By Laura Rozen 
A stash of pornographic videotapes was among the "treasure trove" of computer files, video tapes and documents U.S. forces scooped up from the compound where Osama bin Laden resided in Abbottabad, Pakistan early this month, Reuters reports, citing current and former U.S. officials.
"The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound ... consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity," Reuters' Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria write.
The officials told Reuters, however, they did not know who at the compound "had acquired or viewed the materials," and weren't sure where in the three-story compound the material was found.
The reported discovery has provoked more than a little skepticism among chroniclers of the war against terrorism. It's not unusual, after all, for U.S. intelligence officials to float claims such as this to sully the image of jihadist piety maintained by bin Laden and his al Qaeda operation. The idea is to demoralize al Qaeda adherents who might otherwise pledge themselves to acts of vengeance such as today's bombing in Pakistan.
U.S. officials declined to comment, although one source, who insisted on anonymity, said that the report of the porn stash at the compound is true, and not an intelligence-engineered propaganda claim.
But Wired's Spencer Ackerman is not so sure:
The Reuters report cites three U.S. officials saying "the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases."
One regional expert said whether true or not, the report could inflame tensions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Muslims may perceive it as an insult against them.
(Undated image from video seized from Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, released by the Defense Department on May 7, 2011: Department of Defense, File/AP Photo)
A stash of pornographic videotapes was among the "treasure trove" of computer files, video tapes and documents U.S. forces scooped up from the compound where Osama bin Laden resided in Abbottabad, Pakistan early this month, Reuters reports, citing current and former U.S. officials."The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound ... consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity," Reuters' Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria write.
The officials told Reuters, however, they did not know who at the compound "had acquired or viewed the materials," and weren't sure where in the three-story compound the material was found.
The reported discovery has provoked more than a little skepticism among chroniclers of the war against terrorism. It's not unusual, after all, for U.S. intelligence officials to float claims such as this to sully the image of jihadist piety maintained by bin Laden and his al Qaeda operation. The idea is to demoralize al Qaeda adherents who might otherwise pledge themselves to acts of vengeance such as today's bombing in Pakistan.
U.S. officials declined to comment, although one source, who insisted on anonymity, said that the report of the porn stash at the compound is true, and not an intelligence-engineered propaganda claim.
But Wired's Spencer Ackerman is not so sure:
If this is a CIA information operation — and how could it not be? — it's the greatest one of all time. In public, bin Laden is the pious, self-proclaimed vanguard of a violent Islamic uprising. Alone in his compound, he's beating it like it owes him cash. ...
Are the reports true? You'll have to be the judge.The Reuters report cites three U.S. officials saying "the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases."
One regional expert said whether true or not, the report could inflame tensions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Muslims may perceive it as an insult against them.
(Undated image from video seized from Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, released by the Defense Department on May 7, 2011: Department of Defense, File/AP Photo)
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