Rachel Maddow is one of the best “explainers” I’ve ever seen on television, let alone on a news show, and (as I too often remind folks when I make a statement like this) I’m no spring chicken.

After the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March of this year led to radioactive disasters at a half-dozen nuclear power plants, the most lucid, informative and understandable lay explanations of the crisis — the causes, technologies involved, dangers, etc. — were without question done by Rachel Maddow.

She’s also really good at focusing her attention on important stories — or angles on important stories — which might otherwise escape our notice.

Now she has done it again with a unique discussion of Osama bin Laden, and the strategy which was at the root of his style of asymmetrical warfare against the United States. Yes it was warfare, and yes, there was a sophisticated economic strategy which was the method at the heart of his literal madness.

And in some sense, yes, he was winning, because we were responding to him exactly as he predicted and intended.

Watch Rachel’s explanation here: