Osama Bin Laden Thread

Just a few observations:

1. It’s particularly satisfying in some evil way to think of Osama bin Laden not as “elusive” or “shadowy,” but as “shark food.”

2. I don’t think the location where bin Laden was hiding leaves any question that Pakistan was sheltering him. This wasn’t some mountain cave in the tribal territories that the Pakistani government doesn’t control. It was a house near a military academy in a town right near Islamabad. I was on the fence for years about whether Pakistan was a friend or an enemy. My own best guess was that the government was mostly cooperative but unable to control all of its rogue elements. I’ve moved far in the direction of Pakistan being an outright, passive-aggressive enemy, an enemy with nuclear weapons.

3. No, this doesn’t mean we can let our guard down or that we can declare victory, but it’s a tremendous psychological victory in an overwhelmingly psychological war. And now, all of the intelligence resources that had been hunting for bin Laden can shift their gaze to Zawahiri and Mullah Omar.

4. Spontaneous jubilation has erupted in front of the White House. Really? In America?

5. If you know a soldier or (for those living in D.C.) a CIA officer, the beers are on you.

6. Before today, I’d have guessed that President Obama would probably win reelection by sheer lack of an electable opponent. Today, I think his odds of reelection are even greater.