Did Spurlock Find Osama?

(NEWSER) - Al Qaeda is weak militarily and “has been rejected by a great majority of Muslims,” Steve Coll writes in the New Yorker, but the terrorist organization and its affiliates can still create a “shock” like today's bombings in Jakarta. Despite the group's apparent inability to pull off a major attack like Sept. 11, “bombings like the one in Jakarta will recur for an indefinite time.” The only solution is for the US to assume “a posture of strategic patience about terrorism that is durable, vigilant, and proportional.” More»

Abu Qatada to face 22-hour curfew in London

(NEWSER) - A radical cleric described as Osama bin Laden's "right-hand man" in Europe is set for immediate release from a British maximum security prison. Abu Qatada will be housebound for 22 hours a day in London, where he'll wear an electronic tag and face stringent rules on phone and Internet use, the Guardian reports. Bail terms allow Qatada full access to his family, though they will prevent him from taking his youngest child to school, notes the Telegraph . More»

Pakistan is holding them in security compound for now

(NEWSER) - Osama bin Laden advised his children against a life of terror, according to one of his brothers-in-law. "He told his own children and grandchildren, go to Europe and America and get a good education," says Zakara al-Sadah, whose sister was the al-Qaeda chief's fifth wife. For now, Sadah claims, Pakistani authorities are holding nine bin Laden children and three wives—including Sadah's sister—in an Islamabad security compound against their will, reports the Daily Mail via The Sunday Times . More»

Just 10% approve of work on Hill, according to latest Gallup poll

(NEWSER) - A Gallup poll released Wednesday finds that Americans' approval of Congress has hit yet another record low: 10%. There aren't many institutions Americans have liked less over the last 50-or-so years, according to Gallup: Only Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and OJ Simpson detective Mark Fuhrman have ever scored lower. ABC News takes a look at some very unpopular things that still manage to rank above Congress:

• According to an August poll, Paris Hilton is America's least-favorite celeb. But her 60% disapproval rating is still better than Congress's 86% disapproval rating.

Retired general warns all the boasting could be dangerous

(NEWSER) - The killing of Osama bin Laden was a PR coup for the Obama administration, but one retired general is sick of hearing about it from the Navy SEALs commander. "They’ve been splashing all of this all over the media,” retired Lt. General James Vaught, 85, said at a meeting of the National Defense Industrial Association yesterday. “I flat don’t understand that. If you keep publishing how you do this, the other guy’s going to be ready for you, and he’s going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs. Mark my words. Get the hell out of the media." More»