News - Osama Bin Laden - killed In Pakistan

[Ambar]

Kmk, according to some reports there were 4 Blackhawks that were involved in the operation and 1 of them came down. During the opening hours when this news came out, we too speculated it could be a paki heli that was shot down by the Americans, but it was later dismissed when the Americans admitted that they lost a bird due to "mechanical difficulties". The initial images from GEOtv did show a paki jet flying pretty low, and this was during the daylight. So i think it took them a while to register the events and act.

[shiv]

I call it true democracy for people. See the military guy with stripes sitting in a cosy center chair, while President Obama sitting humbly in the side in a small chair. I cannot imagine this in India (democracy for netas).

kmkraoji - let's not go overboard and OT. We don't see many images like this, and sometimes when we see we don't look. Both images require enlargement because they were not taken as PR opportunity images like this Amriki one

Indian Air Force Commander's conference


Indian Coast Guard Commanders conference

[Hari Seldon]

From twitter:

>>Jammu: Blast 'to avenge Osama' kills 1 http://post.ly/1yzDE

How cute that yindooze'll bear the consequences of unkil playing john wayne...Not!

[ManishH]

BBC has an annotated map of OBL's hideout with PMA prominently marked ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13263270

It'd be interesting if the captured camera surveillance videos ever leak. Might show documentary proof of visits by Kiyani to the compound

[abhishek_sharma]

More fotus here

[sum]

Before dawn Monday morning, a pair of helicopters left Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. The choppers entered Pakistani airspace using sophisticated technology intended to evade that country's radar systems, a U.S. official said.

So much for Pakis claiming that they hosted the SEALs...

Also, the fact that their radars were virtually dead for so much time due to Amir-khan tech means that the crown jewels are also ripe to be snatched away any time ( unless they already have been)

[Anant]

Hari,

The Indian government needs to take off the kid gloves and hit hard if another Puki terrorist event takes place. I think the entire world, save the usual rogue states, would support it.

[sum]

MKB has linked this article in his blog:

Getting Osama bin Laden: How the Mission Went Down

The helicopter carrying Navy SEALs malfunctioned as it approached Osama bin Laden’s compound at about 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, stalling as it hovered. The pilot set it down gently inside the walls, then couldn’t get it going again.

It was a heart-stopping moment for President Barack Obama, who had been monitoring the raid in the White House Situation Room since 1 p.m., surrounded by members of his war cabinet.

“Obviously, everyone was thinking about Black Hawk Down and Desert One,” a senior administration official recalled.

The special forces put bombs on the crippled chopper and blew it up, then lifted off in a reinforcement craft just before 4:15 p.m., capping an astounding 40 minutes that gave the United States a tectonic victory in the 10-year war on terror touched off by 9/11.

The sick chopper turned out to be a tiny wrinkle in an astounding military and intelligence triumph. Bin Laden was shot in the face by the SEALs during a firefight after resisting capture.

He was buried at sea less than 12 hours later. He was 54.

Here’s how the world’s most-hunted man was vanquished, as recounted by senior administration officials:

Read it all...

[abhishek_sharma]

Osama's Dead, But How Much Does It Matter?

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... ath_matter

William McCants: A Gaping Hole
David J. Rothkopf: The Death of Osama Changes Little
Adam Lankford: Martyr Complex
Sumit Ganguly: What about India's Enemies?
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: What Does His Death Mean for America's Longest-Ever War?
Arif Rafiq: Pakistan Caught in a Web of Lies
Michael Cohen: Casus Pax

From the Paki Arif Rafiq's article :

With great passion last year, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, "I categorically deny the presence of Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, and even Mullah Omar in any part of Pakistan."

Now, with the capture of bin Laden in Pakistan -- only 40 miles from Malik's office - it's more difficult than ever to consider his statements, and those of his civil and military counterparts, credible. Since 9/11, Pakistan's leaders have been lying to the United States, neighboring countries, their own people, and even to one another about fundamental elements of the war on terror.

