This is the question the Republican Party has been waiting to ask for four years as part of its strategy to undermine President Obama and his reelection. It began as a group of sore losers after the 2008 election, and ever since there has been every attempt to prevent President Obama’s success. Congress has behaved like a bunch of two-year-olds having an ongoing temper tantrum, screaming, “no, no, no” to everything the President has put forth to solve our nation’s problems. We must send a clear message to Congress and the Republican Party, that obstructive government is no government at all and tell them, emphatically, that we will not have it.

Has President Obama failed you? I think not. He inherited a huge national debt, two wars, massive Wall Street and corporate corruption, wide-scale unemployment, a severely depressed housing market amid mounting foreclosures, a dying American automobile industry, uncontrolled health care costs with the burden of care for the uninsured, plus an era of baby boomers reaching retirement age and straining the already stressed Social Security and Medicare systems.

No, he hasn’t done it all in four years. How could anyone? He said in his 2008 campaign “We can do it,” not “I can do it,” and it will take all of us to do our part. Have you done yours? Vote! Don’t let Big Money buy us, or their lies sway us, or allow them to get away with suppressing votes. Tell the Republicans we have had enough of their BS!

What President Obama has done is miraculous. Thanks to the Affordable Health Care Act, I, as an RN, can get back to caring for patients instead of charge slips and insurance companies.

Osama Bin Laden is dead. The war in Iraq has ended. Our soldiers are pulling out of Afghanistan. If your soldier came home alive, you no doubt know that you are better off.

Thanks to President Obama the auto industry is alive and well. The stimulus has kept capitalism alive. Unemployed workers got extended unemployment benefits. Programs were developed to prevent foreclosures and offer down payment assistance to make homes affordable to those in need and to stimulate the plummeting housing market.

President Obama is fighting to save Medicare and Social Security so our retirement money and care do not become resources for private investors to risk. Thousands of undocumented students will benefit from the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He is committed to protecting the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all of our people, not just the top 2 percent.

Voters I ask you: Who would Martin Luther King Jr., Caesar Chavez, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt vote for? Would they let anyone take their vote away? Go to the polls.

Save yourself. Save your country. Save us all. Vote Barack Obama!

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No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden, is set to be released under the Dutton imprint of Penguin Publishing House next month. Subtitled The Autobiography of a Navy Seal, this book will be the first direct account of the events. Articles published after bin Laden’s death were accounts from officials who had debriefed the members of SEAL Team 6, not the members of the teams themselves.

The book is written by one of the navy seals who participated in the mission firsthand, under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The author was the leader of one of the teams during the mission that killed bin Laden on May 2, 2011. For their protection, the names of all of the SEALs on the mission have been changed. Scheduled television interview will feature the author in disguise, with his voice altered.

Co-author Kevin Maurer is a journalist that has worked for the Navy SEALs six times and is the author of four books.

Penguin plans on printing 300,000 copies for the release on September 11, 2012 and continuing through the holiday season. The book is expected to be a bestseller.

So far, the book is the best kept secret of the company. While described as a “blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen’s life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death” and “an essential piece of modern history” by the publisher, other officials were caught off guard by the announcement.

John Kirby, Navy spokesman, told the New York Times that “The author did not seek Navy support/approval for this book.”

George Little, Pentagon press Secretary, told the Times that “he had not read the book and was unaware that anyone in the department had reviewed it.”

CIA spokesman Preston Golson said “As far as we can determine, this book was not submitted for pre-publication review.”

Tommy Viater, National Security Council spokesman, said “We learned about this book today from press reports,” and added, “We haven’t reviewed it and don’t know what it says.”

It is unclear whether any legal action or attempt to stop the publication will be taken as of this time. This is indeed possible: all 10,000 copies of a book by a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer who described operations in Afghanistan were destroyed before publication because the book hadn’t been reviewed by official.

The book has the potential to impact the upcoming 2012 election, putting one of President Barack Obama’s achievements in the limelight before voters cast their ballots. According to the Washington Post, it may also raise issues on their aggressive campaign toward information leaks, while supposedly allowing the press in on many secrets.

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Mitt Romney has made a strong accusation against President Obama during his speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention; he accused him of leaking confidential information about the military operation that ended with Osama Bin Laden losing his life in order to gain political support.

President Obama, who spoke at the convention on Monday, also criticized Romney; according to the NY Times he painted his political adversary as a “national security neophyte with a dangerous affinity for failed policies of the past.” Even though Obama never mentioned Romney’s name and only criticized him in an indirect way, Mitt Romney has responded with some serious accusations against Obama.

Romney’s accusation was that leaked classified information had been used in recent news reports. In the speech he stated: “Exactly who in the White House betrayed these secrets? Did a superior authorize it?”

Mitt Romney said that these leaks endanger operations in foreign countries and put many Americans at risk. He said that “This conduct is contemptible. It betrays our national interest. It compromises our men and women in the field.” Romney even referred to these leaks as a “national security crisis.”

Romney was referring to two New York Times articles that seem to have come from leaks from the White House. One is called “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will” and the other is “Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran.”

Arizona Senator, John McCain, referred to these articles on June 5 in the Senate, clearly stating: “A really disturbing aspect of this is that one could draw the conclusion from reading these articles that it is an attempt to further the president’s political ambitions for the sake of his reelection at the expense of our national security.”

The White House hasn’t respond at the moment to Romney’s speech and President Obama has rejected these accusations.

Accusing an opponent of leaking information is not new for the Democratic Party, and even the Democratic leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, said that it is possible that the White House has leaked some confidential information. However, she has defended President Obama by clarifying she does not think President Obama, who receives an intelligence briefing every day, is revealing confidential information for political purposes.

Obama defended the White House last month and affirmed that “The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive.”

