In other totally surprising news, scientists have learned that the Sun rises in the East, smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer and dogs like to have their bellies rubbed.
They say "youth is wasted on the young." If you're a jihadist recruiter in Afghanistan's hinterland, you may not have George Bernard Shaw's original intent in mind, though.
The Talban rape tapes. "He arrived in each village with Siraj Haqqani’s uncle, Ibrahim, and Siraj’s cousin, Ishak, in tow. With them, the Haqqanis brought along their own very special tools of terror – a video camera and an eye for human flesh. You see, with Haqqani healthcare, you not only received a medical exam, if you were an attractive young girl, you also got a screen test. And heaven forbid you passed."
The Taliban's torturers. "Basically any form of pleasure was outlawed," Mr Hassani said, "and if we found people doing any of these things we would beat them with staves soaked in water - like a knife cutting through meat - until the room ran with their blood or their
Conveniently, the ISI seems to think the terrorist leader is on Pakistani soil, in or around Quetta, the largest city in Balochistan province (How nice of them to reveal the timing and location of this manhunt operation ahead of time, just to give their quarry a running head start).
If I were conspiratorial-minded, I might think the ISI had a sneaky plan ready to go.
First, wander over to Mullah Omar's address, which has actually been known to you for a number of years. Put a bullet through the old man's skull so he can't spill any secrets. Next, dump the body in the middle of a short but dramatic staged firefight just a few...More >>
Unfortunately, they only seem to want to investigate how Americans were able to conduct the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, without the Army knowing (or presumably, stopping them on grounds of national sovereignty). They don't seem at all interested in finding out how the arch-terrorist could live in a big city just outside a major military facility for at least five years.
Perhaps that's because they already know the answer to the second question.More >>
The Propagandist's allies have gathered critical intelligence on the movements of the enemy. The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US forces may not actually mobilize the jihadist movement to counter-attacks (After all, it's not like they had ever stopped trying to kill us all). Still, the danger remains from both freelance terror groups, terror-sponsoring rogue regimes and associated stooges for the enemy who need their head examined.
Let's not keep up any illusions that NATO really needs to do a better job of "winning hearts and minds" when the other side so consistently uses civilians as human shields and cannon fodder.
When Afghan President Hamid Karzai stops playing dangerous games by equating deliberate Taliban attacks on civilians with NATO's effort to protect them, we'll be a lot further ahead in this war.More >>
With the death of Osama bin Laden, the USA's erstwhile "ally" in the war on terror, Pakistan, has been exposed (again) as a net exporter of jihadist terrorism. What should the USA do about it? Take our poll.
Curtain. In a luxurious room, OSAMA , a tall man in mid-East dress, rushes about packing suitcases. He is trailed everywhere by his butler, ZAWAHRI, who ceaselessly attempts to connect his master to a small, creaking, wheeled dialysis machine. A sulky, veiled beauty, NAHID* KLEIN, watches proceedings from the vast plush bed. From outside we hear muted shouting and machine-gun fire.
OSAMA. Seals. Fucking seals! Did we not reach out to the seal-lovers, Zawahri? Didn’t we? So much for your eco-Koran initiative, Z. Where are my good sandals, you titless chicken? Now that your precious infidel seals are shooting at us?
ZAWAHRI. Please, sir… sheikh… leader… monsieur… boss… master… you must take some medicine for your kidneys. Or you will go into a diabetic coma. I beg you, I beg you. You are awkward to carry when unconscious, all due respect….
OSAMA. Nahid Klein, slap him, please.
NAHID languidly pulls an Uzi from the bedclothes and hits Z. in the forehead with it. He collapses. OSAMA continues to rush...More >>
Unfortunately for the free world, the long-awaited death of Al Qaeda's leader brings with it no great revelations or seismic shift in world politics and security. Bin Laden's style of nihilistic ideology does not require him to be breathing in order for it to continue; in fact it may even be nurtured by his long overdue demise, as sympathisers and members of Al Qaida franchises worldwide will likely use his 'martyrdom' as yet another excuse for their medieval practices.
So, whilst we will not yet be able to wave farewell to endless queues at airport security, body scanners and ridiculous confiscations of lip-gloss and lighters anytime in the foreseeable future, it is now perhaps even more important than ever for Western leaders to begin joining the dots more effectively than they have done so far.
Curiously, too many of those who were easily able to identify Bin Laden as a threat to their freedoms and values are seemingly unable to recognise the other offshoots of the family tree of the legacies of Mawdudi and Qutb for what they really are, despite the evidence staring them in the face.
The Propagandist Magazine Editor Jonathon Narvey calls Osama bin Ladens death is "a major victory for the struggle against the global jihad movement.” Indeed, it is an important measure of counterterrorist strategy to kill the eminent ideological figures. That said, we should not overestimate the operational role of terrorist leaders.
Al-Qaida can be translated as “operational basis” or “foundation”. It also translates as “guideline” or “method”. The organization has very much changed since 9/11 from a monolithic terrorist organization with an identifiable leadership and chain of command into an amorphous “franchise company” (h/t Bruce Hoffmann) of ideologically determined partly autonomous cells.
Hoffmann presents some reminders of the West's bad record in tackling operational role of terrorist networks in “The National Interest”:
In 2004, the Israelis delivered a one-two punch against Hamas’ equivalent of Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, when they killed in succession Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and leader of Hamas, and then a month later Abdel Aziz Rantisi, his deputy and successor—yet Hamas is stronger today than it was seven years ago.
That doesn´t mean we have not reached an important goal. But there may be new...More >>
The Propagandist's allies have gathered critical intelligence on the movements of the enemy. The death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US forces may not actually mobilize the jihadist movement to counter-attacks (After all, it's not like they had ever stopped trying to kill us all). Still, the danger remains from both freelance terror groups, terror-sponsoring rogue regimes and associated 
Curtain. In a luxurious room, OSAMA , a tall man in mid-East dress, rushes about packing suitcases. He is trailed everywhere by his butler, ZAWAHRI, who ceaselessly attempts to connect his master to a small, creaking, wheeled dialysis machine. A sulky, veiled beauty, NAHID* KLEIN, watches proceedings from the vast plush bed. From outside we hear muted shouting and machine-gun fire.