...

Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani commemorated his military servicemen's sacrifices at the third annual martyrs' day this weekend. As he supplicated for the thousands of fallen Pakistani servicemen, the usually emotionless Kayani fought back his tears. Kayani told the audience that Pakistan would not sell its national integrity -- by inference, to the United States -- for prosperity. But the real focus of his address was this: Pakistan faces a long-term fight against terrorists from within.

...

And so today it remains unclear what exactly happened during the fatal raid yesterday. Were some elements of Pakistan's military-intelligence apparatus aware of the operation? Did they give their consent? Did they even cooperate? Reports that the U.S. helicopters took off from the Ghazi airbase in Tarbela, where American Special Operations Forces have been training their Pakistani counterparts, suggests that there was some Pakistani involvement in the operation that captured and killed bin Laden.

However, U.S. officials state that no other country was aware of the operations (a position nowbacked up by Pakistan's military), in which bin Laden was caught hiding less than a mile away from Pakistan's West Point and a short flight away from the capital. And so it's possible that Pakistan was caught with its pants down, having failed to stop or even spot the American incursion.

...

Inside the Pakistan Army's ranks, one can expect greater pressure on Kayani, Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, and possibly even Air Force Chief Marshall Rao Qamar Suleman. Kayani has already been lambasted since the mid-March release of Raymond Davis, a Central Intelligence Agency contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore in January. Given the record of attacks by radical serving and retired officers against the military leadership and other officers since 9/11, it's highly likely that threats against the military from within will rise. And al-Qaeda and its affiliates -- including the TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi -- are certain to lash out in anger against the Pakistani state and civilians.

Irrespective of whether it helped capture bin Laden, having both aided and worked against the United States and Islamic militants, and with the killing of bin Laden in mainland Pakistan, the Pakistani military-intelligence apparatus is now caught in its own web of lies. Getting out of it won't be pretty.

Don't Get Cocky, America: Al Qaeda is still deadly without Osama bin Laden.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... ky_america

[devesh]

there is a poster of Kajol in that picture amidst the Osama worshipping

in the extreme left of the picture.

[Murugan]

•India Can do a US: Naik

Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said on Monday it has the capability to take out the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror strike in the manner the US had eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, but did not elaborate. The Indian Air Force chief said: "We have the capability" But he refused to elaborate, saying: "No, I would not like to..."

ET Page 4,
3 May 2011

[devesh]

^^^
precedent has been set by Uncle. they can't turn around and say that they are the only ones who have the right to avenge civilian deaths!!!

[Prasad]

It is classified, and in use.. an advanced satellite was launched many a times in the past, (I guess track while scan/SAR/ISAR/x radar based sats). I doubt it has reached a live level as you would see in patriot games. But Raytheon is working on futuristic sat based FCRs [or it could early warning system] .

I doubt it is that much of a problem. Remember, drones launched and recovered in pakistan are piloted from arizona in the us. This means real time imagery is transferred for sure. If it is possible with multiple drones then this op should not be that different or difficult.

[Ambar]

Yes. And not just posters of "Kuffar beauties" jostling for space with the most pious, look at the last picture in that album, they obviously smuggle a whole lot of Indian goods into Pakistan. I could notice 'Godrej Hair dye', 'Moov Pain reliever cream' and 'Kesh Kala' coloring aid among other popular Indian products on the shelf.

[abhishek_sharma]

The bin Laden aftermath: The future of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship
Shuja Nawaz

http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/20 ... lationship

"Overthe years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistanif we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important tonote that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to binLaden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared waragainst Pakistanas well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people."

With those words, President Barack Obama acknowledged Pakistan'srole in the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a military cantonment, in a house that lay half a mile or so from the Pakistan MilitaryAcademy. It is unclear why, if Pakistani intelligence had the leads, it would not or could not follow up itself and do the job.

