bin laden has a great back story. my name is peter bergen. i met osamastern afghanistan in march of 1997. >> reporter: peter bergen, a cnn consultant, is the author of "the osama bin laden i know." this documentary is based in part on his groundbreaking reporting. >> he is the son of a billionaire who lives a frugal, simple life. he's sleeping on a floor. he's not using air conditioning. won't even drink cold water. >> reporter: an heir to one of saudi arabia's wealthiest families, he did not want to stand out. at least not yet. >> he doesn't like really to be a leader. never put himself in a position to be a leader. >> reporter: but that would soon change. bin laden was about to be swept up in a movement that would carry him from student to the leader of a holy war. it was a religious movement, one that would pit young muslims against the establishment. it was called sawa, or the islamic awakening. >> it was the sahwar, at that time it's all about religion and about how to practice islam. >> the sahwar was the islamic awakening of the 1970s. it was part

. >>> more than a decade after the osama bin laden attacks ordered by osama bin laden there is prideound zero. the new world trade center reaches a milestone, becoming the tallest building . >> reporter: 21 feet taller than the empire state building. >> it's inspirational. and it's going to make a lot of people happy. >> reporter: it took a while after september 11th for construction to get started but eventually in a rate of a new floor every week, the tower started to become part of the new york skyline. >> you're not going to stop america. we're going to rebuild. we're going to keep going. >> sends chills up your spine when you think about what happened. >> reporter: this building is all glass, windows floor to sealing all the way around. the tower is one of many buildings under construction at the site which is also home to the september 11th museum. >> it's an act of passion and an act of patriotic beauty. >> reporter: when the needle is added the tower will top out at 1,776 feet. making it the tallest building in the united states. right now the tallest building in the u.s. is

team six raided osama bin laden's compound in pakistan. that's tonight, 9:00 eastern on nbc. >>> still ahead on "way too early," republicans continue to criticize president obama for gloating over the death of osama bin laden. well, jon stewart sees a little hypocrisy and wonders what it would have looked like had george bush fwn the one to get the job done. that coming up. >>> the bulls play without derrick rose, the mvp who tore up his knee during the first game of the playoffs. that and a check on weather when "way too early" comes back. >> tony blair, the 43-year-old laelder of the labour party joined the celebration. >> serve we will with all our heart and all our mind! ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free to spend. move money with a slide. save with a shake. feel good about your decisions. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer

later and all of them headed in different directions so the host never came to know exactly where osama bin laden went. it raises several question, for example, what was osama bin laden doing here and why was he traveling there? and who was planning his itinerary? and how did he manage to get past those dozens of security check points at the time when several military check points were going on in the area. there was suggestions a pakistani official had been helping bin laden, but this is something both the pakistani government and military have consistently denied. >> at least six people including a policeman has been wounded in the area. and in islamabad, do we know anymore about these blasts? >> well, certainly we don't know who carried them out, but there were explosion in the early morning and some of them at a.t.m. cash machines. there was one small explosion outside a safari bar. so an unusual type of attacked and people were expecting them today because of it being the anniversary of osama bin laden's death. >> given that and president obama's visit to afghanistan, just wanted to ask you

. >> the death of osama bin laden. >> it was here where zads established a safe haven for his terrorist organization. >> let's not make the capture or killing of osama bin laden a politically divisive event. >> in new york city with rudy giuliani. >> the man dubbed america's mayor. >> good to be here with rudy giuliani. >> with rudy giuliani at a firehouse. >> this on the anniversary of the day that osama bin laden finally was taken out. >> is there a little bit of hypocrisy. >> trying to politicize this. >> disappointing. >> all i want to do is say thank you. >> he was decisive, he made the right decision. >> a very courageous call that made. >> look what the result was. >> and killed by a drone strike. >> president obama. >> troops out of iraq. >> president succeeded. >> president planning for withdraw from afghanistan. >> our commander-in-chief gave the order. >> these are, are they not, considerable achievements for this president? >> god bless you. god bless the united states of america. now i want to shake some hands. >> the breaking news at this hour is that president obama is on

