back to article Porn found in Osama bin Laden compound

Osama bin Laden's compound may not have had phone or internet service, but it did have porn. Lots of it. According to Reuters and ABC News, the massive smut stash was seized by the US commandos who stormed his Abbottabad, Pakistan, hideout and shot him in the face almost two weeks ago. It was found in a wooden box in bin Laden …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Wolf

    The US has made claims of porn caches in every enemy stronghold it's ever "liberated" for decades. Is it true this time? Who knows, but frankly as long as the American terrorists are killing the Islamist terrorists and vice versa it's all good. Unfortunately, they aren't just killing each other, so it's not good.

    Couldn't they just go and shoot each other on some island somewhere?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I like the last idea....

      Perhaps a big slab of desert, probably the middle-east as it's easy to get to for all the usual players.

      You could sell TV rights, franchising opportunities would be impressive and you can apply certain rules, all while keeping do-gooders and sandal wearing hippies happy by avoiding the mass death/destruction thing.

    2. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      There is an easier explanation

      "The US has made claims of porn caches in every enemy stronghold it's ever "liberated" for decades"

      Logic thus dictates that they bring it themselves - after all, they are the only common factor between all those totally separate events. Now I'm not really into that industry (which is a pun in itself, sorry), but AFAIK there is a lot of porn made in the US which makes my argument stand up with the power of a dozen Viagras..

      In short, for an attempt at psyops that claim is really quite pathetic..

      1. Annihilator

        @Fred Flintstone

        "Logic thus dictates that they bring it themselves"

        Or, more likely, porn is ubiquitous :-) But yes, regardless of who it belongs to, the release of the info is all just propaganda.

      2. Marvin the Martian
        Stop

        "Easier explanation"

        You say that whatever's common to all operations must have been brought by the American?

        Hm: All operations have featured (presumed) enemies, so the Americans must have brought them? Doesn't really ring true. Inverting the statement -- anything that's used only in some operations isn't brought -- is equally weak.

        Nope, no part of the statement seems robust. It's of the "where's smoke there's fire" variety, and after two smoke-filled hours at an attempted BBQ this weekend I can guarantee you that there may be no charcoal-heating fire at all regardless of smoke quantity.

    3. J. R. Hartley
      FAIL

      hmmm..

      As somebody from Northern Ireland, I see a flaw in your plan.

    4. MonkeyBot

      Re: Wolf

      We just need to scatter porn stashes all over the island. That'll draw them in.

      We built an empire looking for drugs and spicy foods, the Americans are obviously just short on porn.

      1. Thomas 4

        Finally, the US found something they were looking for

        Weapons of Masturbation.

    5. Jos
      Happy

      Done that

      About a couple hundred years ago. Then when visited a couple of years ago, and they all shook my hand and said "hey mate, how you doin? Take a beer from the esky and there's a steak on the barbie for ya"

  2. alain williams Silver badge

    Finding porn has been predicted

    given the religious views of his followers this is probably one of the most damaging things to al Qaeda morale that they could find, guaranteed to turn the greatest number of his followers away from the cause.

    This is why I take this announcement with a huge shovel full of salt. I am not saying that it was definitely not there but that if it wasn't then its existance is something that the USA analysts would/should invent to support their cause.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      Most believable part of the story

      On the contrary, I totally buy into the porn stash.

      OBL and his ilk are hypocrites above all else, I am sure the likes of him and his sympathisers watch plenty of porn whilst bemoaning "slags". Justifies their hatred of the West just as much as videos of Abu Ghraib -- and they can wank off whilst they hate it, and dream of their virgins in heaven.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        above all else ?

        You mean their hypocrisy is the thing that bothers you most ?

        It's their murdering scumbaggery that really gets my goat. I can almost live with the hypocrisy in that context.

    2. Lionel Baden
      Thumb Up

      Agreed

      well i didn't bother reading past the three lines

      "According to Reuters and ABC News"

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nothing to do with religion

      Muhammed Atta (the 9/11 pilot) was motivated by a US/Israeli bombing mission that killed civilians in Lebanon. The sooner we let go of the idea that we are being attacked for irrational religious reasons, and realize it's because we bomb and occupy middle eastern countries and kill countless of their civilians, the sooner we can resolve the "war on terrorism."

