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WaPo: Bin Laden Remained Focused on U.S., Became 'Lazy and Complacent'

Updated: May 12, 2011 | 7:50 a.m.
May 12, 2011 | 7:27 a.m.

In the last years of his life, Osama bin Laden appears to have grown nostalgic for the good old days. First, there were the images of the old man covered in a blanket watching clips of himself on the television. Now, the Washington Post reports that the terrorist leader spent the end of his life "searching for a way to replicate the impact of al-Qaeda’s most devastating strike."

According to handwritten journals obtained in the raid that took bin Laden's life, the leader remained focused on the United States and the West, even as many of his followers were more concerned with regional issues. The journals also seem to indicate that bin Laden was ill-prepared for a raid on the compound.

"Bin Laden got lazy and complacent," a senior U.S. official told the Post on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. "I don't think he thought he would meet his maker in that house. And he certainly didn’t make any preparations."

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