Ata time when United States-Pakistan relations are going south in a hurry overaid, Afghanistan, and U.S. intelligence operations inside Pakistan, bin Laden'sdeath leaves more questions on the table than answers. How could four U.S.helicopters operate some 120 miles inside Pakistani territory and three of themexit without being detected? Were they allowed to do so? And by whom? Or was it Pakistan's inability tointercept them that allowed the U.S.raid to proceed without a hitch? Clearly the civilian government was first informed when President Obama spoke with President Asif Ali Zardari after theoperation was over. If Zardari's military was in the know, and he was not, this speaks volumes about the internal distrust within Pakistan's establishment. So far,it appears the United States kept the Pakistan military in the dark. What maybe more troubling for the U.S.side is the likelihood that elements of the Pakistani establishment were aware of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad and kept it hidden. However remote apossibility this may seem, this question will be asked in Washington D.C.in the weeks to come.

American boots on the ground are much more serious in terms of invasion of Pakistan's territory and disregard for its sovereignty than the remote drone attacks thathave so angered Pakistani officials and politicians lately. The Pakistanimilitary's official reaction to the death of bin Laden will be telling. If this operation was carried out in close cooperation with the United States,then the trajectory of this declining relationship may be reversed. If not,then the velocity of the decline will increase at a time when the mood in Washington seems to be shifting to black toward Pakistan, on the Hill and also inparts of the Obama administration.

The Strategic Dialogue that was bringing the UnitedStates and Pakistan to the table to focus oncommon objectives has been suspended for now. Both sides are attempting torevive the relationship after the imbroglio over Raymond Davis and the C.I.A.'soperations inside Pakistan.The Pakistanis demand respect. So does the United States. Neither side should try to pull a fast one over the other. They are codependent in the fight against militancy and terror: the United States in trying to exit Afghanistanin an orderly fashion, Pakistan in trying to contain its internal insurgencies.The stakes may be higher for Pakistansince it remains captive of its geography and heavily tied to the U.S. aidprogram and the Coalition Support Funds that sustain its battles against thePakistani Taliban. It may be a bad marriage, once again, but not one that affords an easy divorce. Perhaps a separation, followed by reconciliation?

Both Pakistan and the U.S. should be careful to keep the tone of public rhetoric down and continue the privatedialogues that may yet yield agreement on common objectives. Pakistan needs U.S.help to create the stability inside Pakistan that will allow it tofight the immediate war on poverty and underdevelopment. Faced with a rising population and an ever present youth bulge, Pakistan needs to begin to govern itself better, think long term, and eschew factional politics. Its militaryneeds the tools and the time to keep the militancy at bay but it also needsclose cooperation with the civilian agencies to help it fight against terrorismin its multifarious forms inside Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden's death may exacerbate the terrorist conditions inside Pakistan forthe short run. Followers and sympathizers of al-Qaeda may well try to seekrevenge against U.S.interests and the Pakistani state. But the death of al-Qaeda's founder shouldnot change the course that Pakistanis following to battle militancy at home and needs to follow in itsneighborhood. Nor should the United States pack up and summarily exit theregional stage once more.

[SSridhar]

devesh, that is not worshipping. It is a shop.

[Pranav]

•India Can do a US: Naik

Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said on Monday it has the capability to take out the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror strike in the manner the US had eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, but did not elaborate. The Indian Air Force chief said: "We have the capability" But he refused to elaborate, saying: "No, I would not like to..."

ET Page 4,
3 May 2011

This is exactly the kind of comment the Paks need to get their morale up again. You can bet that they will repeat it a 100 times in the next few days.

[VikramS]

there is a poster of Kajol in that picture amidst the Osama worshipping

in the extreme left of the picture.

True RAA Agent

[Altair]

•India Can do a US: Naik

Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said on Monday it has the capability to take out the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror strike in the manner the US had eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, but did not elaborate. The Indian Air Force chief said: "We have the capability" But he refused to elaborate, saying: "No, I would not like to..."

