The Death of Osama Bin Laden: EA's Coverage

7 MAY

Sean Foley looks at the little-noted effect of this week's events: "Bin Laden Feature: Why The Significance of His Death May Be in East Asia"

Steve Hewitt offers a perspective on why the Al Qa'eda leader spent the last years of his life in the town of Abbottabad: "Bin Laden Feature: How US Drones Drove Osama to His Final Location"

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Bin Laden Audio: Scott Lucas on the BBC "Assassination, Conspiracy Theories, and Bad PR"

Two appearances today on the BBC, both moving from the killing of Osama bin Laden to questions of how the US carried out the operation (was it a planned operation?) and pictures of the dead Al Qa'eda leader (should they be released?).

My wider point: the importance of the escalating questions does not lie in any conspiracy theory. Instead, they point to the tension in the US-Pakistani relationship and problems for the American position in the country. If these are not addressed soon, any US "victory" from the death of Bin Laden will soon be replaced by a "defeat" for the American position in Pakistan.

BBC Shropshire: Audio is at the 2:08.08 mark

BBC West Midlands: Audio is at the 1:08.00 mark

Bin Laden Follow-Up: US-Pakistan Tension Escalates (Myers/Perlez)

Obama Envoy Grossman & Pakistan PM GilaniTensions between the American and Pakistani governments intensified sharply on Tuesday as senior Obama administration officials demanded answers to how Osama bin Laden managed to hide in Pakistan, and the Pakistani government issued a defiant statement calling the raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader “an unauthorized unilateral action.”

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The Death of Osama Bin Laden: EA's Coverage

Summary now moved to top of page....

Beyond the Death of Bin Laden: Scott Lucas on the BBC

A couple more interviews are now on-line, with discussion ranging from the significance of Al Qa'eda after the death of Osama bin Laden to the threat of reprisals. Most interesting for me was the final part of the discussion with BBC Hereford and Worcester, when I was asked, "Do you feel less safe than you did on Sunday?", and I had to respond, "I felt safe Sunday. I felt safe yesterday. And I feel safe today" --- for me, the culture of fear has become a permanent spectre matching the supposed importance of bin Laden.

BBC West Midlands: Audio starts at the 37:25 mark

BBC Hereford and Worcester: Audio starts at the 3:20 mark

See also Assessing the Death of Bin Laden: Scott Lucas on the BBC and Al Jazeera English

Bin Laden Follow-Up: Waking Up to the Realities of Pakistan and Iran

Hamid Karzai, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Asif Ali ZardariThe real question now is whether the US and its allies will understand how deeply involved Tehran and Islamabad are in rejuvenating a dying insurgency in Afghanistan and turning it into a formidable force.

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Assessing The Death of Bin Laden: Scott Lucas on the BBC and Al Jazeera English

I've been discussing both the immediate events and the significance beyond the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces on the BBC and Al Jazeera English. I think there is a lot here for debate: by the time of the Al Jazeera English interview --- the most provocative exchange, posing big questions about what is next for the US in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and beyond --- the celebration in America was only dimly heard in the analyses.

BBC WM: Audio begins about the 2:04.45 mark

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire: Audio begins at the start of the programme

Al Jazeera English: I appeared on a special edition of Inside Story this afternoon with Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Islamabad, Ahmad Zeidan, and with Hamid Gul, the former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Video will be posted later.

BBC Midlands Today: Video will be posted later.

Bin Laden Top 10 List: His Death and What's Next

1. His importance to the story of Al Qa'eda can’t be underestimated. Last summer at a private gathering, I heard a journalist who met bin Laden in the 1990s say that he had underestimated bin Laden’s central role, not just as the money man and spiritual leader of the organization but also in determining strategy.

2. Osama bin Laden was no longer central to the continuing threat of Al Qa'eda and AQ-inspired terrorism. 

9/11 ensured that. A massive gamble to shift the status quo in the Middle East, it ultimately shifted the focus of Al Qa'eda, as the organisation dispersed, with its leaders’ priority on survival. Those inspired by Al Qa'eda and bin Laden now in many ways represent the biggest threat.

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Snap Reaction: The Significance of Killing Bin Laden

Will this development make a significant difference? Al Qa'eda's main symbol is now dead, but the movement may already have been dying --- its leadership structure in tatters, and the Muslim world turning away from terrorism and towards democracy, their influence was already waning.

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Video & Transcript: President Obama Announces Death of Osama Bin Laden

OBAMA: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

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