Bin Laden's discovery in a compound 35 miles from Islamabad is a dangerous embarrassment for Pakistan and the ISI The extraordinary discovery that Osama bin Laden had been living, possibly since 2005, in a luxury compound in a popular summer resort a short drive from the national capital, Islamabad, is an enormous and dangerous embarrassment for Pakistan's government. Officials from President Asif Ali Zardari downwards have consistently maintained that the al-Qaida chief was not sheltering on Pakistani soil, suggesting instead that the Americans look for him elsewhere, particularly in Afghanistan. The Pakistani stance was part of a wider policy of denial, dating back to the 9/11 attacks, premised on the argument that Pakistan was not the source and springboard for Islamist-inspired terrorism but rather its principal victim. Islamabad's head-in-the-sand position, as it is seen by some analysts in the west, has led to intensifying friction with Washington in recent months, as the Obama administration struggles to bring an ordered end to its 10-year involvement in Afghanistan. There have been furious rows about unmanned cross- border drone attacks, the arrest in Lahore of a CIA contractor, and Pakistani criticism of US failure to open peace talks with the Taliban. But ... Now that it has been revealed that Osama was hiding in Pakistan, the presence of other key Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives in that nation doesn't seem such a far-fetched possibility Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, was killed in an overnight raid. The impact of his death is already being felt in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Taliban members are claiming they will seek revenge. WSJ's Paul Beckett discusses. The question is, what happens now? Does this change anyone's strategy? Clearly Al-Qaeda can carry on operating, and the Taliban and related groups remain. So is this just a symbolic victory? Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, President Barack Obama has said. Bin Laden was killed in a [...] Key events in the life of the former al-Qaida leader and alleged mastermind of 9/11 attacks • **1957 (exact date never confirmed)** Born Osama bin Mohammad bin Awad bin Laden in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the seventh son among dozens of children of a wealthy businessman • **1970** Father dies • **1974** Marries distant relative • **1976** Studies economics and management at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah • **1979, December** Soviet Union invades Afghanistan • **1984** Bin Laden involved in Peshawar supporting Arab volunteers to fight Soviets: moves between Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Sudan • **1988** Al-Qaida - "the Base" - established in Afghanistan as centre for radical Muslims joined in opposition to the US, Israel and its allies • **1993** Bin Laden family expels Osama as shareholder in its complex of businesses • **1994** Saudi Arabia revokes his citizenship • **1995** Saudi Arabia claims Bin Laden links to Riyadh car bombing, six killed including five Americans, 60 injured • **1996** Bin Laden leaves Sudan for Afghanistan. Issues fatwa against all US military personnel, faxed to supporters across the world • **1998** Truck bomb explosions at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 including 12 Americans. Bin Laden added to FBI's "10 ... KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghans in the Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan described Osama bin Laden as al Qaeda's "number one martyr" after the leader of the hardline group was killed in neighboring Pakistan. Afghan officials say demise of Bin Laden will make 'no practical difference' but may prompt US to question why its troops are still fighting there While the Afghan public gave a subdued reaction to the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed, analysts and officials expressed fears that his demise could hasten the end of the huge US-led military and development effort in Afghanistan. "While thrilled to see the removal of the worst enemy of Islam who inflicted irreparable damage to image of Islam and Muslims, my concern is his death becomes the justification for US premature disengagement from the region," one senior Afghan government official who specialises in foreign affairs said. It was a view echoed by Ahmed Wali Massoud, an Afghan politician and brother of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the legendary resistance fighter who was assassinated just days before the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the orders of Bin Laden. "Already the US has been thinking about shifting its policy on the war on terror and there is a risk that the American public will continue to question why their troops are still fighting there now Bin Laden is dead," he said. But ... While senior political figures welcomed the news of Bin Laden's death, they cautioned that it did not necessarily translate into an immediate military victory over the Taliban. KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban on Monday to refrain from fighting after the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and said the Taliban must learn a lesson from his death. KABUL, Afghanistan - On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack Sunday that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child's recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic. Osama bin Laden's death is likely to have a dramatic impact on the dynamic between the U.S. and Pakistan, where relations recently have been strained, and in the Afghan war, the longest in U.S. history. Always proud to be American. Especially tonight. Congratulations to our fighting men and women who have sacrificed so much, and congratulations as well to their Commander In Chief, whose leadership made this happen. Never forget the people, the innocent people, Bin Laden and his goons murdered in Kenya, New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. -- [...] KABUL, Afghanistan, May 1 (UPI) -- Six Afghans died in weekend violence, including four in a suicide bomb attack by a 12-year-old, as the Taliban claimed the start of its spring offensive. Osama bin Laden is dead, President Barack Obama has announced. "I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children," the president [...] A day after the Taliban declared the beginning of its spring offensive, the bombing in a town near the Pakistan border in southeastern Afghanistan killed 4 people and wounded 14. More than half a dozen people are killed and 20 injured in the attacks in Paktika and Ghazni provinces. The Taliban denies responsibility. On the first day of the Taliban's self-declared spring offensive, insurgents attacked in two Afghan provinces, killing more than half a dozen people, including a district council leader, and wounding another 20, officials said.
Key Words: taliban
References:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-death-pakistan-isi
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2011/may/02/slide-show-1-pak-will-face-the-heat-from-both-us-and-qaeda.htm
http://online.wsj.com/video/broader-ramifications-of-bin-laden-death/4CBEE8BC-CAF8-4A52-9E73-6B13D31EDEAE.html
http://www.pickledpolitics.com/archives/12540
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-timeline
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reuters/worldNews/~3/NSjX7pgCGaM/us-binladen-afghanistan-reaction-idUSTRE74120A20110502
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-afghanistan-fears
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03afghanistan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reuters/worldNews/~3/guak58Gbdz8/us-afghanistan-karzai-idUSTRE7411PW20110502
http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=167271&44=121070933&32=3796&7=195567&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Fworld_us%2F20110502_Taliban_uses_child_suicide_bomber_to_launch_offensive.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576298020717713798.html?mod=rss_US_News
http://www.oliverwillis.com/2011/05/02/obama-bin-laden-is-dead-transcript/
http://pheed.upi.com/click.phdo?i=5bd2667572d060fd15e2e91005f22b94
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/05/01/osama-bin-laden-dead/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/02afghan.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/3mSIvIYBNzs/la-fg-afghan-violence-20110502,0,5377467.story
http://pixelhat.net/
Monday, May 2, 2011
Osama bin Laden's death will haunt Pakistan | Simon Tisdall face the heat from both US and Qaeda Broader Ramifications of Bin Death Laden killed by forces claims Obama timeline Afghans describe as al Qaeda's No 1 martyr sparks Afghan fears early withdrawal Fear U.S. NATO May View End leader tells Taliban not to fight after uses child suicide bomber launch offensive Operation Is Blow OBAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD starts six dead Dead Boy Set Off Blast Near Border Official Says Two bombings rock Afghanistan
