as March 10, 1957.[6] His father Muhammed Awad bin Laden was a wealthy businessman with close ties to the Saudi royal family.[7] Osama bin Laden was born the only son of Muhammed bin Laden's tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas.[8] Osama's parents divorced soon after he was born; Osama's mother then married Muhammad al-Attas. The couple had four children, and Osama lived in the new household with three half-brothers and one half-sister.[8]

Bin Laden was raised as a devout Wahhabi Muslim.[9] From 1968 to 1976 he attended the "élite" secular Al-Thager Model School.[8] Bin Laden studied economics and business administration[10] at King Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest bin Laden earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979,[11] or a degree in public administration in 1981.[12] Other sources describe him as having left university during his third year,[13] never completing a college degree, though "hard working."[14] At university, bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work.[15] He also writes poetry.[16]

In 1974, at the age of 17, bin Laden married his first wife Najwa Ghanem at Latakia.[17] According to CNN national security correspondent David Ensore, as of 2002 bin Laden had married four women and fathered roughly 25 or 26 children.[18] Other sources report that he has fathered anywhere from 12 to 24 children.[19]
Beliefs and ideology
Main article: Beliefs and ideology of Osama bin Laden

Bin Laden believes that the restoration of Sharia law will set things right in the Muslim world, and that all other ideologies—"pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy"—must be opposed.[20] These beliefs, along with violent expansive jihad, have sometimes been called Qutbism.[21] He believes Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world.[22] Bin Laden has consistently dwelt on the need for violent jihad to right what he believes are injustices against Muslims perpetrated by the United States and sometimes by other non-Muslim states,[23] the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and the necessity of forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East. He has also called on Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication (and) homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury," in an October 2002 letter.[24]

Probably the most infamous part of Bin Laden's ideology is that civilians, including women and children, are legitimate targets of jihad.[25][26] Bin Laden is antisemitic, and has delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next."[27] Shia Muslims have been listed along with "Heretics,... America and Israel," as the four principal "enemies of Islam" at ideology classes of bin Laden's Al-Qaeda organization.[28]

In keeping with Wahhabi beliefs,[29] bin Laden opposes music on religious grounds,[30] and his attitude towards technology is mixed. He is interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants" on the one hand, but rejects "chilled water" on the other.[31]

His viewpoints and methods of achieving them have led to him been designated as a "terrorist" by scholars,[32][33] journalists from the New York Times,[34][35] the British Broadcasting Corporation,[36] and Qatari news station Al Jazeera,[37] analysts such as Peter Bergen,[38] Michael Scheuer,[39] Marc Sageman,[40] and Bruce Hoffman[41][42] and he was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid, New York City, and Tripoli.[43]
Militant activity
Main article: Militant activity of Osama bin Laden
Mujahideen in Afghanistan
Bin Laden with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir in 1997

After leaving college in 1979 bin Laden joined Abdullah Azzam to fight the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan[44] and lived for a time in Peshawar.[45]

By 1984, with Azzam, bin Laden established Maktab al-Khadamat, which funneled money, arms and Muslim fighters from around the Arabic world into the Afghan war. Through al-Khadamat, bin Laden's inherited family fortune[46] paid for air tickets and accommodation, dealt with paperwork with Pakistani authorities and provided other such services for the jihad fighters. Osama established a camp in Afghanistan, and with other volunteers fought the Soviets.

Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, bin Laden moved to Peshawar in 1994.[citation needed] It was during his time in Peshawar that he began wearing camouflage-print jackets and carrying a captured Soviet assault rifle, which urban legends claimed he had obtained by killing a Russian soldier with his bare hands.[47]
Formation and structuring of Al-Qaeda
Main article: Al-Qaeda

By 1988, bin Laden had split from Maktab al-Khidamat. While Azzam acted as support for Afghan fighters, bin Laden wanted a more military role. One of the main points leading to the split and the creation of al-Qaeda was Azzam's insistence that Arab fighters be integrated among the Afghan fighting groups instead of forming a separate fighting force.[48]

Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, Osama bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia in 1990 as a hero of jihad, who along with his Arab legion, "had brought down the mighty superpower" of the Soviet Union.[49] The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 had put the kingdom and its ruling House of Saud at risk. The world's most valuable oil fields were within easy striking distance of Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and Saddam's call to pan-Arab/Islamism could potentially rally internal dissent. bin Laden met with King Fahd, and Sultan, Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia, telling them not to depend on non-Muslim troops, and offered to help defend Saudi Arabia with his mujahideen fighters. Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and after the American offer to help repel Iraq from Kuwait was accepted, involving deploying U.S. troops in Saudi territory,[50] he publicly denounced Saudi Arabia's dependence on the U.S. military, as he believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. Bin Laden's criticism of the Saudi monarchy led that government to attempt to silence him.

Shortly after Saudi Arabia permitted U.S. troops on Saudi soil, bin Laden turned his attention to attacks on the west. On November 8, 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of El Sayyid Nosair, an associate of al Qaeda operative Ali Mohamed, discovering a great deal of evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers, marking the earliest uncovering of al Qaeda plans for such activities outside of Muslim countries.[51] Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and for the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane on November 5, 1990.

Bin Laden continued to speak publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, for which the Saudis banished him. He went to live in exile in Sudan, in 1992, in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamed.[52]
Sudan

In Sudan, bin Laden established a new base for mujahideen operations, in Khartoum.

bin Laden continued his verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and in response, on March 5, 1994, Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Laden's passport. His family was persuaded to cut off his monthly stipend, the equivalent of $7 million a year.[53] By now bin Laden was strongly associated with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), which made up the core of al-Qaeda. In 1995 the EIJ attempted to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The attempt failed, and the EIJ was expelled from Sudan.

Sudan also began efforts to expel bin Laden. The 9/11 Commission Report states:

"In late 1995, when Bin Laden was still in Sudan, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learned that Sudanese officials were discussing with the Saudi government the possibility of expelling Bin Laden. CIA paramilitary officer Billy Waugh tracked down bin Ladin in the Sudan and prepared an operation to apprehend him, but was denied authorization.[54] US Ambassador Timothy Carney encouraged the Sudanese to pursue this course. The Saudis, however, did not want Bin Laden, giving as their reason their revocation of his citizenship. Sudan’s minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Laden over to the United States. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Laden. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment outstanding."[55]

The 9/11 Commission Report further states:

"In February 1996, Sudanese officials began approaching officials from the United States and other governments, asking what actions of theirs might ease foreign pressure. In secret meetings with Saudi officials, Sudan offered to expel bin Laden to Saudi Arabia and asked the Saudis to pardon him. US officials became aware of these secret discussions, certainly by March. Saudi officials apparently wanted bin Laden expelled from Sudan. They had already revoked his citizenship, however, and would not tolerate his presence in their country. Also bin Laden may have no longer felt safe in Sudan, where he had already escaped at least one assassination attempt that he believed to have been the work of the Egyptian or Saudi regimes, or both."

In May 1996, under increasing pressure on Sudan, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United States, bin Laden returned to Jalalabad, Afghanistan aboard a chartered flight, and there forged a close relationship with Mullah Mohammed Omar.[56][57] When Bin Laden left Sudan, he and his organization were significantly weakened, despite his ambitions and organizational skills.[58] In Afghanistan, bin Laden and Al-Qaeda raised money from "donors from the days of the Soviet jihad", and from the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).[59]
Early attacks and aid for attacks

It is believed that the first bombing attack involving bin Laden was the December 29, 1992 bombing of the Gold Mihor Hotel in Aden in which two people were killed.[60]

It was after this bombing that al-Qaeda was reported to have developed its justification for the killing of innocent people. According to a fatwa issued by Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, the killing of someone standing near the enemy is justified because any innocent bystander will find their proper reward in death, going to Jannah (Paradise) if they were good Muslims and to Jahannam (hell) if they were bad or non-believers.[61] The fatwa was issued to al-Qaeda members but not the general public.

