I woke up at noon on Monday 2nd May after a much needed girl’s night out to discover that news of the death of Osama Bin Laden had already seived through the various media outlets. So being the social networking butterfly that I am growing to become (although I prefer the term New Media expert); I logged onto Facebook and Twitter for verification ( forget CNN and SKYNEWS!) Osama dead? Nooooo, surely not! It was a little surreal. Lastly, I tuned into the telly; of course (BBC News). I mean Yes; he remained America’s nemesis the world’s most wanted man but the last time I watched Aljazeera checked the news Qaddafi was still the one being chased! WTF?
My initial reaction was ‘whatever; drag his body on the streets for proof’ à la Saddam Hussain spectacle, they (world powers US, UK, France) wouldn’t miss out on a public humiliation opportunity surely? Surely? (high pitch voice). Nothing; just blooded sheets…( scratches head)
American congressmen expressed victorious sentiments on the news;
“..our brave American service members brought Osama bin Laden to justice. Nearly a decade has passed since he engineered the murder of thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, and I hope that this will finally bring the families of his victims a measure of peace,” Yucca Valley Assemblyman Paul Cook.
Others praised America’s intelligence agency’s unequivocal success in exterminating the vilain;
“The people of the world have seen once again that no matter who is president, America will be resolute in defending our citizens and fighting against terrorism. The death of Osama bin Laden will not end the terrorist threat, and we understand that we must remain vigilant and determined …” Congressman Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands
Luckily at least this dude saw something..
There are plenty of conspiracy theories but the most resonant ones are :
- Osama died in 2001
- Where is the body? (by me)
- Orchestrated death of Bin Laden to boost Obama’s re-election chances
- America wants to control the oil in Pakistan
I cannot help but wonder when the glorious day comes where we witness Bush and Blair being made accountable for partaking in the 9/11 attacks. Conspiracy theories and skepticism put aside (the Lord knows how much I doubt all this ‘news’) -it feels to me that the real war against terror is about to begin!
Yes, Al Qaeda also has links in Africa; although Bin Laden exerted no direct command or control over the various groups. I wonder if Africa will also become ‘a better place’ along with the rest of the world as president Obama expressed in his speech.
Thankfully for most tax payers, the world’s most expensive hide and seek game can be put to rest. Most importantly, the families who have lost a loved one can have some peace and closure.
Jubilant crowds gathered at Ground Zero to celebrate
But what about the rest of us? Perhaps this book can give us some answers. Understanding your adversary is the first step towards victory! I am soooo going to look for it; seriously! – I amuse myself sometimes lol 🙂
Is it too premature to declare ourselves victorious? Who will be getting on public transport and who will choose to get a cyclist’s license? – Bus, train, tram, heck; even planes, they’re public enough right?
Talk to me; what are your views? Are we safe now that OBL is dead?
Noughts-not-Crosses 
First of all, Osama being the leader that he was, he trained many people from different ends of the world. So he might be dead but another leader will rise up and they will probably be more radical than he was. Also we need to understand their purpose (Al-Qaeda) why they attack in the fist place, they desire democracy and believe the only way they could get one is through violence etc…….. the way they have killed him will bring frustration unto those who believe in him etc……………. bla bla
Yes, true. So maybe we need to offer the Muslim people justice, a better future; an overall better deal than they are getting from the martyrdom for sacrificing themselves as suicide bombers and through terrorism in the promise of a ‘better life’ in the after life?
The answer to this is very simple: WAR. Bin might be dead but AL QAEDA is still operating.
I cannot help but worry for my life and children, especially since they tend to target public places. It is impossible to know and plan for what will happen and when it will takes place .
God protects us all
It is clear James, that there will be reprisals. We must be vigilant, I might just apply for a cyclist’s license. Looool Especially since in London many of us commute on the train and bus on a daily basis.
Death of a terrorist is always a relief for the thousands of lives who could have crossed his paths so the answer is so obvious that i won’t even say it. The better way of presenting it would be : Bin Laden being killed by the russians during the first Afghan’s war, 15,000 taken lives would have still been part of the world population as we speak. So is the planet a better place? Let’s ask the 15,000 above + the 50,000,000 who board planes every second in the planet + an average of 2 persons per family of the 50,000,000 + their governments that are supposed to protect them from this mad man and his friends + probably a similar number of those threatened by other terrorists trying to emulate the mad man and all that computed with the impact on economy : more expensive security everywhere and cuts on social programs to compensate + increase of flight fares + turmoil in the financila market + increase in import duties + increase of raw materials…I can go on and on and on again.
Killing this mad man was in my view, the right decision. History proves us ht by doing because fundamentalism needs a living symbol in captivity to lean on, choping that head off does not eliminate the threat but it reshuffles the cards in a way more manageable by democratic countries. The USA choosing a ground team rather than a smart bomb droped by a drone wanted to demonstrate once again their military might as a message to anyone out there who believes he can wrong that country and pretend to get away with it. It adresses also all the conspiracy theories advocates in case anyone questioned if any one else has actually witnessed his death. The Navy Seals Group Six accounts almost 30 members + everyone in the situation room and in Langley who had access to the operation, these are witnesses enough. Last but not least, it adresses lack of confidence toward the main ally in the region, Pakistan with officials so corrupt, they offered “unwillingly” that is, safe heaven to the most violent terrorist in the human history. Now, will Obama benefits from it at least on the poll…yep, will USA benefit frm it in terms of geostrategy, weapon sales, intelligence consulting, etc….yep…that my friend, it is called a nation with a vision,the main being to defend the interest of its own people first.
Ousama Bin Laden dead, is the world a safer place? HELL YEAH !!!!!
Socio-economic analysis from Yves there is very compelling. This was the world most expensive hide ans seek game as I said, so in that respect the money can be put to good use. On a political level though, I think that Osama was an important pillar for the Bush administration to justify the ‘war against terror’ rampage. It is strange how the mass population (including me) have grown to accept everything that is thrown at us without questioning it and without requesting that leaders/ decision-makers are made accountable for certain things. I guess history will tell. But I agree with what you said
The short-term effect of Osama’s death will be retaliation attacks from the various groups. Worst vilans have existed,surely (?) mass killings remain mass killings. If anything it will inspire and motivate others to ‘fight for the just cause’. I don’t think that they should have killed him. He had a lot to answer for, I myself had a lot of unanswered questions lol; why kill the evidence?
As for Pakistan wanting an investigation for the illegality of the US operation on sovereign soil that’s another topic altogether.
I think that we need to worry about the legacy his death will have for the new breed of terrorists and the jihadism ideologies..ooohhhh i’m scuuurrred!
In my opinion, the US ‘s approach to world politics needs to be reassessed since they always seem to intervene to secure
petroltheir interests, or that of Israel.Hi maddy
I have not much time..:) studying for my exams …killing him was not the solution, especialy if they had an opportunity to catch him alive …he is seen a Martyr now by his followers…….but if that satisfy the world ( usa ) then so be it ! let me ask you a question, killing Sadham Hussein brought peace to the region \ world ????
God help us all !!!