<http://www.nypost.com/> clip_image001Updated: Sat., May. 7, 2011, 10:28 AM
Zoned out at Ft. Osama By BILL SANDERSON Last Updated: 10:28 AM, May 7, 2011 Posted: 1:13 AM, May 7, 2011 Not only did the Pakistanis let a mass murderer live right under their noses -- they also looked the other way on zoning-code violations! They didn't even go after him for unpaid property taxes. In 2004, Osama bin Laden's couriers got permission to construct a comfy two-story, eight-bedroom and seven-bathroom home for the terror overlord in scenic Abbottabad. Local building inspectors didn't lift a finger when the home actually wound up three stories high -- contrary to the plans they had submitted. "There are many rules and regulations," top Abbottabad official Asif Amir Khan told a reporter. None of the rules were enforced against the bin Laden sanctuary. The oversights were no surprise to locals, who say Abbottabad's building inspectors never bother to check whether homes are built in line with their building permits. If they had bothered to check, inspectors might have noticed that the 17-foot-tall, barbed wire-topped walls surrounding the home and its 38,000-square-foot grounds didn't appear in the plans. Also missing from the plans was the extra residence out behind the main building. Americans might call that a "mother-in-law" house, but since bin Laden had several wives, he probably called it a guesthouse. While records show the home never paid property taxes, it was unclear how much bin Laden might have owed. The compound's architect, Muhammad Yunis, included in his drawing for the original 2,700-square-foot home a statement that the structure would be steel-reinforced -- an important feature in earthquake-prone Abbottabad, where thousands of buildings were damaged in a 2005 temblor. But whether the steel was actually used in construction is questionable. A 2007 story in a Pakistani newspaper notes that construction rules are widely ignored in Abbottabad -- except by the region's military overseers, who apply building codes "to some extent." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