ET Page 4,
3 May 2011

OT, but I will be short
If such a thing were to succeed in kill or capture of Hafeez Sayeed or Dawood Ibrahim by the Congress Govt, they can be assured of another 5 years. Not a bad bet considering the alternative of loosing big time owing to all the scams.

[Hari Seldon]

^^^
precedent has been set by Uncle. they can't turn around and say that they are the only ones who have the right to avenge civilian deaths!!!

They can't?? Of course they can. And they will. But whether their utterances will carry any credibility (or threat) is another story altogether, of course.

P.S.
Technically US drones taking out pak based terrorists who attack US troops also sets a precedent, no?

[manju]

Damn! Nobody is safe in Porkistan...Note even Osama bin ladan

[vina]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world ... el.html?hp

This NY Times article has the details . And it really punctures all the Paki claims about "collaboration" and everything and fills in the complete picture.

1) FOUR helicopters participated. Took off from Jalalabad . Two were back ups and two landed.

2) All in all there were something like 70 SEALs. The Pakis were NOT informed. The Pakis infact scrambled once the incident happened, and there was a "fight your way out" option baked into the plan. The mission ended before the Pakis could come out and the team evacuated.

3) One of the helicopters stalled and could not take off. The team destroyed it by blowing it up.

4) OBL was identified and killed. His wife identified the body, a SEAL snapped a photo and uploaded, which an analyst ran a facial recognition software on and got a 95% match. The later DNA analysis confirmed it.

5) OBL was in the top floor and once they got him, they evacuated.

6) The women and children (altogether around 12 children) and women were left behind, whom the Pakis subsequently arrested and now we have the hilarious tales being spun by the Pakis and the Xinhua about it.


The Paki perfidy is now open to every American. No way, any govt can finnesse it. The Paki ace in the hole is gone. The Americans can declare mission accomplished and walk away if the want. The Pakis are in deep deep doo doo. Their Musharrafs are going to get whipped mercilessly from now. Foggedabout dreams of controlling Af-Pak or whatever and a high table at the post Afghan settlement. The US is NOT going to trust the Pakis in Afghanistan.

Now the Pakis will be ORDERED to get the Haqqani network destroyed and deliver the Tabliban . Now the threat is very credible from Unkil and the Pakis have NO counter, other than say we will still fund and grow the Taliban. Do that and the IMF loans and others go down the toilet, you get designated as a state sponsor of terror, and probably more direct action inside Pakistan.

And oh, the "strategic assets" of Pakistan are now a deep liability. Just like Osama the "strategic asset" was taken out and Pakis are Nood, the Nook Assets are the next that will taken out and that will make Pakis totally totally Nood. They get nightmares about it and all the pants in GHQ Rawalpindi are surely browned now.

What the raid has proven is that Unkil is better off taking the fight INSIDE pakistan than fighting in Afghanistan. Much less expensive, more effective and more strategic. Voices calling for a change in Afghan strategy to reflect that are going to rise to a crescendo.

And oh, I think, Unkil will drive a deep wedge between the Govt and the ISI& Army thugs in Pakistan. I think, we are seeing the early stages of the emasculation and cutting down of the Paki Army, the ISI and it's outsize role in Paki land and it's veto and control of all major decisions in Pakistan.

[abhishek_sharma]

What bin Laden's death really means

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201 ... ally_means

It seems somewhat superfluous of me to join the feeding frenzy of commentary on the killing of Osama bin Laden, but it is also an event that I can't quite ignore. I caught the announcement late last night, along with some rather breathless initial commentary. Here are a few initial reactions.

For starters, I think it's important to keep his killing in perspective. By all accounts bin Laden was no longer playing an operational role for al Qaeda, and his main value to the movement he founded was largely symbolic. It was the fact that he was still at large and still defiant that made him significant, and his death takes that symbolic value away. He may serve as an inspirational martyr for a few people, but I doubt that lots of new recruits will rally to al Qaeda's banner merely to avenge his death.