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Stop

        RE: Nothing to do with religion

        "Muhammed Atta (the 9/11 pilot) was motivated by a US/Israeli bombing mission that killed civilians in Lebanon....." Atta had pronounced anti-American feelings long before he made his Islamic "will" on 11th April 1996 in an Hamburg mosque. He was already noted to be following extreme Sunni practices, have zero ability to interact with anyone not in his tiny band of fellow Islamists, and was convinced his own inability to progress his career was the fault of his family "not being politically connected" back in Cairo. The oft quoted "US/Israelli bombing mission" (the Israeli attack on Lebanon was in response to prolonged Hezbollah artillery strikes, all aimed at Israeli civillians) was just a tiny fraction of the diatribe in Atta's "will", and by that point he was already in contact with known AQ sypathisers and activists. To pretend that this was the sole reason for Atta falling in with AQ is to be blind to the facts of both his background, upbringing and socio-religeous views.

        1. kissingthecarpet
          Gates Horns

          No, of course

          its only a tiny band of Islamists who hate the US & UK for their foreign policy isn't it?

          If not him then someone else on another day.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        hmmm

        There is a flaw in your argument, this conflict has been going on for a very very long time, much much longer than the Issues in Ireland, yes its taken on a different reasoning but the roots are the same. When you have two polarised views its unlikely there can ever be wholescale peace. Even Ireland today has issues.

        There is no easy way out, infact i doubt there is a way out at all unless you hurt one group of people or another which is essentially what it comes down too.

        person A says, this is mine

        Person B says, no its mine

        everyone else says, i agree with x

        Its being going on for too long to draw blame to one group of another and neither are willing to compramise, and more importantly even if they did agree as leaders, not all the followers will agree, and again, you end up with polarised views.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Not longer than Ireland

          "There is a flaw in your argument, this conflict has been going on for a very very long time, much much longer than the Issues in Ireland"

          Ireland's troubles go back to the Bronze Age, long before Islam or Christianity were invented or America discovered.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Really?

            The Bronze Age?

            Well if we go back far enough why don’t we blame the dinosaurs!

            so tell me, the protestant / catholic divide in Ireland, mostly down to the forced occupation of Ireland by ourselves and the mass land clearings we imposed, the subsequent divide of the country in to two parts all largely as a result of the fears of a mainland invasion of the island by catholic supporting nations has nothing to do with the issues in Ireland. It would be interesting to see what people think over there, tribal conflicts before that time may have been troublesome but until they hit nation state levels it seems a bit far-fetched to say the issues in Ireland are as a result of Bronze Age men.

          2. MarkieMark1
            Happy

            Longer than Ireland

            the Middle East's troubles go back further than the Bronze age, they are internecine struggles between clans who are basically cousins of varying distance, documented as far back as Cain vs Abel, although prevalent for many centuries before even oral histories.

            The current iteration dates back to the Romans, who while sacking the Holy Land in the First century AD caused the Jewish diaspora, so that the remnants who stayed in the Holy Land were converted, in due course, at swordpoint to Islam, then provided the reception committee for the knights of the Holy Cross, the rest as they say is history :-)

          3. Cpt Blue Bear

            Agreed

            Anyone wanting to understand the "Irish Problem" should start with The Cattle Raid of Cu Chulainn....

    4. J 3
      Megaphone

      True or false, does not matter

      His followers will scream at the top of their lungs that it's all a filthy lie anyway, so no difference either way...

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Pics or it did not happen

      Well, that is one thing which is not classified and if they really found it they should put it on the web for all to have a look.

      No, I am not joking here. Everyone will consider it a setup and a slur unless it is really for all to see: catalogued, with pictures of drives on which it was found and with matching fingerprint evidence. If it was on Windows from XP onwards there is also at least some last-accessed info as well as the usual creation and owner info on the filesystem. If it was on DVD - dvd is perfect fingerprint retaining material. Basically - all forensic evidence on the subject out in the open.

      This will not convince the conspiracy theorists, but will give at least some level of credibility to the claims. Until then they are pretty much on same level as the claims that the QWEST CEO did insider trading and with the same purpose.

  3. Daniel Evans

    Surprised?

    I guess kudos go out to all those commentards who predicted this news/propaganda/other already.