Ben LaBolt , Obama’s campaign spokesman, said that Romney was using “cheap attacks” against President Obama instead of giving proposals and justifying his foreign policy agenda. Criticsm between both candidates has been a constant in this presidential campaign, from Bain issues to leaking information, and now it is president Obama’s turn to defend himself. Maybe tomorrow it will be Mitt Romney’s turn once again.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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Washington, U.S.A. - As the first anniversary of bin Laden’s death approaches, Robert Weiner, a former Clinton White House spokesman and former communications director for the House Government Operations Committee, and Senior Analyst at Robert Weiner Associates Richard Mann, prove wrong the statements by Mitt Romney, Carl Rove, and other critics that “any president” would have given the order that launched the raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year.

They contrast Bush’s 2001 outsourcing a raid on Bin Laden’s 2001 Tora Bora location to the Afghanis who failed — on purpose or through ineptness — to Obama’s U.S. solo action in Abbottabad, Pakistan that succeeded when Obama did not reveal or leak the strategy.

Weiner and Mann document their claim with information from a 2009 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Report, “Tora Bora Revisited: How we Failed to Get Bin Laden.”

Weiner and Mann say, “When placed in a similar situation with parallel choices, George W. Bush, Obama’s predecessor, failed to succeed because he made the opposite decision. In December 2001, Bush had the chance to capture Bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, was faced with the choice of doing it ourselves or involving a foreign government, and asked the Afghanis to do it. Whether by ineptness or intent, the Afghani troops allowed bin Laden to escape.”

Weiner and Mann show how Obama’s approach was totally different: “When Obama was questioned as why he did not inform the Pakistanis in advance about Abbottabad, he said, ‘I didn’t tell most people here in the White House. I didn’t tell my own family. It was that important for us to maintain operational security.’

When asked during the 2006 presidential campaign debates what he would do with ‘actionable intelligence’, he said he would have the United States ‘act unilaterally’ rather than in consort with foreign intelligence if necessary to capture bin Laden. That’s precisely what he did, as the President restated at a White House news conference.”

Weiner and Mann cite the 2009 Senate Foreign Relations Committee report: “The Committee says its review ‘removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora.” The Committee Chair expressed the “hope that we can learn from the mistakes of the past.” “Obama did,” say Weiner and Mann.

“Obama recognized that bin Laden’s compound could not exist without local and likely some kind of government cooperation.

“During the years after the Tora Bora debacle, the Bush administration went even further in the opposite direction from Obama’s later actions. Bush closed the CIA’s unit on bin Laden. In contrast, Obama reprioritized the search for bin Laden. Bush said, ‘I truly am not that concerned about him. I am deeply concerned about Iraq. I really don’t spend that much time on him, to be honest with you.’ Likewise, Governor Romney said he ‘would not move heaven and earth’ to get bin Laden.

“The notion recently raised by Carl Rove, Condoleezza Rice, and Dick Cheney that Bush deserves a share of the credit for Obama’s bin Laden operation is ridiculous and should be recognized as sour grapes.

“Obama’s team had as key players Vice President Joe Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former Senate Armed Services Committee member, and their emphasis on using intelligence and special operations over a large military footprint ultimately proved successful. Despite 100,000 troops and another 100,000 contractors, the Taliban actually grew stronger.

It was the surgical raid by a small team that defeated the man behind the 9/11 attacks. “It is time to ask the Republicans and other critics if they have any real alternative that would have succeeded as Obama did in taking down Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki, or Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi or for that matter, on domestic policy, where Obama reversed the Bush bleeding of 750,000 jobs per month, rescued the auto industry and the nation’s financial institutions, and put the country back to 26 straight months of increased jobs and GDP.”

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Tuesday night, President Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The key agreement signed in Kabul by the two presidents defines the relations between United States and Afghanistan and the US military presence in the country after 2014, when the last NATO-led troops are due to leave.

Obama’s surprise visit comes exactly on the one-year anniversary of the raid that led to the killing of Al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan.

“Together, we’re now committed to replacing war with peace,” Obama said after signing the agreement. “With this agreement I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them,” he added.

“I’m here to affirm the bond between our two countries and to thank Americans and Afghans who have sacrificed so much over these last ten years,” the U.S. President stated after the signing ceremony. “Neither Americans nor the Afghan people asked for this war yet for a decade we’ve stood together.”

The occasion was called as “a historic moment for our two nations”.

By signing the agreement after months of negotiations, the United States guarantees to Afghanistan its sovereignty, assuring also their support after the withdrawal of the military force from the country.

During his visit to Bagram Air Field, addressing to U.S. troops President Obama said, “I know the battle’s not yet over. Some of your buddies are going to get injured. And some of your buddies may get killed. And there’s going to be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. But there is a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you made.”

At 7.30 p.m. EST, 4 a.m. in Afghanistan, Obama delivered a live address to the Nation.

“My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon.” he said in speech excerpts released in advance of his televised delivery by the White House.

“The Iraq War is over,” he added. “We have a clear path to fulfill our mission in Afghanistan, while delivering justice to al-Qaida.”

“Last year, we removed 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more of our troops coming home. And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.”

Referring to the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he added, “As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it is time to renew America … a united America of grit and resilience, where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan, and we build our future as one people, as one nation.”

This visit to Afghanistan and the signature of the U.S. Afghanistan agreement, emphasized by the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, are aimed to underline the commitment  of the Obama administration for ending the war and supporting democracy in Afghanistan. Just the right move at a crucial time for a president who wishes to be re-elected, but how this event might affect the voters is yet to be seen.

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On April 2, the U.S. government offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Hafeez Saeed, the spiritual chief of Pakistan’s Lashkar-i-Taiba militant group and an alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

A yearlong investigation by ProPublica and PBS’ Frontline explored the role of American David Coleman Headley in planning the three-day raid by gunmen of Lashkar-i-Taiba supported by Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI.

As Propublica reported, Headley revealed that Saeed helped plan the Mumbai attacks. He credited Saeed for inspiring him to jihad and, after his arrest, told interrogators about Saeed’s ties to Pakistani intelligence. “He is very close to ISI,” Headley said of Saeed. “He is well protected.” (For more, see the complete coverage.) The U.S. State Department also offered a reward for Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, another senior Lashkar boss.

