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15 January 2012

100 White House Photos of Bin Laden Mission Day


Cryptome filed July 18, 2011, an FOIA request to the White House for all the photos taken by the White House photographers on the Osama bin Laden mission day, May 1, 2011 other than the nine published:

http://cryptome.org/info/wh-obl-gaps/wh-obl-gaps.htm

The request was denied on August 19, 2011, stating "no records responsive to your request could be identified:"

http://cryptome.org/0005/wh-hides-obl.pdf

After seeing today a statement on Flickr by White House photographer Pete Souza that he took 100 photos that day Cryptome filed another request for bin Laden mission photos taken on that day.

This is related to the appearance in the photos of the reported, unidentified head of the CIA bin Laden unit, nicknamed "CIA John:"

http://cryptome.org/0004/cia-john/cia-john.htm
http://cryptome.org/0006/cia-john2/cia-john2.htm


Cryptome email to the White House, 15 January 2012:

This is a Freedom of Information Act request for the 100 photographs taken by White House photographer Pete Souza on or about May 1, 2011, related to the Obama bin Laden mission which he describes on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/6599544015/in/datetaken/

"During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs."

Copies of the photographs should be full resolution and include EFIX data.

I will pay for reproduction costs as provided by the FOIA.

Thank you.

________

White House confirmation:

Thank You!

Thank you for contacting the White House.

President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible Administration in history. That begins with taking comments and questions from you, the American people, through our website.

Our office receives thousands of messages from Americans each day. We do our best to reply to as many as we can, but please be aware that you may find more information and answers to your questions online. To follow news and learn more about President Obama's plans for winning the future, you can sign up for updates from the White House, read the White House Blog, or listen to White House podcasts.

For an easy-to-navigate source of information on Federal government services, please visit: www.USA.gov.

Thank you again for your message.

The Office of Presidential Correspondence

________

Pete Sousa's full statement on a Flickr "Archives" version of the photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/6599544015/in/datetaken/

[Image]

May 1, 2011

"Much has been made of this photograph that shows the President and Vice President and the national security team monitoring in real time the mission against Osama bin Laden. Some more background on the photograph: The White House Situation Room is actually comprised of several different conference rooms. The majority of the time, the President convenes meetings in the large conference room with assigned seats. But to monitor this mission, the group moved into the much smaller conference room. The President chose to sit next to Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command, who was point man for the communications taking place. WIth so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was jammed into a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this cramped spot in the corner. There were several other meetings throughout the day, and we've put together a composite of several photographs (see next photo in this set) to give people a better sense of what the day was like. Seated in this picture from left to right: Vice President Biden, the President, Brig. Gen. Webb, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Standing, from left, are: Admiral Mike Mullen, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Audrey Tomason Director for Counterterrorism; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Please note: a classified document seen in front of Sec. Clinton has been obscured."

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


Caption on the original Flickr version of the photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5680724572/

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. Seated, from left, are: Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command; Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Standing, from left, are: Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Audrey Tomason Director for Counterterrorism; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Please note: a classified document seen in this photograph has been obscured. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)