    Not that it was every unlikely that something like this would be found/"found"...

  4. Hooch181
    Happy

    OK...

    I can handle them knocking off the prick, but to out his pron stash...

    That's just wrong!

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Happy

      Hooch181

      Spoils of war.

      Kill a man, take his pron stash.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      That depends

      On whether they make the stash public so we have proof.

      /me prepares a hard disk.

  5. Pawel 1

    sounds like...

    some black PR/spin, and even if it is true, that's how it would probably be viewed in his circles.

  6. LaeMing

    So was it...

    Soft porn - women with their eyes visible

    Hard porn- women with their faces visible

    or

    Extreme porn - women with their whole heads uncovered

    ?

    1. Lance 3

      Re: So was it...

      Who said women were in it. For all we know, he loved camel toe, but on an actual camel. Sheep in stockings. Maybe even a shaved kitty.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Happy

        ok,

        I am going to have nightmares now :)

      2. Version 1.0 Silver badge
        Happy

        Goat Porn

        If it was goats then we need to know which end of the goat too ...

        I don't find this too surprising - it would have been odder if they hadn't found anything.

      3. MOV r0,r0

        Osama bin Flathead bin Two-goats-a-week bin Laden

        From the BBC, 'Shopkeeper Mohammed Rashid told BBC Urdu's Aijaz Mahar that two goats were delivered every week'. Searching 'osama medicine cabinet' turns up video of Avena Wild Oats, supposedly an aphrodisiac and Vaseline petroleum jelly. He should have got out more.

    2. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

      Re: So was it

      ^ Win.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Ah ha!

    Now we know who still pays for porn!

  8. Cameron Colley

    How pathetic is the US government?

    No idea if there was porn or not, but either way -- who cares? I'm sure that even General Bush and St Obama have some porn somewhere.

    This wouldn't b a story apart from it highlighting that "Reuters and ABC News" are some kind of religion rather than news companies.

    1. bluesxman
      Flame

      RE: How pathetic is the US government?

      It may or may not be fabrication, but it's very relevant because it can speak to the hypocrisy of OBL/AQ. Given that "immodesty" is a big fat no-no in Muslim circles (hence the head to toe garb many ladies get to wear) the leader of a group of fundamentalists (potentially) having a huge pr0n stash is big news, if not for us (per se) then certainly as a big demoraliser for the followers.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Now that's a horrible picture.

      George or Barack 'vigorously' reading 'secret material'.

      I may need counselling.

    3. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Big Brother

      It's called "psyops"

      The counterpoint of showing clueless and ignorant Obama & Clinton "in control" and "on top of it".

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The daily mail's going to have a field day with this

    'Watching porn turns YOUR children into terrorists!'

    etc

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    What type?

    How filthy was this porn? Midgets, donkeys, inanimate objects? We need detail El Reg!

    Paris, because....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Paris Hilton

      Paris again

      Because why do you need porn when you've got a wooden box?

  11. Nick Ryan Silver badge

    C'mon...

    Pictures (*and* playmobil) or it didn't happen. We weren't all born yesterday. On the other hand if we were, please worship our comprehension and leet typing skillz.

  12. ratfox

    Duke of Post

    That is the problem with being hunted by the US, and going without internet... You actually have to keep the stuff at your place, instead of googling for it like everybody else!

  13. Graham Wilson
    Joke

    Perhaps it should be posted on the net.

    Perhaps it should be post then then we can judge for ourselves.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Porn

    "video ... showed bin Laden sitting on a floor watching himself on TV" The worst sort of masturbation...

    I find it very hard to accept anything the USAians say since they ensured the man couldn't defend himself. This could be true, equally it could be part of a campaign to discredit him. With a very USAian bent of course, "He killed hundreds of people but never mind that - he watched porn!"

    1. P. Lee
      Pirate

      Re porn

      "he killed hundreds of people, but never mind that-he watched porn"

      Except of course we don't know that he killed anyone.

      We might suspect it but if it had come to trial which atrocity would he have been accused of?

      I think he probably was a bad man, but that's no excuse to kill him without a trial.

      That just leaves the porn accusation. Well obviously he deserves death then!

      Cowboys.

