Bin Laden - justice at last

As it should be.

Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, President Barack Obama said Sunday.

A small team of Americans carried out the attack and took custody of bin Laden's remains, the president said in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House.

A jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden's death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade.

"Justice has been done," the president said.

Credit goes, at last, to the CIA and other intelligence/special services who have spent so long looking for him.

Well done. With all we we gathered including hopefully all the C4I equipment with him - we can start to roll up large parts of his organization.

Much more work to be done - but this is at last something the war needs.

Ignore the politicians, ignore the spin - but remember the conspiracies and smears. It took a decade +/- to do this right.

It has ended right. BZ; now back to work.

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UPDATE: Like something from a Kipling novel - reports now say that he was killed near Abbotabad, Pakistan.

Global reach? Yea, we've got that.

Another note as I read more reports - just a little advice too. Can we give credit where it belongs? The politics is already unseemly. Credit the people who did this and who have been fighting this war for a decade. Geezzz people.

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UPDATE II - Electric Boogaloo: OK, this may be the last update of the night until more details wash out. Daniel Foster over at NRO has summarized some of the details I am getting on my end to. Being the happy moment this is - I don't think he'll mind if I copy it all. Caution about first reports and all - but just to put you to bed with a smile.

Multiple outlets reporting some or all of these details (links when I get them, pulling together from TV reports):

U.S. Joint Special Operations Command Special Mission Unit (SMU) from the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU — formerly known as Seal Team Six) did the shooting. There were other JSOC spotters on the ground, as well as two special operations helicopters and an unmanned drone overhead.

One of the special-ops helicopters reportedly suffered mechanical difficulties and crash landed onsite. It was destroyed by U.S. forces.

Bin Laden was killed along with two al Qaeda couriers and one of Bin Laden’s adult sons. A woman who was used as a human shield by one of the couriers was also reportedly killed. Several other women were wounded and are reportedly receiving treatment.

The compound was located in an affluent suburb 35 kilometers north of Islamabad and is being described as huge, with a central building many times larger than other houses in the area and ringed by a 12-15-foot tall security wall. The compound reportedly had no incoming or outgoing electronic communications.

UPDATE: The compound has already been mapped on Google. It’s just north of a children’s hospital and in spitting distance from the police station.

GO NAVY .... but let's wait for more details just in case .. but GO NAVY anyway.

A little note to all about that google link to his compound. That is just the center mass that google gives you when you enter Abbottabad, Pakistan. That is it - just google's default postition for the town ---- that is not where his compound is. Here - look yourself. .... and why has no one talked about what is really funny about this - St. Peters across the block!

So, executive summary - wait until more info comes out about where the compound was. That ain't it.

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UPDATE III: People are setting off fireworks in my neighborhood. Snort.

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UPDATE IV - Coffee needed more: The great thing about America - we all celebrate in our own way, and the best of us don't even let the serious be taken too seriously.

Zen.

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UPDATE V - Osama Ain't Alive: Better locating data on what is suspected to be the compound I found while following the guy in Abbotabad who unknowingly live-blogg'd the event. Click here.