The announcements show how much U.S-Pakistani relations have deteriorated as the Obama administration has taken a harder line with Islamabad. When Headley was indicted in late 2009 for conducting reconnaissance for the attacks that killed 166 people, U.S. authorities tried to avoid diplomatic tensions by refraining from publicly identifying Lashkar masterminds involved in the deaths of six Americans and other Westerners as well as Indians in Mumbai.

Last year, U.S. prosecutors indicted midlevel Lashkar chief Sajid Mir, an ISI officer named Major Iqbal and two other accused plotters. Prosecutors detailed the ISI’s central role in the attacks during a federal trial in Chicago of an accomplice of Headley.

The case, along with the discovery of Osama bin Laden in a military garrison town, raised alarming questions about the ISI’s support for terrorism and escalated tensions with Pakistan.Although U.S. prosecutors have not indicted Saeed, the offer of the reward is clearly intended to increase pressure on Lashkar, the ISI and the Pakistani government.

Saeed is a powerful public figure in Pakistan and has held mass rallies in recent months in which he denounced the West and India.Pakistani authorities have occasionally placed him under brief house arrest, but Western and Indian counterterror officials say he continues to run Lashkar with the support and protection of the Pakistani government.

Pakistani authorities have also refused to arrest Mir, Major Iqbal and other suspects despite abundant evidence against them. Their whereabouts, like Saeed’s, are well-known.

The trial in Pakistan of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Lashkar’s military chief, and a few others charged in the Mumbai case has stalled. As ProPublica reported last year, Lakhvi continues to lead the group from jail and authorities have refused to confiscate his cell phone despite a direct appeal from a senior U.S. official to the director of the ISI.

“This is a name-and-shame tactic directed at two of the most public figures in Lashkar,” said Stephen Tankel, an American University professor and author of the book “Storming the World Stage” about the group. “It appears to be part of a long-term effort to exert pressure on the Pakistani government.”

by Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, April 3, 2012, 2:22 p.m.

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When it comes to political discourse and social protests, social media has changed the landscape.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Youtube have provided outlets for the average person to vent, pontificate, and act as pseudo-journalists on all subjects.

Very often, a video or posting on Twitter and Facebook goes viral as people that agree or disagree forward and re-post the the original posting.  Such was the case after President Obama’s State of the Union speech. In the wake of the president’s speech, a list of his accomplishments went viral on Facebook.

Similar to a popular website that details real and imagined accomplishments of our current president, the list gives a rosy picture of the current state of the Obama administration.   The problem with the new tools of social media, however, is that the authors often have conclusions based more on emotion and ideology rather than facts, and readers often do not check the facts.

Below is a list of things that went viral on Facebook the night of the speech.  In response is a second list that offers an alternative view with links to real factual data.

My President: A Liberal View

1. Osama Bin Laden… check
2. Unemployment rate 8.5 percent… check.
3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help… check
.
4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help… check.
5. Ended war in Iraq… check.
6. DADT repeal… check.
7. Not one tax hike in 3 years… check.
8. Brought out racism in the GOP… check.
9. Still carries 80 percent of the black vote… check.
10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs… check.
11. Can flat out sing… check.
12. Saved auto industry and 1.5 million jobs… check.
13. Assisted in ousting Ghaddafi… check.
14. Only active president to receive Nobel Peace Prize while in office… check.
15. Mortgage modification to prevent homeowners from losing their homes… check.
16. STILL fighting for middle class families… check.
17. Reform affordable healthcare… check.

Rosy, indeed. I decided to put together a more comprehensive and fact-based list.

My President: A Realistic View

1. Killed Osama Bin Laden… check.
2. Net loss of two million jobs… check.
3. Unemployment rate of 15 percent for his biggest fans, African-Americans… check.
4. Had the House and Senate majorities and still could not get his own people (Democrats) to back all his ideas. Seeks blame elsewhere… check.
5. Campaigned against $500 billion deficit created by President Bush, but increased deficit to 1.4 trillion in under two years… check.
6. Spent more money in two years than all of the previous presidents combined… check.
7. Increased debt to $15 trillion… check.
8. Has left my goddaughter and all newborn Americans a debt load of $50,000 per person before they even get out of diapers… check.
9. Uncovered the left and African-Americans’ obsession with racism as a shield against his own failures… check.
10. Race relations worse than in 50 years… check.
11. Still carries 80 percent of the black vote, proving African-Americans will support anyone that is black and has a “D” after their name… check.
12. Proves that African-Americans no longer care about the content of one’s character, but the color of one’s skin and political party… check.
13. Still protects Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the causes of the financial collapse… check.
14. Received Nobel Prize before taking office. Sends 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, violates Pakistan’s borders to kill Bin Laden, and increases drone strikes. I do not have a problem with any of that, but I am not sure that is what the Nobel “PEACE” panel had in mind… check.
15. Mortgage modification plan to help homeowners, who bought houses they should not have, keep their homes.  Plan has not worked… check.
16. Fighting with unions to stop jobs in South Carolina. Fighting against unions to stop jobs with Keystone oil project. Still not helping middle class, but talks a good game… check.
17. Unconstitutional power grab to force me to buy health insurance that is more expensive… check.
18. Second worse president after Jimmy Carter… double check.

Which list is correct? The truth lies not with the information in the lists itself, but in how you wish to view the president. The first is one that ignores a lot because of a liking for President Obama. The second is not personal, but uncovers a deep truth about what has transpired in the last three years.

At the end of the day, the primary questions that remain is if America is better off today than it was three years ago, and will what has transpired be financially viable in the future. It does not take a dislike of the president to answer that question. It takes a $10 calculator and a dose of common sense, which leaves a very unpalatable taste in your mouth, especially if you voted for President Obama the first time.

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TLC’s groundbreaking series, “All-American Muslim”, explores the lasting impact the tragedy of 9/11 has had on the cast and their community, as they also experience a backlash by some of their fellow Americans because of their faith. This revealing installment is arguably the most nuanced and complex view about the terror attacks from the American Muslim perspective ever seen on television.

