h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

Reprisals or the gradual decline of Al Queda? Or both.

Both.

But it makes Obama more re-electable, and anything that reduces the liklihood of us ever hearing the words "President Palin" is to that extent at least a good thing.

Or "President Trump" for that matter

It provides closure for some and a martyr for others. Maybe in the
US there will be increased voices for getting their military out of
Iraq and Afghanistan. They just need to remember their humanitarian
responsibilities now for these countries and in the redevelopment of
the civilian infrastructure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/02/judd-trump-john-higgins-world-championship-final

Trump's a superb snooker player but I doubt he'll try for president.



America may have chopped the head off the snake but it will soon grow a new one.

I doubt whether Osama didn't put into place plans to carry on the operations if he was killed. He'll have people around him and I presume the money channels etc will still be open.

>>A Good Thing or a Bad Thing?<<
That rather depends, doesn't it?

There are enthusiasts aplenty, but how many with the appropriate attributes?

Who's waiting in the wings as figurehead - or as overall leader?
and
Whoever wants (and gets) the lead, can he lead leaders?

I hear Donald Trump's been on tv demanding to see his death certificate.

Or a video of his death?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4

BBC Coverage is raising eyebrows - http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r166/swl_album/bbcpage.jpg

It makes a nice change to Bush, although Palin might follow Obama.

I doubt it'll make much differnce overall to the actual opperations of the terrorist group, I believe they still opperate in the way they ever did, with individual terrorist cells being more-or-less independant, and so the overall 'leader' isn't exactly essential for their continueing opperation, and although to some extent its the leadership down flow of money that could hinder opperations of individual cells, really you don't exactly need much to perform terrorist acts, and with the boosts to terrorism recruitment over the past decade, I doubt they'll be short of people willing to fight for the 'top slot'... PR wise probably good for the pres's re-election I guess but asides that and the news storey I can't see this could in any way be something capible of crippling the activities of terrorists..

Always a tricky one killing a symbol with literalism.

I'm inclined to agree with 2legs. How important was ObL as a "leader" anyway?

TRiG.

To my knowledge, he was only important to the USA etc... I've no way of knowing how important he really was within the terrorist organisations themselves, but basically until the USA made him into a figure-head no one had semeingly much heard of him really to any great extent.. But I'm not sure either, to what extent he was just a US created 'baddy' for the 'forces of good' to direct their revenge against... AS I say, it certainly always used to be the case that often any given individual terroist cell opperated so remotely and secretely, that not even the highest 'ranking' person in the overall terrorist group would really knwo what they wereplanning or up too... But, dunno, maybe they've become more top down driven and it doesn't quite work like it used to so much

Something interesting I heard discussed earlier is that because he was discovered to be living in this really cushy set-up in a nice town..a lot of his followers will have their illusions broken. Had he been discovered living in rags in a cave with glittering eyes in sunken sockets burning with Islamic zeal it might have made all the difference.

The myth has been a little tarnished.

The burial at sea is now being questioned by some Islamic scholars (big surprise there) and survivors and relatives of those killed at 911 are now asking for video and/or proof.

He is very probably dead but controversy will of course live on.

The burying at sea was to stop a particular location becoming a focal point for people to gather. But Muslims will now find 2/3 of the earth's surface sacred..

They need to do is show his DNA on the news

The US army have just been fined $1000 for taking out the wrong bin...this week is 'garden rubbish' bin week not 'psycho loony' bin week.

He was an easy target tho...wearing the bright white turban.

Ten years.
Thousands of dead.
Billions of dollars.
The best technology in the world devoted to the most intensive man-hunt in history.



And they found him hiding .... in his house.

35 miles from Islamabad...wonder how much he left on his Oyster card.

Yes 'in his house' but it took that much to find his house...a pretty momentous occasion Pakistan allowing US troops to carry out a mission on their land probably knowing how it would make them look like idiots.