In the 1990s bin Laden's al-Qaeda assisted jihadis financially and sometimes militarily in Algeria, Egypt and Afghanistan. In 1992 or 1993 bin Laden sent an emissary, Qari el-Said, with $40,000 to Algeria to aid the Islamists and urge war rather than negotiation with the government. Their advice was heeded but the war that followed killed 150,000–200,000 Algerians and ended with Islamist surrender to the government.

In 2009 the American law professor Ken Gromley revealed in his book "The Death of American Virtue",[62] to be released in February 2010, that the US President Clinton escaped from being assassinated in the Philippines by terrorists "controlled by Osama bin Laden" in 1996.[63]

Another effort by bin Laden was the funding of the Luxor massacre of November 17, 1997,[64][65][66] which killed 62 civilians, but so revolted the Egyptian public that it turned against Islamist terror. In mid-1997, the Northern Alliance threatened to overrun Jalalabad, causing Bin Laden to abandon his Nazim Jihad compound and move his operations to Tarnak Farms in the south.[67]

A later effort that did succeed was an attack on the city of Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan. Bin Laden helped cement his alliance with his hosts the Taliban by sending several hundred of his Afghan Arab fighters along to help the Taliban kill between five and six thousand Hazaras overrunning the city.[68]

In 1998, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri co-signed a fatwa in the name of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders which declared the killing of North Americans and their allies an "individual duty for every Muslim" to "liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Mecca) from their grip".[69][70] At the public announcement of the fatwa bin Laden announced that North Americans are "very easy targets." He told the attending journalists, "You will see the results of this in a very short time."[71]

In December 1998, the Director of Central Intelligence Counterterrorist Center reported to the president that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the USA, including the training of personnel to hijack aircraft.[72]

At the end of 2000, Richard Clarke revealed that Islamic militants headed by bin Laden had planned a triple attack on January 3, 2000 which would have included bombings in Jordan of the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman and tourists at Mount Nebo and a site on the Jordan River, the sinking of the destroyer USS The Sullivans in Yemen, as well as an attack on a target within the United States. The plan was foiled by the arrest of the Jordanian terrorist cell, the sinking of the explosive-filled skiff intended to target the destroyer, and the arrest of Ahmed Ressam.[73]
Balkan wars
See also: Bosnian mujahideen

A former U.S. State Department official in October 2001 described Bosnia and Herzegovina as a safe haven for terrorists, after it was revealed that militant elements of the former Sarajevo government were protecting extremists, some with ties to Osama bin Laden.[74] In 1997, Rzeczpospolita, one of the largest Polish daily newspapers, reported that intelligence services of the Nordic-Polish SFOR Brigade suspected that a center for training terrorists from Islamic countries was located in the Bocina Donja village near Maglaj in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1992, hundreds of volunteers joined an "all-mujahedeen unit" called El Moujahed in an abandoned hillside factory, a compound with a hospital and prayer hall. According to Middle East intelligence reports, bin Laden financed small convoys of recruits from the Arab world through his businesses in Sudan. Among them was Karim Said Atmani who was identified by authorities as the document forger for a group of Algerians accused of plotting the bombings in the USA.[75] He is a former roommate of Ahmed Ressam, the man arrested at the Canadian-U.S. border in mid-December 1999 with a car full of nitroglycerin and bomb-making materials.[76][77] He was convicted of colluding with Osama bin Laden by a French court.[78]

A Bosnian government search of passport and residency records, conducted at the urging of the United States, revealed other former mujahideen who are linked to the same Algerian group or to other groups of suspected terrorists who have lived in this area 60 miles (97 km) north of Sarajevo, the capital, in the past few years. Khalil al-Deek, was arrested in Jordan in late December 1999 on suspicion of involvement in a plot to blow up tourist sites; a second man with Bosnian citizenship, Hamid Aich, lived in Canada at the same time as Atmani and worked for a charity associated with Osama Bin Laden. In its June 26, 1997 Report on the bombing of the Al Khobar building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the New York Times noted that those arrested confessed to serving with Bosnian Muslims forces. Further, the captured men also admitted to ties with Osama bin Laden.[79][80][81]

In 1999 it was revealed that Osama bin Laden and his Tunisian assistant Mehrez Aodouni were granted citizenship and Bosnian passports in 1993 by the Government in Sarajevo. This information was denied by the Bosnian government following the 9/11 attacks, but it was later found that Aodouni was arrested in Turkey and that at that time he possessed the Bosnian passport. Following this revelation, a new explanation was given that bin Laden "did not personally collect his Bosnian passport" and that officials at the Bosnian embassy in Vienna, which issued the passport, could not have known who bin Laden was at the time.[79][80][81] The Bosnian daily Oslobođenje published in 2001 that three men, believed linked to be linked to Osama Bin Laden, were arrested in Sarajevo in July 2001. The three, one of whom was identified as Imad El Misri, were Egyptian nationals. The paper said that two of the suspects were holding Bosnian passports.[79]

In 1998 it was reported that bin Laden was operating his Al Qaeda network out of Albania. The Charleston Gazette quoted Fatos Klosi, the head of the Albanian intelligence service, as saying a network run by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden sent units to fight in the Serbian province of Kosovo. Confirmation of these activities came from Claude Kader, a French national who said he was a member of bin Laden's Albanian network.

By 1998 four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) were arrested in Albania, and extradited to Egypt at the urging of the CIA. It is believed that the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Africa occurred as retaliation for these arrests.[82]
September 11, 2001 attacks
See also: September 11 attacks

"Allah knows it did not cross our minds to attack the towers but after the situation became unbearable and we witnessed the injustice and tyranny of the American-Israeli alliance against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, I thought about it. And the events that affected me directly were that of 1982 and the events that followed – when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way (and) to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women."

– Osama bin Laden[83]

See also: Videos of Osama bin Laden

After initial denial, in 2004 Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.[84][85][86] The attacks involved the hijacking of four commercial passenger aircraft,[87] the subsequent destruction of those planes and the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, severe damage to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia,[88] and the deaths of 2,974 people and the nineteen hijackers.[89] In response to the attacks, the United States launched a War on Terror to depose the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and capture al-Qaeda operatives, and several countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation to preclude future attacks. The CIA's Special Activities Division was given the lead in tracking down and killing or capturing bin Laden.[90]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that classified[91] evidence linking Al-Qaeda and bin Laden to the attacks of September 11 is clear and irrefutable.[92] The UK Government reached a similar conclusion regarding Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's culpability for the September 11, 2001, attacks although the government report notes that the evidence presented is insufficient for a prosecutable case.[93] Bin Laden initially denied involvement in the attacks. On September 16, 2001, bin Laden read a statement later broadcast by Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite channel denying responsibility for the attack.[94]

In a videotape recovered by US forces in November 2001 in Jalalabad, bin Laden was seen discussing the attack with Khaled al-Harbi in a way that indicates foreknowledge.[95] The tape was broadcast on various news networks on December 13, 2001. The merits of this translation have been disputed. Arabist Dr. Abdel El M. Husseini stated: "This translation is very problematic. At the most important places where it is held to prove the guilt of bin Laden, it is not identical with the Arabic."[96]

