U.S. Forces Kill Osama Bin Laden; NYT: Some Key Info Came From Gitmo Detainees

By William Warren

Today in Washington, D.C. - May 2, 2011:
Congress is back in session. At 4:30, the Senate will take up the nominations for two district judges, one in Tennessee and one in Florida. By 5:30, the are scheduled to vote on the Tennessee nominee.

In the US House they are scheduled to seek votes on renaming a couple Government buildings.  Um - important stuff?

Of course the big news today continues to be the news about the killing of terrorist Osama Bin Laden yesterday. Before sharing more from other voices on this situation, we cannot help but to be very - very proud of the actions and service by our military who removed this menace to mankind. The Navy Seals and supporting forces are to be commended for their effective and competent action. The work of the CIA must also be commended.

Unfortunately, with Osama's burial at sea, Americans have been denied access to confirmed proof of Bin Laden's death. We are left to trust a government leadership which has proven to be less than trustworthy in words and deeds. However, it is understandable that efforts taken were to also protect American interests rather than to foment further conflict from his death. The celebration situation was tainted by the clear evidence of pre-planned celebration efforts by Obama supporters both in Washington, D.C. and in New York City. While it is clear that the majority of people celebrating were people without an agenda, the words and actions of the initial celebrants was suspicions based on their signs, slogans and words used. Propaganda by the White House or the Obama campaign should have had no place in these celebrations as it demeaned the voices of free people.

The Washington Post (and almost every other news outlet) reports today, “Osama bin Laden, the long-hunted al-Qaeda leader and chief architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, was killed by U.S. forces Sunday in what officials described as a surgical raid on his luxury hideout in Pakistan. In a rare Sunday night address from the East Room of the White House, President Obama said a small team of U.S. personnel attacked a compound Sunday in Pakistan’s Abbottabad Valley, where bin Laden had been hiding since at least last summer. During a firefight, U.S. team killed bin Laden, 54, and took custody of his body in what Obama called ‘the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al-Qaeda.’ ”

In a very interesting piece, The New York Times describes the process of piecing together the information that led to bin Laden, noting, “As Obama administration officials described it, the real breakthrough came when they finally figured out the name and location of Bin Laden’s most trusted courier, whom the Qaeda chief appeared to rely on to maintain contacts with the outside world. Detainees at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had given the courier’s pseudonym to American interrogators and said that the man was a protégé of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. American intelligence officials said Sunday night that they finally learned the courier’s real name four years ago, but that it took another two years for them to learn the general region where he operated.”

By A.F. Branco

In a statement this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, "The last thing Osama bin Laden saw on this earth was the small team of Americans who shot him…We take great satisfaction in knowing that Osama bin Laden will no longer be able to carry out his evil plans, that he has made his last video, and that whenever someone says that the United States has grown weary or complacent in this war, we’ve shown just how determined we are to fight it to the end.  . . . America didn’t seek this fight. It came to us. But ever since 9/11, we’ve been determined to fight Al Qaeda to the end. We knew from the start it would require patience and great sacrifice. And that effort has paid off. Thanks to the skill and perseverance of many brave men and women, we have done what we said. America has not wavered. It has not lost sight of the mission. And we will prevail."

On the other side of the world we are hearing negative reaction by groups which we have poured millions of support into. According to GOPUSA, CAIRO (AP) is reporting that Muslim clerics said Monday that Osama bin Laden's burial at sea was a violation of Islamic tradition that may further provoke militant calls for revenge attacks against American targets. Although there appears to be some room for debate over the burial as with many issues within the faith a wide range of Islamic scholars interpreted it as a humiliating disregard for the standard Muslim practice of placing the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Mecca.GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- The leader of the militant Hamas government in the Gaza Strip condemned the United States on Monday for killing al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said the operation marked "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs."

So what do we make of the above middle-East Muslim based comments from across the waters. How about, we tell them to take a leap and that we stop going into debt sending them our money to use against us.

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