Reflections on the death of Osama bin Laden
Some reflections on the killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan.
1. According to statistics reported by the Jerusalem Post, few among the Arab peoples actually supported bin Laden. Only among Palestinians was there a majority, both in Gaza under Hamas and in the PA on the West Bank under Fatah (note they also supported Saddam Hussein). In a statement Ismail Haniyeh, Head of Hamas, condemned the killing of bin Laden and called him a "Muslim warrior." Yet, not only are these two organizations discussing unity, but the PA received m$400 from the USA this year. Can anyone explain this, the US kills bin Laden but gives money to his major supporters. Where is the logic in this? Your tax dollars at work. If this annoys you, send a fax, e-mail or letter to your Congressman, Senator and/or President Barack Obama at the White House. Ask them to explain this discrepancy in US policy. Iran also criticized the "Zionist murder" of a Muslim hero, but one should note that bin Laden, as a leader of a militant Sunni Muslim organization, considered Shia Iran an enemy, and vice versa.
2. The death of bin Laden will not mark any particular watershed or change in history as did the attack on the Twin Towers in NYC thst he planned. There are few such seminal moments, such as WWII and the fall of communism. Al Qaeda, the organization he established to support the mujahideen in Afghanistan, has now sprouted into many branches. There are groups acting more or less independently in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Africa (Maghreb) and Yemen (Arabian peninsula), as well as some we probably don't know about. What we have robbed them of is their central icon, their symbol, and their figurehead. But, it is unlikely that any of the other leaders will have bin Laden's stature, imagination and capability to carry through such a brazen operation as the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon (luckily the attack on the White House was thwarted by the brave passengers of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania).
3. Although it took 10 years, the message to all terrorists out there is that you attack the US at your peril. Eventually, if you do manage to attack the US or its interests or its people, you will be hunted down and shot. There is no escape. It was shown by this attack that "targeted assassination" is a major and legitimate military means to remove the "head of the snake", i.e. leaders of terrorist organizations. There has been very little carping from "human rights activists" about Osama bin Ladin's targeted assassination, unlike their reaction to Israel's legitimate use of this tactic to reduce terrorism against its citizens. Israel has been criticized for carrying out targeted killings of Hamas terrorist leaders in Gaza, such as Sheikh Yassin or Mabhouh in Dubai. Next time this happens remember Osama bin Laden. No one attacks us and kills our people and gets away with it either! You have to be in our shoes, or those of the people who lost loved ones at ground zero, to know what I mean. Walk a mile in our shoes and you'll understand!
4. The fact that Osama bin Laden apparently lived quietly and undetected for up to five years in a large private compound adjacent to the main military training school in Pakistan sends a clear message, Pakistan cannot be trusted. That is why the US did not inform the Pakistan Government in advance of its operation to attack Osama bin Ladin's compound. The Pakistan intelligence service, ISI, was responsible fro supporting the Taliban against the Afghan Government, although it supposedly stopped that support after 9/11. But, there is little doubt that there are people in the ISI and in Pakistan in general that continue to aid Osama and his al Qaeda organization, and probably the present weak Pakistan Government can do nothing about this. That is why targeted killings in sovereign foreign countries is a legitimate military tactic.
5. Another unanticipated side effect of the killing of Osama bin Laden could ironically be the re-election of Barack Obama as President of the US in 2012. When you see a room full of Republicans as well as Democrats giving him a standing ovation, you know something has changed. Indeed, his popularity had sunk very low, due to the financial crisis, the health care fiasco, his failure to take the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and his vacillating foreign policy. So far the Republicans have failed to produce a viable candidate, and this renewed popularity, as well as the advantages of incumbency, may take him over the top.
1. According to statistics reported by the Jerusalem Post, few among the Arab peoples actually supported bin Laden. Only among Palestinians was there a majority, both in Gaza under Hamas and in the PA on the West Bank under Fatah (note they also supported Saddam Hussein). In a statement Ismail Haniyeh, Head of Hamas, condemned the killing of bin Laden and called him a "Muslim warrior." Yet, not only are these two organizations discussing unity, but the PA received m$400 from the USA this year. Can anyone explain this, the US kills bin Laden but gives money to his major supporters. Where is the logic in this? Your tax dollars at work. If this annoys you, send a fax, e-mail or letter to your Congressman, Senator and/or President Barack Obama at the White House. Ask them to explain this discrepancy in US policy. Iran also criticized the "Zionist murder" of a Muslim hero, but one should note that bin Laden, as a leader of a militant Sunni Muslim organization, considered Shia Iran an enemy, and vice versa.
2. The death of bin Laden will not mark any particular watershed or change in history as did the attack on the Twin Towers in NYC thst he planned. There are few such seminal moments, such as WWII and the fall of communism. Al Qaeda, the organization he established to support the mujahideen in Afghanistan, has now sprouted into many branches. There are groups acting more or less independently in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Africa (Maghreb) and Yemen (Arabian peninsula), as well as some we probably don't know about. What we have robbed them of is their central icon, their symbol, and their figurehead. But, it is unlikely that any of the other leaders will have bin Laden's stature, imagination and capability to carry through such a brazen operation as the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon (luckily the attack on the White House was thwarted by the brave passengers of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania).
3. Although it took 10 years, the message to all terrorists out there is that you attack the US at your peril. Eventually, if you do manage to attack the US or its interests or its people, you will be hunted down and shot. There is no escape. It was shown by this attack that "targeted assassination" is a major and legitimate military means to remove the "head of the snake", i.e. leaders of terrorist organizations. There has been very little carping from "human rights activists" about Osama bin Ladin's targeted assassination, unlike their reaction to Israel's legitimate use of this tactic to reduce terrorism against its citizens. Israel has been criticized for carrying out targeted killings of Hamas terrorist leaders in Gaza, such as Sheikh Yassin or Mabhouh in Dubai. Next time this happens remember Osama bin Laden. No one attacks us and kills our people and gets away with it either! You have to be in our shoes, or those of the people who lost loved ones at ground zero, to know what I mean. Walk a mile in our shoes and you'll understand!
4. The fact that Osama bin Laden apparently lived quietly and undetected for up to five years in a large private compound adjacent to the main military training school in Pakistan sends a clear message, Pakistan cannot be trusted. That is why the US did not inform the Pakistan Government in advance of its operation to attack Osama bin Ladin's compound. The Pakistan intelligence service, ISI, was responsible fro supporting the Taliban against the Afghan Government, although it supposedly stopped that support after 9/11. But, there is little doubt that there are people in the ISI and in Pakistan in general that continue to aid Osama and his al Qaeda organization, and probably the present weak Pakistan Government can do nothing about this. That is why targeted killings in sovereign foreign countries is a legitimate military tactic.
5. Another unanticipated side effect of the killing of Osama bin Laden could ironically be the re-election of Barack Obama as President of the US in 2012. When you see a room full of Republicans as well as Democrats giving him a standing ovation, you know something has changed. Indeed, his popularity had sunk very low, due to the financial crisis, the health care fiasco, his failure to take the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and his vacillating foreign policy. So far the Republicans have failed to produce a viable candidate, and this renewed popularity, as well as the advantages of incumbency, may take him over the top.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:45 PM
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