In the 2004 Osama bin Laden video, bin Laden abandoned his denials without retracting past statements. In it he stated he had personally directed the nineteen hijackers.[85][97] In the 18-minute tape, played on Al-Jazeera, four days before the American presidential election, bin Laden accused U.S. President George W. Bush of negligence on the hijacking of the planes on September 11.[85]

According to the tapes, bin Laden claimed he was inspired to destroy the World Trade Center after watching the destruction of towers in Lebanon by Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.[98]

In two other tapes aired by Al Jazeera in 2006, Osama bin Laden announces,

I am the one in charge of the nineteen brothers … I was responsible for entrusting the nineteen brothers … with the raids [5 minute audiotape broadcast May 23, 2006],[99]

and is seen with Ramzi Binalshibh, as well as two of the 9/11 hijackers, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri, as they make preparations for the attacks (videotape broadcast September 7, 2006).[100]
Criminal charges

On March 16, 1998, Libya issued the first official Interpol arrest warrant against Bin Laden and three other people for killing two German citizens in Libya on March 10, 1994, one of which is thought to have been a German counter-intelligence officer. Bin Laden is still wanted by the Libyan government.[101][102] Osama bin Laden was first indicted by the United States on June 8, 1998, when a grand jury indicted Osama bin Laden on charges of killing five Americans and two Indians in the November 14, 1995 truck bombing of a US-operated Saudi National Guard training center in Riyadh.[103]

Bin Laden was charged with "conspiracy to attack defense utilities of the United States" and prosecutors further charged that bin Laden is the head of the terrorist organization called al Qaeda, and that he was a major financial backer of Islamic fighters worldwide.[103] Bin Laden denied involvement but praised the attack. On November 4, 1998, Osama bin Laden was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on charges of Murder of US Nationals Outside the United States, Conspiracy to Murder US Nationals Outside the United States, and Attacks on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death[104] for his alleged role in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony by former Al Qaeda members and satellite phone records, from a phone purchased for him by al-Qaeda procurement agent Ziyad Khaleel in the U.S.[105]

Bin Laden became the 456th person listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, when he was added to the list on June 7, 1999, following his indictment along with others for capital crimes in the 1998 embassy attacks. Attempts at assassination and requests for the extradition of bin Laden from the Taliban of Afghanistan were met with failure prior to the bombing of Afghanistan in October 2001.[106] In 1999, US President Bill Clinton convinced the United Nations to impose sanctions against Afghanistan in an attempt to force the Taliban to extradite him.

Years later, on October 10, 2001, bin Laden appeared as well on the initial list of the top 22 FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, which was released to the public by the President of the United States George W. Bush, in direct response to the attacks of 9/11, but which was again based on the indictment for the 1998 embassy attack. Bin Laden was among a group of thirteen fugitive terrorists wanted on that latter list for questioning about the 1998 embassy bombings. Bin Laden remains the only fugitive ever to be listed on both FBI fugitive lists.

Despite the multiple indictments listed above and multiple requests, the Taliban refused to extradite Osama Bin Laden. It wasn't until after the bombing of Afghanistan began in October 2001 that the Taliban finally did offer to turn over Osama bin Laden to a third-party country for trial, in return for the US ending the bombing and providing evidence that Osama bin Laden was involved in the 9/11 attacks. This offer was rejected by George W Bush stating that this was no longer negotiable with Bush responding that "There's no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he's guilty."[107]
Attempted capture by the United States
US propaganda leaflet used in Afghanistan.
Clinton Administration

Capturing Osama bin Laden has been an objective of the United States government since the presidency of Bill Clinton.[108] Shortly after the September 11 attacks it was revealed that President Clinton had signed a directive authorizing the CIA (and specifically their elite Special Activities Division) to apprehend bin Laden and bring him to the United States to stand trial after the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa; if taking bin Laden alive was deemed impossible, then deadly force was authorized.[109] On August 20, 1998, 66 cruise missiles launched by United States Navy ships in the Arabian Sea struck bin Laden's training camps near Khost in Afghanistan, narrowly missing him by a few hours.[110] In 1999 the CIA, together with Pakistani military intelligence, had prepared a team of approximately 60 Pakistani commandos to infiltrate Afghanistan to capture or kill bin Laden, but the plan was aborted by the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état;[110] in 2000, foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.[109]

In 2000, prior to the September 11 attacks, Paul Bremer characterized the Clinton administration as "correctly focused on bin Laden", while Robert Oakley criticized their "obsession with Osama".[73]
Bush Administration

According to The Washington Post, the US government concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the Battle of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in late 2001, and according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge, failure by the US to commit US ground troops to hunt him led to his escape and was the gravest failure by the US in the war against al Qaeda. Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border.[111]

The Washington Post also reported that the CIA unit composed of their special operations paramilitary forces dedicated to capturing Osama was shut down in late 2005.[112]

US and Afghanistan forces raided the mountain caves in Tora Bora between 14–16 August 2007. The military was drawn to the area after receiving intelligence of a pre-Ramadan meeting held by al Qaeda members. After killing dozens of al Qaeda and Taliban members, they did not find either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri.[113]

Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, US government officials named bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda organization as the prime suspects and offered a reward of $25 million for information leading to his capture or death.[4][114] On July 13, 2007, this figure was doubled to $50 million.[115]

The Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association are offering an additional $2 million reward.[116]
Obama Administration

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in December 2009 that officials have had no reliable information on Bin Laden's whereabouts for "years". One week later, general Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said in December 2009 that al-Qaeda will not be defeated unless its leader, Osama Bin Laden, is captured or killed. Testifying to the U.S. Congress, he said Bin Laden had become an "iconic figure, whose survival emboldens al-Qaeda as a franchising organization across the world", and that Obama's deployment of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan meant that success would be possible. "I don't think that we can finally defeat al-Qaeda until he's captured or killed", McChrystal said of Bin Laden. Killing or capturing Bin Laden would not spell the end of al-Qaeda, but the movement could not be eradicated while he remained at large.[117]
Conflicting reports of his death and his survival since 9/11

Shortly after the attacks of 9/11, US president George W. Bush issued a statement that as a consequence of the 9/11 attacks, he now hoped to "kill or capture" Bin Laden. Subsequently, Bin Laden retreated further from public contact as an obviously defensive measure against potential US capture. Since that time, numerous speculative press reports have been issued concerning various hearsay stories about his whereabouts, and also about alleged evidence of his supposed death. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda has continued to release time sensitive and professionally verified videos demonstrating Bin Laden's continued survival as recently as August 2007.[118] In the years since 9/11, Al Queda has also released a regular series of audio and video tapes averaging once every two to three months, which seem to be generally accepted as authentic. Most recently, US General McChrystal emphasized the continued importance of the capture or killing of Bin Laden, thus clearly indicating that the US high command continues to believe that Bin Laden is probably still alive. Following are some of these conflicting reports regarding both his claimed death, and his claimed continued whereabouts:
Reports of his death

December 2001 Quoting an unnamed Taliban official, the Pakistan Observer reported that Bin Laden died of untreated lung complications and was buried in an unmarked grave in Tora Bora on December 15.[119] This report was picked up by Fox News in the United States on December 26.[120] Also on December 26, the Egyptian newspaper AlWafd - Daily carried a short obituary by a prominent official of the Afghan Taliban, who was allegedly present at the funeral, stating Bin Laden had been buried on or about December 13:[121]