In fact, one could argue that the movement he founded has already failed. He hoped to inspire a broad fundamentalist revolution that would topple existing Arab governments and usher in a unified Islamic caliphate, but that goal has failed to resonate among Arab and Muslim populations and his own popularity has declined steadily since 9/11. Instead, the upheavals that have swept the Arab world in 2011 have drawn their inspiration not from bin Laden but from more universal ideals of democracy, human rights, and open discourse. And the more that these movements succeed, the more discredited his entire approach to politics will be.

Which is not to say that bin Laden was a complete failure. One of his main goals was to lure the United States into costly and protracted wars in the Muslim world, and with our help, he succeeded. Had 9/11 never occurred, the United States would not have squandered trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and possibly accelerated the end of the "unipolar moment." But this "achievement" was not solely his doing. Had the Bush administration been smarter, and focused on counter-terrorism rather than a misguided campaign of "regional transformation," we might have found him sooner and at less financial, human, and reputational cost.

Going forward, focusing too much attention on bin Laden threatens to distract us from the broader social and political challenges that the United States still faces in the Arab and Islamic world. Bin Laden is gone, but anger at various aspects of U.S. policy continues to drive anti-Americanism and makes it more difficult to protect our core interests in that part of the world. Al Qaeda isn't the real reason we having a hard time in Afghanistan, and it has nothing to do with our difficulties with Iran. Indeed, even it it were disappear entirely, we'd still face plenty of other foreign policy challenges in the Middle East (and elsewhere).

Furthermore, there's a tendency for both presidents and the media to exaggerate the long-term significance of events like this. Whenever we are successful, we assume our credibility will soar, our opponents will be disheartened and confused, and our allies will once again be impressed by our prowess and inclined to do our bidding. Maybe so, but the effect usually wears off quickly. In the long run, what really matters is not our ability to catch a single bad guy after ten years of trying, but rather the long-term health of the U.S. economy and our ability to devise foreign and defense policies that other powerful states will welcome and/or respect.

Perhaps the best thing to hope for, therefore, is that Obama will use this event as an opportunity to "declare victory and get out." Not that he will do this overtly, but the United States can now claim -- as Obama did last night -- that the primary perpetrator of 9/11 has been "brought to justice," and that our long campaign in Central Asia has finally achieved its primary goal. (That's not quite true, of course, but politics often involves a bit of sophistry and rhetorical sleight-of-hand). So if Obama can exploit this triumph to justify an accelerated disengagement, he'll reap the maximum benefits from this otherwise modest victory.

But don't count on it. For one thing, we've spent that past ten years creating a pretty massive set of organizations designed to prosecute the "war on terror," and government bureaucracies (like other organizations) tend not to put themselves out of business without a fight. It will take a sustained political effort (and continued fiscal pressure) to unwind the post-9/11 version of the national security state, which means we'll be standing in TSA lines, conducting drone attacks, and having our emails and phone calls scanned for a long time to come. And I suppose bin Laden would take posthumous credit for that too.

Lastly, although President Obama and his team are undoubtedly (and deservedly) gratified by this achievement, I wouldn't rest on these laurels if I were them. President George H. W. Bush won a smashing victory in the 1991 Gulf War, and then he was turned out of office by a disgruntled electorate eighteen months later. Americans will be exchanging high-fives for a few days and Obama will no doubt get a bump in the polls, but memories are short and other issues (e.g., employment) are likely to loom much larger come 2012. As the winner of the 1992 election, Bill Clinton, might have put it: "It's the economy, stupid."

Bin Laden's Quiet End

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/ ... _bin_laden

So Osama bin Laden has finally been killed. This obviously represents the achievement of a goal long sought by virtually all Americans and most of the world, and is a cathartic moment capturing the attention of the world. As most counter-terrorism experts (and administration officials) have been quick to point out, his death will not end al-Qaeda. It does matter, though. There could be some major operational impact on the relative balance among al-Qaeda Central, the decentralized ideological salafi-jihadist movement, and the regional AQ franchises. But I will leave those crucial issues to others for now in order to focus on the impact of his death on Arab politics and on the broader milieu of Islamism.

