Before the raid, the U.S. gamed out how much time they would have to get in and out of Pakistan before Pakistani forces could respond, said a senior government official.
The U.S. knew, for example, that Pakistan's state of alert was lower in the north, where the Seals crossed the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in helicopters. The lower alert meant it would take longer for Pakistan to scramble jets to respond to the incursion. Unlike the north, Pakistan's state of alert is high in the south and east because of the perceived threat from India. If the raid had taken place there, Pakistan's response time might have been much faster.
CinnamonGirl wrote: The Slippery Story of the bin Laden Kill
The early narrative of the assault on Osama bin Laden had him using his wife as a human shield and firing from behind her. Now we learn he wasn't armed.
Funny!
I need to read that article, but I don't understand why people provide details they are not certain of. The original story of Osama using his wife as a human shield sounded very suspect to me when I first heard it. Just seemed too much of a sterotype of a "terrorist".
major bean wrote: If VL is not doing stand-up somewhere, he is wasting quite a talent.
I'm not a performer but i've been writing and selling jokes since the early 80's. Heres some of my early work- I wrote it in 15 minutes and you can tell it's my unique style. Got $300 for this diatribe, but it went so well I got another 100 making a total of $400- He needed two minutes on Arsenio Hall, and you can see the audience reaction is much like the reaction I get here
While many nations suffered from al-Qaida's terrorism and few in the world will mourn Bin Laden's death, the United States is the only place where it sparked spontaneous outpourings of raucous jubilation.
The national unity that Barack Obama has sought to harness following the announcement is indeed eerily familiar. Albeit in joy rather than sorrow, it's the same kind of unity that followed 9/11. It is also the same kind of unity that rallies around flags, dismisses dissent and disdains reflection. And however comforting it may have been at the time, the consequences of that kind of unity has been disastrous.
The patriotic impulse in American society is intense and pervasive. The kind of national fervour reserved elsewhere for occasional events like royal weddings, World Cup victories or major tragedies is a dormant reflex waiting for a trigger. The flags are always out; the pledge is recited every day in schools. The muscle that converts shared citizenship into a form of national genius is well-trained and prepared. By the early hours of Sunday morning, as hundreds poured into the streets to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, it was flexed and ready to do battle.
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
