Osama Bin Laden is dead and his corpse is in US hands.

[bigross86]

Picture, if anyone wants to see

On Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, I can honestly not think of happier news for the world over.

[Parihaka]

Would it still be SOP to blow up the damaged helicopter if you were in friendly territory?

[ambidex]

A Pakistani Urdu Channel is saying that probably anti air craft gun was used to down Helicopter.

[citanon]

Sir the very idea of ISI not knowing is insulting.The man was in their backyard and he was the most hunted man on Earth.The Americans also knew his whereabouts since at least 9 months ago.If it was anything ,Sir,it was a trade-off.Bin Laden for American retreat,that's my bet.
Sir,this was an execution,not a combat mission.As for the Pakistanis,they know duplicity and how to stage a circus show.They MUST pretend they killed Bin Laden a. because they must not lose face inside and b.they must not look like they held the man for years,while their allies were turning the earth upside down.

Of course the ISI knew where Bin Laden was. What's not clear is whether the ISI knew that the CIA knew, and were planning to go get him on that day.

[cirrrocco]

Congrats to the US military.

It is also nice to see confirmation of what many Indian posters have been telling many many years on this very forum that UBL [Pigs be with him] , is in Pakistan much to the disapproval of our american and european members.

Again very good job and I am thrilled that this suvar is finally dead. Best part if that he was drilled in the head..

[Dago]

Question for everyone - I admit, I overlooked this scenario, even before, that yes taking custody would be the priority of the US however once that is done, the US possess responsibility of the body. What will be done? Of course I don't see it, going into standard procedure, "releasing it to relatives" of martydom significance. However, even if he were to be "cremated" you would have ashes. If you kept it, lawsuits can challenge it.

Edit - They just buried it at sea. You think they would have done an autopsy or something.

[citanon]

What puzzles me is that the operation took place very close to Pakistan military academy. The place is swarming with serving and retired Pak army officers. Also confirms the fact that OBL could not have survived this long without Pakistani assistance.

I think many have suspected that the Pakistanis were helping him, but the fact that they placed him so close is surprising. Did they need to place him in a secure place to ensure control over him, or were they just brazen?

[citanon]

They would've known but only at the last moments for on ground facilitation of the op. Surely it wouldn't suite them to let the world see that Osama was found deep inside Pakistan, camouflaged near an army compound.
But as the US politicians proved with their merry words, all's well that ends well - no one is going after Pakistan right now.

Regards,
Bhaarat

In the long term I think this will move the US-Pk relationship in a direction that suits Pakistan. Bin Laden being gone is one less reason we have of being in their back yard.

[Dago]

As you can see, lawsuits could of challenged the body, could it not? So Obama, the Commander in Chief wanted to get rid of the body, asap? I guess it's within Islamic burial, within 24hrs.

[cirrrocco]

In the long term I think this will move the US-Pk relationship in a direction that suits Pakistan. Bin Laden being gone is one less reason we have of being in their back yard.

Citanon, be in the backyard for all of eternity. we do not care. Just dont give the pakistanis weapons and money to kill Indians. That is all we request.

[citanon]

Citanon, be in the backyard for all of eternity. we do not care. Just dont give the pakistanis weapons and money to kill Indians. That is all we request.

Well, it's costing us a lot of money and blood to be there, and I don't think we feel too good about selling them weapons either. Now that he's gone, a different set of motivations will push events. We may have less incentive to sell Pk F-16, but Pk is looking to the PRC, etc. I think it will take a while for things to shake out, but they will be DIFFERENT (but I don't know how).

BTW, heard a US Congressman say on the radio just now that India actually has a lot of assets and access to Afghanistan. Is that true?

[citanon]

Interesting thesis, but it doesn't fit the facts. If it was tradeoff and the Pakistanis knew where he was all along, why wait 9 months to order the hit?

And why would the Pakistanis have the hit happen on their military's door step? I think PK might have been thinking about giving him up, but and independent US operation moved events at a pace that left them behind.

[Dago]

Are we going to get pictures? Or no?

[Dago]

Not sure if this it authentic.. but some saying AP released...

[drhuy]

the firefight took place in 40 mins, just a few hundred meters from the Pak military academy. It's almost impossible that there hadnt been some sort of permission from Pak, at least from the military