Today, the CIA released nearly 470,000 files recovered from the Pakistan compound where terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a raid conducted by U.S. forces in 2011. The data released contains Al-Qaeda correspondence, videos, audio files, and operating systems from devices seized in the Abbottabad compound.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who authorized the released, says the material “provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organization”. And while the files certainly do that, they also provide some rather surprising insight into some of the entertainment media consumed in the compound–particularly a large amount that relate to popular video games and anime.
Bin Laden: The Horny Gamer Years pic.twitter.com/upFVqYpF1O
— David Thorpe (@Arr) 2017年11月1日
As both Gizmodo and PCGamesN observed, the file index released by the CIA heavily suggests that either Bin Laden himself or others in the compound were enthusiasts for anime and video games, with emulated copies of Devil May Cry, New Super Mario Brosand Animal Crossing: Wild World, along with Naruto, Bleach, and Dragon Ball DS games as well.
There also appears to be a file name that corresponds to Msoms-anime.net, an Arabic language anime forum, as well as pirated episodes of long-running crime-solving anime Detective Conan.
Source: At Press
When not binging pirated anime and video games someone at the compound enjoyed Hollywood films like Antz, Cars, Heroes of Tomorrow, Chicken Little, Resident Evil, and even 9/11 conspiracy theory film Loose Change. The report and full list of released files can be accessed here.
Source:CIA.Gov / h/t: PCGamesN / h/t: Gizmodo / At Press / @Arr