On the eighth anniversary of George W. Bush's infamous "mission accomplished" speech President Obama has announced the killing of Osama bin Laden. The reported killing of Osama bin Laden raises many questions. Did Pakistan know where Osama was? What will now be the justification for continuing the war in Afghanistan? Will al Qaeda fade away or be emboldened? -- SMG/RSN

File photo, Osama bin Laden. (photo: AP)

BREAKING: President Obama: "We Have Killed Osama bin Laden"

By Richard Adams and Declan Walsh, Guardian UK

01 May 11

sama bin Laden, the criminal mastermind behind al-Qaida and the world's most sought-after terrorist since the attacks of 11 September 2001, has been killed by a US operation, President Barack Obama has announced.

In an address to the nation, President Barack Obama said Bin Laden was killed in a "targeted operation" in Abbottabad, a highland town north of Islamabad, last night.

The operation started with an intelligence lead last August, and culminated in an operation involving a "small team of Americans". "After a firefight they killed bin Laden."

None of the Americans were killed. Pakistani cooperation "helped to lead us to him" he said.

Osama's body is in possession of the US, according to the first leaks of reporting from the US television networks.

As the news spread, crowds gathered outside the gates of the White House in Washington DC, singing the national anthem and cheering.

President Obama is to make a highly unusual Sunday night live statement to announce the news, around 11.30pm eastern time.

The news comes eight years to the day that President George Bush declared "Mission accomplished" in Iraq. As president, Bush declared he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive" – but it is now the unlikely figure of Barack Obama who announces the final triumph as the US commander in chief.

This is a turning point in the global "war on terrorism" that has been waged since 9/11 – and the news will reverberate around the world.

The news comes as an unparalleled boost for US foreign policy, the key aim of which since 2001 has been the disarming and dismemberment of al-Qaida, and coincidentally probably insures the re-election of Obama in the 2012 presidential contest.

As a candidate, during the 2008 election campaign Obama repeatedly vowed: "We will kill Osama bin Laden." And so it proved.

The Obama statement was originally scheduled for 10.30pm, but the need to inform US congressional leaders caused the delay.

In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, one western diplomat described the news as a "game changer" - not just for al Qaida, but also for US foreign policy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a region embroiled in turmoil and violence since 2001.

"I'm overjoyed," said the diplomat. "But what this exactly means is really not clear."

Some analysts fear bin Laden's death could spark a precipitous US withdrawal from the region, with the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan still unresolved.

It will likely also reconfigure relations with Pakistan, where the CIA is engaged in an controversial assassination campaign against senior al Qaida figures using Predator and Reaper drones.

"He's dead," said an official with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, declining to give another other details other than to say that it was "highly sensitive intelligence operation."

The official said he was "not at liberty" to give more details on the killing, including on reports that Pakistani intelligence was involved in the operation. "We'll release more information later this morning," he said.

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-1 # Connie troupe 2011-05-01 21:44

Beltane - Workers Day- the day Hitler's death was announced to the public in 1945- the day Bush gave his infamous mission accomplished speech.... this whole thing stinks of "Wag the Dog" to me..... May Day- May Day.....this seems so scripted and phony baloney .....

+1 # billy bob 2011-05-02 13:27

Maybe it really happened, but the timing of the attack was scripted.

+34 # Dave W. 2011-05-01 22:43

For ten years Osama Bin Laden was the "visible" face of our alleged "war on terror." The recruiting "poster boy" necessary in all conflicts. There's a whole new pantheon of possible replacements, even now, lining up in the Middle East. The only question left to answer is: who'll be the next Boogeyman?

+20 # Dave W. 2011-05-02 07:32

O.K., so we've allegedly killed "public enemy NO.1. It's time to pop the champagne corks. Short term memory, not politics, is the one thing Americans can truly share. Let's forget that there were NO WMD's. Let's forget we killed hundreds of thousands of INNOCENT people in what was really a neo-conservativ e quest to engage this country and its voracious MIC into perpetual war. Let's forget the millions of Iraqis who fled their homeland , their lives changed, perhaps forever. Let's forget about the atrocities committed at Abu-Garib and elsewhere. Let's forget all the lies and distortions perpetrated upon us by the Bush administration. Let's forget the 9/11 truth commission's "hurry up" job at "closing the book" on the events of that day. Let's forget "Mission Accomplished" and the sight of our President sitting in a Florida classroom for over 7 minutes AFTER he'd been told thousands of his fellow Americans were being killed. Let's forget Colin Powell LYING to the United Nations and Tony Blair brown nosing and Dick Cheney talking about how we would be greeted as "liberators." Let's all hang effigies of Bin Laden next "old glory" in our yards and from the sides of our apartments. Let's metaphorically "bathe in the blood" of another human being and exalt ourselves at how clever and resourceful we are. cont.

