Bin Laden once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of US cruise missiles destroyed it, His actions set off a chain of events that led the US into wars in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, and a clandestine war against extreme Islamic adherents that touched scores of countries on every continent but Antarctica.
America's entire intelligence apparatus was overhauled to counter the threat of more terror attacks at home.In Afghanistan, he would wake before dawn for prayers, then eat a simple breakfast of cheese and bread. He closely monitored world affairs. Almost daily, he and his men Egyptians, Yemenis, Saudis, among others practiced attacks, hurling explosives at targets and shooting at imaginary enemies.
In Afghanistan, bin Laden was often accompanied by his four wives the maximum Islam allows. Estimates on the number of his children range up to 23. Al Qaeda's first major strike after bin Laden returned to Afghanistan was on August 7, 1998, when twin explosions rocked US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Since September 11, bin Laden stayed a step ahead of the US dragnet perhaps the largest in history for a single individual. As the Taliban quickly fell under pressure of the US bombardment, bin Laden fled into the inhospitable mountains in the seam that separates Pakistan and Afghanistan, keeping up a spotty stream of chatter first in video tapes and then in scratchy audio recordings to warn his Western pursuers of more bloodshed
Just hours after the US assault on Afghanistan began on Oct 7, 2001, bin Laden appeared in a video delivered to Al Jazeera, an Arab satellite television station, to issue a threat to America. He reappeared in a video appearance broadcast by Al-Jazeera on Dec. 27, 2001, shortly after U.S. forces apparently had him cornered in Tora Bora, a giant cave complex in eastern Afghanistan.
Hundreds of Al Qaeda suspects are believed to have escaped the massive US bombing campaign there, and bin Laden is believed to have been among them. During the past decade, bin Laden and deputy Ayman al-Zawahri have appeared regularly in audio and videotapes to issue threats, and comment on a wide range of current events, although the appearances trailed off in recent years.
Owls belong to the Order Strigiformes.
The Order Strigiformes is further divided into two families, the barn owls (Family Tytonidae) and the typical owls (Family Strigidae). Owls are a diverse group of birds, with over 220 species of owls belonging to the Order Strigiformes.
Owls are birds of prey.
Owls feed on a wide variety of prey including mammals, other birds, insects, and reptiles. There are even some species of owls that live in Africa and Asia that feed on birds. Owls cannot chew their prey since, like all birds, they do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow small prey whole and must tear larger prey into smaller pieces before swallowing. They later regurgitate pellets of indigestible material such as bone, fur, and feathers.
The structure of an owl's foot is referred to as zygodactyl.
This means that two of the toes face forward while two face backward. This arrangement enables the owls to capture and grasp prey with greater ease. Sometimes, the third toe can be rotated forward into a position occasionally used for perching.
Most owls are nocturnal.
Most owls are active at night. A few species (such as the pygmy owls) are active in the early morning or at dusk while some (such as the burrowing owl and the short-eared owl) are active during the day.
Owls' eyes are fixed in their sockets.
Owls are unable to move their eyes within their sockets to a great extent, which means they must turn their entire head to see in a different direction. Because owls have forward-facing eyes, they have well-developed binocular vision. Contrary to popular myth, an owl cannot turn its head completely backwards. It can turn its head 135 degrees in either direction; it can thus look behind its own shoulders, with a total 270-degree field of view.
Many species of owls have special flight feathers adapted for silent flight.
Owls have developed special feather adaptations that enable them to minimize the sound made when flapping their wings. For instance, the leading edges of their primary feathers have a stiff fringes that reduces noise while the trailing edge of their primaries have soft fringes that helps to reduce turbulence. Downy feathers cover the surfaces of the wing to further reduce sound.
Owls create a variety of vocalizations.
Owls create a wide variety of sounds or vocalizations. The familiar hoot is usually a territorial declaration, though not all species are able to hoot. Other sounds owls might make include screeches, hisses, and screams.
Owls are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands.
Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament.
Owls are farsighted and are unable to see anything clearly within a few centimeters of their eyes.
Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes, which are small hair-like feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers". Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good.
And how could I not include the greatest Owl picture of them all!
__._,_.___UJJWAL
