Osama bin Laden Dead

Al-Qaeda leader reportedly killed by a 'United States asset' in Pakistan.

Crowds cheering "USA! USA!" gathered outside the White House in Washington and elsewhere across the United States Sunday night as word spread that Osama bin Laden is dead. According to preliminary news reports, the man who founded al-Qaeda and who authorized the 9-11 attacks was killed by a "United States asset" in a mansion outside Islamabad, Pakistan. As of this writing, President Barack Obama was scheduled to make the announcement formally in a live televised address to the nation later Sunday evening. While the details of bin Laden's death are not entirely clear, it appears the United States has scored a very powerful symbolic victory in the war on terrorism, and one that will likely pay political dividends for Obama. What the reaction will be in the Arab world – where bin Laden has been a hero to many – is not yet clear.