Understated humor of James Taranto

bin Ladin's mansion/NY Post

There Goes the Neighborhood
Maybe his presence brought down property values, maybe he got hit by the real estate bubble, or maybe he just overpaid. Whatever the case, London’s Guardian reports Osama bin Laden’s house isn’t worth as much as had been advertised:

After Sunday night’s dramatic raid by US Navy Seals, a senior Obama administration official told reporters that the property, an “extraordinarily unique compound” in an “affluent suburb,” was valued at around $1m.

But two property professionals in Abbottabad–a quiet, military-dominated town–said that much of that was incorrect. Based on the size of the plot and the house, which was built in 2005, and using recent property sales as a guide, they estimated that it would fetch no more than $250,000 on the current market.

Assuming bin Laden made the customary 20% down payment and took out a mortgage for $800,000 in 2005, he’s going to be underwater for a long time.

From the James Taranto/Wall Street Journal

… UNDERWATER FOR A LONG TIME!!! AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh to be a fly on the wall. . .

H/t to LeatherneckM31

Please read his blog regarding the events that led up to the assault on bin Laden’s “mansion.”  I think it’s going to be enlightening to some and will verify what others of us have already believed about this president and his regime.

I don’t believe that Obama would be out golfing and have to be pulled off the course, if he knew that this assault was taking place. I also know from reading Game Change that Obama doesn’t take a dump without notifying Valerie Jarrett first and that fits in well with the narrative on Leatherneck’s blog.

Now, for interesting aside, also via Leatherneck and the UK Mail is the sketchy story of the other woman in the situation room – Audrey Tomason.  I think this lady was with the CIA and her cover has been blown or at least compromised by this administrations haste to get out a photo.

Michael Barrett, a national security expert and principal at strategy firm Diligent Innovations, suggests that the photograph outed a sensitive national security employee.

He said: ‘You can make a reasonable deduction that she’s a member of the intelligence community. Is that a story [the White House] wants to put out there in public? The fact that we can see her face could potentially jeopardize her career.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383959/Who-Audrey-Tomason-The-mystery-woman-situation-room-photo.html#ixzz1LYG1n6Yq

If this is true and she has been outed, what idiot in the White House approved this photo for release?

How the secret team took out bin Laden

This is a great article about the elite group that took out bin Laden. Makes you proud to be an American with guys like this on your side.

Taliban Stimulus Plan Offers Cash for Kills

From the TimesOnline:

“It’s a lot of money for us. We don’t care if we kill foreigners: their blood allows us to feed our families and the more we kill, the more we weaken them. Of course we are going to celebrate this,” said a [Taliban] commander from Ghazni province.

TALIBAN rebels are earning a bounty of up to 200,000 Pakistani rupees (£1,660 [or $2400 USD]) for each Nato soldier they kill, according to insurgent commanders.

The money is said to come from protection rackets, taxes imposed on opium farmers, donors in the Gulf states who channel money through Dubai and from the senior Taliban leadership in Pakistan.

So far this year 213 Nato soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, including 41 British troops, bringing the potential rewards for the Taliban to £350,000.

from thepublicinterest.freedomblogging.com

Taliban commanders said the bounty had more than doubled since the beginning of last year.

The insurgents, who employ “hit and run” tactics against foot patrols and convoys, use paid informants, media reports and the local population to confirm the deaths of Nato soldiers.

“We can’t lie to our commanders: they can check to see if there was a fight in that area. We get money if we capture equipment too. A gun can fetch $1,000 [£690],” said a commander from Khost province who controls about 60 fighters.

The money usually reaches commanders via the traditional hawala transfer system found in many Muslim countries. They then share it among their men and sometimes celebrate with a feast.

Most Taliban commanders deny any financial motive. In a dozen interviews over the past four months, low and midlevel Taliban commanders from provinces where the insurgency is fierce have set out their conditions for ending the violence.

“We are not fighting for money or power. We are fighting to end government corruption, to rid this country of foreign troops, and we want a return to sharia law,” said a Kandahar commander.

Muslim Americans claim abuse at the hand of Pakistanis

I don’t care. Do you?

Five Americans being held in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorism alleged they were being tortured in comments shouted to reporters Monday as they were driven from court.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583249,00.html