  15. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Happy

    The *only* pictures I'd want to see released.

    That is all.

    1. Captain Save-a-ho

      Not I...

      Especially if the pages stick together.

      /gag

  16. Trevor Marron
    FAIL

    How are they going to prove it was his?

    Are they going to tell us it had his DNA on the pages or something.......

  17. g e

    Perhaps my 6-month estimate was wrong

    At this rate they'll be claiming they found irrefutable proof that he masterminded 9-11 in about 8 weeks...

    As long as everyone remembers we only have USA's word for anything that's said, indeed pretty much everything that's ever been said about OBL... Has he ever been proven to actually exist AND be who he's purported to be.

    Surprisingly easy to distrust everything a government tells you, especially these days.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thank goodness we know it's true

    Just think what your average evil, unprincipled, scheming rat would have done had he found a chance to kill his enemy, make the body disappear, and gain complete control over the scene of the crime for long enough to make any desired changes.

    Thank goodness it was the armed forces of the United States of America (God bless 'em!) that done found that porn. So we know it's true.

    1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Stop

      RE: Thank goodness we know it's true

      Tom, I'm sure if even the SEALs had stumbled into the room to find Bin Liner with his tool up a goat whilst watching gay porn, and managed to catch it on their helmet cams, you would still insist it was a setup, trick photography, etc. Bin Liner liked a bit of porn, so what? He wasn't as holy as he made out, but that's hardly surprising as most of these religeous types turn out to have feet of clay.

  19. Winkypop Silver badge
    Joke

    Goat or camel?

    Inquiring minds need to know...

  20. Ilgaz

    and cold war is over...

    every week, some story about China or Laden and we are supposed to believe cold war ended when USSR went bankrupt.

    2011 already, no flying cars, just 5th class propaganda.

  21. Alan Firminger

    Shucks

    If they had kept the body they could prove to the world that the fingerprints on all the nice shiny surfaces of DVDs were, or of course were not, those of the arch criminal.

    1. g e

      Ah the body

      Would that be the one nobody else saw which was allegedly dumped at sea so nobody else CAN see it?

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ...in other news...

    Aljazeera confirm Bin Laden had a penis, and was bigger than the average navy seals'.

    Seriously, man with computer found to have a porn stash? Shocking.

    Or maybe its a cunning plan to hide sensitive docs from puritanical Christians?

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    The old fucknut had 3 wives living with him...

    Where did he find the time to watch porn?

    1. some vaguely opinionated bloke
      Boffin

      I've heard tell...

      ... that ladies living in close proximity tend to become synchronised...

      1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: I've heard tell...

        What's your point, caller?

        1. John Savard

          Consequence

          So, once a month, they feel good and Osama is kept busy attending to all three... and he has to pass the time in between, particularly when they're all having PMS together.

        2. some vaguely opinionated bloke
          Coat

          Not to put too fine a point on it...

          ... but the point is that even with 3 wives, he possibly *would* have time whenever the decorators were in.

          Yes please, the one with wings...

          1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

            Re: Not to put too fine a point on it...

            FFS.

  24. myhandle
    Thumb Down

    Next

    they will find some Swedish girl that claims he raped her.

  25. doperative
    Big Brother

    Stegapornography

    It has also previously been reported that Islamic terrorists use Steganography hidden in porn to transmit msgs, it must be true as I read it on the Internet ..

    "Link between child porn and Muslim terrorists"

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4959002.ece

    "Hiding in Plain View: Could Steganography be a Terrorist Tool?"

    http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/stenganography/hiding-plain-view-steganography-terrorist-tool_551

    --

    PROTHERO: Do you believe this crap, Dascombe?

    DASCOMBE: It's not our job to believe it, Lewis. Our job is to tell the people --

  26. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    Recursion!

    "Other video recovered by Navy Seals showed bin Laden sitting on a floor watching himself on TV"

    Was he later shown in another video watching himself watching himself on TV? And so on.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Let's not go here please, folks

    The prospect for extremists to wreak attrocities based on the death of their figurehead is large enough as it is. Let's not stir it up any more than it is, please. If there was porn, then it is likely not to be Osamas; he was reputed to be a devout (if misguided) man.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dead men don't sue...

    ...so you can make up any old crap and it becomes fact.