"(Osama bin Laden) suffered serious complications and died a natural, quiet death. He was buried in Tora Bora, a funeral attended by 30 Al Qaeda fighters, close members of his family and friends from the Taliban. By the Wahhabi tradition, no mark was left on the grave"

A videotape was released on December 27 showing a gaunt, unwell Bin Laden, prompting an unnamed White House aide to comment that it could have been made shortly before his death.[119] On CNN, Dr Sanjay Gupta commented that Bin Laden's left arm never moved during the video, suggesting a recent stroke and possibly a symptom of kidney failure.[122] According to Pakistani President Musharraf, Bin Laden required two dialysis machines, which also suggests kidney failure.[123] "I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a... kidney patient," Musharraf said.[123] If Bin Laden suffered kidney failure, he would require a sterile environment, electricity, and continuous attention by a team of specialists, Gupta said.[122] In April 2002, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated, "We have heard neither hide nor hair of him since, oh, about December in terms of anything hard."[124] FBI Counterterrorism chief Dale Watson and President Karzai of Afghanistan also expressed the opinion that Bin Laden probably died at this time.[125][126]

October 2002: In a CNN interview, Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated that "I would come to believe that [bin Laden] probably is dead."[127]

April 2005: The Sydney Morning Herald stated "Dr Clive Williams, director of terrorism studies at the Australian National University, says documents provided by an Indian colleague suggested bin Laden died of massive organ failure in April last year … 'It's hard to prove or disprove these things because there hasn't really been anything that allows you to make a judgment one way or the other,' Dr. Williams said."[128]

Late 2005 CIA disbands "Alec Station", unit dedicated to Bin Laden.[129]

September 2006: On September 23, 2006, the French newspaper L'Est Républicain quoted a report from the French secret service (Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure, DGSE) stating that Osama bin Laden had died in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, after contracting a case of typhoid fever that paralyzed his lower limbs.[130] According to the newspaper, Saudi security services first heard of bin Laden's alleged death on September 4, 2006.[131][132][133] The alleged death was reported by the Saudi Arabian secret service to its government, which reported it to the French secret service. The French defense minister Michèle Alliot-Marie expressed her regret that the report had been published while French President Jacques Chirac declared that bin Laden's death had not been confirmed.[134] American authorities also cannot confirm reports of bin Laden's death,[135] with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying only, "No comment, and no knowledge."[136] Later, CNN's Nic Robertson said that he had received confirmation from an anonymous Saudi source that the Saudi intelligence community has known for a while that bin Laden has a water-borne illness, but that he had heard no reports that it was specifically typhoid or that he had died.[137]

November 2007: In an interview with political interviewer David Frost taken on November 2, 2007, the Pakistani politician and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto claimed that bin Laden had been murdered by Omar Sheikh. During her answer to a question pertaining to the identities of those who had previously attempted her own assassination, Bhutto named Sheikh as a possible suspect while referring to him as "the man who murdered Osama bin Laden." Despite the weight of such a statement, neither Bhutto nor Frost attempted to clarify it during the remainder of the interview.[138] Omar Chatriwala, a journalist for Al Jazeera English, claims that he chose not to pursue the story at the time because he believes Bhutto misspoke, meaning to say Sheikh murdered Daniel Pearl and not Osama Bin Laden.[139] The BBC drew criticism when it rebroadcast the Frost/Bhutto interview on its website, but edited out Bhutto's statement regarding Osama Bin Laden. Later the BBC apologized and replaced the edited version with the complete interview.[140] In October 2007, Bhutto stated in an interview that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting Osama bin Laden.[141]

March 2009: In an essay published in The American Spectator in March 2009, international relations professor Angelo Codevilla of Boston University argued that Osama bin Laden had been dead for many years.[142]

April 2009: During an interview with the Telegraph, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari raised the prospect that Osama bin Laden could be dead after he said that intelligence officials could find "no trace" of the al-Qaeda chief. Mr Zardari's predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, similarly suggested that the Saudi terror chief could be dead. Additionally, Pakistan's intelligence agencies also believe Osama bin Laden may be dead.[143]

October 2009: An article in the British tabloid Daily Mail points out that the theory that Bin Laden died in 2001 "is gaining credence among political commentators, respected academics and even terror experts" and notes that the mounting evidence that supports the claim makes the theory "worthy of examination".[121]
Reports of his current whereabouts
Main article: Location of Osama bin Laden

Claims as to the location of Osama bin Laden have been made since December 2001, although none have been definitively proven and some have placed Osama in different locations during overlapping time periods. Since a major military offensive in Afghanistan in the wake of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks in the United States failed to uncover his whereabouts, Pakistan had regularly been identified as his suspected hiding place.

A December 11, 2005, letter from Atiyah Abd al-Rahman to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi indicates that bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership were based in the Waziristan region of Pakistan at the time. In the letter, translated by the United States military's Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, "Atiyah" instructs Zarqawi to "send messengers from your end to Waziristan so that they meet with the brothers of the leadership … I am now on a visit to them and I am writing you this letter as I am with them…" Al-Rahman also indicates that bin Laden and al-Qaeda are "weak" and "have many of their own problems." The letter has been deemed authentic by military and counterterrorism officials, according to the Washington Post.[144][145]

In 2009 a research team led by Thomas W. Gillespie and John A. Agnew of UCLA used satellite-aided geographical analysis to pinpoint three compounds in Parachinar as likely hideouts of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.[146]

In March 2009, the New York Daily News reported that the hunt for bin Laden had centered in the Chitral district of Pakistan, including the Kalam Valley. According to the report, author Rohan Gunaratna states that captured Al Qaeda leaders have confirmed that Chitral is where bin Laden is hiding.[147]

In the first week of December 2009, a Taliban detainee in Pakistan said he had information that Bin Laden was in Afghanistan in 2009. The detainee said that in January or February (of 2009) he met a trusted contact who had seen Bin Laden about 15 to 20 days earlier in Afghanistan. But, the US has had no reliable information on the whereabouts of Bin Laden in years, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted on December 6, 2009.[148] Pakistan's Prime Minister Gillani rejected claims that Osama bin Laden would be hiding within his country.[149]
The digitally aged photograph of Osama bin Laden created using an image of Gaspar Llamazares

On January 15, 2010 the FBI published digitally aged pictures of Osama bin Laden showing what he may look like after a decade of aging. Spanish newspaper El Mundo revealed that a picture of a Spanish politician, Gaspar Llamazares was taken from Google images and used to create the image. The FBI has admitted to this and removed the image from its website. Gaspar Llamazares has responded by stating that he was stupefied by the FBI's decision to use his photograph to compose its latest image of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and that he is considering taking legal action if the FBI does not provide an explanation.[150] An internal investigation has been launched by the FBI to find out if this was done intentionally.[151][152]

On February 2, 2010, an anonymous official of the Saudi Foreign Ministry declared that the kingdom had no intention of getting involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban would sever ties with extremists and expel Osama bin Laden. This condition was announced as the Afghan president Karzai arrived in the kingdom for an official visit, for a discussion of a possible Saudi role in his plan to reintegrate Taliban militants.[153]

On June 7, 2010, the Kuwaiti Al Siyassa reported that Bin Laden was hiding in the mountainous town of Savzevar, in north eastern Iran.[154] The Australian newspaper online published the claim on June 9th.[155]
Criticism
Main article: Criticism of Osama bin Laden

Salafist Muslims have criticized bin Laden for adherence to Qutbism (the ideology of Sayyid Qutb), takfir and Khaarijite deviance. Critics are said to include Muhammad Ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee, Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan and Muqbil bin Haadi al-Waadi'ee.

