Al Qaeda is "not and never will be, an existential threat"

Al-Magoo: "now, where is that
naughty Osama?"

That's the line being run by the usually reliable Ross Douthat in today's International Herald Tribune.  So is the Beebs just now on radio. There is no real threat from the fanatical loonies.  And of course, that's true. The numbers killed in the west from the 16,000 or so Islamic attacks since 9/11 is small and the likelyhood you'll be killed by one is miniscule.  There are even studies showing there were more people killed in the months after 9/11 by travelling by road instead of by air, as they usually would have done.[*]
The Beebs had on that fatuous fool Tony Blair saying that the likes of bin Laden have "twisted" the religion that teaches peace.  Right.
The fact is that OBL did no twisting of the Koran and Hadith.  I've read many of his writings, and he's scrupulous to adhere to doctrine.
The real threat to the west -- as any student of the jihad will tell you -- is not from the violent jihad, but from the stealth one.  The one where orthodox Muslims push for implementation of Sharia law in western countries, and that happens apace, from moves to limit freedom of speech in the west, to the foisting of halal foods on Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Sharia courts in the US and UK, special treatment for their unique clothing needs, special treatment for their food, special treatment at swimming pools -- gender-separated -- all of which impact on we infidels.  It's that jihad that's the real worry.

Meantime: did Pakistan know of the Five-Star Fort OBL was hanging out in?  Of course they did.  White House officials have confirmed that the building cost some $US 1 million, a huge price in poor Pakistan, was built specially for OBL, was build some six years ago, and was built in plain sight of the Pakistan military base.  The Pakistan military are like Mr Magoo??  Like they can't see the Bearded One on their doorstep?  Perhaps some of the vast sums of aid to that benighted country should be spent on optical care...
The helicopter that was shot down, or broke down, was destroyed, allegedly to stop it falling into the hand of Al Qaeda, but more likely to keep it out of Pakistani ISI hands: for it was fitted with stealth technology, including special silencers to quieten the engines.

[*] Gigerenzer made a compelling case for the proposition that in the three months after the attacks, more Americans died from the increased travel by auto (compared to the number who would have died had they traveled by plane in the usual numbers) than died as plane passengers in the attacks themselves. [source]