Nine years, seven months, and twenty-one days - UPDATED AGAIN

During which time the Yanks alone have, by some estimates, spent $1,118,600,000,000, or about $317,784,091 per day, along with the lives of close on 6,000 of their servicemen and women - not to mention those of other coalition members and civilians in the areas of fighting. All to achieve this result.

George W Bush's personal fantasy?

Oh, and also reducing liberty across much of the 'free' world, especially for anyone who wants to get on a plane without a complete stranger in a uniform either making them stand in a giant microwave or groping them or both. Maybe it's just me but it doesn't seem like much of a bargain. In fact it seems like an awful lot of time, effort, money and blood just to get one nutjob who persuaded some people to crash planes into buildings. But at least we can finally knock all that on the head now that someone's finally shot the bastard, right?

Yeah, right.

Mr Obama added:“The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's efforts to defeat al-Qa'ida.

[...]

“Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort.

“There is no doubt that al-Qa'ida will continue to pursue attacks against us.

“We must and will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”

The US State Department immediately issued a global travel alert to all US citizens following the news, warning of “enhanced potential” for anti-American violence.

The US also put its embassies on alert, warning Americans of al-Qa'ida reprisal attacks.

The Australian

Presumably not the nuclear hell storm variety of reprisal that waterboarding these numpties would suggest, but all the same it does seem reasonable to expect that there'll be some kind of reaction. Which means that after nine years, seven months and twenty-one days, after more than a trillion dollars, after twice as many allied personnel killed than died in the World Trade Centre attacks, after all that we're still less safe and less free than we were on September 12th 2001. Nine years, seven months, twenty one days, a trillion dollars and thousands of lives and a billion or more people less free than they were.

Osama Bin Living might now be moshing with the black metal band invisible but I'd say that technically he's still ahead on points.

UPDATE - The generally less cynical than me but still occasionally pretty cynical Mrs Exile noted that anyone would think there's an election coming up or something. I see the same thought has already occurred to The All Seeing Eye, who incidentally owes me a new keyboard and a coffee refill for this:

Woke up this morning to hear the news that the world's most hated man was dead. Imagine TheEye's disappointment when it turns out it wasn't Bono.

Gold.

UPDATE 2 - Echoing the views of a number of others, odd decision to bury him at sea. So there's no grave to become a shrine we're told, but there wouldn't if you simply incinerated what was left after the PM and scattered the ashes into a landfill. Or buried the body and never told anybody where. I'm not reaching for the tinfoil and claiming the reason is a cover - it might be and it might not - but it is nonetheless an odd decision to choose not to bring the body back.