memeorandum: WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden ‘protected’ by Pakistani security (Tim Ross/Telegraph)

7:50 PM ET, May 2, 2011

Top Items:

The Secret Team That Killed bin Laden — From Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan, the modified MH-60 helicopters made their way to the garrison suburb of Abbottabad, about 30 miles from the center of Islamabad. Aboard were Navy SEALs, flown across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals …

TPMDC:

White House: Osama Bin Laden Used Wife As Human Shield — The President and his national security team spent Sunday afternoon and evening huddling in the West Wing of the White House filled with anxiety while they followed in real time the covert operations of an elite team …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post and Little Green Footballs

Adam Goldman / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Officials: CIA interrogators at secret prisons developed first strands that led to bin Laden — WASHINGTON - Officials say CIA interrogators in secret overseas prisons developed the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Foundry, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Cagle Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Sister Toldjah, YID With LID, National Review, Pajamas Media, Politics and Emptywheel

Tim Ross / Telegraph:

WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden ‘protected’ by Pakistani security — Pakistani security forces allegedly helped Osama bin Laden evade American troops for almost 10 years, according to secret US government files. — American diplomats were told that one of the key reasons why they had failed …

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Beast, Hot Air and Sky Dancing, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden — WASHINGTON — After years of dead ends and promising leads gone cold, the big break came last August. — A trusted courier of Osama bin Laden's whom American spies had been hunting for years was finally located in a compound 35 miles north …

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Killing of bin Laden: What are the consequences? — The killing of Osama bin Laden is one of those events which, especially in the immediate aftermath, is not susceptible to reasoned discussion. It's already a Litmus Test event: all Decent People — by definition — express unadulterated ecstacy …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, News Desk, The Moderate Voice, Nicholas D. Kristof, Lynn Sweet, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Verum Serum, The Hill, Media Decoder, Politics, Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Meet The Deathers: Andrew Brietbart Website Pushing Conspiracy Theory That Osama Might Not Be Dead — Mere hours after President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, supported by incontrovertible DNA evidence, the conspiracy theorists are hard at work.

Discussion: Big Peace, Foreign Policy, Little Green Footballs, Big Government, Daily Kos and msnbc.com

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:

Limbaugh: ‘We Need To Open The Program Today By Congratulating President Obama’ — Amidst all the revelry on Twitter last night, tons of people were voicing their concerns that the death of Osama bin Laden would inevitably be twisted for political gain, that some person would force …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Gateway Pundit, Political Punch, Don Surber, NewsBusters.org and Brilliant at Breakfast, more at Mediagazer »

Dan Wheat / The Daily Astorian:

Teacher who vowed not to shave until bin Laden was caught or killed finally shaves — EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. - A teacher who vowed nearly 10 years ago not to cut his beard until Osama bin Laden was captured or proven dead said he cried Sunday night upon hearing of the terrorist's death.

Discussion: Mediaite and Runnin' Scared

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

White House Officials Debate Releasing Photographs of Bin Laden's Corpse — The Obama administration has photographs of Osama bin Laden's dead body and officials are debating what to do with them and whether they should be released to the public, officials tell ABC News.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, Fox News, The Politico, Agence France Presse, theblogprof, Pajamas Media, Runnin' Scared, Associated Press and Weasel Zippers

Steve Coll / News Desk:

Notes on the Death of Osama bin Laden — No doubt there will be time to reflect more deeply about the news announced by President Obama last night. For now, I thought it might be useful to annotate some of the initial headlines. — On where he was found:

Discussion: CNN, 1 The Long War Journal, Guardian, ABCNEWS, Battleland, Bloomberg, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Hullabaloo, CANNONFIRE and ProPublica

Patrick Gavin / The Politico:

KEITH URBAHN'S TWEET HEARD AROUND THE WORLD — 'I don't credit myself with the story. I credit Twitter,' Keith Urbahn said. POLITICO Screengrab — Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is being credited with first reporting, via Twitter Sunday night …

Discussion: The Blaze

David Frum / FrumForum:

Can We Stop Questioning Obama's Legitimacy Now? — So much to say about the long-awaited visiting of justice upon Osama bin Laden. — But there's one effect on US domestic politics that deserves a thought: — Here's hoping that we have at last seen the end of this ugly insinuation …

Discussion: CNN, Jack & Jill Politics and Outside the Beltway

Radley Balko / The Agitator:
He Won — In The Looming Tower, the Pulitzer-winning history …

Discussion: Democracy in America and Outside the Beltway

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
What Obama does next will help define the legacy of Osama Bin Laden.