+15 # Dave W. 2011-05-02 07:47

Let's forget, that while we're "celebrating", forces are at work in our own country that will ultimately lead to enormous hardship and untimely death for millions of our OWN citizens. Let's forget the video I watched in '08 of a 10 yr. old Iraqi boy sitting in a hospital bed, stumps where his legs used to be, playing an XBOX game given to him by a couple of U.S. Marines. In all reality, I don't believe I'll EVER forget that. God Bless America? Somebody please explain EXACTLY why that should occur. So let's dance around the fire of yet another "ritual killing", the flames flickering in our depraved faces, much as our antediluvian ancestors did and tell ourselves how "superior" we've become. To quote Ronald Reagan, another "great" American, "the sun shines on America today."

0 # Glen 2011-05-04 16:35

Dave W. - An absolutely brilliant essay. I've just now had time to read and re-read. Excellent does not describe your articulation accurately. Thank you.

+28 # Dave45 2011-05-01 23:01

This can hardly be seen as a confirmation of the "rightness" of American foreign policy. All this recent news illustrates is that US politicians continue to prefer "quick" solutions like assassinations to carrying out the more rigorous demands of law and diplomacy. US leaders would rather "take out" their enemies than take the time to follow the rules and procedures necessary for achieving true and lasting social and political justice. Had American leaders eschewed Bush's obscene grandstanding 10 years ago, choosing instead to work quietly through an international police operation to seek justice instead of revenge, Osama bin Laden would probably have been apprehended and brought to trial, sparing the world 10 years of senseless slaughter and property destruction. But, then again, that would not be America. When at all possible, the US of the 21st century prefers military solutions that are quick, lethal, and compatible with our TV "news" formats.

+11 # Lee Black 2011-05-02 09:17

This does seem to be a time for sober contemplation rather than dancing in the streets.

+4 # billy bob 2011-05-02 13:26

That's what I've been thinking, but couldn't articulate until you just said that. Thanks.

+27 # billy bob 2011-05-01 23:01

I assume this means repuglicans will now say bin laden was a scapegoat because he had President Obama's scholastic records and real birth certificate. Any repugs still want to question the President's citizenship or worthiness to be elected?

Now, the "remember 9-11" bumper stickers will carry a new meaning which says the war is over if we want it. Remember 9-11? Remember how we invaded a few countries for revenge? We got it. Can we save a few trillion dollars now by pulling out? We need the money at home now.

I wonder if the AP will finally start refering to the President of the United States as "President" Obama now.

As they continue selling us the idea that the war without end "on terror" is still going on, just ask yourself when they'll finally go after bush and cheney.

+13 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:46

Remember 9/11 and how much Bush and his cohorts profited from our darkest day. NEVER FORGET.

0 # billy bob 2011-05-02 21:00

It seems that the people flaunting the "remember 9-11" paraphernalia are the only one who actually FORGOT 9-11. It's just revisionist history in the making.

I'll never forget what bushco did to this country. I'll be pleased if he EVER faces the music for that, even if it takes decades.

+37 # Dave W. 2011-05-01 23:14

This just in: Donald Trump has demanded to "personally" inspect the corpse of Osama Bin Laden. Claiming a possible ruse by the Obama administration "the Donald" informed the White House that until HE does a formal autopsy, America cannot be convinced of the former terrorist leaders death. Mr.Trump brought up the possibility of a Bin Laden clone and said he was "suspicious" at the timing of the killing. He then applied six and one half cans of hair spray to his over sized head and was last seen boarding a private jet bound for Italy where he was said to have granted the Pope an audience.

+4 # billy bob 2011-05-02 13:25

Hillarious. It's getting hard to tell if a comment like that is even a joke anymore. At this point I wouldn't be phased if words to that affect were actually reported on CNN.

0 # Anagnorisis 2011-05-02 00:12

This raises more questions than answers. Rhetorically the script was choreographed to embolden Barack Obama's reelection potential, as stated, but gaps remain in chronology. CIA involvement would hardly be surprising, but when did the attack occur? How could DNA testing be accomplished so quickly? What part did Pakistanis play and on which side? Why would it requre 10 years to catch a public figure? Not quite an inverted "October Surprise", the sequence is far too convenient for trust. The May 01 coincidence with Hitler's death is preposterously pulp fiction. The midnight hour revelation is television drama simulation. We'll have a plausible text but not a full disclosure till this is past history.

+4 # Texas Aggie 2011-05-02 09:39

How could DNA testing be accomplished so quickly?"

You really haven't kept up with technology, have you? We can now do a complete genome in a couple of weeks. How long do you think it takes to do a dozen different sections of the DNA?

Why would it require 10 years?

Because the chase really didn't get going until 2009. Remember that Bush had shut down the project to get bin Laden and didn't really think it was worthwhile going after him. He was worth more alive as a bogeyman to scare Americans into voting republican.

0 # billy bob 2011-05-02 16:50

I think DNA tests can be done in a few hours now.