The episode, The Day the World Changed, centers on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Whether it is Deputy Chief Mike Jaafar focusing on the safety of his officers, while reflecting on the loss of first responders a decade ago; or Lila Amen participating in a city-wide public memorial service, but without her children who refuse to go; or Bilal and Shadia Amen making a visit to Ground Zero to see “the place that changed his life” – there is a wide array of reactions and responses to the tragic events brought on by Osama bin Laden.

“When I first heard it was a Muslim extremist that had done this, immediately, my thought like every other Muslim’s thought was these people are not Muslim. Who are these people? Where did they come from? I’ve never heard of the Taliban. I’ve never heard of Osama bin Laden,” says Nina Bazzy in the episode. “They’ve labeled themselves as Muslim. But they are not Muslim. A real Muslim would never do anything like that.”

This powerhouse installment of the series is receiving advance praise from a diverse range of influential voices.

“All-American Muslim” offers us a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of our Muslim neighbors and experience the pain and suffering they have endured, not just once, but twice, ” said Reverend Dr. Katharine Henderson , President of Auburn Seminary in New York. “The first time because terrorists attacked their country on 9/11, and the second time because some fellow Americans turned on them, simply because of their religion, which is absolutely unacceptable.”

“At a time when perceptions of Muslims are at an all-time low, “All-American Muslim” has managed to flip the switch and help many Americans see the commonalities we share with one another,” said Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith Youth Core and a member of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships advisory council.  ”By showing the gray areas, not just the black and the white, the series has laid bare the complex and valid range of emotions that these families have experienced over the past ten years. And, instead of sound bites, this nuance adds value by showing very real, very human responses to the events that changed our world.”

Another hot-button subject is touched upon as Bilal and Shadia go to NYC to visit tattoo artist Ami James, of NY Ink fame. Bilal worries that Ami’s past in the Israeli military may become a source of friction between them.

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Though it will appear in libraries under the nonfiction section, the United States Special Operations Command is claiming the book, SEAL Target Geronimo, is false. In former Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer’s novel, Osama Bin Laden died a much more controversial death. He claims that, contrary to the official story released by U.S. officials, the SEAL team broke into the compound and killed bin Laden within 90 seconds.

“It’s just not true,” U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye said to the Associated Press. “It’s not how it happened.” In the official account of the operation, SEAL troops stormed the Pakistan compound on May 1, in the midst of a firefight. From there, troops found where Bin Laden was hiding, killing him.

In a conference held on May 3, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced details of the event. “The team methodically cleared the compound, moving from room to room, in an operation lasting nearly forty minutes,” he read. “They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation…”

Pfarrer’s book has been on Amazon’s Top 20 Books sales list, as reported by the Associated Press. According to the report, he has also been featured on many media programs, including Fox News and CNN. In an interview with Good Day LA on Nov. 10, Pfarrer defended his book and the stance he took in it.

“Getting Osama Bin Laden off the street is a laudable and good goal, but the men and women who supported this operation and the valiant SEALS who carried it out deserve better than to have this shabby story of the ground-up assault and a murder in a bedroom,” he said. “History deserves the truth. The American public deserves the truth and the SEALS who carried this out deserve it.”

Pfarrer is also the author of Warrior Sould: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL. He is also contributed to many works in Hollywood. He is a writer and producer for Navy Seals, Darkman, Hard Target, The Jackal, Virus, and Red Planet. Since the official narrative was launched, the White House has had to modify the statements. The Defense Department released the following statement, as reported by Politico.

“In the room with Bin Laden, a woman – Bin Laden’s wife – rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed,” the brief statement said. “Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed.” Originally, the narrative read that Bin Laden was armed and his wife was killed.

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On Wednesday, Michael Moore appeared on “The View” to promote his new book, “Here Comes Trouble.” Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck wasted no time, pouncing on the Academy Award winning film-maker. In May, following the death of Osama bin Laden, Moore was outspoken about the death.

He criticized the way the United States handled the death, calling it an “execution” and saying that America had “lost something of our soul” by not trying him for his crimes. Hasselbeck interrupted Moore halfway through his first sentence. “I think that we did a very smart thing putting the Nazis on trial,” he began.

“That was after the war was over,” Hasselbeck cut in. The war is over,” Moore said. “Michael, we’re still at war!” she snapped. “No, we’re not, actually,” Moore snapped back. He said that the U.S. has spent countless time and money fighting things that have “nothing to do with the real threat,” and that the country should not be in Afghanistan.

“My point is that the way we show the world that we’re different is that we give even the most heinous person their day in court,” he said. “You’re telling me Osama bin Laden deserves a trial?” an outraged Hasselbeck replied. “Where? In New York City? Absolutely not! How dare — and why, because Casey Anthony’s trial went so well?”

“What are we afraid of?” Moore said. “We’re Americans, man!”

“Our rights are not afforded to him!” Hasselbeck shot back. The argument continued until a reluctant Whoopi Goldberg was forced to cut to a commercial. In other news, Moore is offering signed copies of his new book. If you order the book online through one of three independent bookstores in Northern Michigan, you will get a signed copy.

There is no additional fee for the signed book. This book contains two dozen short stories and is the most personal work Moore has done.

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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The anniversary of 9/11 reminded many of the tragic events that occurred 10 years ago but also reminds the country that terrorism has yet to see its end. The country realized that it still faces threats after the chatter of an “unconfirmed but credible” attack on the 10^th anniversary by Al Qaeda.

Sunday, September 11^th brought thousands of families and public figures together to commemorate those who lost their lives with the opening of the official memorial in New York City. The same weekend the city was put on heightened alert over suspicion that three men were brought into the country sometime in February and were planning an attack using bombs in vehicles.

Despite the rumors, everyone continued with the commemorating and remembrance. The weekend came and went without any attack by terrorists, leaving the country relieved, but the disturbing message from Al Qaeda still resonates. Ayman al-Zawahiri who is the newest leader of Al Qaeda after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, had a message to America regarding the attacks on September 11^th 2001.