    FFS, El Reg, I thought you were beyond regurgitation of US propaganda. We're never going to learn the truth about bin Laden and this muddying of the waters isn't going to help.

    Is his stash "massive" or "fairly extensive"? Probably the most risible line is "electronically recorded videos". I'm so glad to see he wasn't using that infidel gas powered video equipment.

    Now where did I leave my tractor with the Boudicca-style wheel blades?

  29. 7mark7
    Black Helicopters

    This sounds ...

    ... a bit like the human shield wife and mechanically malfunctioning helicopter. I'm glad they blew the git away but the rest of the world does not believe the 'Hollywood ending'.

    That's what you get with people who mis-speak.

  30. darren.b
    FAIL

    Wow

    Man watches porn.

    Amazing.

    10 thumbs to El Reg for that one.

  31. Eddy Ito
    Paris Hilton

    electronically recorded video

    <-- So were the DVDs of anyone we know?

  32. Chris Girocco

    Encryption

    The bytes of data comprising the porn form a massive one time pad which can be used to encrypt massive amounts of communication in conjunction with a duplicate of the data in other locations. It is unbreakable. Duplicates sit in Yemen, Syria, Toronto and Lahore.

  33. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    Camouflage

    They have to watch all the videos in case they are secret terrorist recordings in disguise.

    Best job in the world.

    Well, unless there's creepy kinky things done.

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    US advisors

    Clearly the US military now ranks the Metropolitan Police among its advisors. They are, after all pastmasters in the art of finding the "just in case the prosecution springs a few leaks" miraculous smut stash.

    I'm surprised they didn't go the whole hog and accuse OBL of possession of a sturdy frying pan, a dozen rashers of prime back bacon and a pound of Lincolnshire sausages for the Saturday morning hangover relieving fry up.

    But at least they've moved on from the Bush era, where the sophistication of the smear wouldn't have gone beyond accusing him of having Stars n Strips arsewipe or simply not being American.

  35. Zub
    Happy

    Not so different...

    We're not so different after all.

  36. jake Silver badge

    Probable.

    In my over a third of a century of making money with computers & networking, I have never worked on a computer owned by a guy over the age of 13 that didn't have pR0n on it. Ever.

    But releasing this info is tacky, at best.

    And probably contraindicated, in the great scheme of things.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      You haven't fixed many computers then

      With over 15 computers in my house and not a single one has any porn on them. Even on computers that no-one else in my family have accounts or passwords for.

      Unless my wife is cradle snatching I think I have got beyond my 13th birthday, by more than a factor of 3!

      I have made a living from IT including cleaning up porn filled computers. I have also had some to clean up that haven't had any porn on, just lots of illegal music or movies or simply infected pirate software.

      Your other sentiments of it being tacky releasing the info I can agree more with but saying every male has porn is as big a duffer as saying every male wants to own a Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin or other super car. For one I'd prefer to have the cash for other useful things like enjoying life without the need to visit forecourts. The thing about being human is we aren't all the same!

      1. jake Silver badge

        Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. Right. I believe you, AC23:31

        "Even on computers that no-one else in my family have accounts or passwords for."

        ::snicker::

      2. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

        @AC 23:31

        o.O

      3. stiv
        Paris Hilton

        ok then, amend that to

        every <i> real </i> man's computer has porn on it

        <-- you know who, 'cause you know why

  37. Not Fred31
    Dead Vulture

    what has happened to el reg

    Rightholder fundamentalist propaganda.

    Propaganda for the nuclear industry.

    Now as-predictable-as-the-dawn porn propaganda from the US.

    Come back old el reg, all is forgiven!

  38. Big Al
    Black Helicopters

    Surprised?

    So obviously a smear, the fundies won't fall for it.

    All the news about 'what was found' - allegedly e-mail, contact lists, pr0n, operational details - has been designed to spread FUD.

    As always, the question should not be "what is being leaked from the investigation", but "who is handing out this info, and why are they doing so right now?"

  39. Disco-Legend-Zeke
    Flame

    So I Guess...

    *

    ...even three wives isn't enough.

    Seems like the more a religious leader declares how evil porn is, the more likely he is to have some at home.

