Bin Laden Follow-Up: Obama Administration Frets About Withdrawal from Afghanistan & Tensions with Pakistan (But, Hey, We Sure Showed Iran)

UPDATE 0730 GMT: The Obama Administration's top journalist accomplices this morning? Reveal yourself, the editors and reporter Joshua Partlow of The Washington Post....

The headline blares, "Afghans Worry Bin Laden’s Death Could Weaken U.S. Resolve", and Partlow writes, "One persistent worry repeated here was that U.S. support for the war could erode at an accelerated pace now that America’s most wanted man is dead. With that decade-long goal achieved, Afghan officials said, the case for troop withdrawal becomes that much more convincing for Americans."

And how many Afghans does Partlow quote in what is effectively a PR piece for a continued US military presence?

Two. A "senior Afghan official" says, "Americans will forget Afghanistan again.” And Hanif Atmar, Afghanistan’s former interior minister, declares, “A warning to the United States and the rest of our NATO allies. This should not be seen as mission accomplished.”

Indeed, so intent is The Post on pushing this case that it includes, without apparent recognition, a quote that says something completely different:

President Hamid Karzai, who praised American troops for killing bin Laden, used the opportunity to reiterate his message that the locus of terrorism remains beyond Afghan borders. “For years we have said that the fight against terrorism is not in Afghan villages and houses. Stop bombarding Afghan villages and searching Afghan people.”

For some reason, I think that statement sends a far different message to the US military than "Please. Stay."

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Iran Feature: More Battles in Cyber-Space (Gheytanchi)

>Without the ability to communicate safely and securely, the activists risk detention and social movements risk total suppression. Planning of demonstrations, boycotts, reporting of abuses to the outside world, and development of world-wide campaigns for human rights and women’s rights will not be possible in Iran without secure and speedy communication via the Internet, social networking sites, and mobile platforms.

The Comodohacker's boasting remarks are emblematic of the Iranian state’s strategy to break dissent: they exaggerate their action to create fear and pose threats to achieve their goals in the most efficient manner. He and they wish to shatter resilience in the face of oppression.

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The Latest from Iran (2 May): Ahmadinejad Re-Appears

2015 GMT: A Matter of Intelligence. Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times, drawing from a source in Iran, offers this intriguing addition to the story of the political crisis over President Ahmadinejad's attempted dismissal of Minister of Intelligence Heydar Moslehi:

The source, an official in the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, said the President decided to fire Moslehi after being told that both Intelligence Ministry and Revolutionary Guard spies were eavesdropping on [Esfandiar Rahim] Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's in-law and right-hand man, who is mistrusted by hard-liners and right-wing clergy. Many believe Ahmadinejad is positioning Mashaei as his successor after his term ends in 2013.

"Top intelligence commanders of the Revolutionary Guard and Heydar Moslehi bugged the office of Mashaei --- as they must --- and monitored his private and public political behavior," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Mashaei, himself a former Intelligence Ministry official, discovered the electronic surveillance with the help of the ministry's No. 2, Hassan Abdollahian, the source said. Moslehi fired Abdollahian after discovering his role in divulging sensitive information to the Presidential office.

Told of the surveillance and the firing of Mashaei's confidant, Ahmadinejad on April 17 ordered Moslehi to hand in his resignation, appointing Abdollahian to replace him.

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Thousands Detained and the Possible Death of a Qaddafi

2200 GMT: $$$ - Switzerland is reporting that they have uncovered 360 million Swiss francs ($415.8 million) belonging to Colonel Gaddafi or members close to his inner circle. Also, according to Al Jazeera English, 

"Some 410 million Swiss francs traced to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and 60 million Swiss francs linked to former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali have also been identified, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel said."

The funds will be frozen. In the case of Egypt and Tunisia, the governments of those countires have requested the funds. In Libya, those assets are likely to remain frozen until the Gaddafi government is removed from power.

1930 GMT: Al Jazeera has been missing a reporter, Dorothy Parvaz, stationed in Syria, since Friday. She disappeared after stepping off a Qatar Airlines flight in Damascus. There is no word from the Syrian government as to what has happened to her, or where she is currently located. 

1850 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Homs tonight:

1830 GMT: Claimed footage of a women's protest in Zabadani today, calling on Syrian authorities to release detainees.

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Assessing The Death of Bin Laden: Scott Lucas on the BBC and Al Jazeera English

I've been discussing both the immediate events and the significance beyond the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces on the BBC and Al Jazeera English. I think there is a lot here for debate: by the time of the Al Jazeera English interview --- the most provocative exchange, posing big questions about what is next for the US in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and beyond --- the celebration in America was only dimly heard in the analyses.

BBC WM: Audio begins about the 2:04.45 mark

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire: Audio begins at the start of the programme

Al Jazeera English: I appeared on a special edition of Inside Story this afternoon with Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Islamabad, Ahmad Zeidan, and with Hamid Gul, the former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Video will be posted later.

BBC Midlands Today: Video will be posted later.

Bin Laden Top 10 List: His Death and What's Next

1. His importance to the story of Al Qa'eda can’t be underestimated. Last summer at a private gathering, I heard a journalist who met bin Laden in the 1990s say that he had underestimated bin Laden’s central role, not just as the money man and spiritual leader of the organization but also in determining strategy.

2. Osama bin Laden was no longer central to the continuing threat of Al Qa'eda and AQ-inspired terrorism. 

9/11 ensured that. A massive gamble to shift the status quo in the Middle East, it ultimately shifted the focus of Al Qa'eda, as the organisation dispersed, with its leaders’ priority on survival. Those inspired by Al Qa'eda and bin Laden now in many ways represent the biggest threat.

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Bin Laden Feature: The Man Who Broke the News of the US Attack (But Didn't Know It)

Sohair Athar (@ReallyVirtual)"Uh oh, now I'm the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it....And here come the mails from the mainstream media....*sigh*"

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Snap Reaction: The Significance of Killing Bin Laden

Will this development make a significant difference? Al Qa'eda's main symbol is now dead, but the movement may already have been dying --- its leadership structure in tatters, and the Muslim world turning away from terrorism and towards democracy, their influence was already waning.

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Video & Transcript: President Obama Announces Death of Osama Bin Laden

OBAMA: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

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Breaking: Osama Bin Laden Killed by US Forces

Osama Bin Laden was killed in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan on Sunday.

Reports of the death of the leader of Al Qa'eda came in overnight and were then confirmed by President Obama in an announcement: "“For over two decades, bin Laden has been Al Qaeda’s leader and symbol. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda."

Obama continued, "But his death does not mark the end of our effort. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”

On Friday, Obama --- acting on intelligence that had been developing since last August --- authorised a secret US operation to attack Bin Laden's compound. Obama that the operation was carried out with the cooperation of Pakistani officials, but a senior US official said the Pakistanis had not been informed of the operation in advance.