Three weeks before the anniversary a 12-minute video was released of al-Zawahiri, praising the attacks of 9/11 as a “devastating blow” to the United States. Al- Zawahiri continued that the attack, “destroyed the symbol of American economy in New York and the symbol of American military might in the Pentagon.”

The jihadist websites that contained this footage showed videos of Osama Bin Laden as well. Al-Zawahiri also addressed what the attack meant for the group — being an event that “liberated thousands of the members of the Islamic movement’s prisoners, who were imprisoned by direct orders from America.”

Al-Zawahiri pushed for extremist leaders throughout the world to continue targeting the United States. “America today is staggering,” said Zawahiri. “Hunt her down wherever you may encounter her. Hunt her down to cut what is left of her corruption’s tail.” He also wanted to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden and said the “time to attack is now.”

He continued by referring to the United States as a “murderous country.” Despite these threats by al-Qaeda, U.S counter-terrorism unit believes that the group is far from its strength under Osama Bin Laden. An official said, “Al-Zawahiri has not demonstrated strong leadership skills in the past and he is much less charismatic than bin Laden.”

David Patraeus, the director of the CIA also weighed in on Al- Zawahrir’s influence compared to Bin Laden’s saying, “Bin Laden’s demise might weaken Al Qaeda from within, because bin Laden’s personality and aura were a key for raising money for the world jihad group, and without him, the group’s worldwide network might fall apart under his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri.” He also included, “Ayman al-Zawahiri is no Osama bin Laden.”

It is reassuring to know that Osama Bin Laden is no longer running Al Qeada, but it is disturbing to see that hate and evil continues on even after his death and terror remains in America’s thoughts.

Anthony Correia / Shutterstock.com

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Officials in Pakistan received a letter stating the Taliban’s plot to kidnap a high-ranking government official with the intention of exchanging him or her for bin Laden’s family. U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden, former terror chief, in May during a helicopter-borne raid in north-western Pakistan. The raid took place in one of bin Laden’s homes where he was hiding.

Focused on killing bin Laden, the U.S. Seals took his dead body from the compound but left at least two of his wives and several children in the home. Soon after the family members were detained by the Pakistani authorities, according to the Associated Press. Pakistan’s interior ministry received the letter, which warned of the kidnapping plot, on August 23.

An AP reporter obtained a copy of the letter, stamped “secret” on Friday. The letter said that the kidnapping warning was reliable. No information on specifically which Pakistani official the Taliban plans to kidnap was given. The letter did say that the kidnapping plot would most likely take place in one of Pakistan’s four provincial capitals – Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.

The letter was received by Pakistan just three days before Shahbaz Taseer, the son of a weathly provincial governor, was killed by Islamist militant on August 26.

The New York Times reported that Shahbaz’s father and former governor of Punjab Province, Salman Taseer, was killed in January in Islamabad. The assassin, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, who was one of Salman’s security guard, later said the killing of Salman was because of the governor’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

The deaths of Taseer father and son are not the only recent high-profile kidnappings that have taken place. Another abduction occurred in Lahore in August. The AP reported that on August 15, gunmen seized 70-year-old American aid expert, Warren Weinstein, from his house. Weinstein remains missing. The police declined to speculate on who may be holding the man.

Minister Rehman Malik said that there is no clear connention between the recent kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer’s and the plot on to free bin Laden’s family. This is not the first time Pakistan has dealt with serious kidnapping plots by the Taliban. Pakistan has reportedly released Taliban prisoners before in exchange for kidnapped government officials as well as army officers, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, The Huffington Post reported that Pakistani police are preventing foreign journalists and other visitors from getting close to the house of bin Laden ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Danish Ambassador to Pakistan and his wife as well as two French journalists, were among several people detained this week in Abbottabad – the town where bin Laden’s last hideout was located.

They were held briefly before being allowed to leave.  Ambassador Uffe Wolffhechel said he asked security officers at a checkpoint on the road to bin Laden’s house whether he and his wife could get in viewing range of the compound and “they said ‘we are sorry, no,’ and we shook hands and said ‘have a nice day’.”

The Huffington Post reported that Wolffhechel and his wife were held for around two hours while officers checked their papers. Karim Khan, Abbottabad police officer, said the authorities were preventing journalists and foreigners from visiting the compound because it is regarded as evidence in investigations into how bin Laden lived there and how the CIA found him.
Asianet-Pakistan / Shutterstock.com

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The US Homeland Security Department has acknowledged a ‘credible and specific’ report that al Qaeda is planning to blow up infrastructure in New York on the anniversary of the national tragedy that struck the United States 10 years ago on September 11.

New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg told the press that the intelligence of the threat was uncorroborated but because of the nature of the situation, nobody was willing to take chances. “We know the terrorists regard the anniversary as an opportunity to strike again. We do live in a world where we must take these threats seriously,” Bloomberg said according to British newspaper The Guardian.

Intelligence agencies are behind the warning. To the Huffington Post, a US intelligence official said, “US counterterrorism entities have been alert for any leads, and for the first time we’ve received specific and credible – but unconfirmed – threat information linked to the 9/11 anniversary.

Any and all leads related to possible plots are of course being run to ground, and the US will bring every resource to bear to ensure the security of the American people.” The assistant director of the FBI in New York, Janice Fedarcyk, told The Guardian that initial suspicion was raised during the raid at Abbottabad, Pakistan that killed Osama Bin Laden.

The obtained intelligence showed that al-Qaida had an interest in several important dates – including 9/11. President Barack Obama has requested redoubled effort from the counter-terrorism forces in order to clarify the nature of the threat and Fedarcyk was sure to stress that “sometimes this reporting is credible and warrants intense focus, other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to relate to real plots that are underway.”

Citizens of New York will have to deal with tightened security around the city. Sky News reports that extra police will carry out checks on cars around tunnels and bridges while there will be more bag inspections on the subway and more resources put into radiation and bomb monitoring.

Mayor Bloomberg said that while the authorities are taking additional measures to protect the city in anticipation of the weekend, he would like New Yorkers to go about their business as usual. “The best thing we can do to fight terror is to refuse to be intimidated by it.