    * flames as in Hell.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    I am sure the answer is

    if true - was he was merely studying the enemies ways to assist his war ;-)

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Osama Bin W@nking

    I wonder if the US Navy Seals caught him with a "loaded weapon"?

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Possibly irrelevant

    Even if it is true, the towel-head mentalists will say that it's Western propaganda.

  43. Neil Paterson

    Daily Fail headline?

    Onan the Barbarian...

  44. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    YAWN

    So what?

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Surely the US military has enough porn of its own

    without going to all that expense in terms of expended fuel, bullets and stealth choppers?

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How did he do it?

    Did he, like, ask his courier, "Hey Abdul, feel like a bit of XXXXXX today, take this usb stick, go down to the cybercafe and visit XXXXXX, here's my login and password. Oh, and don't get me that XXXXX shit. I can't stand it. That XXXXXXX you got me the last time was just plain lame. Just some XXXXX and oh some XXXXX and a bit of XXXXXX wouldn't go astray either."

    Or maybe it was pR0n on optical media? Or... gasp.. VHS?

  47. Antony Shepherd
    Big Brother

    Not the worst thing they could have found

    No no no, if they REALLY wanted to damage Al Qaeda morale they'd have shown Osama's secret bacon stash.

  48. Adam T
    Big Brother

    Foolish

    The US Government doesn't undestand that even if they're telling the truth, some things will just harm their credibility.

    If they'd not mentioned it at all, there'd be no comeback. But now, how do they prove they're telling the truth? They can't - their word against anyone who cares to challenge them.

    Big Brother, because even he likes a bit of happy time every now and then.

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    US troops have planted weapons on their victims before

    Why not a porn stash? A bacon sarnie would have been too obvious even for the yanks.

  50. PerfectBlue

    Yeah, right

    Sorry, but I'm just not going to take this at face value.

    Bin Laden was an ultra conservative, so were most of his followers, and they were living in a highly conservative country. One of their biggest complaints against Western lifestyles was the consumption of porn.

    The actual odds of them having their own porn cache are pretty low.

    This sounds an awful lot like a smear campaign. The only thing here that surprises me is that it wasn't child porn. Next thing Washington will be claiming that he had a cooler full of beer, or maybe that they'd found some pictures of him at a frat party.

    Maybe he sent his laptop back to Best Buy to get it fixed? There's bound to be some child porn on it somewhere.

    Washington releases videos of Bin Laden looking frail and watching TV reports, but they won't show us pictures of him dead, or of him doing anything terrorist related. How about some actual proof that he's dead? Or that he was still an active threat?

    1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Boffin

      RE: Yeah, right

      Whilst I'm not 100% convinced that Bin Liner had a Pornpass, I'm not writing it off that he or someone in the house had a stash. After all, in Iraq it wasn't unknown to find porn in jihadi hangouts, even in "ultra-conservative" areas like Fallujah, and I'm told there's been finds in Afghanistan too. From personal experience, I can assure you there is plenty of porn available in the Middle East, even in Riyadh. Porn has been around a lot longer than the "evil West" (think Karmasutra). Mates serving out in Iraq told me they were offered whatever they liked by the locals, and some of it was quite shocking and obvioulsy locally made. Another example would be "Sniper One" by Dan Mills, where he recounts how troops fighting "conservative" Shia militia in Iraq were kept comprehensively supplied with local porn by members of the same Shia community. So, whilst I'm not 100% convinced that Bin Liner was a regular viewer, I can see it as possible that someone in the house - maybe the bodyguards or the courier - had a stash, especially if they were unable to use the internet.

  51. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Propaganda purposes.

    "This is how they treat women in the West. Kill them or they will force your wife to do this thing with the daffodil while they take photographs."

  52. Andus McCoatover
    Coat

    Simple propaganda. Us has been at it for decades!

    For example, sinking of the Lusitania. From "Wikipedia*":

    It was in the interests of the British to keep US passions inflamed, and a fabricated story was circulated that in some regions of Germany, schoolchildren were given a holiday to celebrate the sinking of the Lusitania. This story was so effective that James W. Gerard, the US ambassador to Germany, recounted it in his memoir of his time in Germany, Face to Face with Kaiserism (1918), though without substantiating its validity.[107]

    Nothing like a juicy bit of porn being found on a 'devout muslim' to discredit him...Mine's the mac. with the dyed beard and stilts in the pockets.