Stephen Hawking: alien life is out there, scientist warns

2010-08-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Stephen Hawking has suggested that aliens almost certainly exist but has warned humanity not to try to contact them.

One of the world's leading scientists makes the claim in a new television documentary series, beginning on the Discovery Channel next month.
Hawking says that in a universe with 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars, it is unlikely that earth is the only place where life has evolved.

"To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational," he said, according to The Sunday Times.
"The real challenge is working out what aliens might actually be like."
Hawking says that they could be microbes – basic animals such as worms which have been on Earth for millions of years, but suggests that extraterrestrial life could develop much further.
"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet," Hawking said.
"I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach."
The scientist, who is paralysed by motor neurone disease, warned that contact with alien life could spell disaster for the human race.
"If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the American Indians."

Stephen Hawking: alien life is out there, scientist warns - Telegraph

2010-08-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Stephen William Hawking

Stephen Hawking at NASA in 1999.
Born Stephen William Hawking
8 January 1942 (1942-01-08) (age 68)
Oxford, England, UK
Residence England, UK
Nationality British
Fields Applied mathematics
Theoretical physics
Institutions University of Cambridge
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Alma mater University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor Dennis Sciama
Other academic advisors Robert Berman
Doctoral students Bruce Allen
Raphael Bousso
Fay Dowker
Malcolm Perry
Bernard Carr
Gary Gibbons
Harvey Reall
Don Page
Tim Prestidge
Raymond Laflamme
Julian Luttrell
Known for Black holes
Theoretical cosmology
Quantum gravity
Hawking radiation
Influences Dikran Tahta
Notable awards Prince of Asturias Award (1989)
Copley Medal (2006)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)
Signature

Stephen Hawking

2010-08-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

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Stephen William Hawking

Stephen Hawking at NASA in 1999.
Born Stephen William Hawking
8 January 1942 (1942-01-08) (age 68)
Oxford, England, UK
Residence England, UK
Nationality British
Fields Applied mathematics
Theoretical physics
Institutions University of Cambridge
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Alma mater University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor Dennis Sciama
Other academic advisors Robert Berman
Doctoral students Bruce Allen
Raphael Bousso
Fay Dowker
Malcolm Perry
Bernard Carr
Gary Gibbons
Harvey Reall
Don Page
Tim Prestidge
Raymond Laflamme
Julian Luttrell
Known for Black holes
Theoretical cosmology
Quantum gravity
Hawking radiation
Influences Dikran Tahta
Notable awards Prince of Asturias Award (1989)
Copley Medal (2006)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)
Signature

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942)[1] is a British theoretical physicist, whose scientific career spans over forty years. His books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity and he is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts,[2] a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,[3] and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.[4]

Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years, taking up the post in 1979 and retiring on 1 October 2009.[5][6] He is also a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario.[7] He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has also achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include the runaway best seller A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times bestsellers list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.[8][9]

Hawking's key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation).[10]

Hawking has a neuro-muscular dystrophy that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Career in theoretical physics
o 2.1 Research fields
o 2.2 Losing an old bet
o 2.3 Human spaceflight
o 2.4 Existence and nature of extraterrestrial life
* 3 Illness
* 4 As popular science advocate
* 5 Recognition
o 5.1 Acclaim
o 5.2 Distinctions
o 5.3 Awards and honours
* 6 Personal life
o 6.1 Religious views
* 7 Selected publications
o 7.1 Technical
o 7.2 Popular
o 7.3 Children's fiction
o 7.4 Films and series
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 Further reading
* 11 External links
o 11.1 Dated

Early life and education

Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 to Dr. Frank Hawking, a research biologist, and Isobel Hawking. He had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted brother, Edward.[11] Though Hawking's parents were living in North London, they moved to Oxford while his mother was pregnant with Stephen, desiring a safer location for the birth of their first child. (London was under attack at the time by the Luftwaffe.)[12] According to Hawking, a German V-2 missile struck only a few streets away.[13]

After Hawking was born, the family moved back to London, where his father headed the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research.[11] In 1950, Hawking and his family moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire, where he attended St Albans High School for Girls from 1950 to 1953. (At that time, boys could attend the Girls' school until the age of ten.)[14] From the age of eleven, he attended St Albans School, where he was a good, but not exceptional, student.[11] When asked later to name a teacher who had inspired him, Hawking named his mathematics teacher Dikran Tahta.[15] He maintains his connection with the school, giving his name to one of the four houses and to an extracurricular science lecture series. He has visited it to deliver one of the lectures and has also granted a lengthy interview to pupils working on the school magazine, The Albanian.

Hawking was always interested in science.[11] Inspired by his mathematics teacher, he originally wanted to study the subject at university. However, Hawking's father wanted him to apply to University College, Oxford, where his father had attended. As University College did not have a mathematics fellow at that time, it would not accept applications from students who wished to read that discipline. Hawking therefore applied to read natural sciences, in which he gained a scholarship. Once at University College, Hawking specialised in physics.[12] His interests during this time were in thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics. His physics tutor, Robert Berman, later said in The New York Times Magazine:

It was only necessary for him to know that something could be done, and he could do it without looking to see how other people did it. [...] He didn't have very many books, and he didn't take notes. Of course, his mind was completely different from all of his contemporaries.[11]

Hawking was passing, but his unimpressive study habits resulted in a final examination score on the borderline between first and second class honours, making an "oral examination" necessary. Berman said of the oral examination:

And of course the examiners then were intelligent enough to realize they were talking to someone far more clever than most of themselves.[11]

After receiving his B.A. degree at Oxford in 1962, he stayed to study astronomy. He decided to leave when he found that studying sunspots, which was all the observatory was equipped for, did not appeal to him and that he was more interested in theory than in observation.[11] He left Oxford for Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he engaged in the study of theoretical astronomy and cosmology.
Career in theoretical physics

Almost as soon as he arrived at Cambridge, he started developing symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, known colloquially in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease), a type of motor neurone disease which would cost him almost all neuromuscular control. During his first two years at Cambridge, he did not distinguish himself, but, after the disease had stabilised and with the help of his doctoral tutor, Dennis William Sciama, he returned to working on his Ph.D.[11]

Hawking was elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in 1974, was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, and became a Companion of Honour in 1989. Hawking is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Hawking's achievements were made despite the increasing paralysis caused by the ALS. By 1974, he was unable to feed himself or get out of bed. His speech became slurred so that he could be understood only by people who knew him well. In 1985, he caught pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy, which made him unable to speak at all. A Cambridge scientist built a device that enables Hawking to write onto a computer with small movements of his body, and then have a voice synthesizer speak what he has typed.[16]
Research fields
Hawking in Cambridge

Hawking's principal fields of research are theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity.

In the late 1960s, he and his Cambridge friend and colleague, Roger Penrose, applied a new, complex mathematical model they had created from Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.[17] This led, in 1970, to Hawking proving the first of many singularity theorems; such theorems provide a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a gravitational singularity in space-time. This work showed that, far from being mathematical curiosities which appear only in special cases, singularities are a fairly generic feature of general relativity.[18]

He supplied a mathematical proof, along with Brandon Carter, Werner Israel and D. Robinson, of John Wheeler's no-hair theorem – namely, that any black hole is fully described by the three properties of mass, angular momentum, and electric charge.

