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8A – Daily News – Wednesday, May 4, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING White House: bin Laden unarmed but resisted WASHINGTON (AP) — Osama bin Laden was unarmed when he was confronted by U.S. com- mandos at his Pakistani hideout but tried to resist the assault, the White House said Tuesday as new details emerged about the audacious raid that killed the world's most wanted terrorist. The White House said it was considering whether to release photos that were taken of bin Laden after he was killed but was concerned that the photos were "grue- some" and could be inflammatory. Other details that emerged on Tuesday, according to U.S. offi- cials: One of bin Laden's wives tried to rush the commandos and was shot in the leg. High tempera- tures caused a lumbering helicopter carrying the raiders to make a hard landing. And as Navy SEALs swept through the compound, they hand- cuffed those they encoun- tered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of their target, code- named Geronimo. Once bin Laden had been shot, they doubled back to move the prison- ers away from the com- pound before blowing up the downed helicopter. The fuller picture of the high-stakes assault emerged as U.S. officials weighed whether to release video and photos of bin Laden, who was killed with a shot above his left eye. Bin Laden's demise raises pressure to pull forces WASHINGTON (AP) — The demise of Osama bin Laden complicates what was already a tough call for President Barack Obama: how to wind down the nearly decade- old war in Afghanistan. Now the symbolic reason for staying in the fight — to get al-Qaida's leader and avenge 9/11 — has been undercut. Momentum had been building in Congress and elsewhere for a shift to a narrower, less costly mili- tary mission in Afghanistan even before the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden. This could suit Obama's desire to put Afghanistan behind him by beginning a phased troop pullout this summer along with NATO part- ners. But it also could put him at sharper odds with his military commanders, who argue for a slower drawdown and a longer- term military commit- ment that they believe would lessen the chances of Afghanistan again falling apart. U.S. commanders fear squandering hard-fought battlefield gains, particu- larly those achieved with the addition last year of an extra 30,000 American troops. They now face a spring offensive by the Taliban, whose goal remains undermining the Afghan government, dis- crediting its security forces and driving out U.S. troops. Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., reflected a wider skepticism about remain- ing heavily involved in Afghanistan when he said Tuesday that he had not imagined at the outset of the war in October 2001 that U.S. troops would still be there — "with no end in sight, even after the death of Osama bin Laden." Bin Laden's neighbors noticed compound ABBOTTABAD, Pak- istan (AP) — When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 chil- dren at the compound, and told her to go away. The terror chief and his family kept well hidden behind thick walls in this northwestern hill town they shared with thou- sands of Pakistani sol- diers. But glimpses of their life are emerging — along with deep skepti- cism that authorities did- n't know they were there. Although the house is large, it was unclear how three dozen people could have lived there with any degree of comfort. As Navy SEALs swept through the compound early Monday, they hand- cuffed those they encoun- tered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of bin Laden. After killing the terror leader, his son and two others, they doubled back to move nine women and 23 children away from the compound, according to U.S. officials. Those survivors of the raid are now "in safe hands and being looked after in accordance to the law," the Pakistani gov- ernment said in a state- ment. "As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin." It did not elaborate. Republican candidates not changing WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans hoping to unseat President Barack Obama say they see al- Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's death as a wel- come development but no reason to change political strategy. While Obama almost surely will get a boost in his poll numbers, advisers for the still-forming field of GOP candidates expect that it will be temporary and that voters will select a president based on how the economy recovers — or doesn't — over the next 18 months. "This is a major event. I know I woke up the next morning feeling my chil- dren are safer, and that's a key issue," said Republi- can pollster Ed Goeas, who no longer is aligned with a presidential candi- date now that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has opted out. "The question is whether voters feel safer economically. The focus will return to that fairly quickly. I don't know that this affects the bottom line except in the short term." A trio of polls released Tuesday reflected an uptick for Obama's overall approval rating in the wake of the bin Laden's death in Pakistan at the hands of Navy SEALs. But that could change quickly. The killing of a terrorist half a world away doesn't change the fact that the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, gasoline prices are rising and the economic recovery is sluggish. Those are top issues for voters. Perhaps the biggest political boost for Obama is that bin Laden's death K W I K K U T S Family Hair Salon $200 REGULAR HAIRCUT off with coupon Not good with other offers 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 Reg. $13.95 Expires 5/31/11 Auxiliary A member of CHW makes it much harder for Republicans to paint the president as unsteady and vacillating on national security. Researchers forecast up to 5-foot rise in ocean levels STOCKHOLM (AP) — The ice of Greenland and the rest of the Arctic is melt- ing faster than expected and could help raise global sea levels by as much as 5 feet this century, dramatically higher than earlier projec- tions, an authoritative inter- national assessment says. The findings "emphasize the need for greater urgency" in combating global warming, says the report of the Arctic Moni- toring and Assessment Pro- gram (AMAP), the scientif- ic arm of the eight-nation Arctic Council. The warning of much higher seas comes as the world's nations remain bogged down in their two- decade-long talks on reduc- ing emissions of carbon dioxide and other green- house gases blamed for global warming. Rising sea levels are expected to cause some of global warming's worst damage — from inundated small islands to possible flooding of New York City's subways. Oceans will not rise uniformly worldwide, because of currents, winds and other factors, but such low-lying areas as Bangladesh and Florida will likely be hard-hit. The new report, whose executive summary was obtained by The Associated Press, is to be delivered to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and foreign ministers of the other seven member nations at an Arctic Council meet- ing next week in Greenland. It first will be discussed by some 400 international sci- entists at a conference this week in Copenhagen, Den- mark. COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. 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