    *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania

  53. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Book ciphering by video?

    I think intellegence agencies should blacklist the videos in order to reveal more terrorists.

  54. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    NSFW?

    End of the article; "More is here and here."

    Dare I click on them?

  55. LPF
    Gates Horns

    This is hilarious...

    We now have the Bil Laden supporters giving the US grief for telling everyone he had porn in hide out, and how its not nice to sully the reputation of the poor wee man. Yeah because its Osama Bin Laden what he ever do ? LMAO

    The comutards of El Reg hav reached new levels !

    Well personally I've heard on the grape vine that it was a mix of child porn involing little boys, and repeated animiations of goatsee ;)

  56. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Does PC World have branches in Pakistan?

    What if, when one of OBL's computers was malfunctioning it had been taken down to the local branch of PC World? He'd have been caught years ago.

    Paris - have they find any videos featuring her?

  57. json

    That's below the belt!

    .. its as if they found an open bottle of jack daniels and bacon in the fridge.. now that would be something.

  58. Somerset John
    Headmaster

    Pedantic b'strd!

    Might I just make the point that 38 minutes is more of an (surprisingly efficient for the yanks) assault than a siege; they generally take a bit longer!

  59. Ilsa Loving
    Thumb Down

    The porn was all right there...

    right beside Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

  60. Cheshire Cat
    Paris Hilton

    I have doubts

    Considering the old goat was >60 years old, plus had three wives there (one of whom was only 29), I doubt he'd have any need for pr0n. Sounds to me like a clumsy attempt as a bit of propoganda.

    PH because, well, it's pr0n.

  61. Lord Lien
    Alert

    Can the US government...

    ... please post copies of this porn online. I just need to check if its proper porn & not just some pictures of ankles.

  62. Allison Park
    Dead Vulture

    OBL surprised to show up in HeII

    What...what am I doing her...where are my virgins?

    OBL was pure evil and all woman on earth should view him as a wanna be Hitler.

    I am glad he is dead and may not celebrate death but celebrate the end of this monsters ability to scheme his killing.

  63. Mr Ian
    Unhappy

    Question is...

    Who was Osama's most trusted Porn Buddy and why didn't he save Osama from the shame?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgnDHbeVGG4

  64. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Stranger than fiction

    This story keeps getting stranger and stranger!

  65. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    spared the shame

    I suppose if someone uncovers your massive secret porn collection it's probably best if you are killed there and then.

  66. maclovinz
    Happy

    "Analysis"

    So, I wonder how many taxpayer dollars and going to go into the "analysis" of said collection...

    ...."just in case" their are any jihadist messages "hidden".

    Much like watching Johnny Chimpo in Supertroopers....

    "maybe we should take another look.....?"

    ...

    "Hey Farva, what's that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the wall?"

    1. Sir Smokesalot
      Happy

      @maclovinz

      It's Afganistanimation Captain......

      Get that meatball outta hear....

      Come on meatball, back in the cage with your beautiful wife....

  67. John Savard

    Someone Else?

    What, someone else in the household would have hidden a stash of porn, and watched it secretly, while living with Osama bin Laden? Whoever it was would certainly have had to have been very brave or really addicted.

    There could be a cultural difference too. It could be they only have a problem with the sale of porn to unmarried people, but not to mature adults.

  68. The Fuzzy Wotnot
    Happy

    He's a still bloke, we can't help it!

    He's a bloke and as any bloke will tell you, it's next to impossible to pass a couple of seconds without thinking about the oldest and still free, bloke's favourite time waster!

  69. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Only 1 question

    Was it home made?

  70. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In this context... what counts as porn?

    Could it be that he had some pictures of women without their burqas? I guess that might count as porn in the world he wanted.

  71. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Worse things happen in the US government

    Well worse things happen in the white house.. remember Hilary Clintons husband and his bukake party with that intern who he supposedly never had sexual relations with.

  72. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Does anyone really care

    He's just another dead terrorist. Does anyone really care if he looked at porn or not? I doubt the sharks cared as they had him for lunch.

  73. stiv
    Coat

    can we define some terms here?

    what exactly constitutes "massive" in the age of cheap terabyte drives?

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