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Former SEAL Asserts He was bin Laden Shooter; PM Modi Adopts a Village; Hearing Set for Afghan Fighter Trial

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Former SEAL Asserts He was bin Laden Shooter; PM Modi Adopts a Village; Hearing Set for Afghan Fighter Trial

Former SEAL Asserts He was bin Laden Shooter; PM Modi Adopts a Village; Hearing Set for Afghan Fighter Trial

<p> <i>Editor's Note: New America's International Security Program is looking for a Project Manager - UAVs and Development to join our team in Washington, D.C. to support our efforts to create a primer and a corresponding database on the development potential of unmanned aerial vehicles. For more information about this one-year contract position, as well as the application requirements, please check out the employment listing </i><i>here</i><i>.</i> </p><br><p> <b>Pakistan</b> </p><br><p> <i>Former SEAL asserts he was bin Laden shooter</i> </p><br><p> Robert O'Neil told the <i>Washington Post</i> on Thursday that he was the Navy SEAL who fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011 (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0VtA021f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Washington Post</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOOvoy98lRAb1cd style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NYT</a>). O'Neil is now the second SEAL to come forward and claim to have shot bin Laden; Matt Bissonnette, who published a memoir of the event in 2012, was the first. Two special operations sources told CNN National Security analyst Peter Bergen that O'Neil was a shooter in the room where bin Laden was found (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOaKS0OyLEA9c67 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">CNN</a>). Doubts about the accuracy of O'Neil's account are surfacing. There were at least two other SEALs in the room shooting at the same time and present and former members of SEAL Team 6 regard Bissonnette's account of events more credible than O'Neil's (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOaKS0OyLIA8c8d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">CNN</a>). </p><br><p> <i>Sharif visits China to sign agreements</i> </p><br><p> Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left on Friday for a two-day visit to China where he will sign 27 Memoranda of Understanding and agreements on a trade corridor connecting Pakistan with Central Asia, 21 of which agreements are related to energy (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOOvoy98lWA74c8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOaKS0OyLOAbddf style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>). The energy agreements will cost an estimated $33 billion while other development project agreements will cost $4 billion (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0V4A6f1d style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>). Sharif will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Informal Leaders' meeting in Beijing. Mussadiq Malik, spokesperson for Sharif, told reporters that Sharif's visit to China is aimed at rebuilding investor confidence in Pakistan, adding that: "Whatever investment the Chinese will be making as a result of these projects will not be a loan to the government of Pakistan." </p><br><p> <i>Police officer kills man in custody</i> </p><br><p> On Wednesday a police officer in Gurjat in Punjab province brutally killed Tufail Haider, a man who had been arrested the previous day for injuring two people (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0V5A237a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Dawn</a>, <a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOOvoy98lbA31d8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>). The officer, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Faraz Naveed, fatally hit Tufail with an axe when the two men got into an argument during an interrogation. ASI Naveed later said that Tufail had insulted Islam while other officers in the department said that Tufail was mentally unstable. ASI Naveed has been taken into custody and legal proceedings against him have already begun. </p><br><p> <i>TTP appoints new spokesperson</i> </p><br><p> Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a statement on Friday that a new spokesperson, Muhammad Khurasani, will be replacing the "formally sacked" spokesperson, Shahidullah Shahid (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0V-A04ca style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">ET</a>). Shahid left the group in October along with five other senior TTP leaders to join ISIS. The TTP statement also announced the group's support for Lashkar-e-Islam, which is currently under attack by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. </p><br><p> -- Courtney Schuster </p><br><p> <b>India</b> </p><br><p> <i>PM Modi adopts a village</i> </p><br><p> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted Jayapur village in his Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) constituency, Varanasi, located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, to make it a "model" village under a federal scheme (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmO85v5zNL6A0fb8 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WAA1524 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> Economic Times</a>). During his visit to Varanasi, Modi inaugurated a power loom service center and laid a foundation stone for the trade facilitation center and crafts museum. In his two-day visit to Varanasi, Modi will talk to the locals to learn about their problems. </p><br><p> Modi pitched for modernization of the textile sector through "technological upgradation" and "human resource development." Modi said: "Everyone in the world knows about Varanasi's textiles. You must strategically plan to reach the global consumer" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmO85v5zNL-A0d7f style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">NDTV</a>). Varanasi is known for silk products crafted by its 40,000 weavers, the majority of whom are Muslims. During his election campaign earlier this year, Modi had committed to improve the conditions of local weavers who have fallen upon hard times. </p><br><p> Modi urged villagers not to depend on the government to solve their problems and said that policies framed by "big" people in New Delhi had failed to improve the conditions of villages. He said: "I, a small man, will bring about big things through my small talk" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmO85v5zNMBA0bf0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>). Modi also spoke against female foeticide, and said: "Those who look upon the girl child as a liability should ponder as to how will mankind survive if we are left in a world with no women. If we kill girl child in the mother's womb, then what will happen to the world. If only 800 girls are born against 1,000 boys, then 200 boys will remain unmarried. Will government do this job?" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WCA5cca style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>).</p><br><p> <i>Indian Navy vessel sinks</i> </p><br><p> The Indian Navy's Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) sunk off the Visakhapatnam coast -- located in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh -- during a naval exercise on Thursday, killing one sailor (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmO85v5zNMIA8ad2 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Indian Express</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmO85v5zNMPA84e5 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> NDTV</a>). While 23 people were rescued, four were reported missing. The Navy issued a statement, which said: "The vessel was on a routine mission to recover torpedoes fired by fleet ships during a routine exercise, when it experienced flooding in one of its compartments" (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WFAc3f0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Livemint</a>). The TRV is an auxiliary vessel used to recover practice torpedoes fired by fleet ships and submarines. </p><br><p> <i>Indian hospital home to 70,000 rats</i> </p><br><p> An Indian government hospital -- located in the central state of Madhya Pradesh -- has spent $89,511 to get rid of 70,000 rats hiding in about 8,000 rat-holes, according to news reports on Friday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WMA11c0 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">BBC</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WWA4d1c style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Hindustan Times</a>,<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WYA8f03 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank"> NDTV</a>). The hospital has named the task "Operation Kayakalp" (Operation Makeover), and so far 2,500 rats have been killed. The rats damaged medical equipment and were visible under beds, in toilets, and in food prepared for the patients. The hospital's previous pest control drive was 20 years ago. The company killing the rats hopes to accomplish the task by Dec. 4. </p><br><p> <i>-- Neeli Shah and Jameel Khan</i> </p><br><p> <b>Afghanistan</b> </p><br><p> <i>Hearing set for Afghanistan fighter trial</i> </p><br><p> Irek Hamidullin, the first military detainee from the Afghan war to be transferred to face trial in the United States, is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in a Virginia court (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WbA2274 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">AP</a>). Hamidullin is charged with twelve counts including material support to terrorists. According to the indictment, Hamidullin was captured in 2009 and was a Russian soldier during the 1980s. </p><br><p> <i>Pakistan offers to train Afghan soldiers</i> </p><br><p> Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif offered Pakistani support for Afghanistan including the training of Afghan soldiers during a meeting on Thursdaywith with Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WiA8a96 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>). Sharif said preventing terrorism was in both countries' interests while Mohammadi stated the importance of continued meetings. The meeting follows the Pentagon's release of a report assessing Afghan security which accused Pakistan of continuing to use militant proxy forces in Afghanistan (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WmAdbf1 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">RFE/RL</a>). Pakistan said it took "serious exception" to the report's claims on Wednesday and that it had conveyed its displeasure to US Ambassador Richard Olson. </p><br><p> <i>Russia promises continued support as NATO withdraws</i> </p><br><p> Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised continued Russian support for Afghanistan as NATO forces withdraw from the country (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WpA6138 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>). Putin stated: "The people of Afghanistan can count on Russia's support if the situation in the country gets complicated following the withdrawal of the international security assistance force." In the past, Russia has supported NATO forces in Afghanistan, allowing the transfer of weapons and forces through its territory. </p><br><p> <i>Pakistan deports 78 Afghans</i> </p><br><p> Pakistan deported 78 Afghan citizens through the Torkham border crossing, according to reports on Friday (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0WqAd553 style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>). The Afghans were arrested in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Massoud Khan, Pakistan's United Nations representative, urged Afghanistan to provide homes for returning refugees, stating: "We want the Afghan refugees to return to their home country with respect." Pakistan is currently home to almost 1.5 million Afghan refugees. </p><br><p> <i>Turkey returns bodies</i> </p><br><p> Afghanistan's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey said on Thursday that preparations were being made to return the bodies of Afghan migrants who died when their boat capsized near Turkey earlier this week (<a href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c71yvsv.2201/VFzNWUmOCfE9c0W0A186e style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414" target="blank">Pajhwok</a>). Two bodies have been handed over to family members already. Six people were rescued alive from the capsized boat, 23 bodies were recovered, and 13 people are still missing. </p><br><p> <i>-- David Sterman</i> </p><br><p> Edited by Peter Bergen </p><br>

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