Hawking also suggested upon analysis of gamma ray emissions that after the Big Bang, primordial mini black holes were formed. With Bardeen and Carter, he proposed the four laws of black hole mechanics, drawing an analogy with thermodynamics. In 1974, he calculated that black holes should thermally create and emit subatomic particles, known today as Bekenstein-Hawking radiation, until they exhaust their energy and evaporate.[19]

In collaboration with Jim Hartle, Hawking developed a model in which the universe had no boundary in space-time, replacing the initial singularity of the classical Big Bang models with a region akin to the North Pole: one cannot travel north of the North Pole, as there is no boundary. While originally the no-boundary proposal predicted a closed universe, discussions with Neil Turok led to the realisation that the no-boundary proposal is also consistent with a universe which is not closed.

Along with Thomas Hertog at CERN, in 2006 Hawking proposed a theory of "top-down cosmology," which says that the universe had no unique initial state, and therefore it is inappropriate for physicists to attempt to formulate a theory that predicts the universe's current configuration from one particular initial state.[20] Top-down cosmology posits that in some sense, the present "selects" the past from a superposition of many possible histories. In doing so, the theory suggests a possible resolution of the fine-tuning question: It is inevitable that we find our universe's present physical constants, as the current universe "selects" only those past histories that led to the present conditions. In this way, top-down cosmology provides an anthropic explanation for why we find ourselves in a universe that allows matter and life, without invoking an ensemble of multiple universes.

Hawking's many other scientific investigations have included the study of quantum cosmology, cosmic inflation, helium production in anisotropic Big Bang universes, large N cosmology, the density matrix of the universe, topology and structure of the universe, baby universes, Yang-Mills instantons and the S matrix, anti de Sitter space, quantum entanglement and entropy, the nature of space and time, including the arrow of time, spacetime foam, string theory, supergravity, Euclidean quantum gravity, the gravitational Hamiltonian, Brans-Dicke and Hoyle-Narlikar theories of gravitation, gravitational radiation, and wormholes.

At a George Washington University lecture in honour of NASA's fiftieth anniversary, Hawking theorised on the existence of extraterrestrial life, believing that "primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare."[21]
Losing an old bet
Main article: Thorne–Hawking–Preskill bet
U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Stephen Hawking in the Blue Room of the White House before a ceremony presenting him and fifteen others the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009. The Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian honour.

Hawking was in the news in July 2004 for presenting a new theory about black holes which goes against his own long-held belief about their behaviour, thus losing a bet he made with Kip Thorne and John Preskill of Caltech. Classically, it can be shown that information crossing the event horizon of a black hole is lost to our universe, and that thus all black holes are identical beyond their mass, electrical charge and angular velocity (the "no hair theorem"). The problem with this theorem is that it implies the black hole will emit the same radiation regardless of what goes into it, and as a consequence that if a pure quantum state is thrown into a black hole, an "ordinary" mixed state will be returned. This runs counter to the rules of quantum mechanics and is known as the black hole information paradox.
Human spaceflight

At the fiftieth anniversary of NASA in 2008, Hawking gave a keynote speech on the final frontier exhorting and inspiring the space technology community on why we (the human race) explore space.[22]

At the celebration of his sixty-fifth birthday on 8 January 2007, Hawking announced his plan to take a zero-gravity flight in 2007 to prepare for a sub-orbital spaceflight in 2009 on Virgin Galactic's space service. Billionaire Richard Branson pledged to pay all expenses for the latter, costing an estimated £100,000.[23] Stephen Hawking's zero-gravity flight in a "Vomit Comet" of Zero Gravity Corporation, during which he experienced weightlessness eight times, took place on 26 April 2007.[24] He became the first quadriplegic to float in zero-gravity. This was the first time in forty years that he moved freely, without his wheelchair. The fee is normally US$3,750 for 10–15 plunges, but Hawking was not required to pay the fee. A bit of a futurist,[25] Hawking was quoted before the flight saying:

Many people have asked me why I am taking this flight. I am doing it for many reasons. First of all, I believe that life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers. I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space. I therefore want to encourage public interest in space.[26]

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he suggested that space was the Earth's long term hope.[27] He continued this theme at a 2008 Charlie Rose interview.[28]
Existence and nature of extraterrestrial life

Hawking has indicated that he is almost certain that alien life exists in other parts of the universe and uses a mathematical basis for his assumptions. "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." He believes alien life not only certainly exists on planets but perhaps even in other places, like within stars or even floating in outer space. He also warns that a few of these species might be intelligent and threaten Earth. Contact with such species might be devastating for humanity.[29] "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said. He advocated that, rather than try to establish contact, man should try to avoid contact with alien life forms.[30]
Illness
Hawking on 5 May 2006, during the press conference at the Bibliothèque nationale de France to inaugurate the Laboratory of Astronomy and Particles in Paris and the French release of his work God Created the Integers

Stephen Hawking is severely disabled by motor neurone disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Hawking's illness is markedly different from typical ALS in the fact that his form of ALS would make for the most protracted case ever documented. A survival for more than ten years after diagnosis is uncommon for ALS; the longest documented durations are thirty-two and thirty-nine years and these cases were termed benign because of the lack of the typical progressive course.[31]

When he was young, he enjoyed riding horses and playing with other children. At Oxford, he coxed a rowing team, which, he stated, helped relieve his immense boredom at the university. Symptoms of the disorder first appeared while he was enrolled at University of Cambridge; he lost his balance and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his head. Worried that he would lose his genius, he took the Mensa test to verify that his intellectual abilities were intact.[32] The diagnosis of motor neurone disease came when Hawking was 21, shortly before his first marriage, and doctors said he would not survive more than two or three years. Hawking gradually lost the use of his arms, legs, and voice, and as of 2009 has been almost completely paralysed.

During a visit to the research centre CERN in Geneva in 1985, Hawking contracted pneumonia, which in his condition was life-threatening as it further restricted his already limited respiratory capacity. He had an emergency tracheotomy, and as a result lost what remained of his ability to speak. He has since used an electronic voice synthesizer to communicate.

The DECtalk DTC01 voice synthesizer he uses, which has an American English accent, is no longer being produced. Asked why he has still kept it after so many years, Hawking mentioned that he has not heard a voice he likes better and that he identifies with it. Hawking is said to be looking for a replacement since, aside from being obsolete, the synthesizer is both large and fragile by current standards. As of mid 2009, he was said to be using NeoSpeech's VoiceText speech synthesizer.[33]

In Hawking's many media appearances, he appears to speak fluently through his synthesizer, but in reality, it is a tedious drawn-out process. Hawking's setup uses a predictive text entry system, which requires only the first few characters in order to auto-complete the word, but as he is only able to use his cheek for data entry, constructing complete sentences takes time. His speeches are prepared in advance, but having a live conversation with him provides insight as to the complexity and work involved. During a Technology, Entertainment, & Design Conference talk, it took him seven minutes to answer a question.[34]

He describes himself as lucky despite his disease. Its slow progression has allowed him time to make influential discoveries and has not hindered him from having, in his own words, "a very attractive family."[35] When his wife, Jane, was asked why she decided to marry a man with a three-year life expectancy, she responded, "Those were the days of atomic gloom and doom, so we all had a rather short life expectancy."
Wikinews has related news: Scientist Stephen Hawking rushed to hospital in ambulance

On 20 April 2009, Cambridge University released a statement saying that Hawking was "very ill" with a chest infection, and was admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital.[36][37] The following day, it was reported that his new condition is "comfortable" and he should make a full recovery from the infection.[38]
As popular science advocate
Main article: Stephen Hawking in popular culture

