Behind High Walls, Model Neighbors Were Harboring a Fugitive

  Warrick Page for The New York TimesOsama bin Laden's hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, whose walls dwarfed local residents passing by on Tuesday. Nine children were living in the house.

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan — In his last days, Osama bin Laden was not surrounded by a circle of heavily armed Arab bodyguards or mujahedeen who had fought with him in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union. Rather, he relied on two Pakistanis, one of whom, according to American officials, was his most trusted courier. Both men died with him in the American raid on their compound.

TimesCast | Voicing Distrust on Pakistan TimesCast | A Reclusive Neighbor The Iraq war diverted counterterrorism forces. The Pakistanis were obstructive. Or was it also just bad luck?

Osama bin Laden's hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, whose walls dwarfed local residents passing by on Tuesday. Nine children were living in the house.

They were known here as Arshad Khan and Tareq Khan, although one police official said that Arshad was not the man’s real name and that he carried a fake identity card. Although American officials have said they were brothers, a neighbor who gave his name only as Qassim said the men were cousins. Qassim lives directly opposite the compound that American commandos stormed just after midnight Monday, and his father worked as a watchman there for several years.

The men were Pashtuns from Charsadda, in the northwest frontier region close to Afghanistan, and moved to Abbottabad seven years ago. It remains unclear how they came to know Bin Laden and whether the men were known to the Pakistani military or intelligence services.

On Tuesday the police removed the cordon around the area where they lived in Bilal Town, a middle-class neighborhood on the edge of this quiet country town, allowing journalists up to the compound.

No one here seemed to have any idea that an important fugitive was living behind the high walls, nor did they know well the two Pakistanis who owned the house. But they said the men were model neighbors who never caused trouble, greeted people courteously on the street and strolled with their children in the fields around their house.

Both men were in their 30s and married, with preschool-age children; Arshad with three and Tareq with four, according to the matriarch of a family living on an alley 100 yards north of the compound. She declined to give her name because she did not want to be identified in a newspaper.

Nine children ages 2 to 12 and three women, one of whom was Arab, were taken from the compound by the Pakistani military after the raid to the military hospital in town, said security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity according to protocol. The numbers indicated that one woman and two children in the group were part of Bin Laden’s family. A security official said a daughter of Bin Laden was critically wounded and was being cared for at the hospital; American officials said that Bin Laden’s wife was wounded.

“They are all in safe hands and being looked after in accordance with law,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “Some of them needing medical care are under treatment in the best possible facilities. As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin,” the statement said.

The Khans were wealthy compared with the shopkeepers, farm laborers and Afghan refugees who live around them. They were generous, too, paying 200 rupees (about $2.40) — double the daily wage — to laborers who worked on the house, and gave a donation toward the construction of the neighborhood mosque, said Naheed Abassi, 21, a driver and farm laborer who said he worked on the construction of the house.

The men drove themselves and, once the house was built, did not employ a gate watchman, often the employee who is the greatest source of information about families. They had two cars, a red S.U.V. and a white Suzuki jeep, neighbors said.

Neighbors said the men gave different explanations for their comparative wealth, once saying they had a hotel in Dubai managed by their uncle who sent them money, or that they worked in the money-changing business.

Asked if they had fought in the jihad in Afghanistan, Mr. Abassi, the laborer, grimaced. “It was never very clear,” he said. “The only time they ever interacted with us was when they brought the children out to play,” he said. “They never told us why they came here.”

The home stands out from the surrounding houses because of its high gray cement walls topped with barbed wire, but otherwise it is an unremarkable three-story white house, with a closed-in terrace and a tall annex at the back of the yard that blocked the view from neighboring houses.

The men bought the land and built the house seven years ago, Mr. Abassi said, adding that he knew the year because his family built their house at the same time. A security official said the house was built in 2004, just beyond the boundaries of the section of town where Kakul Military Academy is located.

The owners kept cows and buffalo in an adjoining yard on the south side of the compound, where they had a deep well and a small guard house. That is where one of the three helicopters used in the American assault was abandoned and set on fire. On the north side of the house several poplar trees formed a small garden.

Women living nearby said the women of the Khans’ house lived in complete purdah, or separation from men, and did not socialize or visit other homes. They never went outside the compound except by car, accompanied by their husbands and fully veiled. Beside the two wives of the owners, an aunt who lived with them would go out in the car with them, some of the women said.

The family never invited anyone into their home and never visited other people’s homes, although they did attend prayers in the mosque and funerals in the neighborhood, neighbors said.

When children playing in the fields let a ball fly into the compound by mistake, the owners never let them retrieve it but gave them 50 rupees to buy a new one, said one of the neighbors, a woman with a small boy on her hip who gave her name only as Bibi. When the children began to throw balls into the compound on purpose to get more money, the owners kept paying, she said, laughing.

Salman Masood contributed reporting from Abbottabad, and Pir Zubai Shah from New York.