The fact is, al-Qaeda had already been effectively marginalized within the mainstream of the Arab world long before bin Laden died. His death removes the only al-Qaeda figure still able to speak effectively to that Arab mainstream, and marks the end of an era of Arab politics which had already largely faded away. Al-Qaeda's marginalization in Arab politics has been developing for a long time, and will only be further advanced by bin Laden's death. How this happened, and how it matters for the rapidly evolving Arab world, are the questions which now need attention.

Al-Qaeda was never able to attract significant support for its salafi-jihadist ideology, and thrived with mass Arab audiences only when it was able to pose as an avatar of resistance to the West. Al-Qaeda thrived on the "clash of civilizations" and "war of ideas" rhetoric which dominated the first five years of the Bush administration, since this vindicated its claim to speak on behalf of Islam against the West. But the Bush administration's switch in its final two years towards a more nuanced approach focused on highlighting Al-Qaeda's extremism and marginality proved more effective. The Obama administration continued this approach, and built on it by explicitly reducing its rhetorical focus on al-Qaeda and pushing back against all attempts to reignite a "clash of civilizations" narrative. That, combined with continuing aggressive counter-terrorism efforts, weakened and marginalized al-Qaeda long before they finally got bin Laden.

The decline in al-Qaeda's fortunes was also driven by trends inside of Arab politics. Zarqawi's brutality in Iraq and the wave of terrorist attacks inside Arab and Muslim countries drove a serious backlash. Arab governments began to take al-Qaeda more seriously, with the Saudis and Jordanians and many others launching major campaigns at home and across the region after suffering terrorist attacks at home. The message that al-Qaeda killed innocent Muslims, reinforced and amplified by American strategic communications and by sympathetic Arab governments and media, took a serious toll. So did al-Qaeda's repeated picking of losing fights with more popular Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah. In short, while it was able to appeal to and recruit from the small, extreme sub-cultures which developed around jihadist ideology, al-Qaeda has long since lost its attractiveness to mainstream Arabs.

Bin Laden was the only al-Qaeda figure able to command the attention of a mainstream Arab audience despite these setbacks. He remained uniquely charismatic and able to frame al-Qaeda's narrative in ways which resonated with a broader Arab and Muslim audience. His infrequent tapes would still dominate the Arab news cycle. None of his possible successors have demonstrated such an ability. Ayman al-Zawahiri routinely issues tapes, but his pedantic lectures rarely gain any traction outside of jihadist quarters. Some of the "rising stars" such as Abu Yahya al-Libi speak effectively to the radicalized jihadist base, but are somewhere between unknown and incomprehensible to a mainstream audience. I haven't seen much evidence that Anwar al-Awlaqi has any real presence with Arabic speaking audiences. To the extent that al-Qaeda's strategy requires reaching out to a broader Arabic speaking public, bin Laden's death represents a major blow.

The Muslim Brotherhood rapidly seized the opportunity to repeat its frequent condemnations of bin Laden and terrorism. This should surprise no-one who has been paying attention. The Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda have long been fierce rivals, competing with each other to define Islamist identity, doctrine, politics, and strategy (for a detailed discussion of this conflict, see my article from last year Islam Divided Between Salafi-Jihad and the Ikhwan). The Brotherhood used the opportunity to emphasize their differences with al-Qaeda, to condemn terrorism and violence, to defend legitimate resistance to occupation, and to denounce all efforts to equate Islam with terrorism. It will probably try to use this distancing in its election campaign in Egypt and elsewhere, and to try to reassure the West and its domestic opponents about its participation. Ismail Haniya of Hamas, by contrast, denounced the killing of bin Laden, demonstrating the real differences among the various organizations within the Muslim Brotherhood milieu (and potentially differences inside of Hamas itself -- something to follow closely in the coming days).

