Michelle Malkin takes us through the Fog of Fog

This is truly inspired. Michelle Malkin points out that what we have here is not the Fog of War but the Fog of Fog.

Errors happen. Miscommunications happen. Confusing the name of which of bin Laden's myriad sons died (Hamza, not Khalid), for example, is no biggie.

But the hourly revamping of key details of Sunday's raid suggests something far beyond the usual realm of situational uncertainty that accompanies any military operation. The Navy SEALs did their job spectacularly. The civilians tasked with letting the world know about the mission, however, have performed like amateur dinner theater actors in a tragi-comic production of "Rashomon-meets-The Blind Men and the Elephant-meets-Keystone Kops."

Mind you, with material like that anyone can be a comic writer. Read the whole piece. Very well worth it.

Yet another last word

I fear I have to return to the big story briefly as I had an interesting exchange on the subject with a journalist friend. Let's get the news out of the way: President Obama has decided not to release pictures of Osama dead or being made dead though there are, apparently, some genuine pictures of the compound after the raid around. His argument is that those nasty pictures will simply heighten hatred of America. A spurious argument, I would say. Those that hate America will go on doing so and those who think there is a conspiracy around the whole episode will go on doing so. Others might accept what happened and many on the famous Arab street might actually admire a decisive action on the part of the Great Satan. Besides, back in 2009 Obama had no problems about releasing pictures of maltreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, if there is one thing that intensifies hatred of America it is the sight of American servicemen dealing with their prisoners with less than total gentleness and civility.

Talking of conspiracy theories, I have now distinguished three but shall be glad to hear of any I have missed.

Theory number one is that bin Laden is still alive and the American government, the CIA, the US Navy SEALS and the entire world media has taken an enormous gamble in publicizing the story while the man can pop up at any moment and announce that reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. (I am sure he reads Mark Twain.) On the other hand, bin Laden has, for some reason best known to himself, seems to have gone along with the hoax. Perhaps, he has, in reality asked for asylum and entered one of those special programmes for people who turn state evidence.

Theory number two is that bin Laden was killed some time ago but for some reason (unspecified) this was not made known and for some other reason (also unspecified) has now been released.

Theory number three, much favoured by some Russian bloggers and a few nutters in the West, is that the man never existed at all.

The beauty of all this is that they are all mutually exclusive and we can argue about them for ever. But to go back to the exchange I had with the journalist friend: we both disliked the sight of Obama and his immediate circle (or some of it) watching the raid in live-time, as if it were a film in the cinema as my friend said. It reminded him of being in the audience for public hanging, a gruesome thought. On the other hand, public hangings were immensely popular and I am not at all sure they would not be that again if they were, so to speak, resurrected.

I think there is something more here and that is the strange personality of President Obama. Whatever the issue - fall of the Berlin Wall, end of World War II - he, notoriously, always brings his statements and discussions back to himself. All narratives are about him. It seems to me that he truly believed that what people wanted to see was him watching the raid; that, he assumed, was the only important part of the whole event. This is going beyond the usual politician's habit of using everything for self-promotion. Obama does that, too, but his apparent inability to understand that not all narratives are about him is truly bemusing.

UPDATE: It seems that what President Obama et al were watching with the world watching them was not live footage. So, what were they watching? What scared Hillary so?

Random links on the big story

No, I don't mean the wedding. I have said all I wanted to say on the subject and on all related subjects though, probably, more of that was said in Russian on the day than in English on this blog. That's the way it crumbles cookie-wise.

No, I am still talking about the ending of Osama bin Laden and I hope that this will be my last posting on the subject for a little while as I should like to return to other issues. However, let me, first of all say that I think there is something a little weird about President Obama and his Cabinet watching the raid and killing of bin Laden in real time as if it were some adventure film and have themselves photograph watching it.

On the other hand, there seems to be some problem about details being revealed on the basis of that film-watching and quite a lot of the original information has now been modified. Should we accept that there is fog of war here (even though the information did not come from anybody who was out there in the fog) or shake our heads at the ridiculous speed with which colourful details were given to the media and at the White House team's inability to create a coherent narrative? Of course this could be yet another bungle by Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan. Michelle Malkin seems to be going for that. Nevertheless, one can't help feeling that the information part of this operation should have been planned a little more carefully. At the moment, it is amateur hour.