 

The Crowds Are Gone, the Walls Are Next

Instead, the Nanuet Mall stood as a symbol, mostly of a faded retail era but also of some irony: After it opened in 1969, people came from across the Hudson Valley, shifting shopping patterns from Main Streets to malls. But with competition from big-box retailers and, most notably, the mammoth Palisades Center only four miles away, the Nanuet Mall would quickly lose its place and purpose; its developer has said the mall will be torn down.

On a recent afternoon, more than 40 storefronts were vacant; roughly 35 remained open. Some escalators were no longer running. A child played soccer in a nearly deserted food court.

Arlene Pricoli, 64, who once worked at Stern’s, a now-closed department store, wandered the mall’s eerily empty hallways; she still returns to visit her husband, who works at Mario’s Barber Shop, and to remember what it was like when, she said, “this place was booming.”

“I miss it,” she said.

There had been talk, in the last several years, of remodeling, renovating and bringing some new life to the mall, said David Papaj, 56, who has worked at Mario’s for more than a decade.

The latest talk circulated around the news that Alexander J. Gromack, the supervisor of the Town of Clarkstown, which includes Nanuet, said that the mall’s developer intended to demolish and rebuild it.

“We hear a lot of different rumors,” Mr. Papaj said on Thursday. “Nothing changes.”

Simon Property Group, the Indianapolis-based company that has owned the mall since 1998, had not, at that time, publicly confirmed what Mr. Gromack had said. But in a statement released on Friday, Les Morris, a company spokesman, said, “We do plan on tearing down the mall and putting up an open-air regional center anchored by a Sears, Macy’s, a theater and a grocery store."

When the shopping center opened, and for years after, it was a singular attraction in the area — the only mall for miles around. The parking lot was jammed. Teenagers tracked down friends after school at the arcade, movie theater and clothing shops; their older siblings hung out at the Hungry Lion, a restaurant and bar, said Liz Speight, 44, who grew up nearby.

Ms. Speight was one of several dozen children who planted their hands in concrete near one of the entrances during the mall’s grand opening; a plaque was placed there to commemorate the day.

“It was a big deal,” she said. “Everyone had watched this thing being built for so long.”

Like the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Palisades Interstate Parkway, the Nanuet Mall symbolized the area’s changing landscape, said Mr. Gromack, 57, who grew up in Nanuet.

“We were no longer the sleepy farm community,” he said.

The mall also became a place where new relationships were established. At Mario’s, Dr. Paul Brief, 71, has been visiting the same barber, Anielo Rega, since 1982. Mr. Rega, who has worked at Mario’s for 34 years, also counts Dr. Brief’s two sons, James and Andy, as customers.

But over the years, the center — often called the little mall by locals — declined as the competition increased: The Galleria at White Plains was built in 1980, for instance, and in 1985, Woodbury Commons, an outdoor outlet mall, opened in Central Valley.

Then came the death knell. The Palisades Center, roughly four times the size of the Nanuet Mall, opened in West Nyack in 1998.

Mr. Gromack, who has held several discussions with the Simon Property Group over two years, said the company planned to begin demolition in September. Conceptual plans could be submitted within two months and construction could begin by 2012, he said.

Sears and Macy’s, which are still open, are not owned by Simon Property and will remain. Banchetto Feast, a restaurant, will be relocated, said a co-owner, Eddie Almeida. But it is not clear what will happen to other businesses. Angela Guarino, 41, who worked her way up from shampoo girl to salon manager at Unisex Palace, worried that her job might not be part of the redevelopment. “What am I going to do?” she said. “Start over?”

 

The Crowds Are Gone, the Walls Are Next

Instead, the Nanuet Mall stood as a symbol, mostly of a faded retail era but also of some irony: After it opened in 1969, people came from across the Hudson Valley, shifting shopping patterns from Main Streets to malls. But with competition from big-box retailers and, most notably, the mammoth Palisades Center only four miles away, the Nanuet Mall would quickly lose its place and purpose; its developer has said the mall will be torn down.

On a recent afternoon, more than 40 storefronts were vacant; roughly 35 remained open. Some escalators were no longer running. A child played soccer in a nearly deserted food court.

Arlene Pricoli, 64, who once worked at Stern’s, a now-closed department store, wandered the mall’s eerily empty hallways; she still returns to visit her husband, who works at Mario’s Barber Shop, and to remember what it was like when, she said, “this place was booming.”

“I miss it,” she said.

There had been talk, in the last several years, of remodeling, renovating and bringing some new life to the mall, said David Papaj, 56, who has worked at Mario’s for more than a decade.

The latest talk circulated around the news that Alexander J. Gromack, the supervisor of the Town of Clarkstown, which includes Nanuet, said that the mall’s developer intended to demolish and rebuild it.

“We hear a lot of different rumors,” Mr. Papaj said on Thursday. “Nothing changes.”