are told they signed a strategic partnership agreement on the way year marking of the death of osama bin« ladenneighboring pakistan. this week the defense department reported that pakistan remains "a safe haven," for militants. bin laden was living with his family near pakistan's version of west point we are told before forces killed him there, some american lawmakers accused pakistani army of playing both sides. both with al qaeda. and the united states. which all of the evidence indicates is exactly what they were doing. and, now we are learning that pakistanis have not answered one tough question: did their security forces protect the world's most wanted terrorist? keep in mind the united states has given to pakistan, listen now, we have given to pakistan $22 billion in united states taxpayer money over the past decade. $22 billion. to pakistan. and now, like from the site of the former home in pakistan. dominic? >>reporter: some elements of pakistan's spy agency former element of pakistani spy agency must have been part of the support network. that is the key conclusion from what will onlie

he was asked another question that was interesting about the politicalization of the osama bin laden raid, given that he was at a fire station on the anniversary of osama bin laden's death. and he again attacked the president for politicizing this issue. not he or mayor giuliani. >> thank you. quickly, even in these times people wonder who is the winner or the loser in this. i refer to the fact you talk to people all day on the radio. are we all winners because you have the man who was the most wanted terrorist who took the lives of 3,000 people in new york city alone, that this is the day that his life was taken. >> well, you're right. i think in that observation. let's not lose sight of the fact that it was, i don't want to say happy but celebratory in a way, one year ago tonight. we thank s.e.a.l. team 6 for putting the hammer down. and we thank president obama for what was at the time a very difficult decision. i think that's the wrap-up and that's what i'm hearing from people who are calling me. >> thank you, chuck, thank you for around. i greatly appreciate it. >>> we are follow

bin laden. >> let's not make the capture or killing of osama bin laden a politically divisive event. >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> i recommend that people take a look at peel's previous statements. the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. >> we have breaking news at this very moment. we understand the president is in afghanistan. this on the first anniversary of the killing of osama bin laden. we understand that he traveled there overnight. there was something of a "meet the press" and media blackout but we are able to confirm the president is indeed in afghanistan. i'm joined now by kristen welker who is at the white house. please tell us what do you know? what have you heard? >> hi there. good afternoon to you. we can tell you that president obama arrived in afghanistan in kabul at 2:39 p.m. our time, which is 11:09 in afghanistan. right now, he is at the afghan presidential palace with president hamid karzai. we're just getting this information so i'll read it to you. he is there to sign the strategic partnership agreement which is essenti

afghanistan then became a safe haven for terrorists like osama bin laden to plot the 9/11 attacks. >> and a year ago we were able to finally bring osama bin laden to justice. (cheers and applause) >> reporter: the president also used this trip to meet with troops and express his gratitude. >> you've earned a special place in our hearts and i could not be prouder to be your commander-in-chief. >> reporter: and, scott, it was just four and a half hours before the president actually landed in afghanistan that news of his trip actually leaked out, starting from an afghan broadcaster. it was then picked up online but advisors say that the president was never in any danger and we didn't see him change his schedule at all, despite this security breach. >> pelley: they usually keep those things secret until the president lands. norah, i wonder, with the speech being scheduled tonight on the anniversary of bin laden's death, one might ask whether this has been carefully timed for the u.s. presidential election. >> reporter: well, there are some republicans who are going to charge that-- and ha

bin laden's death. the u.s. government says osama bin laden's death was a crippling blow to al qaeda that is still being felt today. >> they're struggling to attract new recruits. morale is low. in short, al qaeda is losing badly. >> reporter: on the evening of may 1st, the navy s.e.a.l.s launched a daring raid on osama bin laden's compound. they stuffed a big bag full of documents and provide owes. it provided insight into bin laden's operations. he was particularly worried about drone strikes. >> in documents we seized he confessed to disaster after disaster. he even urged his leaders to flee their tribal regions and to go away from aircraft, photography, and bombardment. >> reporter: ahead of the anniversary, a political battle ensued when the obama campaign launched a web ad. it suggested mitt romney would not have authorized the attack on osama bin laden. romney is firing back. >> would you have gone after osama bin laden? >> you would have given the order, governor? >> even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> reporter:

