usa has announced bin ladin is dead

[mx250]

No pictures of the body and the US have already claimed to have buried him at sea.

Not yet. I'm sure it a very carefully considered situation.  I would say they mounted a raid specifically to get the body 'dead or alive' specifically so it couldn't be enshrined somewhere.

Photos and other detail will come out gradually according to the sensitivities of the Arab World reaction - my bet .

[Mick D]

No pictures of the body and the US have already claimed to have buried him at sea.

Not yet. I'm sure it a very carefully considered situation.  I would say they mounted a raid specifically to get the body 'dead or alive' specifically so it couldn't be enshrined somewhere.

Photos and other detail will come out gradually according to the sensitivities of the Arab World reaction - my bet .

The pictures have been on the news and net. They are the ones that were first re-least on Pakistani TV.

[mx250]

I just have a feeling that history may be kinder to Osama and Saddam than you may expect, todays revolutionary is tomorrows freedom fighter.

Face it, the west has treated the Arabs abysmally and Bin Laden was a product of the poverty (well not his poverty but that of the Arab world) and the bitterness is understandable. I'm by no means condoning his actions just saying that Bin Laden was a lot more complicated than most in the west realise.

You're a bleeding heart Tim . The Arabs have been their own worst enemies. If the West ever screwed the Arabs you can be assured that an Arab leader made a squillion in the process. The Arab World is slowly coming to this realisation. What do you think Tunisia, Libya and Egypt is all about  .

[Iain Cameron]

the worlds greatest player of hide and seek 01 to 11 has passed away today , reports of lead poisoning in the brain [ 9mm ]. soooo not sad

[TooFastTim]

You're a bleeding heart Tim . The Arabs have been their own worst enemies. If the West ever screwed the Arabs you can be assured that an Arab leader made a squillion in the process. The Arab World is slowly coming to this realisation. What do you think Tunisia, Libya and Egypt is all about  .

Oh yeah I don't doubt it. The problem is that the despots that have ruled the Arab world are a direct consequence of the west manipulating the politics, economics and demographics of those regions. Read about the Sykes-Picot agreement where the UK and France carved up the middle east according to their interests and not according to the racial/social/religious make up.

Grinding poverty will result in extremism particularly when the poor look around and see consipuous consumption about them. Bin Laden (in spite of his hugely wealthy origins) was somebody who was sucked into this.

[mx250]

Oh yeah I don't doubt it. The problem is that the despots that have ruled the Arab world are a direct consequence of the west manipulating the politics, economics and demographics of those regions. Read about the Sykes-Picot agreement where the UK and France carved up the middle east according to their interests and not according to the racial/social/religious make up.

I'll agree with that except for the "direct consequence of the west manipulating".

The despots were already there. The west just made them rich despots. The Arab leaders willing sold out their own people for 'a handfull of silver'. The silver and the help of the West just keep them in power longer.

The weakness was there. Ya can't blame the West for taking advantage of weakness. The world runs on naked power and National Interest, not morality or rational thought.

[TooFastTim]

Fair enough.

[EML]

I just spent 15 mins typing a great reply and it disappered before you got it-cripes I hope the towel heads didn't intercept it or I'm forked

[TooFastTim]

I went away and had a thunk about this. Yes real-politik is about narrow minded self interest but by propping up despots in the Arab world and Africa we (the west) now have a bunch of radicalised nutcases who are bent on our destruction.

[Nathan S]

I doubt that there's many Westerners lamenting his death - but the Americans who are on telly having a party must not have considered their own reaction to seeing f#$ktard Arabs dancing around following the murder of a Westerner...

Way to poke the hornet's nest...

[Mick D]

I know you shouldn't laugh when someone just got wacked through the head, and who knows what changes it will bring?

I just spent 15 mins typing a great reply and it disappered before you got it-cripes I hope the towel heads didn't intercept it or I'm forked

But you got to admit that is bloody funny
you'd laugh at that even with you were a Towel head, any how its nothing compared to what us Irish copped  

[Lozza]

The weakness was there. Ya can't blame the West for taking advantage of weakness. The world runs on naked power and National Interest, not morality or rational thought.

True but despotic leaders are universaly installed or allowed to rise to power and do not rise on popular support(probably Hitler was the last one) as the saying goes 'But he's our little dictator'.
There has been a war in Afghanistan since the early 80's that could not have been sustained without superpower(regional and global) support and the sanctioning of opium/heroin production.Which we(as in the west) turn a convienient blind eye to when it suits us.

[motomaniac]

Smoke and Mirrors . Conveniently buried at sea. Like Mr Wasp said look for a diversionary reason.

[TooFastTim]

True but despotic leaders are universaly installed or allowed to rise to power and do not rise on popular support(probably Hitler was the last one)

Hitler never even came close to having a majority. Most he got was about 36%. Hindenberg got 53%.

From Wiki:

"Although Hitler lost the presidential election of 1932, he succeeded Hindenburg as head of state only two years later, when Hindenburg's death brought his term to a premature end in 1934. After the president's death Hitler abolished the office entirely to replace it with the new position of Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Reich Chancellor"), and cement his dictatorship."

So Hitler never recieved popular support.

[lyle2212]

Smoke and mirrors, conveniently buried at sea...I,m with you guys.  We are the minority who refuse to swallow this garbage by the controlled American media..I watched a Doco on TV a while back and they were adamant that Osama died of kidney failure many years back.   And so what if it is true and they did just catch him ,it,s not going to change zip.  There would be a million carpet lickers out there ready to step into Osama,s shoes. The big picture is about the USA trying to temporarily take the attention away from their rapidly decling Empire.