OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD

[michaelpaciocco]

and...yeah, go.

[jensaltmann]

- Stupid idea to toss his body into the sea. Let the conspiracy theorists and Tea Baggers start ... NOW.

- So, when can we expect the terrorist retaliations to begin?

Other than that, the world has become a slightly (very slightly) better place.

[Mario Di Giacomo]

I'm worried it won't take long... fanatics tend to get wound up by martyrs.

Indeed, Bin Laden may be more dangerous dead than alive.

[paulpogue]

I honestly feel like the martyr problem is not as serious as it might have been several years ago. Ten years of evading the most powerful force in the history of the world has elevated Bin Laden to mythic superhero status -- made him look like Lex Luthor and the U.S. like bumbling idiots. He seemed more invincible with every passing day, and I think his long life served as a better recruiting tool than his eventual death.

[Mario Di Giacomo]

Perhaps, but I hesitate to apply logic here.

I can see a couple of possibilities:

1. The rank & file of Al Qaeda don't believe he's really dead. No body, no proof. Somehow, I doubt DNA evidence will convince them.

2. The rank & file believe he's dead, but embrace the fact that he went down fighting (at some level).

3. The rank & file don't actually care, because someone else has been the active leader since Bin Laden dropped off the grid.

OTOH, imagine if he'd been taken alive....

[Anders]

I guess it's a win for Obama, but that's about it. The practical effects are very small, other than making the US seem a little less incompetent.

There's also the problem that when the leader of an extremist organization is removed his successor is usually more extreme, but since Al Qaida is more of a brand name than an organization I don't think that will matter much either.

I'm not sorry to know he's dead, and that's not something I'm ready to say about a lot of people.

[Anders]

Oh, and I'll be interested to see what The Daily Show does with it.