Bin Laden's death will only temporarily distract the Arab media's attention from the uprisings which have dominated regional politics over the last four months. Al-Qaeda has been almost completely irrelevant to those upheavals, as has been widely noted, and has struggled to find an opening into movements based on fundamentally different principles. It is ironic that their leader's death has been the first time that al-Qaeda has broken into al-Jazeera's news cycle since the Arab uprisings began. It will soon fade, and Arab attention will return to Syria, Libya and the rest of the regional transformations.

This does not mean, however, that al-Qaeda is forever irrelevant, as some would hope. The horrible bombing in Morocco the other day should be enough to disabuse anyone of such ideas. The small but dangerous salafi-jihadist base has always been outside of current political currents in the region, and will continue to seek opportunities to act when appropriate. Indeed, if the revolutions fail, economies don't improve, and elections produce unattractive political leadership, it is easy enough to imagine frustrated youth a few years from now again finding al-Qaeda's message attractive.

Bin Laden's death marks a symbolic point of closure to an historical period which had already faded from view. Al-Qaeda as an organization and ideology will likely adapt and survive, the threat will mutate, and Islamist politics will evolve. It offers another opportunity for the United States to move on from the problems of the past and to establish the new relationship with the people of the Arab world which it so desperately needs. It doesn't change everything, but it does matter. Beyond that, we will just have to wait and see.

[A_Gupta]

The Taliban Quetta Shura may be next (I hope!)

[shiv]

What has been left out from the US kills Osama story will probably fill 400 forum pages. We will never know if US Intel listened in and used chatter on "secure" Pakistani army channels for the confirmation that Osama was actually in that compound when Ombaba gave permission for the assault.

The Pakistani army has been caught seriously with its pants down.

hat the US chooses to reveal now will depend on the cooperation and GUBO that Kiyanahi is willing to offer.

One things is certain to me. Zardari leads a charmed life. The US is sheltering Zardari the way Pakistan is sheltering Mullah Omar. Zardari gives the US and Pakistan a fig leaf to say that there is a "democratically elected civilian government" which in turn allows GUBO or favors to the Paki army separately.

[abhishek_sharma]

The bin Laden aftermath: The Internet jihadis react

http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/20 ... adis_react

Others placed blame on Pakistan for betraying its people and Islam. "And if it's true it would be the most shameful moment for the Pakistani people who could not protect one Muslim hero," one forum commenter wrote. "I personally feel the lowest I have ever felt, we couldn't protect our beloved Sheikh." Another expressed hope that the killing would encourage Pakistanis to rise up and fight the Americans: "Seems like a plot of America to wage war on Pakistan. Anyways, it will be good to see Pakistan fighting America ... actually Excellent! "

For some Jihadi language, see link.

[sum]

The fact that Amir-khan cocked a snook by raiding a Paki garrison town( and did not strike a deal wherein OBL would end up in some tribal area dead to save TSPA credibility) and was ready to engage the Pakis if required shows the kind of “friendship” at present. Also, the continuous refusal to even throw crumbs at Pak by mentioning their efforts should mean that Amir-khans are not happy and more hard danda is coming TSPA way in future.

The Americans have struck two birds with same stone:
• Cutting TSPA /ISI to size( and so making them amenable to further GUBO) by publishing the fact that Osama was caught in a garrison town and so implying that he was sheltered there by TSPA/ISI. No denials on by GOTUS on all the stories saying the same since yesterday
• Getting rid of enemy No 1

[Charlie]

Xinhua: Pakistan onlee killed OBL

ISLAMABAD, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Urdu TV channel Geo News quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden was killed in a search operation launched by the Pakistani forces after a Pakistani army helicopter was shot down in the wee hours of Monday in Abbotabad, a mountainous town located some 60 kilometers north of Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad.