clarissa, you were in abbottabad where osama bin laden was killed, and i'm wondering what do the folks there today say about the american raid? >> reporter: well, it's quite astonishing, scott. one year later, many people still do not believe that osama bin laden was living in that city. they certainly don't believe that he was killed by that u.s. navy seal raid there. short of seeing proof, they say they simply can't fathom that it would be possible. obviously, this is a part of the world that is big on conspiracy theories. and even those people who do believe that osama bin laden was living there and was killed there are more angered than anything else by the fact that the u.s. violated pakistan's sovereign integrity by staging that raid. >> pelley: clarissa, thank you very much. the mission to kill bin laden was run from c.i.a. headquarters, and the man in charge that night was leon panetta. it was panetta who described events as they unfolded to the president at the white house. for an interview for "60 minutes," we asked panetta for an insider's view of the plan to get the man tha

team 6 had taken out the most wanted criminal in the world, osama bin laden. so this happening on the one year death anniversary of osama bin laden. we have john king standing by in washington with a little bit more on the news here. john, clear this up for me. we know that he has just arrived in afghanistan. what more do we know and the purpose of the trip here? >> reporter: the white house is obviously being careful about the tick tock of the president's movements because of security concerns, but we can report that the president has landed safely in afghanistan, he flu there year night from the the united states. obviously he is there on the one year anniversary of the raid across the border in pakistan that led to the death of osama bin laden. we also know the president will address the nation tonight in the 7:00 hour, 7:30 p.m., he will address the nation from afghanistan. and we know while there he is scheduled to meet with the afghan president, hamid karzai and the two ledder leaders ared to sign a extstrategic agreemen between the two countries. this wo

mission to get osama bin laden, and suddenly the dead osama bin laden has become issue one in the presidential campaign. >> president obama is not convinced. >> i just recommend that everybody take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into pack -- pakistan and take out bin laden. i assume that people meant what they said when they said it. that's been at least my practice. i said that i'd go after bin laden if we had a clear shot at him, and i did. if there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they do something else, then i'd go ahead and let them explain. >> here is what senator barack obama said during his first presidential campaign in 2007 about being willing to violate if necessary pakistan's sovereignty to get osama bin laden. >> if we had actionable intelligence about high-valued targets and president musharraf won't act, we will. >> just four days after that, the 2007 version of presidential candidate mitt romney said, i do not concur in the words of barack obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours. tonight on fox

the president of the united states is told we have someone who seems to resemble osama bin laden. the intelligence points it's osama bin laden. it's our one shot to take him out. the president can make that call. i have to believe i don't know whether every single president in the united states would have done it but it seems like just about every president given the stakes and the significance would have made that call. to me it's not a political issue. the president deserves tremendous credit for making the call. democrats and republicans praised barack obama a year ago when he made this decision including mitt romney. it's not a political issue. it's sad that it has become a political issue. >> i think what sort of sparked the debate of going back to 2007 and the back and forth was governor romney's sort of shot at former president carter. do you think that was a fair way of sort of responding that even jimmy carter when jimmy carter did order a raid like this that didn't work? >> i think what governor romney was saying even president carter who is known not to have been very de

he was referring to the hunt for osama bin laden. t did he mean by that because it has generated a little controversy given osama bin laden's role in killing 3,000 americans on 9-11. >> bill: not worth spending millions of dollars. in fact, mitt romney, at the time said the mission to get osama bin laden, he called it ill-timed and ill-considered. mitt romney. so, if you take a look at their statement at the time, i think you can legitimately raise a question as the obama campaign did in that spot with bill clinton in it. would mitt romney have done the same thing? would he have had the could hewn hewn -- kahunas to go after osama bin laden? based on his statements last year, based on his statements four years ago, the answer is no way would he have done so. 866-55-press. you know what really bugged me is that ariana huffington said it was despicable for president obama to show that ad. it is not despicable for president obama to show that ad. again, he did it. he can take credit for it. mitt romney would never have done the same thin