Hawking has played himself on numerous television shows and has been portrayed in many more. He has played himself on a Red Dwarf anniversary special, played a hologram of himself on the episode "Descent" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, appeared in a skit on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and appeared on the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet.[39] He has also played himself in several episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama. When he was portrayed on episodes of Family Guy, the voice was actually done by a speech synthesizer on a Macintosh computer, according to DVD commentary. In The Fairly OddParents, it is mentioned that he was Denzel Croker's college roommate. He has also appeared in an episode of the Dilbert cartoon. His actual synthesizer voice was used on parts of the Pink Floyd song "Keep Talking" from the 1994 album The Division Bell, as well as on Turbonegro's "Intro: The Party Zone" on their 2005 album Party Animals, Wolfsheim's "Kein Zurück (Oliver Pinelli Mix)". As well as being fictionalised as nerdcore hip hop artist MC Hawking, he was impersonated in duet with Richard Cheese on a cover of "The Girl Is Mine". In 2008, Hawking was the subject of and featured in the documentary series Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe for Channel 4. He was also portrayed in the movie Superhero Movie by Robert Joy. In the TV series Dark Angel Logan's technology savvy colleague Sebastian is characterized with many similarities to the actual physicist. In September 2008, Hawking presided over the unveiling of the 'Chronophage' (time-eating) Corpus Clock at Corpus Christi College Cambridge.[40]
Recognition
Acclaim

On 19 December 2007, a statue of Hawking by renowned late artist Ian Walters was unveiled at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, University of Cambridge.[41] In May 2008 the statue of Hawking was unveiled at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town. The Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in San Salvador, El Salvador is named in honour of Stephen Hawking, citing his scientific distinction and perseverance in dealing with adversity.[42] Stephen Hawking Building in Cambridge, opened on 17 April 2007. The building belongs to Gonville and Caius College and is used as an undergraduate accommodation and conference facility.[43]
Distinctions

Hawking's belief that the lay person should have access to his work led him to write a series of popular science books in addition to his academic work. The first of these, A Brief History of Time, was published on 1 April 1988 by Hawking, his family and friends, and some leading physicists. It surprisingly became a best-seller and was followed by The Universe in a Nutshell (2001). Both books have remained highly popular all over the world. A collection of essays titled Black Holes and Baby Universes (1993) was also popular. His most recent book, A Briefer History of Time (2005), co-written by Leonard Mlodinow, aims to update his earlier works and make them accessible to an even wider audience. He and his daughter, Lucy Hawking, have recently published a children's book focusing on science that has been described to be "like Harry Potter, but without the magic." This book is called George's Secret Key to the Universe and includes information on Hawking radiation.

Hawking is also known for his wit; he is famous for his oft-made statement, "When I hear of Schrödinger's cat, I reach for my pistol." This was a deliberately ironic paraphrase of "Whenever I hear the word culture... I release the safety-catch of my Browning", from the play Schlageter (Act 1, Scene 1) by German playwright and Nazi Poet Laureate Hanns Johst. His wit has both entertained the non-specialist public and helped them to understand complex questions. Asked in October 2005 on the British daytime chat show Richard & Judy, to explain his assertion that the question "What came before the Big Bang?" was meaningless, he compared it to asking "What lies north of the North Pole?"

Hawking has generally avoided talking about politics at length, but he has appeared on a political broadcast for the United Kingdom's Labour Party. He supports the children's charity SOS Children's Villages UK.[44]
Awards and honours

* 1975 Eddington Medal
* 1976 Hughes Medal of the Royal Society
* 1979 Albert Einstein Medal
* 1981 Franklin Medal
* 1982 Order of the British Empire (Commander)
* 1985 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
* 1986 Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
* 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics
* 1989 Prince of Asturias Awards in Concord
* 1989 Companion of Honour
* 1999 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society[45]
* 2003 Michelson Morley Award of Case Western Reserve University
* 2006 Copley Medal of the Royal Society[46]
* 2008 Fonseca Price of the University of Santiago de Compostela[47]
* 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States[4]

Personal life

Hawking revealed that he did not see much point in obtaining a doctorate if he were to die soon. Hawking later said that the real turning point was his 1965 marriage to Jane Wilde, a language student.[11] After gaining his Ph.D. at Trinity Hall, Stephen became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College.

Jane Hawking (née Wilde), Hawking's first wife, cared for him until 1991 when the couple separated, reportedly because of the pressures of fame and his increasing disability. They had three children: Robert (b. 1967), Lucy (b. 1969), and Timothy (b. 1979). Hawking then married his nurse, Elaine Mason (who was previously married to David Mason, the designer of the first version of Hawking's talking computer), in 1995. In October 2006, Hawking filed for divorce from his second wife.[48]

In 1999, Jane Hawking published a memoir, Music to Move the Stars, detailing her own long-term relationship with a family friend whom she later married. Hawking's daughter, Lucy, is a novelist. Their oldest son, Robert, emigrated to the United States, married, and has one child, George Edward Hawking. Reportedly, Hawking and his first family were reconciled in 2007.[49]

Hawking was asked about his IQ in a 2004 newspaper interview, and replied, "I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."[50]
Religious views

Hawking takes an agnostic position on matters of religion.[51][52] He has repeatedly used the word "God" (in metaphorical meanings)[53] to illustrate points made in his books and public speeches. His ex-wife, Jane, however, said during their divorce proceedings that he was an atheist.[54][55] Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."[51] Hawking compared religion and science in 2010, saying: "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."[56]
Selected publications
Technical

* Singularities in Collapsing Stars and Expanding Universes with Dennis William Sciama, 1969 Comments on Astrophysics and Space Physics Vol 1 #1
* The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with George Ellis, 1973 ISBN 0521099064
* The Nature of Space and Time with Roger Penrose, foreword by Michael Atiyah, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-691-05084-8
* The Large, the Small, and the Human Mind, (with Abner Shimony, Nancy Cartwright, and Roger Penrose), Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-56330-5 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-65538-2 (paperback), Canto edition: ISBN 0-521-78572-3
* Information Loss in Black Holes, Cambridge University Press, 2005
* God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History, Running Press, 2005 ISBN 0762419229

Popular

* A Brief History of Time, (Bantam Press 1988) ISBN 055305340X
* Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays, (Bantam Books 1993) ISBN 0553374117
* The Universe in a Nutshell, (Bantam Press 2001) ISBN 055380202X
* On The Shoulders of Giants. The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy, (Running Press 2002) ISBN 076241698X
* A Briefer History of Time, (Bantam Books 2005) ISBN 0553804367

Footnote: On Hawking's website, he denounces the unauthorised publication of The Theory of Everything and asks consumers to be aware that he was not involved in its creation.
Children's fiction

These are co-written with his daughter Lucy.

* George's Secret Key to the Universe, (Random House, 2007) ISBN 9780385612708
* George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt, (Simon & Schuster, 2009) ISBN 9781416986713

Films and series

* A Brief History of Time
* Stephen Hawking's Universe
* Horizon: The Hawking Paradox[57]
* Masters of Science Fiction
* Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe
* Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking[58]

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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"This book marries a child's wonder to a genius's intellect. We journey into Hawking's universe while marveling at his mind."—Sunday Times, London

"Charming and lucid...[A book of] sunny brilliance."—The New Yorker

"Lively and provocative...Mr. Hawking clearly possesses a natural teacher's gifts—easy, good-natured humor and an ability to illustrate highly complex propositions with analogies plucked from daily life."—New York Times
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details

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A Brief History of Time (Paperback)
by Stephen Hawking
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Black hole information paradox

2010-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

The black hole information paradox results from the combination of quantum mechanics and general relativity. It suggests that physical information could "disappear" in a black hole, allowing many physical states to evolve into precisely the same state. This is a contentious subject since it violates a commonly assumed tenet of science—that in principle complete information about a physical system at one point in time should determine its state at any other time.[1]
Contents

* 1 Hawking radiation
* 2 Main approaches to the solution of the paradox
* 3 The equation
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

Hawking radiation

In 1975, Stephen Hawking and Jacob Bekenstein showed that black holes should slowly radiate away energy, which poses a problem. From the no hair theorem, one would expect the Hawking radiation to be completely independent of the material entering the black hole. Nevertheless, if the material entering the black hole were a pure quantum state, the transformation of that state into the mixed state of Hawking radiation would destroy information about the original quantum state. This violates Liouville's theorem and presents a physical paradox.