Discussion: Yglesias, ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, TPMDC and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Joe Scarborough: Obama's Base Didn't Want Him To Catch Bin Laden

Discussion: slate.com?id=2292673, Huck PAC, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, The Foundry, Fabius Maximus, The Other McCain and Agence France Presse

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Muslim world reaction mixed

Discussion: Pew Global Attitudes Project, The Note, News Desk, New York Times, The Huffington Post, Salon, Ben Smith's Blog, ibnlive.in.com, Hot Air and theblogprof

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Dick Cheney Says ‘Obama Deserves Credit’ for Osama Bin Laden's Death

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Top of the Ticket, TPMDC, Power Line, Runnin' Scared, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Swampland

David Sirota / Salon:
“USA! USA!” is the wrong response

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Opinion L.A. and Firedoglake

Reuters:
Skeptics say bin Laden lives

Discussion: The Huffington Post, newsfeed.time.com, Ben Smith's Blog, The Note, ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared and FP Passport, more at Mediagazer »

Elizabeth Flock / Reuters:
Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden are from the elite ‘Team 6’

Discussion: Wonk Room and RedState

Robert W. Johnson / Politics:
Meet The ‘Seal Team 6’, The Bad-Asses Who Killed Osama Bin Laden

Discussion: Reuters, Aljazeera, Telegraph, Clusterstock and AmSpecBlog

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
40 Minutes That Changed the World: Inside the Operation That Brought Bin Laden Down

Discussion: Reuters, Atlas Shrugs, Big Peace, Mediaite, Fox News, UNCOVERAGE.net, Fox Nation and Oliver Willis

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:
Osama Bin Laden's Death Could Be a Great Time To Declare Victory In The “War On Terror”

Discussion: Reuters, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Moonbattery, The Moderate Voice, theblogprof and National Review

The Hill:
White House: ‘Inconceivable’ bin Laden had no Pakistani support

Discussion: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, USA Today and TPMDC

Hillel Fendel / Arutz Sheva: Arabs Riot in Jerusalem Over Bin Laden's Demise, Hamas Angry

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Getting Osama bin Laden: How the mission went down

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Note, Orange County Register, The Hill, Guardian, Gothamist, CNN, The Daily Caller, presstv.ir, Connecting.the.Dots, Reuters and JustOneMinute

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Yes, Bin Laden's Death Will Help Obama, but for How Long?

Ashfaq Ahmed / Gulf News:
World | Other World Stories — Compound in Pakistan was once a safe house

Discussion: Pajamas Media, 1 The Long War Journal, Hit & Run, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

David Brody / The Brody File:
Obama's Bin Laden Speech Misses Mark

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, AMERICAblog News, Washington Monthly and Reuters

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
How the U.S. found and finished Bin Laden

Discussion: The Smoking Gun

Elizabeth Flock / Washington Post:
Bin Laden's wife used as human shield

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

MEMRI:
Indian Media Reports on Osama bin Laden's Killing: ‘Osama was Killed in an ISI Safehouse’; …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Israel Matzav and Questions and Observations

The White House:
Press Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

Discussion: Weekly Standard, NationalJournal.com, Associated Press, National Review, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Online, White House.gov Blog, GayPatriot, Outside the Beltway, Foreign Policy, New Atlanticist, Danger Room and Firedoglake

Roger Simon / The Politico:
Obama is now Warrior in Chief

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Graham questions decision to dispose of bin Laden's body

Discussion: The Hill, Ballot Box, Telegraph, Runnin' Scared and NO QUARTER

Michelle Malkin / Media Matters for America:
Right-Wing Media Accuse Obama Of Making Bin Laden Death All About Himself

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, ThinkProgress, NationalJournal.com, Washington Post, Telegraph and Foreign Policy

The Atlantic Online:
A Defense of Pakistan — I'm receiving a good deal of mail …

Discussion: Swampland and Ben Smith's Blog

Paul Joseph Watson / Alex Jones' Infowars:
Inside Sources: Bin Laden's Corpse Has Been On Ice For Nearly a Decade

Discussion: Associated Press, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, The Raw Story and LewRockwell.com Blog

Associated Press:
Egypt Muslim Brotherhood condemns Bin Laden death

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Ktvtphil / CBS Dallas:
Bush Home Buzzing After Bin Laden Killing

Discussion: TechCrunch Europe and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Rush Limbaugh: ‘Thank God for President Obama’ — You heard that right: “Thank God for President Obama,” Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show Monday afternoon. — “Ladies and gentlemen, we need to open the program today by congratulating President Obama,” Limbaugh said Monday afternoon at the start of his show.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly and The Page

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Limbaugh commends Obama, sort of — Conservative firebrand and frequent critic of the president Rush Limbaugh on Monday praised Obama for his “effective” strategy that resulted in the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden. — Reacting to Obama's announcement that a U.S. strike team had killed …

Discussion: New York Times, The Note, CNN and The Huffington Post

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Sen. Ensign apologizes in final floor speech — Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) gave a farewell speech on the Senate floor Monday in which he apologized to his colleagues for having an affair with a campaign aide and warned other senators to guard against the strain of self-importance that led him to stray from his beliefs.

Discussion: The Politico

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Ensign's Farewell: Apology and Achievements

Discussion: MyFox Orlando

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Claim: Krugman is top prognosticator; Cal Thomas is the worst — Romenesko Misc. — A Hamilton College class and their public policy professor analyzed the predicts of 26 pundits — including Sunday morning TV talkers — and used a scale of 1 to 5 to rate their accuracy.