ObL - now what

IF reports that US assassinated Osama bin Laden are true,
then the big question is how this affects US relations with Pakistan.

Particularly if, as rumoured, ObL was well housed near Islamabad.
Abottabad near Khyber?

Now with bonus maps!
Now with actual correct bonus maps.

Details on Wiki: Death of Osama bin Laden

This is probably more important in the long run than Afghanistan, the Taliban,
or even the effect on US public morale.

Heavy firing near Pakistan Military Academy (thenews.com.pk)

"ABBOTTABAD: Three loud blasts were heard near the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul Road late Sunday night and a military helicopter also crashed. Sources told Geo News that heavy firing was heard in the area before the chopper crashed..."

Also: Army Helicopter Crashes near Abbottabad

Pakistani Army Helicopter.
Oops.

Reports now that the US lost a helicopter due to mechanical problems and destroyed it.
Inferring that personnel were extracted and helicopter destroyed by fire by escorts when on the ground after evacuation.
This will make an interesting story soon. Movie later.

More on pakphilosophy blog also paktidings

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PS: ObL Compound Mapped on Google

If you zoom in, to the satellite photo above, the compound is just westeast of the "A" maker,
the large building next to the grove of trees!
Google had him nailed

Ok, so that was wrong, much better pic here

View Larger Map

That's better - further north and east than previous ID's location.
Closer to the girls' schools.
Still probably within delivery distance of the highly rated "Red Onion" restaurant chain!

Here: three people tagged it already...

PS: CNN tried to show this they first suggested the local college was the compound, then that the mosque on the other side was the compound.
Look at the scale bar journo dudes, ain't that big a compound!

PPS: hey, at least CNN was also looking in the wrong place last night...

Official word from White House - webheads there a bit slow tonight

More like this

President Obama spoke at 10:36 CT. He gave a quick review of 9/11 and of ten years of work by military and counter-terrorism professionals, citing accomplishments as well as failure to catch Osama bin Laden. President Obama made capture/killing of bin Laden top CIA priority. In August, they…
Salman Rushdie has an interesting insight into the fate of Osama bin Laden. He hasn't been an underground agent, stealthily hiding in caves for the last ten years — he's been living well in prosperous safety in plain sight, with the obvious assistance of…guess who. Osama bin Laden, the world's most…
Source. In a rare late night statement in the East Room of The White House Sunday, President Obama announced that Bin Laden is dead. This historic announcement raises more than questions than answers. How will this affect terrorism abroad and in the US? How will this affect our relationship with…
I have no idea how I missed this insane bit of news last year:  The CIA organised a fake vaccination programme in the town where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding in an elaborate attempt to obtain DNA from the fugitive al-Qaida leader's family, a Guardian investigation has found. As part of…

the big question is how this affects US relations with Pakistan

Pakistani officials are completely blameless in the matter. They had no way of knowing that Osama was hiding out in Abottabad - he had not registered under his real name when moving there. Who could have expected such a clever ruse?

By Phillip IV (not verified) on 02 May 2011 #permalink

Dialectical Logic of Islamists:

"Dialectical logic is found in the core of Eastern and Western thought. It is a common flaw to the human species. Although the various human cultures have developed their own methods of using this flaw, it is not simply a cultural defect. However, since each culture uses this flaw to defend and to define itself, every attempt to correct the flaw is perceived to be an attack on the culture itself. Islamists are particularly sensitive to this perceived attack; because the dialectical Absolute of the Koran is found in the attempt to synthesize the Old and New Testaments." The Lost, page 9

Best Regards,

Frank Hatch
Initial Mass Displacements