Podcast Episode 85 No, that’s not a typo. Ayman al-Zawahiri was the leader of al-Qaeda, not ISIS But you’d be forgiven for wondering why killing him is even worthy of mention, let alone this episode. After all, every time there’s breaking news these days of a terrorist attack anywhere, it’s invariably the terrorizing deed not… Listen.
Osama bin Laden
Groundhog-Day Killing of Yet Another Terrorist Leader? Please, Spare Us.
It’s been a while since I felt constrained to pooh-pooh “Breaking News” about the killing of a “high-value” terrorist. But this I could not resist: The Islamic State’s spokesman and overseer of external terrorist operations, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, was killed in the Syrian province of Aleppo, the group’s news outlet reported on Tuesday… Accounts from… Read more.
Obama Saluting War Dead … Again
Almost two years ago I wrote a commentary titled, “Obama Saluting War Dead Will Be Defining Image of His Presidency.” Nothing vindicates this commentary quite like the president feeling compelled to clear his schedule yesterday to be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to salute the Navy Seals who were returning home from Afghanistan in… Read more.
What Now is the Best Way to Fight the War on Terrorism?
The killing of Osama bin Laden has policy makers in the United States finally debating in earnest about what is the best way to fight the war on terrorism. And, in a similar vein, they are wondering whether this pivotal development provides an expedient pretext for President Obama to accelerate the timetable he has laid… Read more.
Osama bin Laden is Dead
[Author’s Note: Due to unprecedented reader interest I’ve decided to run this commentary, which was published originally yesterday (Monday at 12:27 pm), for another day.] Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a… Read more.
I told you so: “Osama bin Laden is dead”
Robert Baer, a celebrated former CIA field officer, confounded politicians and socialites alike in Washington yesterday with the publication of his very provocative article at TIME.com entitled When Will Obama Give Up the Bin Laden Ghost Hunt? Their bewilderment, of course, stems from the fact that President-Elect Barack Obama has made capturing or killing bin Laden a… Read more.
Military tribunal convicts Salim Hamdan…for being bin Laden’s driver?
The Guantanamo Bay trial of Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s driver, was billed as the most important in the annals of international military justice since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals over 60 years ago. Yet, with all of the media focus on the US presidential campaign (complete with this week’s surreal cameo by Paris Hilton), you can be… Read more.
Kola Boof, Osama Bin Laden’s Black Mistress
Osama Bin Laden’s Black mistress Kola Boof is all over TV promoting her autobiography, Diary of a Lost Girl. This Egyptian-Sudanese-American is an award-winning novelist, poet, and activist. But, unsurprisingly, her relationship with Osama Bin Laden is all anyone wants to talk about. Kola writes about it in dramatic and thrilling detail. And she might mislead you to think… Read more.
Please, spare us the al-Qaeda obituaries!
When it is over, if it is over, this war [in Iraq] will have horrible consequences….Terrorism will be aggravated….Instead of one bin Laden there will be one hundred bin Ladens. Terrorist organizations will be united. Everything will be insecure. [Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – March 2003] Yesterday, news anchors across America stumbled over the name… Read more.