For the past 10 years we have not allowed terrorists to intimidate us, we have lived out lives without fear and we will continue to do so,” said Bloomberg.
Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock.com

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Twitter is causing controversy among athletes with every passing day. In a time where two major American sporting leagues are in Lockouts, the teams really have no authority over the players and what they can say on the web.

In fact, thanks to the first amendment to the United States Constitution, they really have no right to monitor what players want to say at all and yet we see hefty fines given all the time. Are these penalties fair? Should teams have control over what their players can and can not say on their own time? We may see a change in how these situations are approached in the near future.

Twitter is a great way for athletes to connect with their fans on a personal basis, which is something many generations of sports lovers were unable to achieve until now.

Unfortunately, these sports stars are not held to the same social standards as the everyday tweeter. It seems to be the price to pay that if you want to be famous, you also have to accept the fact that you will be scrutinized in every public aspect of your life. The keyword there is public.

Some athletes don’t seem to understand where to draw the line between public and private thoughts, and thus some of their more infamous tweets have landed them in hot water.

Let’s take it back to the beginning. Charlie Villanueva was one of the first NBA stars to join twitter. It soon spiraled into an obsession. During halftime of a Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics game, the famous “@CV31” tweeted, “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”

Players tweeting during games is going way too far. Unfortunately, as I said, this was only the beginning.

Later that year, Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith was questioned for having association with the famous Bloods street gang for using some controversial language in his tweets.

In May, while much of the world was debating over the death of Osama Bin Laden, some athletes decided it would be wise for them to chime in. Not the best idea.

Without throwing these guys under the bus (although their twitter names are easy enough to find) guys like Rashard Mendenhall and Chris Douglas-Roberts decided to speak out on the matter, leading to a ton of flac from the sports community.

Mendenhall lost a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Champion thanks to his brutal honesty.

I do respect the fact that everybody has their own opinion. I also respect the fact that everyone should have the same right to speak in a public forum such as the internet. If this were not true, it would violate everything the United States stands for. I almost feel bad for these athletes that take so much heat for saying how they feel.

Now that I got my disclaimer out of the way, I have to be completely honest. People, athletes specifically, but people in general, should probable realize when certain words will get them into trouble. Maybe every popular athlete in this day and age needs a publicist. Maybe they just shouldn’t be on twitter at all, but it’s a bit late for that. In all honesty, if they would just read over every tweet before they send it out and ask themselves “what is everybody going to think about this?” they probably wouldn’t be feeling such repercussions.

Lately, rumors have been that teams will soon put some kind of general rules into place regarding social media. This would probably be a wise idea if not for the fact that the leagues will be walking a fine line between saving their organization from embarrassment, and taking away the constitutional rights of their players.

In the end, I just have a few sentences to say to the troubled tweeters.

Dear athletes,

I understand that you want to connect with us. You want to be able to show who you really are as opposed to those twenty second media clips we see after games. You want to be able to reach out to the people that come out and watch you play and cheer you on. I get that, and I couldn’t support you more.

I just please ask you to do one thing and one thing only before you reach out to us:

PROOFREAD.

Sincerely,

The fans, the media, journalists, kids, parents, your endorsers, your team officials…well you get the point.

Annette Shaff / Shutterstock.com

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Macbeth, at his darkest, described life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. I can reveal, however, that because he was a timeless genius, Shakespeare was really describing Barack Obama’s June 22 speech on Afghanistan.

From the very first sentence, the aim of the President’s oratory was deception. “Nearly 10 years ago” he began, “America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor”. First line, first mistake. The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor – a historical event entangled in emotion, intended to invoke the myth of a golden age of United States military power saving the world from evil – was not an attack on US “shores”. Pearl Harbor was a military base in a foreign country (Hawaii) that the United States had annexed in 1897.

“We forget that in the crossroads of the ancient world, the graveyard of empires, it is not just “1500 [Americans] who have given their lives in Afghanistan”, but at least twenty times as many Afghans.”

“Our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan Obama continued. Following the awful crime of September 11 2001 it was not “Al Qaeda” that the US struck, but the men, women and children of Afghanistan. During the first couple of months of the bombing campaign that began on October 7, Professor Mark Herold of the University of New Hampshire concludes, NATO’s air force murdered 3000-3400 innocent civilians. Alone this exceeds the death toll of the 9/11 high-jackers.

President Obama proceeded to quote an unnamed soldier on the (illegal) assassination of Osama Bin-Laden: “the message is we don’t forget”. The ten years of war in Afghanistan, the deaths of thousands of civilians, and a state ordered killing were, so the President said, “a victory for all who have served since 9/11”. Like an Ancient Greek revenge hero, the president admitted that the motivation had been retribution, not justice.

It is hardly surprising that the policies announced along with this tale of sound of fury were just as disingenuous and divorced from reality. The US will withdraw 10000 troops from Afghanistan this year, and a further 20000 by next summer. It will also, so Obama says, complete a total withdrawal by 2014. Asking the Afghans when they would like foreign forces to withdraw is not even considered. The US, and the United Kingdom, will withdraw troops from Afghanistan, but there will not be a total withdrawal. Like Bahrain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, Afghanistan will be home to Western military bases for many years to come.

It was these military bases that, along with propping up the Hosni Mubaraks (“not a dictator” – B. Obama 2011) of the Middle East, and support for Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, motivated the attacks of 9/11 in the first place. Nonetheless, journalists have largely greeted this “tale told by an idiot” with glee. Anne Penketh, a blogger for the UK’s leading left-liberal newspaper The Independent, ebulliently announced: “He’s back! President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan could well mark the moment he got his presidency back”. The speech contained the “boldness that has been lacking in his foreign policy choices” she observed. Given that President Obama has been conducting 4-6 wars consistently since he took office, one fear to ask just what constitutes “boldness” in Ms. Penketh’s book.