+28 # Ralph Averill 2011-05-02 00:53

Three thoughts.
-There is no longer any reason for our continued military presence in Afghanistan. Bring the troops home.
-How will the right-wing contort itself to spin this as a negative for Obama?
-Barack Obama will be re-elected to a second term as President of the United States.

+8 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:48

All three right on too. How can we stop the unreasonable military spending? And how can they reconcile the deaths of 100,000's since 9/11 and GW's criminal campaigns? These are the challenges we all face as Americans.

+26 # ER444 2011-05-02 01:28

OK we've got him. Let's pack up and go home NOW !!!!

-15 # Avenger 2011-05-02 01:35

Can the media illustrate us > U S rather than add more wood to the fire? Osama was not a criminal, he was an avenger for the bad treatment we have given the people. Obama is a liar and a criminal. Many of us voted for him because we were expecting a CHANGE, a reversal of things and not much (nothing) has come about. Where is our dollar? $1.50 for 1.00€!!!

+3 # rm 2011-05-02 03:07

This is really obscene. Take a look at the WashPost's photos of cheering Americans -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nation-reacts-to-osama-bin-ladens-death/2011/05/02/AFEpl8VF_gallery.html?hpid=z3#photo=1

I guess this is Obama playing Bush with his announcement of victory. But in reality, it is only the triumph of propaganda. Murdering one guy will make no difference. It is a personal, vengeance murder. US presidents hate Osama bin Laden because he is more popular in the world than they are. Now Osama will be a martyr. There will be more t-shirts with Osama's image than ever. The US only looks worse in this announcement and gloating over a murder of a human being.

I guess Obama needed to distract the world from his complicity in murdering Qaddafi's son and three grandchildren.

The US is still Murder, Inc. It proves that every day.

+19 # billy bob 2011-05-02 06:33

I think this is the ONLY death that WASN'T murder. Our "war" should never have been against any countries. It should have just been a manhunt for one guy. We got the guy. imagine how many dollars and innocent lives we would have saved if that had been our only goal. Imagine how many future terrorists we could have avoided by not murdering their mothers and children, or torturing their uncles.

"Rock" said "we all want peace". I asked where he got that idea. He replied, "ok. everyone but you." Actually, it's everyone but those who want war. If everyone "wanted peace", we'd have peace. We just killed a criminal after killing over a million people who had nothing to do with the crime. What if, instead of treating terrorism like a war that can never be won (because it can't), but sure is profitable, we treated it like what it is: a crime? When terrorists attack, we'd attack anyone directly involved with the crime and stop using it as a pretext for colonizing the 3rd world.

If they hadn't killed him, but captured him alive, they could have brought him to trial which would have been a humiliation for his cause. Killing him runs the risk of turning him into a martre. Then again, maybe it wasn't possible to capture him alive. Maybe he decided he'd rather die.

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:20

Perhaps he was dead already. but this weekend surely is over, Death spews forth in Countries where hatred lives.
Tomorrow is another Battle, here for Democracy and who knows who is the next Villain.

-4 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:51

One has to understand he was most likely killed by bombs years ago and no one knew though. They can use this as the benchmark now. To say he walked free 11 years while supplying Pakistan countless weapons is unimaginable. It proves they are not an ally if true.

+1 # Dave W. 2011-05-02 11:54

billy bob, "We got the guy." Did we? Are you absolutely sure about that? What would a REAL investigation into the events of 9/11 uncover? Do you think we'll ever have one? What if 9/11 was an "inside job." The union of architects and engineers thinks so. Why won't people hear them out instead of painting them with the wide brush of conspiracy fanatics. Reports say Bin Laden was "buried at sea." Doesn't this sound a bit suspicious to you? It sure as hell does me. Maybe we killed this guy years ago and now simply don't need his iconic image to keep us engaged in what has turned out to be perpetual war. Now we'll find a new guy to tar and feather and coerce the gullible American public that indeed there's a "new" enemy afoot. Maybe he was buried in the Gulf of Tonkin. A "bed of lies" can always use some new fertilizer. Is our government, no matter who leads it, above lying to us for perceived political and strategic gain? Many history books STILL implicate the Spanish for the sinking of the Maine in 1898. It was a coal bunker explosion. Has that FACT ever been widely distributed? Japan was ready to surrender in July of 1945. We hid that fact so we could impress the Soviets with the awesome power of our new weapon. Ask any semi-knowledgab le Native-American about the duplicity of the U.S. government.Buri ed at sea huh? Sounds mighty "fishy" to me.

+2 # billy bob 2011-05-02 13:22

Personally, I doubt it was an inside job. I don't think it's a crazy far out theory. I just doubt that it's true. However, there are a few things we know with absolute certainty and that are not even disputed.

We KNOW that bush knew it was going to happen and intentionally did nothing to stop it.

We KNOW bush and his accomplices were members of PNAC and had a stated agenda that, in their own words, could not happen unless we had "another Pearl Harbor".

