. . . . .
. . . . . ..
[Update: A large percentage of the Arabic-language comments on the al-Jazeerah site reflect disbelief that the gentleman was actually actioned. And, even more extremely:]
Ma-ais… a-t-il donc vraiment jamais existé ?
Commentaires des plus drôles, du génial maghrebo-franco-néerlandais Fouad Laroui:
Prosit !
Next topic: Release a photo?
Of course not.
(1) The US objects strenuously when AQ or Taliban publicize gruesome photos of slaughtered Americans.
(2) Since the simple-minded are captivated by images, and impervious to exposition, such a horror-photo would be all that they would retain of the whole operation -- an operation which was calm and patient and brilliant from beginning, and which expertly minimized the violence. It was a risky op; a lesser man, a more impatient man, than our President, would have just taken out the whole compound with a missile, on spec.
(3) The US wisely denied the jihadis a shrine -- but the photo would become emblematic, and would in all likelihood lead to the loss of further American lives.
So why is anyone even tempted?
Because the same sort of imbeciles who think the moon-landing was a hoax… it’s not even worth finishing the sentence. The birthers, Swift-Boaters, teabaggers and their thrawn ilk live in an alternate, evidence-free universe, and it is high time to stop catering to them. You bend over backwards, till your nose hits the ground, and this is the result:
Ignore them. If they think he's still alive -- or that he never actually existed -- fine. It really doesn’t matter what resides in their tiny minds, beneath their tin-foil hats. Move on -- leaving those sad-sacks behind.
Update, 4 May 2011:
He has decided. God bless you, Mr. President.
(And, comic relief...)
[Update, 8 May 2011:]
Patience paid off, as did restraint. Had we gone in half-cocked (Trump-style: "grab the oil!") or just leveled the place, we would not have got this trove of info.
Incidentally -- the fact that the elderly individual dyed his beard for videos, by no means points to any personal vanity as some are saying. Rather, there was an injunction from the Prophet, dating back to the early days of battle when Muslims were heavily outnumbered, that old men should dye their beards, to put up a good front against the enemy.
Classically, however, you did not dye it black: you dyed it with henna. You can see what this looks like here.
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