On Monday the White House reported Osama bin Laden had been involved in the firefight that eventually led to his death. They also reported that bin Laden used a woman as a human shield.
At a televised White House briefing Monday afternoon, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said bin Laden joined in the fight that several residents of the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound put up against the Navy SEALs during the 40-minute operation.
“He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don’t know,” Brennan said.
At a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, a senior defense official said bin Laden used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. “He was firing behind her,” the official said.
Later on Monday, however, the story seems to be changing.
CNN - Jay Carney - "He was not armed"
Osama bin Laden was not armed when he was shot and killed by U.S. forces in the assault on his compound in Pakistan, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.
The al Qaeda leader resisted the assault on his compound, Carney said, adding: "I think resistance does not require a firearm."
Carney described how the U.S. Navy SEALs carrying out the operation went floor-to-floor clearing the three-story compound where bin Laden's family lived with another family.
Three people were killed on the first floor, including a woman, and then the U.S. forces moved upstairs where they found bin Laden, Carney said.
"Bin Laden was then shot and killed," Carney said. "He was not armed."
White House modifies Osama bin Laden account
However, during a background, off-camera briefing for television reporters later Monday, a senior White House official said bin Laden was not armed when he was killed, apparently by the U.S. raid team.
Another White House official familiar with the TV briefing confirmed the change to POLITICO, adding, “I’m not aware of him having a weapon.”
“The bottom line is the team that entered that room was met with resistance and took appropriate action,” said a third American official.
Reporting of the incident seems to remain fluid. And all of the "facts" are apparently still not in. But, this raises some troubling questions. Why?
Why are the initial reports from the White House - who sat on this story for hours in order to prepare its narrative - so out of whack with the story just several hours later? Why would all that preparation produce an early narrative that paints a completely different picture than the facts?
There is video of the raid, apparently. We have seen pictures of President Obama, VP Biden, Sec State Clinton and others watching the raid live.
Correction: We don't know that they were watching video. We only know they were getting an update.
This is the kind of thing that begets conspiracy theories. What shall we call this one? Someone used the term "Deather" in another diary, which seems appropriate to me.
White House: Please publish a definitive final account of exactly what happened before this gets out of hand!
I think it is time we saw the whole video.