Simon Property Group, the Indianapolis-based company that has owned the mall since 1998, had not, at that time, publicly confirmed what Mr. Gromack had said. But in a statement released on Friday, Les Morris, a company spokesman, said, “We do plan on tearing down the mall and putting up an open-air regional center anchored by a Sears, Macy’s, a theater and a grocery store."

When the shopping center opened, and for years after, it was a singular attraction in the area — the only mall for miles around. The parking lot was jammed. Teenagers tracked down friends after school at the arcade, movie theater and clothing shops; their older siblings hung out at the Hungry Lion, a restaurant and bar, said Liz Speight, 44, who grew up nearby.

Ms. Speight was one of several dozen children who planted their hands in concrete near one of the entrances during the mall’s grand opening; a plaque was placed there to commemorate the day.

“It was a big deal,” she said. “Everyone had watched this thing being built for so long.”

Like the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Palisades Interstate Parkway, the Nanuet Mall symbolized the area’s changing landscape, said Mr. Gromack, 57, who grew up in Nanuet.

“We were no longer the sleepy farm community,” he said.

The mall also became a place where new relationships were established. At Mario’s, Dr. Paul Brief, 71, has been visiting the same barber, Anielo Rega, since 1982. Mr. Rega, who has worked at Mario’s for 34 years, also counts Dr. Brief’s two sons, James and Andy, as customers.

But over the years, the center — often called the little mall by locals — declined as the competition increased: The Galleria at White Plains was built in 1980, for instance, and in 1985, Woodbury Commons, an outdoor outlet mall, opened in Central Valley.

Then came the death knell. The Palisades Center, roughly four times the size of the Nanuet Mall, opened in West Nyack in 1998.

Mr. Gromack, who has held several discussions with the Simon Property Group over two years, said the company planned to begin demolition in September. Conceptual plans could be submitted within two months and construction could begin by 2012, he said.

Sears and Macy’s, which are still open, are not owned by Simon Property and will remain. Banchetto Feast, a restaurant, will be relocated, said a co-owner, Eddie Almeida. But it is not clear what will happen to other businesses. Angela Guarino, 41, who worked her way up from shampoo girl to salon manager at Unisex Palace, worried that her job might not be part of the redevelopment. “What am I going to do?” she said. “Start over?”

 

Sprint radar imaging system peeps inside walls, floors to detect bombs, tell-tale hearts

 Cambridge Consultants sprints ahead with innovative counter-terror search technology

New 'Sprint' in-wall radar imaging system unveiled

Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology design and development firm, today unveiled 'Sprint', a prototype handheld device which provides a 3D image of objects embedded within walls or floors. Based on Cambridge Consultants' proven short range radar expertise, Sprint enables an operator to rapidly form an image of subsurface structures such as pipes and cables, as well as detecting items of interest such as concealed explosives and contraband, revolutionising counter-terrorism and crime prevention search techniques.

Law enforcement and security agencies are constantly facing new challenges as criminals and terrorists look for ever more creative ways to conceal weapons or to smuggle contraband, and the Sprint system has been designed to tackle some of the most challenging threat detection scenarios. The London 2012 Olympics, for example, will be one of the toughest security challenges seen in the UK to date and security services will want to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for potential threats. Sprint can quickly and easily look inside anything from the floor to the roof, and the handheld system can simply be moved across a surface to build a larger picture. With many new buildings and facilities being developed for the 2012 games, this technology could provide a unique and innovative way of ensuring that they are clear of any threat.

Unlike existing transmission x-ray systems, the radar-based Sprint system does not require access to both sides of the object in order to scan inside, and provides an easily interpreted image of the wall structure, something which compact radar systems have previously not provided. This significantly improves its application potential and can enable much quicker deployment in scenarios where speed can be critical.

"Whereas other options, such as backscatter x-rays, are cumbersome, expensive and power hungry systems, and conventional radar systems have been difficult to interpret, Sprint's use of radar and processing technology makes it possible to look inside an opaque object or surface from one side safely, cheaply and quickly in a low power, handheld device," commented Sam Pumphrey, Senior Consultant at Cambridge Consultants.

The prototype Sprint device is the equivalent size of a standard sheet of letter paper and 15cm deep, weighing approximately 3.5kg with batteries. It is a multi-channel system, enabling full synthetic aperture processing, and it uses short pulses of energy with high bandwidth to enable the short range, high resolution imaging required. Other potential applications for the technology include industrial inspection, technical search, counter surveillance and a range of military applications.

Cambridge Consultants is currently conducting extensive performance testing to take Sprint beyond the prototype stage and ready it for future commercialisation.

Sprint has been developed to sit alongside Cambridge Consultants' Prism 200 device. Prism 200 is a handheld through-wall radar, designed to be used by police, special forces or the emergency services. It provides quick and covert intelligence on the movement and location of people in a room or building - without the need for invasive sensors.

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