As the news came in of the death of Bin Laden, print and television media around the world rushed to report the story, millions of people sent each other text messages as others took the news globally on Twitter — setting a new record for sustained use of the service — and in many cities, from New York to Boise, Idaho, to Athens, Georgia, people took to the streets in spontaneous celebration. Political leaders from different nations quickly issued statements expressing their relief, satisfaction, and approval that he was brought to justice.

In response to this, and to temper public enthusiasms, policy experts have taken pains to make clear that that because Al Qaeda is now decentralized, his death won’t have a major impact in our fight against them.| MORE ›

The escape of almost 500 Taliban prisoners is just the latest blow in the effort to secure Afghanistan from insurgents. It couldn’t come at a worse time, as Afghan troops are apparently finally ready to take on the monumental task of defending their country. Umm, okay, sure.

What gets me is that the Taliban’s escape hole took five months to dig, and apparently nobody noticed the work on it.| MORE ›

By George Friedman and Reva Bhalla.

The decision over whether to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan may wait until the contested Afghan election is resolved, U.S. officials said Oct. 18. The announcement comes as U.S. President Barack Obama is approaching a decision on the war in Afghanistan.| MORE ›

On yesterday’s edition of CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward spoke about his recent trip to Afghanistan. His conclusion: there is no light at the end of the tunnel. At least, not in the near future.

BLITZER: I’m deeply worried, I’m sure you are, about what is happening in Afghanistan right now.| MORE ›

The Pakistan army continues to take on the Taliban in the Swat Valley. Where it first had to push the extremist organization back to its strongholds after its forces came close to the nation’s capital, the army now attacks the strongholds themselves.| MORE ›

The Pakistani army says it has killed more than 1,000 Taliban in the Swat Valley already.| MORE ›

Good news from Pakistan; after the Pakistani army captured the hometown of the Taliban’s chief in that country, the group has fallen into disarray, with many deserting its ranks.

The battle for Kotkai town was symbolically key because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain.| MORE ›

The American Enterprise Institute published a new report about the war in Afghanistan. Considering that the Obama administration is currently reviewing a request from the top U.S. military commander in the region to send more troops or face defeat, the timing of “Enemy Reactions to the US Strategy and Force-Sizing Options” couldn’t have been better.| MORE ›

Fox news reports:

A former Guantanamo Bay inmate is leading the fight against U.S. Marines in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to FOX News on Tuesday.

Mullah Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, surrendered in Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan in 2001, and was transferred to Gitmo in 2006.| MORE ›

The offensive the Pakistani army launched against the Taliban last week seems to be going rather well. The army says that it has killed scores of militants, and that it is slowly taking control of regions it lost to the extremist organization earlier this year.| MORE ›

In an interview with Newsweek, President Barack Obama said that the hardest decision he had to make thus far was to send 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in order to crush the Taliban which still controls a significant part of that country.

He added that he is considering sending even more troops. However, he cannot yet say if and if so when and how many troops will be deployed.| MORE ›