The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Since September 11th, 2001, there hasn't been a more hated or hunted after person on the entire world stage as Osama Bin Laden.  After killing nearly 3,000 people he managed to avoid capture or assassination for nearly a decade.  Last night, the news was released that he had finally been slain by American forces.

The news was apparently first announced on Twitter, and there was even information regarding the operation before anyone outside of the people on the mission knew what the operation was or that it was even occurring.  There are reports that someone was tweeting the fact that there was a helicopter hovering over the location Bin Laden was killed live as it happened, and this is now a part of the very intense discussion happening globally this morning.

Other items I'm reading in regards to this story mention that retaliation by Al Qaida is almost absolutely going to occur; that the American forces were at no time expected to bring Bin Laden out alive (that it was in fact a 'kill order'); that the bullet that killed Bin Laden was a shot in the head, with various reports saying he was specifically shot in the left eye; that it was Navy SEALS that killed Bin Laden after a firefight as he attempted to resist capture; his body was buried at sea (read as 'tossed overboard as garbage') at around 2:00 am EST; the operation took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan in a compound which has been at times described as an elegant mansion; and ultimately no Americans were harmed during this operation, though a civilian woman being used as a human shield was slain.  All in all, the mission took approximately 40 minutes and cost American forces one helicopter which developed mechanical problems and crashed, after which it was destroyed in order to keep the high level of secrecy intact.

During President Obama's address to the United States last night, it was revealed that the approximate whereabouts of Bin Laden had been known since August of 2010, and it took until last week for the information to be verified and added to in order to leave no doubt as to where Bin laden was and the fact that it was him.  The order was then apparently issued by President Obama last week, and then executed on May 1st, 2011.  During the President's address, hundreds of people showed up outside the White House, singing the national anthem and cheering for Obama and America in general.

On an ironic note, the death of Osama Bin Laden occurred exactly eight years to the day from when President George W. Bush announced that the war against the terrorists was "Mission Accomplished."  Furthermore, on a more humorous note, the announcement of what may be considered President Obama's biggest victory since taking office cut into the end of Sunday's east coast airing of "Celebrity Apprentice," effectively pulling Donald Trump, possible contender for Republican nominee in 2012, off television sets across North America.

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In other news today, Canadians are holding parliamentary elections today with the count too close to tell who will come out on top, the Royal Wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William garnered approximately 2 billion viewers worldwide on Friday, Justin Bieber has been told he is a security risk according to the airline Qantas, and the death of Osama Bin Laden is expected to ease oil prices globally while raising the Dow Jones Industrial Average.