We KNOW that bush ordered, or atleast allowed, the bin laden family to flee the United States, with a MILITARY ESCORT.

None of that, in my mind, means bin laden had nothing to do with it. I honestly believe he really was behind it. I just think bush WANTED it to happen and intentionally LET it happen. It's just as bad, and it doesn't require any speculation. It only requires an acknowledgement of undisputed facts.

At any rate, I'm ready for the announcement that we're pulling out of the Iraq and Afghanistan now. The one thing I keep thinking about, since last night, is John Lennon's quote, "WAR IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT".

There's NOTHING keeping us there anymore, unless we FINALLY dedide to be honest and admit that it REALLY WAS ABOUT OIL ALL ALONG.

+1 # Dave W. 2011-05-02 16:42

billy bob, "Personally, I doubt it was an inside job." And then, "we know Bush knew it was going to happen and intentionally did nothing to stop it." Doesn't that make Bush "complicit" in the crime? Doesn't that imply he had information only an "insider" would have? As you say, I too, am ready for the end of these profit/oil driven wars. I'd still like to see a REAL 9/11 truth inquiry. I doubt I ever will. In any event...bring our people home. We've got more than enough problems in the good ol' USA. Lennon would have had a lot to say about our current state of affairs. "Sir Paul" just counts his money. See ya Billy.

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:13

Let Donald go to Autopsy, lots of people should. Doesnot mean it is Laden. Supposedly he was already dead. Taliban was problem?
Trump wants Canonization... his new Reality Show. St Pompousness wants In.

+2 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:18

rm Nato did the killing in Libya, and it does show they perhaps went over board. Yes, everyone baked NATO. It's over, get over it. Let's put all the people who killed people including our Service persons on trial, be happy then?

Yes, College Students went there last night, they have that right. They probably wonder daily when the draft was coming up on again. If they are happy , let them be. I saw pictures of them, most were hanging out, they were kids talking, they have grown up through this War on BL. I had to face far worse, Vietnam and my friends just graduated coming home in bodybags....the y perhaps will grow old with their friends.
You are a venomous person, you are the hate monger, and that kept alive is why their are Wars.

Rejoice, today battles are over but the War on Hatred is not over. War for Greed can be stopped. But today, rest for dawn's early light comes quick and we know not who the Enemy tomorrow may be.

+7 # rlmaier 2011-05-02 04:15

Interesting. How many lives were lost? How many people wounded and maimed for life? How much wealth was squandered? For ten years our military might pursued one man; then conveniently "found" him living in the open. All this for one man; who then was even more conveniently dumped in the ocean. Horrifying....

+5 # Capn Canard 2011-05-02 04:52

Hmmm, well they killed the bogeyman? Or was even alive? The bigger questions remain: Will there be any effect on our policy? or on the ground? What are the implications for forces allied with Al Qaeda? any blow-back from said culprits expected? how deep and wide was/is the reach of Al Qaeda? methinks the status quo remains unchanged...

+5 # billy bob 2011-05-02 06:35

The status quo is what the people we elected choose to make it. The bogeyman is gone. Time to pack up our toys and go home.

+4 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:54

We don't elect them anymore thanks to Boehner's unlimited corporate campaign financing bill pushed through unwittingly by Tea party SHEEP BAHH. CEO's DO and are in FULL CONTROL, many of them foreign born.

0 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:52

And will they still invade the rest of Pakistan?

+1 # rm 2011-05-02 04:56

All this seems pretty fishy. Osama's body is immediately "buried at sea" and the house he lived in was blown up. Why not preserve evidence for intelligence purposes. The death of Osama has been reported many times in the last ten years. I wonder if this will in a few days turn out to be another presidential PR move, just like Bush's declaration of victory in Iraq.

Obama seem to have a fetish for making big moves on the anniversaries of his idol's big moves. Obama started bombing Libya on the same day that Bush started bombing Iraq. Now we have another celebration of victory on the same day as Bush's declaration of victory. Obama is the copycat president.

+1 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:23

When did the burial at sea come? He was in Military hands, they did autopsy, they were not going to leave him for a martydom Parade...so when was the Burial at Sea?

+3 # fletch 2011-05-02 08:58

Obama was built in the image of GW and never would have been elected without 8 years ofn the foulest presidency. Just like Clinto was made by the dems in the image of another Frankenstein monster, REAGAN, who gave this nations its first $5 trillion debt and targeted working class and middle class white people for the first time ever. ALL Americans paid the price EXCEPT the top 1%, and those earning over 250K annually which is a small pittance of our society and a figure "Joe the Plumber" will never reach doing honest work, despite his deepest erotic fantasies about money and those that have it...

+9 # ritaague 2011-05-02 05:11

We've killed Bin Laden. Big f___ing deal. And, as if on cue, the dummies gather, "...singing the national anthem and cheering." Kinda like folks sung and cheered when the idiot "W" declared "Mission Accomplished"?

