les pensées insouciantes

But there was no mass outpouring of bin Laden sympathy in countries such as Egypt and Yemen, which are deeply involved in the sweeping regional effort for change known as the Arab Spring. The lack of Arab fury over bin Laden’s demise –- and the continuing focus on change through peaceful protest –- is a sure sign to some regional analysts that bin Laden’s appeal had long since faded. His death may have simply been the coup de grâce, they add.

Bin Laden’s death “comes at a time when Al Qaeda’s narrative is already very much in doubt in the Arab world,” says Martin Indyk, vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“Its narrative was that violence was the way to redeem Arab and honor and dignity,” he said in a conference call with reporters Monday. “But Osama bin Laden and his violence didn’t succeed in unseating anybody.”

(via CSMonitor)

There was this: Hundreds join Quetta rally to honour bin Laden. “Only” 800 people:

Angry participants belonging to a religious party in Quetta, the capital of southwestern province Baluchistan, were led by federal lawmaker Maulawi Asmatullah.

They also torched a US flag before dispersing peacefully. It was the first rally in Pakistan after the United States announced that bin Laden had been killed in an overnight commando mission in Pakistan.

Organisers said between 1,000 and 1,200 people attended the rally, but witnesses put the figure closer to 800.“ Bin Laden was the hero of the Muslim world and after his martyrdom he has won the title of great mujahed (Muslim fighter),” Asmatullah said

(via The Express Tribune) 

And:

Photo: Images of Osama bin Laden are displayed for sale at a market in Quetta May 2. (Naseer Ahmed/Reuters)

(via The Big Picture)

Ed: - Any arsonists among the readership? Got a few spare canisters of napalm lying around? Quetta sounds like a fine target for a shit storm. 800-1200 bin Laden mourners? bin Laden-themed items for sale in the local bazaars? Pluck this cancer of a town from the map.

And from Michael Yon (Emphasis mine. Too early yet. Wait until these pictures are released. For now, color me prudently skeptical that there isn’t the chance for at least some amount of flare-up.):

RE: Reaction to bin Laden Slaying in the Arab World

Let’s see how this plays out. At this point in our hunt, we are basically at the watering hole at dusk seeing who shows up and who’s really still in the fight.

This report is mostly encouraging. If the cult of bin Laden is largely broken, then he’s done. If not, we’ll just continue the fight and eventually we will win.

As Obama administration officials described it, the real breakthrough came when they finally figured out the name and location of Bin Laden’s most trusted courier, whom the Qaeda chief appeared to rely on to maintain contacts with the outside world.

Detainees at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had given the courier’s pseudonym to American interrogators and said that the man was a protégé of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

American intelligence officials said Sunday night that they finally learned the courier’s real name four years ago, but that it took another two years for them to learn the general region where he operated. (As reported by the NYTimes)

The press has been quick to highlight every reported instance of abuse (most of them fiction) and every case where an innocent was detained (comparatively few). At the same time, our leading press organizations, including the New York Times, have either ignored or downplayed the value of the intelligence learned through interrogations at Guantanamo. Yet, it was that intelligence that ultimately led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

Yes, it took time and additional intelligence to piece together the whole picture. But the initial lead came from detainees at Guantanamo – and what a lead it was!

Read the rest here. (via The Weekly Standard)

Previously:

INTERVIEW: HARD NUMBERS ON GITMO FROM JAG LAWYER WHO ACTUALLY PROSECUTED THE TRIALS

More on Guanatanamo

Apparently, the key to the whole operation was finding and tracking Bin Laden’s most trusted courier, a process that took years — and involved info given by Guantanamo detainees.

Also: U.S. officials confirmed that Pakistan was not, in fact, informed before the operation.