osama bin laden was away in a compound. it was largely cut off. you're trying to box me in -- >> what's your point? >> my point is he wasn't the day-to-day running tactical -- >> it was hugely symbolic. laden with his messages to people. >> are we really going to have -- >> yes, we are having that argument. >> i don't want to have that argument. i think it was a good decision. i support him in the decision. i thought the ad was stupid. i think the way they're -- >> why is the ad stupid? >> i tell you what i think is really offensive. >> what is it stupid? >> instead of taking getting the praise for this, he turned it into this thing against mitt romney stepping on his own presidential message. i bet you they regret it. >> he made the point that mitt romney said he wouldn't have spent the money to go after one y and today mitt romney says of course i would have done it. even jimmy carter would have. hammering -- >> let's talk about politicizing this. forget about the ad. in barack obama's state of the union address, what he does is go out in front o

>> you do. >> i have no problem about him killing osama bin laden. >> what about mccain who said shame on president obama by turning it into a cheap political attack ad. the same president who criticized hillary clinton for invoking bin laden to score points. how do you feel about the speech when he used the capture of saddam hussein? he said george bush took the fight to our enemies and away from our shores destroying the regime. president obama made the difficult decision to liberate iraq. we need a leader with experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with it. what is the difference? >> there's a big difference. the big difference in there does john mccain say anything about john kerry. >> hang on. >> it's an important point here. it was stupid of the white house to do this. instead of talking about how great president barack obama was for killing osama bin laden, we're arguing whether he should have this ad. >> you're missing the big point the reason they mention mitt romney because he went on record saying it wasn't worth all the money spent to get one die. h

bin laden? >> first of all, the mission that got osama bin laden was an extraordinary mission, carried out nearly flawlessly, and it was president obama, our commander this chief, who gave the order to go in and take out osama bin laden. and the mission was a great success. because of that victory, because of that success, the extraordinary work of seal team six, that we are much safer than we ever have been. >> let me ask you about -- >> al qaeda is still out there and we have to be up there. >> the "washington post" has this fascinating in-depth look at bin laden and, you know, they talk about some of the documents that were gotten in the raid. you know, how he was very hands on from that compound in pakistan, he was writing memos, he had personal orders for his deputies, he was in communication with operatives around the world. do you think that it was possible he would have struck again? >> oh, i think it's very possible. given the opportunity and given the right weapons, certainly if he were able to get his hands on weapons of mass destruction or any member of al qaeda or affiliate of al qae

emerged that have their own leadership, financing, resources. >> intelligence reports of located osama bin laden or promising. >> the administration to release these documents is significant. president bush mentioned bin laden less and less. obama wants to remind people that this is part of this legacy. bin laden has a legacy, but it is fading now. the infamous bogeyman is no more. his organization is a shadow of what it once was. >> you are watching "newsday." >> why this little boy has an interesting visit to issue and oregon. -- a zoo in oregon. >> a quick look at some of the top stories from the world papers. chen guangcheng leads the " international herald tribune." many conclusions have been drawn from the osama bin laden files. in his last days in charge, the world's most feared terrorist was paranoid and bureaucratic. hospitals ordering -- lamenting the end, the moscow times looks back at the much ridiculed car. >> the chinese dissident at the center of a diplomatic standoff between beijing and washington has made an unexpected live appeal to the u.s. congress. " said don says it is full