Just more MSD - manipulation, spin, distraction. After all, our villainiare greed and power addicted rulers must keep we the sheeple in constant 'patriotic' warmode, now mustn't they? More war, war war for oil, oil, oil is simply too profitable for them to ever let peace and justice prevail.

The villainiares' chant:
WAR, WAR, WAR for OIL, OIL, OIL!!!

We the sheeple's chant must become:

NO MORE BUSHWHACKED and KOCHSUCKED -
VILLAINAIRES, GO TO HELL!!!

+1 # fletch 2011-05-02 09:03

If he's confirmed dead now though, can't we use this to end hostilities? It was about getting him acording to the initial lies after the WOMD justification was proven criminally deceitful. How else to you unravel this in your opinion? You cannot expose Bush who even though he is an arch-criminal like Capone, because he is attached to the very structure you serve and your life depends on. Obama is in an impossible place. I understand what he is doing though. You may see it later if he succeeds....

+12 # fredboy 2011-05-02 05:20

So Bush/Cheney spend almost eight years failing to find this guy and using him as the poster boy for every ill they concocted. And now Obama gets him during his first term.

Now it's time to determine why Bush/Cheney allowed Obama's family to fly out the the U.S. the day after 9/11--instead of allowing the FBI to interrogate them. See the 9/11 report--and demand answers.

+8 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:27

Bin Laden Family was ones given special escort GW for "their safety" when in all practical sense they should have been kept here in prison camps until we got the truth about GW and Pop with Cheney and GOP/Military blowing up our own.
Just glad the Gov and CIA can atone themsleves for the waste of money that could have ended hunger 10 years ago in USA.

Isn't it great that in one weekend we could have so many deaths, just like the wonderful Religious Crusades

0 # fletch 2011-05-02 09:07

It shows tHe republicans under GW and their complicity. Had say Riad been bombed by Jimmy Walker, the entire Walker family vacationing would be arrested had the tables been turned. WE ALL KNOW THIS. So you make a darn good point. The wider arching kleptocrats and their foreign born buddies, MUST BE HELD CULPABLE for 9/11 and the mismanagement that followed leading to fabricated evidence and the 100% CRIMINAL war on IRAQ that killed so many civilians and wasted our good troops for corporate profits and lining klepto pockets. Heads must roll in a just democracy. They stay idle in a bought out farce of one.

+3 # fletch 2011-05-02 09:08

The FBI should interrogate GW and his criminal gang of clowns truly.

+7 # fredboy 2011-05-02 05:27

Oops! Gotta get reading glasses!

So Bush/Cheney spend almost eight years failing to find this guy and using him as the poster boy for every ill they concocted. And now Obama gets him during his first term.

Now it's time to determine why Bush/Cheney allowed Bin Laden’s family to fly out the the U.S. the day after 9/11--instead of allowing the FBI to interrogate them. See the 9/11 report--and demand answers.

+10 # kitster 2011-05-02 05:30

by opening this can of whup-ass on the wahabists, i hope we haven't blown off our own two feet. obviously, this operation was a coup d'etat of epic proportions...a nd kudos go to obama and his military/govern ment machine.

of course, now the "deather" dunderheads will be petitioning our potus to prove it was actually usama and that he is really dead and not sipping boat drinks somewhere in saudi arabia.

now that the symbol has been snuffed, i doubt that terrorism has been terminated, though. the middle east awakening might help, but the reactionary, religious fanatics in that region are still determined to meet allah with death-to-the-we st blood on their hands.

i say now that we've cut down the king of the caliphate conspirators, let's leave stage left. these wars in the sand are wasting our men, money and materiel. we need all three at home...where our ecomomy and strength seems, currently, to rest on shaking, shifting sand.

let middle easterners self-determine their own democracies. let the despots fall. nature, in the form of uprisings throughout the middle east, seems to be taking its course.

its time to set our own house straight.

+7 # KittatinyHawk 2011-05-02 07:28

BinLaden spent a lot of his time at Bush compound...ask him

+12 # genierae 2011-05-02 05:32

Osama bin Laden's dark karma finally caught up with him...Pakistani witnesses reported that there was a helicopter crash, so how could there be no US casualties? I hope that they videotaped his burial, with plenty of pictures of his face and body so that no one will be able to say that it wasn't him. If they didn't, then we can't be sure if he was really killed.

I wonder if the Bush family sent their condolences to the bin Laden family? Someday we will know the truth about Osama's escape at Bora Bora, whether he was allowed to get away or not.

And was he really the mastermind of 9/11? Who can say for sure what really happened that terrible day? Official history is more myth than truth, and so it is important to be able to read between the lines.

In such a violent world, the heart longs for peace. Will it ever come?

+1 # harbormon 2011-05-02 09:40

The was no "helicopter crash", the Seals scuttled a helicopter by burning it with flares because it wouldn't fly...SOP for military.

+7 # LoveJoyHealth 2011-05-02 05:39

Is it just me... or does anyone else wonder why "the body" was disposed of so quickly?!!!!!