What else has come up that is interesting? Well, there is the suggestion (here and here) that the raid happened a little sooner than it was planned (possibly for this time next year) because of a Wikileak. That would be somewhat ironic, if true, though there may have been a few other events that made swift action imperative.

It would seem that on an immediate count, President Obama's popularity is not exactly being affected by the Osama factor. The truth is that, as we have seen in Canada, it is usually domestic issues that elect leaders. Or, as someone said, "it's the economy, stupid". The Washington Post thinks so, too.

Among the plethora of coverage there are a few interesting articles and this blog (rather pompously) recommends them. First, there is the curious information that, apparently, it was in Gitmo through the questioning of those prisoners that the track to bin Laden was found. Was Obama told this and also informed very forcefully that if he wanted that coup on his watch he had better forget about closing the place down?

Then there is the curious aspect of the special team sent in to get bin Laden. Apparently, in the past they have been known as Dick Cheney's special assassination squad. No longer, one assumes.

That's enough entertainment. Let's get on to the more serious stuff. What the effect of bin Laden's death will be is still unknown but it is clear that long before that the man had failed. What signs are there, apart from the overwrought imagination of some commentators (and I use the word loosely) of a world-wide khalifate? Those Arab tyrants whom bin Laden hated and attacked may be falling but not because of the strength of Islamic feeling, though it is not at all certain that democracy of any kind will prevail in places like Egypt, Tunisia or Libya.

Fouad Ajami describes him as a weak horse - a terrible insult in the Arab world. Amir Taheri writes of bin Laden's ideology collapsing long before the man's death.

I think I shall ignore the many other comments, at least for the time being. Tomorrow, I hope, it will be possible to resume normal service.

They always say that

"I simply can't believe it" seems to have been the reaction of Osama bin Laden's neighbours in Bilal Town.

The local residents are still struggling to believe what happened here in Bilal Town, in this highly militarized district of Abbottabad where the army runs a military academy, where barracks stand in green fields and which is constantly patrolled by Pakistan's military police.

Here of all places, at 1.30 a.m. local time, Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, was found and killed.

"I simply can't believe it," said Jehangir Khan, a resident of Bilal Town. "How could he hide in this highly secured city?" the businessman wondered. Like many other residents, he was woken in the night by a heavy explosion. "We were very frightened, there haven't been any terror attacks in Abbottabad," said Saifullah, a student who lives in the city.

Saifullah climbed on the roof of his parent's house and saw "two or three helicopters, there was a shootout." Other residents switched on the TV, which also had reports of two or three helicopters.

I am waiting for somebody to inform us that he always seemed such a nice, quiet chap; kept himself to himself but always said good morning to his neighbours.

Not everyone is pleased

There are various questions being asked but those who believe that Osama bin Laden has now been killed tend to be rather pleased, even if they do not assume, as this blog does not assume that international Islamist terrorism or Al-Qaeda are now finished. But there is one organization that believes the news and condemns it. Hamas are not happy. Well, that alone ....

Today's biggest news (if true)

President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden.

In a dramatic late-night appearance in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Obama declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that American military and C.I.A. operatives had finally cornered Bin Laden, the Al Qaeda leader who had eluded them for nearly a decade. American officials said Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head. He was later buried at sea.

If true, this is the most important piece of news that the President could announce but, I have no doubt, questions will still be asked. And let us not forget, there is a presidential election coming up next year. Potential Republican candidates will have to play this one very carefully.

Of course, by now bin Laden's life and death are little more than symbolic, Al-Qaeda having long ago evolved away from him. But symbols matter.

ADDENDUM: An interesting analysis about what might happen if the news is definitely true (and no conspiracy theorist is likely to accept it as that) and how it will play out in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

His death also means that the Pakistani military-jihadi complex gave him up. This will allow Barack Obama to declare victory and pull US troops out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pakistani army can then orchestrate an post-US dispensation wherein its proxies first share power with the Karzai regime. And then, sometime in the near future, take over power.

Well, it is one scenario.