**Breaking news. Let the debates begin as to what this means for terrorism.
Typo in the headline. Sorry.
**
So the President is going to give a big-time statement. Rumor has it that it’s going to announce that Osama bin Laden is dead, and that the U.S. has possession of his body to prove it.
If so (and even if not), what would bin Laden’s death mean for the U.S. (and the world) in terms of security and terrorism? His significance to the larger struggle has certainly been debated over the years; would such an event be the time where those debates will be resolved?
it would be a big boost for Obama and could probably mean a second term for him
Not much, I would fear. I’m not myself an American, but my impression largely is that the kind of emotional significance his death would have had years ago is not the same (though still notable) as it is now. That, i’d guess for the U.S., the reaction by and large is going to be “Good.” rather than something more exuberant or satisfied.
Aside from that, the big issue is how he died.
I don’t think the American public will give him credit for that. We’re 10+ years overdue.
Exactly, 10 years overdue. Bush was president for 8 years and failed to catch the bastard, and in Obama’s third year in office he’s killed.
Not saying that’s a fair characterization, but that’s how I’d spin it if I was the Democrats. Certainly it’s what the Republicans would do if the situation were reversed.
CNN says that he’s dead according to “sources”. Who are the sources? Are they trustworthy? Have they been verified?
(If true, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.)
I can’t wait to hear the details. My question is could this have happened sooner if our leadership had been more focused on getting him?
Bin Laen who? 
Somehow I think a lot of what will happen next will depend on how he was killed, if he died of natural causes.
If news come that his secretive network was so degraded that it allowed for his capture/death I would think that it would fit on how ineffective or weak Al-Qaeda has been on being a factor on the latest revolts all over the middle east.
it’s what they should do. republicans spin shit all the time. this spin would be a positive one
Like I said in the other thread, I think that a lot of what will happen next will depend on how he was killed, or if he died of natural causes.
If news come out that his secretive network was so degraded that it allowed for his capture/death, I would think that it would fit on how ineffective or weak Al-Qaeda has been on being a factor on the latest revolts all over the middle east.
Preliminarily: OBL killed about a week ago in a bombing, US forces have his body. Not a rumor or misidentification.
That depends on how he died. You’re right if it was a predator drone, not so much if it’s kidney failure.
ETA: or what GIGO just said.
“Bin Laden was killed by actionable U.S. intelligence by a U.S. asset.”
“I’m uncertain what that means.”
It means somebody is getting $25 million.
According to NBC News and David Gregory, Bin Laden was killed in a ground military operation. This is a real victory for America, no matter what political persuasion one is, and will play a role in hopefully bringing a close to the “war on terror” rhetoric that one can still hear, or at least turning the page to a new chapter in terrorism.
Eight years to the day after Bush announced “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq.
I wonder how many drunken braggarts in bars in the coming years are going to claim that they’re the ones who personally pulled the trigger/dropped the bomb on Bin Laden?
I think so. That ridiculous excuse to go into Iraq moved focus away from Afghanistan and Bin Laden. I recall how Bin Laden seemed to get replaced with Sadam as if Sadam was responsible for 9/11.
Obama should rightly take credit for this kill.
18?
Is it too much to ask that we give him the Mussolini Treatment? (Seriously, this is one of those rare times that I WILL celebrate someone’s death)