If it is truly Bin Laden... the American people deserved to see his slain body BEFORE it was disposed of "at sea"!!!!

Why would we want to burial honor "Islamic custom" for a man who planned 9-11?!!!!!

As much as I honor the customs of ALL RELIGIONS and People with deep reverence... this is one instance that burial custom should NOT have been considered!

Unbelievable story still for me... due to this obvious twist with the "burial" as sea, secretly and very away from public eyes!

+8 # ImaLouiseWright 2011-05-02 08:28

the muz custom is to bury a body within 24 hours-which accounts for the speed. he was probably buried at sea cuz no country wd take his body. their govs do not wish to make a martyr of him or create a site of pilgrimage for extremists.
i think it is wise to observe muz burial customs. not to do so wd only inflame ppl who wd see that as a slap at islam. inflaming ppl does not help anyone. in fact, it wd create a greater threat to nat security. isnt this war on terror to protect our nat security?

+1 # LoveJoyHealth 2011-05-02 09:28

With all the oddity around BL and the entire 9-11 event... we NEEDED full Independent forensic Investigation of the body... it could have been transported quickly to the middle of the Mohave... safe away from population centers... there it could have been the object of reporters and Independent from Government Forensic Investigation to determine the authenticity of the death, the cause of death and the time of death.... thus putting to rest millions of conspiracy theories and giving us the assurance we NEED to bring an end to BL mysteries.

Once this had been accomplished... then and only then... we could have arranged for a speedy burial in the Marianna Trench for the despicable BL!

+18 # mtnview 2011-05-02 05:44

Can we go home now? Can the oil companies pay their taxes? Can the so-called Patriot Act be cancelled? Can we bring our troops home? Can we stop draining the US Treasury? Can we prosecute our own War Criminals (not Bradley, but Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, et al ?)

+3 # Janis L 2011-05-02 06:26

Too much of a coincidence; why did Benazir Bhutu state in 2007 that OBL had been killed? This whole story reeks of inconsistencies . Was it a ground operation or done by drones? Let's get it straight? Have they had his body on ice for 4 yrs? Is this a convenient prelude to pulling out of Afghanistan/Ira q? Hmmmmm. Burial at sea is just not believable. Sorry CIA, you are not to be trusted under any circumstances. I believe Bhutu.

+3 # AndreM5 2011-05-02 07:00

She did not say he was killed, she said he died of medical problems. I think Musharef said the same thing.

+8 # sundi 2011-05-02 06:33

How many times have we killed him now? and o, btw, what a nice diversion from the murder of Ghadafi's son and grandchildren! Once again, we are soooo easily amused.

+2 # Viv 2011-05-02 06:40

"Burial at sea" - my eye. Osama bin Laden has been dead for years. He may have died as early as November 2001 - of kidney disease!! How it serves our purposes to pull the plug on this little scenario I can't say, but if this means the US will finally get out of Afghanistan I am happy to hear it!!

+4 # Buckles 2011-05-02 07:57

After reading most comments, must be a lot of tea sacks who get their news from Faux. Holy Shit, some cant see the truth if it hit them in the butt. Bush said it wasn't his priority to get Bin Laden, burial at sea is a way to not have him become a martyr or whatever. Wait for the pictures you dingbats.

+2 # fletch 2011-05-02 09:09

He hung Saddam. That was his priority. We know.

+2 # LoveJoyHealth 2011-05-02 09:30

Pictures will not do it... We needed Independent Forensic Analysis of his remains.

+6 # ImaLouiseWright 2011-05-02 08:15

i dont see this as a game changer in the war on terror or as affecting al qaeda. OBL was a SYMBOL[like a flag] for many loosely connected organizations, but the cells operate INDEPENDENTLY [with some assistance from affiliates].
As far as many ppl worrying that this might bring about a precipitous withdrawal of nato/US forces from the region-oh come on! i have zero doubt that most ppl in the region sincerely hope that this wd result in the withdrawal of foreign military-but that hope is completely absurd. the 'war on terror' isnt even affected by this 1 iconic man.
i find the response from obama and hilary to be very supportive of continuing the war with increased resolve based on this symbolic victory. i dont think they sd play up the belligerent crowing about killing OBL. that is going to inflame anti-western sentiment and add to his martyr status. do we want peace or dont we? there is no real victory if it's built on a mountain of dead bodies. their dead bodies cause hate and greater desire for revenge, just like our own dead bodies of 9/11.

+6 # fletch 2011-05-02 09:12

Al Qaeda was 5 people and a walkie talkie who got lucky on 9/11 since ignoramuses were in charge of national security. After 9/11 Bush turned them more powerful than the former Soviet Union with all his rhetoric and profiteering off of other people's blood and guts. He is the biggest COWARD in U.S. history bar NONE.