The war in Afghanistan is officially the longest in US history. It equals the lengths of the First and Second World Wars combined. So long has it been that we forget the Taliban’s offer to hand over Osama Bin Laden in 2001. We forget that the war has always been illegal. We forget that in the crossroads of the ancient world, the graveyard of empires, it is not just “1500 [Americans] who have given their lives in Afghanistan”, but at least twenty times as many Afghans. We forget that we don’t count the bodies of our victims. Out, out brief candle.

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It has been about 10 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Even though its been ten years, Ground Zero has not been forgotten and continues to move forward. Proposed in 2006, New York City is building the Freedom Tower, which will be the city’s new commercial building. The building is not suppose to replace the twin towers, but instead it is built for remembrance of those who lost their lives and it is a symbol of the power of America. With an estimated completion in 2013, the World Trade Center will now consist of five different buildings and areas with the hopes of creating an economic boost for the United States. There will be five new skyscrapers, a September 11^th memorial and museum, a transportation hub, retail complex, and a center of performing arts. The site will be built with some of the worlds most famous architects including; David Childs and Santiago Calatrava with hopes of creating a substantiate and safe World Trade Center.

The first tower will soar over 1, 776 feet over New York City, making it Americas tallest building. It will be known as the Freedom Tower and will be the main office space of the new design. The second tower will be 1, 349 feet and will be composed of the Performing Arts Center topped off with an eighty foot antenna. The last three towers will all rise around 900 feet with restaurants, memorials, and more. Besides the Freedom Tower, the memorial for September 11^th will be the most significant of the project with two pools that will stand in place of where the twin towers use to be. It will have two waterfalls, which will soon be the two biggest man made waterfalls of all time. All 3,000 lives that were taken on the attacks will be engraved around the edges of the pool. This will recognize the lives lost from the trade centers, the pentagon, and the plane crashes. Any visitors of the memorial and museum will go through a series of experiences in order to get the full effect of the tragedy.

“The design strives to make visible of what is absent,” stated Micheal Arad, one of the architects on the project. He stresses the main goal of the new World Trade Center is the remembrance of the lives lost. Even though it has been over ten years, and with the recent passing away of Osama Bin Laden, fear is still a factor in terrorist attacks in New York City. The World Trade Center’s other main goal, because of this, is safety. Some of the primary safety precautions of the new site include; fireproofing, structural stability, chemical air filters, wider staircases for evacuating, safer elevators, three feet deep concrete walls for refugee in case of attack, and an extra staircase for fire fighters. The site developer, Larry Silivstein, states that it will be one of the biggest and most expensive projects that America has ever seen, with hopes of healing the agony the terrorists left on the United States. The project is estimated to cost over two billion dollars, using some of the most expensive materials and designers.

Ten years ago, the largest tragedy hit the United states and now, ten years later, the largest memorial will be built. The new World Trade Center project could never and will never replace the twin towers. Instead, it will keep the lives lost remembered and honored. Wars, attacks, and millions of lives lost have been working towards this goal for years. The Freedom Tower will become a new symbol for the United States just as Lady Liberty has become. The new tower represents our country’s ability to move forward and to overcome all evil.

Image Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722563@N05/

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RATKO MLADIC has been arrested. Here’s what did not happen: a team of 79 members of the Bosnian special forces – on the orders of the Bosnian government – did not helicopter into Serbia, without the permission or knowledge of the Serbian government, and execute him with a bullet to the head. That’s what did not happen.

There are some very good reasons why that did not happen. The first is that it would not only have been illegal, but detrimental to the very concept of law. The second is that it would have damaged an already tender relationship between Bosnia and Serbia, thus potentially risking the lives of many innocent people. The third is that it would have been immoral for a government to execute a man without trial, against the principle of universal human rights (particularly as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights articles 10 and 11). The fourth is, very simply, that the United States was not involved. When the United States assassinated Osama Bin Laden on May 1st, this is exactly what happened.

Ratko Mladic was allegedly responsible for war crimes just as serious as Bin Laden’s. He was a leading figure of the Bosnian Serb army during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, and in particular he is suspected of having been directly responsible for the Srebrenica massacre of 7,500 Muslim men in July 1995. He will be tried in The Hague.

Living, as I do, in London, I must ask what the UK government has to say about this. Foreign Secretary William Hague, commenting on the arrest, said that this ‘historic moment” would bring “belated justice for [Mladic's] victims”. I must also ask why exactly William Hague’s opinions on justice have changed so radically in the past month. After the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, Mr Hague “congratulated” the United States, praising President Obama’s proclamation that “justice has been done”. Needless to say, this is fundamental hypocrisy. Either justice lies in cold blooded illegal state assassination, or it lies in arrest and trial.

“If we believe in the most basic of moral principles, we will surely conclude that assassinating suspected criminals without trial is an abrogation of universal human rights, and therefore unconscionable.”

Geoffrey Robertson QC, following the May 1st assassination, made the very modest point that the West correctly “insisted upon judgement at Nuremberg” for the Nazi leadership, and that this has “confounded Holocaust-deniers ever since”. His conclusion on Bin Laden’s assassination is rather more convincing than Mr. Hague’s: “it is absurd to claim that justice has been done”.

If we believe in the most basic of moral principles, we will surely conclude that assassinating suspected criminals without trial is an abrogation of universal human rights, and therefore unconscionable. The arrest of Mladic is clearly a victory for international justice. Yet we must also ask why it is that individuals responsible for crimes just as heinous as Ratko Mladic and Osama Bin Laden are given a completely free pass. Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli general and Prime Minister from 2001-2006, is strongly suspected of responsibility for the 1973 Yom-Kippur war, and the massacre of 3,500 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Rifaat al-Assad, the man directly responsible for the murder of 20,000 Sunni Muslims during the Hama Massacre of 1982, is currently living in Mayfair. Those who have denied Serbia membership of the EU on the basis of its failure to capture Mladic, have been unwittingly calling for the expulsion of the United Kingdom. Quite clearly, our own leadership does not believe in the most basic of moral principles.

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The relationship among United States and Pakistan  was damaged at a certain degree, due to the fact that Osama bin Laden was found in Pakistan.