More precisely, if there is an entangled pure state, and one part of the entangled system is thrown into the black hole while keeping the other part outside, the result is a mixed state after the partial trace is taken over the interior of the black hole. But since everything within the interior of the black hole will hit the singularity within a fixed time, the part which is traced over partially might "disappear", never to appear again. Of course, it is not really known what goes on at singularities once quantum effects are taken into account, which is why this theory is conjectural and controversial.

Hawking was convinced, however, because of the simple elegance of the resulting equation which "unified" thermodynamics, relativity, gravity, and Hawking's own work on the Big Bang. This annoyed many physicists, notably John Preskill, who in 1997 bet Hawking and Kip Thorne that information was not lost in black holes. The implications Hawking had opined led to the Susskind-Hawking battle, where particle physicist Leonard Susskind and his fellow string theorist Gerard 't Hooft publicly 'declared war' on Hawking's solution.

There are various ideas about how the paradox is solved. Since the 1997 proposal of the AdS/CFT correspondence, the predominant belief among physicists is that information is preserved and that Hawking radiation is not precisely thermal but receives quantum corrections. Other possibilities include the information being contained in a Planckian remnant left over at the end of Hawking radiation or a modification of the laws of quantum mechanics to allow for non-unitary time evolution.

In July 2005, Stephen Hawking published a paper and announced a theory that quantum perturbations of the event horizon could allow information to escape from a black hole, which would resolve the information paradox. His argument assumes the unitarity of the AdS/CFT correspondence which implies that an AdS black hole that is dual to a thermal conformal field theory, is unitary. When announcing his result, Hawking also conceded the 1997 bet, paying Preskill with a baseball encyclopedia "from which information can be retrieved at will". However, Thorne remains unconvinced of Hawking's proof and declined to contribute to the award. Main approaches to the solution of the paradox

Information is irretrievably lost:

* Advantage: Seems to be a direct consequence of relatively non-controversial calculation based on semiclassical gravity.
* Disadvantage: Violates unitarity (one of the basic principles of quantum mechanics), as well as energy conservation or causality.

Information gradually leaks out during the black-hole evaporation:

* Advantage: Intuitively appealing because it qualitatively resembles information recovery in a classical process of burning.
* Disadvantage: Requires a large deviation from classical and semiclassical gravity (which do not allow information to leak out from the black hole) even for macroscopic black holes for which classical and semiclassical approximations are expected to be good approximations.

Information suddenly escapes out during the final stage of black-hole evaporation:

* Advantage: A significant deviation from classical and semiclassical gravity is needed only in the regime in which the effects of quantum gravity are expected to dominate.
* Disadvantage: Just before the sudden escape of information, a very small black hole must be able to store an arbitrary amount of information, which badly violates the Bekenstein bound.

Information is stored in a Planck-sized remnant:

* Advantage: No mechanism for information escape is needed.
* Disadvantage: A very small object must be able to store an arbitrary amount of information, which badly violates the Bekenstein bound.

Information is stored in a massive remnant:

* Advantage: No mechanism for information escape is needed and a large amount of information does not need to be stored in a small object.
* Disadvantage: No appealing mechanism that could stop Hawking evaporation of a macroscopic black hole is known.

Information is stored in a baby universe that separates from our own universe:

* Advantage: No violation of known general principles of physics is needed.
* Disadvantage: It is difficult to find an appealing concrete theory that would predict such a scenario.

Information is encoded in the correlations between future and past:[2][3]

* Advantage: Semiclassical gravity is sufficient, i.e., the solution does not depend on details of (still not well understood) quantum gravity.
* Disadvantage: Contradicts the intuitive view of nature as an entity that evolves with time.

The equation

The entropy of a black hole is given by the equation:

S = \frac{c^{3}kA}{4 \hbar G}

where S is the entropy, c is the speed of light, k is Boltzmann's constant, A is the surface area of the event horizon, ħ ("h-bar") is the reduced Planck's Constant and G is the gravitational constant.
See also

* Bekenstein bound
* Black hole thermodynamics
* Cosmic censorship hypothesis
* Fuzzball (string theory)
* Holographic principle
* Maxwell's Demon (in which information cannot be destroyed)
* Susskind-Hawking battle

References

1. ^ Stephen Hawking. (2006). The Hawking Paradox. Discovery Channel, The: Discovery, Inc..
2. ^ Hartle, James B. (1998). "Generalized Quantum Theory in Evaporating Black Hole Spacetimes". Black Holes and Relativistic Stars. http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/gr-qc/9705022.
3. ^ Nikolic, Hrvoje (2009). Resolving the black-hole information paradox by treating time on an equal footing with space. 678. Phys. Lett.. pp. 218–221. http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/0905.0538.

External links

* Black Hole Information Loss Problem, a USENET physics FAQ page
* "Do black holes destroy information?", John Preskill (1992), hep-th/9209058. Discusses methods of attack on the problem, and their apparent shortcomings.
* Report on Hawking's 2004 theory at New Scientist
* Report on Hawking's 2004 theory at Nature
* Hawking, S. W. (July 2005), Information Loss in Black Holes, arxiv:hep-th/0507171. Stephen Hawking's purported solution to the black hole unitarity paradox.
* Hawking and unitarity: an up-to-date discussion of the information loss paradox and Stephen Hawking's role in it
* The Hawking Paradox - BBC Horizon documentary (2005)

v • d • e
Black holes
Types
Schwarzschild · Rotating · Charged · Virtual
BlackHole.jpg
Size
Micro · Extremal (Electron) · Stellar · Intermediate-mass · Supermassive · Quasar (Active galactic nucleus · Blazar)
Formation
Stellar evolution · Collapse · Compact star (Neutron · Exotic · Quark · Preon · Q) · Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit · White dwarf · Supernova · Hypernova · Gamma ray burst
Properties
Thermodynamics · Schwarzschild radius · M-sigma relation · Event horizon · Quasi-periodic oscillations · Photon sphere · Ergosphere · Hawking radiation · Penrose process · Bondi accretion · Spaghettification · Gravitational lens
Models
Gravitational singularity (Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems) · Primordial black hole · Gravastar · Dark star · Dark energy star · Black star · Magnetospheric eternally collapsing object · Fuzzball · White hole · Naked singularity · Ring singularity · Immirzi parameter · Membrane paradigm · Kugelblitz · Wormhole
Issues
No hair theorem · Information paradox · Cosmic censorship · Alternative models · Holographic principle (Susskind–Hawking battle)
Metrics
Schwarzschild · Kerr · Reissner–Nordström · Kerr–Newman
Related
List of black holes · Timeline of black hole physics · Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer · Hypercompact stellar system

Governors' Camp Big Cat Update 2 - December 2009

2010-07-31T23:40:00.002-07:00

Big Cat week : The Big Cat Story

2010-07-31T23:40:00.001-07:00