+3 # casavenko 2011-05-02 08:18

The U.S. enterprise is a SHIP OF FOOLS. Built of war, debt. We are nothing more than war whores, just look at the past, and you can see the future.we are slaves of the military industrial complex. Our country is being pillaged and plunderd every day, we are fools. If you think were going to bring our war machine home, you are a fool. We are a nation of chicken shot war whores, that are afraid of the truth. We have nothing to offer other than war and war debt. We are the largest proliferator of war and the weapons of war. We manufacture lies to justify our actions, then we go too our little houses of WAR ship and pry for forgiveness and the profits. Is sick! Making a killing on killing, we're a lie, we must wake up be for we die while we're asleep.

+4 # spiritcallsus 2011-05-02 08:30

NOW ... we can get on with the master plan ... now that we have named the Pakistani government as our "informant" and enabler, the "people" will riot against said government and we can then get way more involved "saving" such a "friendly" government ... while we execute the real plan, destroying the opposition to which-ever government we relate to best, even replacing the head guy in the process to the degree that we can control the whole nation and it's nuclear ability ... don't think that our CIA types look at the larger picture and the long haul ...

+5 # billy bob 2011-05-02 08:36

If we don't pull out COMPLETELY from Iraq and Afghanistan (including mercenaries) within one month,

CAN WE FINALLY ADMIT THAT THIS WAS ABOUT OIL ALL ALONG?

-3 # LawNOrder 2011-05-02 09:12

bb, what does OBL have to do with oil?

+4 # billy bob 2011-05-02 11:27

Nothing. What do the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan have to do with OBL?

+3 # LawNOrder 2011-05-02 09:09

This petulant thread running through these responses really not worthy of RSN readers. First of all, OBL could have presented himself to the World Court at ANY time to profess his innocence, use Saudi family money to defend himself, make whatever case necessary to legitimize AlQaeda, implicate Bush/Cheney or even pay for the defense of Gitmo detainees, but he didn't, he acted like any criminal boss would, hid out, bribed and corrupted as many as he could to continue his 'jihad' (murder of Christians and other non-believers and the subjugation of all to (his version) Islam. OBL's actions led to his death. Pakistan could have placed OBL in asylum status, formally acknowledged his residence and under international law would have been illegal to try to 'capture or kill him'. Ask why OBL didn't do this as soon as POTUS Obama was elected? POTUS kept his campaign pledge about Iraq and Afghan/Pakistn, doing so without the jingoist nonsense of Bush, used our troops professionally. I do not celebrate OBL's death, and treating his body humanely proves we are not them, no public beheadings or parade of dead thru our streets is necessary. Eyes on the ball, Rethugs have blocked the closing of Gitmo, delayed trials, tried to close the govt. made 'Obama fail' their mantra, THEY are failing! Imagine a truly Dem/Indep Congress fighting for domestic jobs, health, energy and national security!

+3 # billy bob 2011-05-02 11:29

"Imagine a truly Dem/Indep Congress fighting for domestic jobs, health, energy and national security!"

I agree. A good start would be to stop spending trillions of dollars to get the oil out of that sand. Let Exxon and BP do their own colonizing.

+6 # Marta B 2011-05-02 10:01

Regarding all the comments above: there is much truth in the well-deserved cynicism with which you have greeted this news. Yet, consider that this IS a turning point, a moment when all over the world, people are pausing to ask, "wow, what will this change?" For myself, I take this opportunity to rededicate my intention that SANITY, COMPASSION, environmental responsibility, and ECONOMIC JUSTICE become the norm. Hey, if we all dedicate our intentions thusly, who knows? Start within, and take appropriate, authentic action.

0 # harbormon 2011-05-02 10:08

We can't and won't leave Afghanistan or Iraq, not now or ever, as it is the only place we can safely keep (and launch) American forces in the region. No, we’ll never leave because if anyone was listening correctly, they heard that Pakistan is actually both the most dangerous and the most important ally for the US in the world today, as they possess a significant nuclear arsenal, an unstable and malleable government, an active and sophisticated military renowned for taking government matters into their own hands, and most importantly, our presence there, and in Iraq, allows us to surround Iran.

So under no circumstances can we let the Taliban control Pakistan, and since the days of the Shah, NeoCons believe that the most important Oil producing country in the world other the Emirates and the Saudis, is Iran. That is our ultimate target and without our troops positioned in ready attack formation on virtually all borders into Iran, just like they were staged over a year before in Kuwait prior to Desert Storm, the opportunity to control that Iranian oil production could be lost.

+1 # billy bob 2011-05-02 11:32

Who's this "we" and "us"? I don't own an oil company. Do you?

