Bin Laden Will Roll Out 9/11 Vid

Washington weighs withdrawal, other options

(NEWSER) - The big question in Washington: Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, what do we do about Afghanistan? Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican, both said yesterday that we must reassess the nearly decade-old conflict and work toward, as Kerry said, "the smallest footprint necessary." But Pentagon officials argue that rather than withdraw American troops, the US should try to make further gains and apply more pressure on the Taliban, setting the stage for what's sure to be a heated debate. More»

(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»

(NEWSER) - Pakistan’s president suggested today that Osama bin Laden could be dead, an assertion the US strenuously objects to, the New York Daily News reports. “He may be dead. But that’s been said before,” Asif Ali Zardari said. “It’s still between fiction and fact.” Zardari offered no proof for his claim. More»

But no evidence of specific plot, says FBI

(NEWSER) - Al-Qaeda supporters will use an Internet video to call for the use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in a new attack on civilians in the West, reports ABC News. FBI officials have alerted US law enforcement of the tape, said a spokesman, but emphasized that there is no evidence of a specific plot. More»

Bin Laden aide has been in CIA custody since last year

(NEWSER) - A top al-Qaeda suspect who has been in secret CIA detention for at least 6 months was moved this week to Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said yesterday. Muhammad Rahim, described as a "tough, seasoned, jihadist," is said to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden's who helped the al-Qaeda leader escape from Afghanistan as the Americans hunted him after 9/11, Reuters reports. More»