In the daring raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Navy Seals were likely outfitted with latest in high-tech weapons and gadgets; Fox News speculates on five key technologies that could have helped the highly trained members of Navy SEAL Team 6 successfully complete their mission including bomb sniffing dogs, satellite-linked helmet cameras, and modified stealth Black Hawk helicopter

The Syrian government has intensified its crackdown on anti-government protesters over the last three days: more and more cities have been cut off from power, phone, and Internet connection, and have been surrounded by tanks and troops to prevent people from coming or leaving; a vast, nation-wide campaign of arrests and disappearances, carried out by the secret police, has so far resulted in hundreds being taken from their homes or place of employment to destinations unknown; the army has now began to use live rounds not only against demonstrators, but also against participants in funeral processions for those killed; so far, 580 civilians and about 100 soldiers and police have been killed

A new report finds al Qaeda to be the deadliest terrorist organization in history; since its founding in 1998, the organization has conducted eighty-four terrorist attacks, resulting at least 4,299 deaths and 6,300 people injured; in comparison: ETA, the Basque separatist organization in Spain, killed 820 people between 1972 and 2008; IRA attacks have killed about 1,829 people dating back to 1970; the only group that comes close in terms of deadly attacks is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), killing 4,835 people during the course of its existence

The treasure trove of documents, multimedia, and computers seized in the raid on bin Laden’s hideout is being exploited by intelligence experts for information on the terror network and future plots; on Thursday the FBI and DHS circulated to law enforcement units around the United States the first piece of information from the bin Laden raid: in February 2010 al Qaeda operatives discussed attacks on U.S. trains as a way to commemorate the 9/11 attacks; the discussions show that the planners, in order to achieve a maximum-casualty attack, were thinking of derailing a train so that it plunged into a ravine or fell off a bridge; the FBI-DHS Thursday warning urged local la enforcement to be circulated for clips or spikes missing from train tracks, packages left on or near the tracks, and other indications that a train could be vulnerable

With the death of Osama bin Laden, there is a growing expectation of revenge attacks against the United States and its interests, and growing questions about its new leadership; al-Qaeda co-founder Ayman al-Zawahiri may well be only a leader pro tempore; concerns and expectations of reprisal attacks grow; al-Zawahiri may be replaced by an American

They do not work for the CIA or military intelligence, but undergraduate students at UCLA two years ago helped develop an analytical tool which allowed them to predict Osama bin Laden’s hiding place — well, almost predicted: their model said that there was a 80.9 percent chance that bin Laden was hiding in the town of Abbottabad, where he was killed on Sunday by U.S. special forces; the students used a theory called “island biogeography”; the theory says that species on large islands are much more likely to survive a catastrophic event than species on small islands; “The theory was basically that if you’re going to try and survive, you’re going to a region with a low extinction rate: a large town,” says the professor who guided the research

Four quick points: first, there is little doubt that the information obtained by U.S. intelligence about the people in the different circles surrounding Osama bin Laden — information that finally allowed the United States to follow the route of one of OBL’s couriers all the way to OBL’s hideout — was obtained without reading the Miranda right to those interrogated and without advising them of their right to remain silent; second, was the invasion of Iraq a diversion from the hunt for OBL? Third, the war against terrorism is not a war over territory and assets; it is a war over symbols, psychology, perception, and public opinion; killing bin Laden from the air by bombing his compound would have achieved the same physical results, but not the same psychological results; fourth, on the prose and poetry of leadership

In a brilliant commando operation deep inside Pakistan, a Navy Seal team killed Osama bin Laden then took his body to an American military base in Afghanistan for DNA verification of his identity; the DNA matched; the operation got underway last August when information was gathered showing bin Laden hiding in a compound in a small Pakistani town 150 km north of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital; President Obama gave the go-ahead to the operation on Friday, 29 April; in addition to Bin Laden, three other men were killed in the operation, including one of Bin Laden’s sons — and a woman who was used by the men as human shield

There are eleven reasons why an individual may not be able to buy firearms or explosives in the United States — for example, being a convicted felon or an illegal immigrant; those on the U.S. terror watch list, however, are free to buy firearms and explosives; according to the FBI, in 2010 247 of them did — a similar number to that of 2009; some lawmakers want the attorney general to be able to prevent an individual on the watch list to buy a gun, but the counterargument is that the list is not always accurate, and that the attorney general is a political appointee; moreover, the list is secret, and letting people know they are on it may complicate the ability of law enforcement to track them and their associates