+3 # Connie Troupe 2011-05-02 12:06

We don't have the Democracy that our forefathers created in the United States anymore it has been usurped by Corporate Fascism and this game of football played out on every flat screen in everyone's living room between the Elephants and the Donkeys, using the football of our economy, meaning each and everyone of us are being kicked down the field, as we all watch and comment, on the game. The Game that keeps us all off balance, occupied, and deluded by each teams rhetoric, so the Corporate machine of Big Oil, Big Pharm, the Insurance Companies, Bio Tech, Gene Tech, Robotics, Computer Technology, Monsanto etc. can continue their onslaught of WAR RAPE AND PILLAGE for eternity… Enough already, the curtain has been drawn back ala Toto in the Wizard of Oz. We are not in Kansas anymore, we are in Hell and it is time to fight the true Demon behind that curtain "the demon of human greed", supported by the media, sold by the media, brainwashing all of us to support greed in every way we can. It's summer; the oil companies need their 5.00 bucks a gallon. Now everyone is spinning in oblivion the "evil terrorist has been slaughtered" Chevron, Shell, Arco, BP, are salivating, the CEO's are ordering their new Lear Jets, maybe the spinning masses won't notice when the price of gas goes up another 75 cents.

-1 # pitairis@aol.com 2011-05-02 12:45

certainly the bush administration used this as an excuse to get us in this terrible war in iraq and afghanistan.and bin laden was created by the cia, but does anyone think his type of regime would b better? bin ladne comes from one of the wealthiest families in the world and i think if he were in charge rsn would b banned and all it's readers would b rounded up and tortured and executed. he represents clerical fascism. ck women's righs in saudi arabia (bin ladens home town) working people would have no unions everyone would have to go to binladen's house of worship, minorities would b up the creek, noschool for women, women engaging in adultery would be subject to stoning death, we would (except for a few elite) all be forced into low wage jobs u couldn't vote or hold peaceful demonstrations folks as bad as things r here it coulk b much worse ask the survivors of the holocaust or those recently raped and slaughtered in some of the central african countries. glad this murdering thug is dead too bad he wasn't caught b4 just as hitler and mussolini were caught oh and ask the survivors of pol pot in solidarity jim

+1 # pitairis@aol.com 2011-05-02 16:35

let us never forget the brave medical people (doctors, nurses, etc.) firefighters police officers, construction workers who rushed to save people from this cowardly attack nearly 3,000 people were murdered by thug binladen and his dirt bag associates. and nearly 400 were union brothers and sisters of mine from a number of international unions

+1 # Sandy 2011-05-02 16:41

Last night on the news it was revealed that Osama bin Laden was shot in the head. And Pres. Obama clearly stated: "After a firefight they killed bin Laden." After a firefight. Best guess: They quickly buried him at sea to cover up the fact that they executed a prisoner of war at point blank range.

+3 # fbelcast 2011-05-02 18:50

How many of us know that Osama bin Laden’s role in the events of September 11, 2001 is not mentioned on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted notice (http://www/fbi.gov/wanted.htm). In 2006, Rex Tomb, chief of investigative publicity for the FBI explains, “The reason 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden’s Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11. . . . He has not been formally indicted and charged in connection with 9/11 . . . . .”

The Ithaca Journal asks, “If the U.S. government does not have enough hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11, how is it possible that it had enough evidence to invade Afghanistan?” Indeed.

+1 # Activista 2011-05-02 19:52

www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&other_al-qaeda_operatives

bit of history Mr. President -
Osama bin Laden support from USA/CIA in eighties - Reagan fight against the "Evil Empire".

+1 # Booboo517 2011-05-03 05:49

Honestly I belive this action is going to creat a world war 3.

0 # Glen 2011-05-04 16:38

Wow, Booboo, you are the first to state a reality. I do believe it is coming, at least by 2020. Amazing nobody has noticed the escalation of events as you have.

0 # rm 2011-05-05 05:10

Booboo -- more like World War IV. The cold war was WW III. It was fought mainly in proxy sites all over the world. It was just as destructive as WW I and WW II. Now we are in WW IV. The US goal for all of the 20th century and now 21st century is permanent war. "Endless Enemies" is the point (and the title of a great book by Jonathan Kwitney way back in the 80s).

0 # othermother 2011-05-05 00:03

Ideally, bin Laden should have been tried and executed as the criminal he became instead of dying in an extra-judicial killing. But if he was placed in a US prison, our congresscritter s would be protesting on behalf of their constituents who would see a threat to their safety.

The early story that he was offered a chance to surrender has gone quiet and been replaced by 'he made no attempt to surrender'. The human shield story of his wife is derisory: she got in the way, so she was shot and adds to the pile of collateral damage accumulating in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya...

BBC commentators said that other survivors were taken into custody and have 'intelligence value'. How they managed to get them all onto the remaining two helicopters with all the Seals and the high value corpse is a question. Where are they? Is the US holding children prisoner? Or possibly hostage to forestall reprisal attacks?

Were the bodies of the others killed treated with similar respect to Osama's, or just left lying in the debris?

The media are full of endless blather about whether the photos of bin Laden with half his head blown away should be shown and ignoring the existence of the survivors.

I hope to visit the British Museum exhibit of surviving Afghan treasures. I will plan my visit with care.

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