At about 1:20 a.m. local time a Pakistani helicopter was shot down by unknown people in the Sikandarabad area of Abbotabad. The Pakistani forces launched a search operation in the nearby area and encountered with a group of unknown armed people. A fire exchange followed between the two sides.

When the fire exchange ended, the Pakistani forces arrested some Arab women and kids as well some other armed people who later confessed to the Pakistani forces they were with Osama Bin laden when the fire was exchanged and Bin Laden was killed in the firing.

Local media reported that after the dead body of Bin Laden was recovered, two U.S. helicopter flew to the site and carried away the dead body of Bin Laden.

Is the Chink state similarly retarded like Pak... Is Xinhua only news source there...

[abhishek_sharma]

[Anujan]

Why use Navy Seals instead of Delta for such operation?

Isn't Delta more suitable for this kind of combat?
Which brings to mind that are Indian MARCOS trained differently than Seals, since they were taken off during 26/11.
Roughly National Guards are like Deltas and MARCOS like SEALS, or the training in both is so much similar that they could do both.

Could MARCOS have continued the 26/11 fight and killed atleast a few of the piglets.

Army cannot operate on Indian soil or use lethal force on Indian citizens without Legal cover. NSG comes under the home ministry and has the power of police. MARCOS did not attack for precisely this reason.

[abhishek_sharma]

What India can learn from Operation Osama: Gurmeet Kanwal

http://www.hindustantimes.com/What-Indi ... 92546.aspx

[NRao]

Apologies if posted earlier:

Osama bin Laden dead: 40 navy commandos were training for a month

[Charlie]

Guys, please watch MSNBC. She is ripping TSP arse big time. But based on her narrative, something we all know, its obvious US hands stink big time too and hence the brotherly love between CIA and ISI.

By God! She is tearing'em apart. She mentions, ramzi bin al shaeb, abu zubeida,khalid sheikh...Who is she! The venom she has is deadly!

You are looking for Rachel Maddow in this video

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns ... /#42869391

[CRamS]

vina:

Good analysis, but I think you are coming to some premature conclusions about US tightening the screws on TSPA/ISI. I wonder if you watched that war criminal Donal Rumsfeld's interview on Faux. He was effusive in his prais eof TSP, and there are enough thugs like him in DC who want to pepetuate the love fest with TSPA/ISI terrorists.

I am still cautious to declare of there is any net strategic gain for India from the events of the past 24 hours. At the very least, with TSP caught with its pants down, I hope India will furiously rebut any US attempt to whitewash TSP pigLeTs arrayed against India. And it would be interesting to see how AfPak unfolds after this. Will US allow TSP strategic depth? Time will tell.

[Murugan]

Yest Ajit Doval was part of the panel discussion on Times Now.

He argued that there is no point in interviewing or asking for Puki POVs since they are in denial mode and they have decided to DENY anything that is thrown against them.

[NRao]

there is bound to be a lot within the US that have a soft corner for TSP, perhaps for a variety of reasons.

However, seems to me that Obama did isolate the GoP and did not mention the Army nor the ISI/intel in his dealings. Is that true (I have not followed most news reports, which is why I ask).

IF true, then this US admin seems to be building a crack in the Paki armor. Just like their Chinese counterparts, nations may cultivate a "civilian" component and try and drive the remaining into the ground.

I suspect Powell, et al are closer to the nin-civilian components in Pakistan and refer to that group when they refer to Pakistan.

[NRao]

Pakis are in a perceptual cover-up mode. How can they deny anything for too long? They deny to start of with so that they get enough time to cover up.

[abhishek_sharma]

Read this Paki claim for credit

[Murugan]

Pakis are in a perceptual cover-up mode. How can they deny anything for too long? They deny to start of with so that they get enough time to cover up.

It is genetic, hard coded. Puki Denial Genes

[NRao]

Nice article with good details (NO mention of Pakis!!!! : ( Horror of horrors. )

Clues that gradually led to the location of Osama