President Obama ultimately decided not to release photos of the body of Osama bin Laden, but al-Qaeda stepped in today to quell conspiracy theorists who may wonder if, in the absence of visual proof and the body now at the bottom of the ocean, the terror leader was really taken out by U.S. forces in a Pakistan raid. Al-Qaeda clearly intends to use the "martyrdom" of their leader as fuel for their operations, and urged Pakistanis, some already rankled by U.S. drone strikes, to rise up against the American presence and influence in the country. And, as expected, al-Qaeda vowed it will exact revenge on the U.S.:
"'The blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is too precious to us and to all Muslims to go in vain,' the statement said. 'We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries.''Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness,' it said, 'their blood will be mingled with their tears.'
The group gave no indication how it will retaliate. But separate details emerged Friday showing that bin Laden was scheming how to hit the United States hard again.
Materials confiscated by the Navy SEALs who killed the al-Qaida leader in Abbotabad, Pakistan, reveal the rail attack planning as of February 2010. One idea outlined in handwritten notes was to tamper with an unspecified U.S. rail track so that a train would fall off the track at a valley or a bridge.
Counterterrorism officials said they believe the plot was only in the initial planning stages. The FBI and Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin with details of the plan to law enforcement around the country. The bulletin, marked 'for official use only,' was obtained by The Associated Press."
The U.S. replaced its terror alert system from the post-9/11 color-coded version just days before bin Laden's death, but the terror threat level hasn't been raised. Metro police are randomly searching bags in the D.C. system, as was announced while I was waiting for a train last night.
On the more bizarre side of bin Laden coverage, a Kuwaiti columnist dreams about being wed to Osama and getting "to wash his awe-inspiring beard, dirtied by the dust through which he crawled all night long." Ugh. Really.
(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
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