Yesterday, the United States senator, John Kerry democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, landed in Islamabad. He claimed that the ties between both countries were severely damaged, but he emphasized that this situation was needed to be treat in an adequate and careful manner, since a good, and stable relationship is crucial for both sides. During his visit, he claimed that both countries had agreed to: “ work together in future actions, against of great value objectives in Pakistan”.

In his visit he made clear his position. “ I did not came to apologize, for what I consider a triumph against terrorism without precedents, but I came to talk about how we should manage this significant relationship”, stated yesterday Kerry.

In a report taken from the Associated Press, Kerry expressed the following:

“The important thing is to understand that major, significant events have taken place in last days that have a profound impact on what we have called the war on terror, a profound impact on our relationship as a result,” Kerry said.

He added, “We need to find a way to march forward if it is possible. If it is not possible, there are sets of downside consequences that can be profound.” Both countries are strategic partners and have a strong dependence on each other. They both share the same enemy, which is terrorism. The senator added: “ Both have sacrificed so much, that there is no pint to allow a relationship break up “.

Kerry added that he counted with the backup and support of the President Barack Obama. He made clear, that the strategic solutions to improve the bilateral relations would be based on the actions taken, rather than words.

The senator Kerry, acted as a very important figure since it is the first American that visits Pakistan after the Geronimo Operation, which lead to the kill of Osama bin Laden, the 2 of May. The American Senator handed a list of “ Concrete Requirements” to the Pakistani Chief of State, Ashfaq Kayani, in order to ease the relationship and erase any doubt or suspicion regarding that the Asian country host’s terrorist.

John A. Boehner, The House speaker, who went to Pakistan last month, said on Thursday that the United States should remain engaged with Pakistan as an ally against terrorists, but that Pakistani leaders must demonstrate their determination in fighting terrorist groups. He stated: “It’s time to look the Pakistanis in the eye and get a commitment that they are fully onboard with us. If we’re going to continue to provide aid and strengthen this relationship, I think we need to have a clearer understanding.”

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After economical crisis, natural catastrophes, old and new wars, rebellions and violence explosions the news of the death of the number one world’s terrorist is just what we needed.

Meanwhile the people all over the world question on which is the true reality about this unclear story, the news of Al Qaeda leader’s death is spreading on all newspapers and TV news.

The images of American people gathered on the streets around US jumping, singing joy’s choruses and crying after receiving the announcement from President Obama of the murder of the West’s greatest enemy, is the demonstration of how it could be strong the effects of news like that.

Osama Bin Laden, called also the “terror shaykh”, has been for decades the most wanted terrorist of the world and the most feared man for the western world.

His mysterious figure frightened and fascinated at the same time. He was the icon of the evil, he embodied fear and terror, he was the perfect enemy dangerous and elusive.

The world knows his face and voice only thanks to the various videos which appeared systematically on TV. He has always been untraceable but his presence could be perceived anywhere.

Maybe his greatest weapon was the speech, a speech with the power of killing thousands of people in name of the Jihad against the West. His disciples following his speech sacrificed themselves to accomplish the mission of eliminating American and western enemies.

He is a negative hero who skilfully constructed a self image of legendary man, feared by his enemies, adored and esteemed by his followers. He presented himself as the warlord and the spiritual guide to Islamic world in the struggle against the western countries, succeeding in putting together an “evil army” ready to obey and execute his orders blindly.

He understood well how to take advantage of the modern mass media to nourish the greatness of his figure. Osama has always been a clever man and an able communicator, being good at uniting archaic symbols and media modernity.

Some expert analysts defined him a borderline character, who constructed a double self image of ancient and modern, elitist and popular, of an expert Jihad’s strategist and of an expert communicator at the same time.

His war against the West was essentially a psychological war, made by terror and fear’s spreading and virtual treats that in some terrible occasion turned into crude facts.

Osama Bin Laden was more than a man, he was a powerful double sided symbol. His death is still a bit unclear, some people believe it is real and it represents the victory of good against evil, some others think it is maybe the result of a conspiracy or a real hoax. At the moment nobody knows the truth.

The only certain thing is that his death, real or not, is a symbolic death. It could nourish hope for a better future and a better world, or it could nourish hatred and a strong push for “fundamentalisms” – not only the Islamic one -. It remains just one question: can a symbol be defeated with a man’s death?

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Yesterday, President Obama honored the 3,000 people that were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He placed a wreath, made of flowers of different colors such as red, white and blue at the ground zero.

The garland was placed at the base of a tree, known as the Survivor Tree, which was founded in the ruins; and replanted as a commemorative symbol. This was an emblematic moment in order to commemorate all the people that passed away and marked the death of Osama bin Laden.

The ceremony started with Mr. Obama’s statement regarding Sunday night, when the American commandos killed Bin Laden in Pakistan. “What happened Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message,” he affirmed. “When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.”

With these words, the memorial brought a different feeling, exposing the sentiment that justice had been done.

President Obama visited many people who experience loses during the terrorist attack. During four hours, he conducted personal meetings with different people, such as policeman, fireman’s, and relatives of the people that had lost someone due to the terrorist attack 10 years ago.

The President, articulated emotive words to the police officers located in the First Precinct station house: “A lot of you have probably comforted loved ones of those who were lost; a lot of you have probably looked after kids who grew up without a parent, what we did on Sunday was directly connected to what you do every single day.”

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President Obama announced on Sunday May 2nd at 11.00 PM EDT that Osama Bin Laden [1957-2011] the face of Al-Qaeda and mastermind of 911 has been killed. Osama Bin Laden has been the Central leader of Al-Qaeda and a lead figure of world terrorism.

U.S. and Pakistani Intelligence operations killed the Al-Qaida leader outside of Islamabad the capital of Pakistan during an on the ground firefight that was directly authorized by President Obama.

During the speech crowds gathered in front of the White House, celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden, a picture that we usually do not see in the western world.

It is expected that loyal followers of Osama Bin Laden will answer this announcement with retaliation triggering an increase in security around the world.

The hunt of Osama Bin Laden is officially over but will this stop global terrorism and when will his followers strike back?

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