year ago an elite team raided a compound in pakistan, killed the most wanted man in the world, osama bin laden. today on the anniversary of bid laden's raid we're learning about possible new threats including the use of bombs implanted inside the bodies of terrorists. susan candiotti is following the story for us. explain to us what this is about. >> steps are being taken to guard against a new threat involving body bombs possibly planted inside passengers on flights headed for the u.s. this is according to a u.s. government official with knowledge of the threat. however, a spokesman for the department of homeland security adds that dhs has no indication of any specific credible threats or plots against the u.s., tied to the one-year anniversary of bin laden's death. a source tells cnn the new information originated from overseas in the last two weeks and has been shared with various agencies and countries including the u.s. and the uk. suzanne. >> how does the united states, how does tsa, deal with this? we've been through all of this intimate screening now. do we think that is enough to prot

from washington. >> pakistan has not answered some key questions one year after the death of osama bin laden pakistan leaders ordered an investigation into whether the terror leader had a support network in side of the country. but pakistan is not disclosing its findings and the united states says they're disappointed. president barack obama makes no apologies for killing the al qaeda leader who ordered the 9/11 attacks. >> said that we would go after osama bin laden if we had a clear shot at him and. >> the president and his republican rival are treating sludge on the grate. the president has hinted that mitt romney might not have taken down the terror master mind. >> i just recommend that everyone take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought was appropriate to go into pakistan, and take out osama bin laden. i assume that people meant what they said when they said it treated >> mitt romney says the president is trying to exploit the anniversary for his political gain. >> let's not make the capture and killing of osama bin laden a political device of the offen

the president killed osama bin laden. he's over there in afghanistan, he's got a substantive mission. why attack the president who leaves the -- who goes to foreign shores? what's your take on this. who's right and who's wrong? >> the reason you attack -- obama was already accused in the commercial of so-called spiking the ball. >> i disagree -- i don't like any part of that commercial. i'm with you on that. >> okay. >> why go on to day three if you're mitt romney? what's the point? >> this isn't spiking the ball. this is running through the end zone, running home and putting it in a trophy case. setting an agreement with afghanistan makes sense. >> right. >> setting an agreement on the day that bin laden was killed, the anniversary of that is blatant politics. everybody knows it. but to use something that even the s.e.a.l.s are complaining about now -- >> as a wedge issue, i don't like it one bit. and i think the white house has done that. whatever the president's view. they're making it into a wedge issue. but regarding

ononlyly a at t ththe e slsleeer ststorore,e, w wheherere n >>> osama bin laden's death wasn't the onlyfor al qaeda last year. cnn's nic robertson explains how the arrest of an operative exposed more secrets. >> as u.s. navy seals were preparing to storm bin laden's now infamous compound a year ago, two of his recently trained european recruits were sneaking out of the country on a mission to cause carnage. they were headed for vienna and berlin. but not long after they returned to europe, one of them was being questioned at this police station. he was arrested and searched and hidden in his underwear, police found memory recording devices like these buried deep in the devices was a pornographic video, and hidden in files inside that were what police believe were more than a hundred secret al qaeda documents. documents that included detailed accounts of the planning for some of al qaeda's biggest attacks. and ideas for future operations. apparently drawn up by some of the terror group's most senior operatives three years ago. >> according to the german federal criminal police, must have

>> the taking out of osama bin laden. and that was a decision that the president didn't just check a box. >> he could have lost seals over there. >> he campaigned on going after osama bin laden, he said if he had actual intelligence he would go into pakistan. it was a controversy between him and hillary clinton, and in the general election. but what he is doing is he's trying to build an infrastructure in afghanistan to leave whoever the next president is, republican or democrat, so we can have our drones based there, so we can have a c.i.a. presence and not just abandon the country the way we did in the 80s. >> i'll turn to mr.-- okay. the political angle. >> it was also a political motive perhaps for mr. obama's trip to engage in some chest thumping over bin laden's demise. the week began with an ad questioning mitt romney's commitment to hunting down the al-qaeda founder. in contrast to mr. obama's accomplishment, with bin laden. the democratic ad featured this mitt romney quote from 2007. "it's not worth moving heaven