Bin Laden already a ghost since the Arab Spring

An illuminating piece from Robert Fisk summing up why Bin Laden was no longer a major influential figure on the world stage and could be dispensed with at last.

This paragraph struck me as especially pertinent, raising important questions.

But a court would have worried more people than Bin Laden. After all, he might have talked about his contacts with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, or about his cosy meetings in Islamabad with Prince Turki, Saudi Arabia's head of intelligence. Just as Saddam – who was tried for the murder of a mere 153 people rather than thousands of gassed Kurds – was hanged before he had the chance to tell us about the gas components that came from America, his friendship with Donald Rumsfeld, the US military assistance he received when he invaded Iran in 1980.

Indeed.

Let's hope that, if nothing else, Americans can now emerge from their post-9/11 madness, and that those who lost loved ones can find some sort of closure.

What if Bin Laden had stood trial? 'Imprisoned for life, Bin Laden would have been forced to reflect on the wicked crime of killing innocent civilians. He has been spared that fate. Bush, Blair and Obama should reflect whether they too have now killed too many innocent civilians in the name of the war on terror and revert to the rule of law – however difficult that may be.'

Rejoice! The Wicked Witch is dead and America can go back to being nice: Obama offs Osama

So, Obama finishes his hilarious speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner by throwing down the head of Osama Bin Laden, saying, 'Beat that, Donald'.

The Mother of All Prizes, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed by Amurkin troops on this royal wedding weekend, ten years after 9/11.

Following a massive intelligence effort, he was discovered in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad in Pakistan, living with his family in a mega-frakk-off three-story compound cleverly camouflaged by 18 foot walls, hidden among huts in an area populated by goatherds. No subterranean bunker in the mountains, then, living on leaves, lizards and bugs.

Reports say that, this time, no civilians were killed by US Special Forces in keeping with allied custom that includes no arrest, no trial, no witnesses 'in the pursuit of justice'. But there will be T-shirts.

His body was buried at sea 'in accordance with Islamic law and traditions'.

At sea?

Now that the arch-villain of SPECTRE has been nixed, America can go back to being lovely and sweet and a force for good. Allied troops can leave Afghanistan, Libya and all points Middle East, safe in the knowledge that order has been restored and all is right with the world.

For life ain't a tea-party, even if they do now contort themselves to find reasons why this proves Obama done a Bad Thing, which is rich, considering.

And, with that, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin's political careers can be declared as dead in the water as an Al Qaeda leader.

Already the detractors are questioning whether Osama really is dead. Cynics! Photoshop could figure. [UPDATE: that pic has apparently been around for a couple of years and has already been judged inauthentic.]

Danny Baker with an exclusive: @prodnose
LATEST: US team that led raid on Bin Laden HQ: "Assimilation was key to gaining local trust".

Should Jackie Ashley's argument about international law and why targeting Gaddafi for assassination is wrong also apply to Osama Bin Laden?

Robert Fisk says Osama's death is 'pretty irrelevant'.

David Cameron tells Pakistan to fight terrorists we created as he strikes nuclear deal

Getty Images
Prime Minister David Cameron flaunts his ignorance of history. Again. He's only been in the job for a matter of weeks and already is proving himself as gaffe-prone as BP's Tony Harwood.

He's said he would take on China in a nuclear bust-up, stated that Britain played second fiddle to the US in 1940, and now he tells Pakistan it isn't doing enough to combat terrorism:

"To be fair to the Pakistan government, they have made progress in chasing down militants and terrorists in Pakistan that threaten their own country and threaten others. But we need them to do more and we should work with them to do more because as I said yesterday, it's not acceptable to have those within Pakistan who are supporting terrorist groups that can do so much damage to their own country and to British people whether in Afghanistan or back home in Britain."

In India to sell military hardware, Cameron has insulted poor beleaguered Pakistan by tellling them to get their finger out. Considering it was the CIA who trained up Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda forces in the early 1980s during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and then left the region with the problem once the USSR was defeated, it's a stunning bit of hypocrisy for us to be blaming them.

What started as Taliban resistance to the US has now gone national as the Pashtun people have been radicalised by indiscriminate killings. By October 2009, the US had killed 14 Al Qaeda but 700 civilians. That is not a ratio designed to win hearts and minds.

