US will not release Osama bin Laden's pornography






It is not known whether the pornography belonged to Osama bin Laden or his subordinates
By Raf Sanchez, Washington
8:58PM BST 20 May 2015
Computer seized by Navy Seals contained "fairly extensive" cache of pornographic videos

The US government will not declassify or release the stash of pornography found at Osama bin Laden's Pakistan hideaway.

Among the thousands of files seized by US commandos during the 2011 raid was what Reuters described as a "fairly extensive" cache of pornographic videos.

Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), said that the pornography would remain classified even as other parts of bin Laden's personal files were released.

"We have no plans to release that at this point in time," he told The Telegraph. "Due to the nature of the content the decision was made not to release it."



• Osama bin Laden documents: 10 things we learned
• al-Qaeda recruitment form: tell us your hobbies

US intelligence found the porn on computers that were taken from the Pakistan compound and brought back to the US for analysis.



It is unclear the pornography belonged to bin Laden himself, who had three wives living in Abbottabad, or to his subordinates.

The files released on Wednesday - which included correspondence between bin Laden and his wife, orders to al-Qaeda commanders, and lists of his English-language reading material - were the first of what may be several tranches of declassified files.

• Revealed: the world's cities most likely to be hit by a terror attack
• Osama bin Laden had profiles of Church of England bishops at Pakistan compound

"There are a significant amount of additional documents that will be released at some point down the road," Mr Hale said, adding that he did not know when the next set of files will be made public.


• US releases footage of Bin Laden practising al-Qaeda speeches
• Family of man at centre of bin Laden conspiracy seek protection
• Osama bin Laden raid: What happened next?


Seymour Hersh's controversial account of the raid has stirred debate

The process of declassification began last July, Mr Hale said, and today's release was not a response to an article by the veteran journalist Seymour Hersh questioning the US account of the raid.

Mr Hersh claimed that bin Laden had been held as a prisoner of the Pakistani government at the Abbottabad compound and that Pakistan was informed of the 2011 raid before it happened.

The files released Wednesday seem to undermine that narrative, showing that bin Laden was working actively from the compound and encouraging further attacks against the US and its allies.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/11619481/US-will-not-release-Osama-bin-Ladens-pornography.html