It's us who have brought the Afghanistan war to Pakistan.

As ex-cricketer and former Indian MP Imran Khan said last year:

" ... it’s just a blatant lie. How can they say that Pakistan has to be stabilized and then Afghanistan will become [stable]. Surely, stability in Afghanistan will stabilize Pakistan. In fact, a CIA ex-station chief of Kabul, Graham Fuller, actually wrote in the International Herald Tribune that unless and until NATO leaves Afghanistan, Pakistan is going to descend into radicalization and chaos which is absolutely right, because we had no Taliban in Pakistan."

While Cameron drones on, Imran Khan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to declare the use of drones in his home land illegal.

In his petition, Khan asked the court to declare as illegal and unconstitutional all acts that take away the fundamental rights of citizens, the provision of facilities and logistics to any foreign country, any alliance for mass destruction due to drone attacks inside Pakistani territory. Such acts should also be declared a violation of the United Nations charter, the universal declaration on human rights, international laws and international humanitarian laws. Khan said the respondents should be directed to lodge complaints against the killings of innocent Pakistanis, destruction of their properties and displacement from their homes at appropriate international forums. He also asked the court to direct the respondents to take all preventive measures against the drone attacks to protect the life, liberty, dignity, property and other fundamental rights of citizens.

Back in India, Cameron has just done a nuclear deal worth billions with his hosts. I wonder how his arms shares portfolio is doing.

David Cameron tells Pakistan to fight terrorists we created as he strikes nuclear deal

Getty Images
Prime Minister David Cameron flaunts his ignorance of history. Again. He's only been in the job for a matter of weeks and already is proving himself as gaffe-prone as BP's Tony Harwood.

He's said he would take on China in a nuclear bust-up, stated that Britain played second fiddle to the US in 1940, and now he tells Pakistan it isn't doing enough to combat terrorism:

"To be fair to the Pakistan government, they have made progress in chasing down militants and terrorists in Pakistan that threaten their own country and threaten others. But we need them to do more and we should work with them to do more because as I said yesterday, it's not acceptable to have those within Pakistan who are supporting terrorist groups that can do so much damage to their own country and to British people whether in Afghanistan or back home in Britain."

In India to sell military hardware, Cameron has insulted poor beleaguered Pakistan by tellling them to get their finger out. Considering it was the CIA who trained up Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda forces in the early 1980s during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and then left the region with the problem once the USSR was defeated, it's a stunning bit of hypocrisy for us to be blaming them.

What started as Taliban resistance to the US has now gone national as the Pashtun people have been radicalised by indiscriminate killings. By October 2009, the US had killed 14 Al Qaeda but 700 civilians. That is not a ratio designed to win hearts and minds.

It's us who have brought the Afghanistan war to Pakistan.

As ex-cricketer and former Indian MP Imran Khan said last year:

" ... it’s just a blatant lie. How can they say that Pakistan has to be stabilized and then Afghanistan will become [stable]. Surely, stability in Afghanistan will stabilize Pakistan. In fact, a CIA ex-station chief of Kabul, Graham Fuller, actually wrote in the International Herald Tribune that unless and until NATO leaves Afghanistan, Pakistan is going to descend into radicalization and chaos which is absolutely right, because we had no Taliban in Pakistan."

While Cameron drones on, Imran Khan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to declare the use of drones in his home land illegal.

In his petition, Khan asked the court to declare as illegal and unconstitutional all acts that take away the fundamental rights of citizens, the provision of facilities and logistics to any foreign country, any alliance for mass destruction due to drone attacks inside Pakistani territory. Such acts should also be declared a violation of the United Nations charter, the universal declaration on human rights, international laws and international humanitarian laws. Khan said the respondents should be directed to lodge complaints against the killings of innocent Pakistanis, destruction of their properties and displacement from their homes at appropriate international forums. He also asked the court to direct the respondents to take all preventive measures against the drone attacks to protect the life, liberty, dignity, property and other fundamental rights of citizens.

Back in India, Cameron has just done a nuclear deal worth billions with his hosts. I wonder how his arms shares portfolio is doing.