The Elimination of Osama Bin Laden

Born in Saudi Arabia in 1957, Osama bin Laden was one of more than 50 children of millionaire businessman Mohamed bin Laden who eventually became one of the most instantly recognisable people on the planet. That a man living in distant lonely caves in Afghanistan could cause the US taxpayers to spend over 1 trillion dollars and engage themselves in a decade long war is a testament to the crooked ability of Bin Laden to influence thousands of people worldwide.

Bin Laden may be dead but his ideology is still alive. During the past few years he had removed himself from the execution role and had positioned himself as the thought leader of Al-Qaeda and turned Al-Qaeda into a propaganda hub that cultivated affiliated groups to organise and strike on their own. The current wave of Islamic extremism can’t be defeated by force, and to win this we must thrust a psychological defeat upon the followers of this crooked ideology who believe in propagating Islam through extreme acts of violence. Soviet Union was divided two years ago and the demise of communism started then. Have a look around the world and you still see the remnants’ of communist ideology in distant parts of the world, including India.

Bin Laden was finally found more than 9 and a half years after the 2001 attacks on the United States and with every passing day he was defeating the might of the US Army. Bin Laden changed the course of history and his death has again changed the course of history. That he had been hiding inside Pakistan was the suspicion of many analysts but that he would be inside the military garrison city of Abbottabad, about 35 miles north of Islamabad in Pakistan has come as a complete shock. Abbottabad is home to many retired Pakistan Army officers and remains today the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of Pakistan’s Northern Army Corps. The house where bin Laden died is just 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy.

Pakistan has been subjected to the worse humiliation and Bin Laden’s death near Islamabad poses awkward questions for Pakistan. This effectively seals off any possibility of any US President visiting Pakistan for the next 5 years. The swiftness with which his body was buried in the sea is a lesson for countries such as India who are faced with the prospect of having hard core terrorists inside the jails awaiting hanging since the past 5 years just because they have filled mercy petitions with the President of India. Terrorism calls for swift action and anybody posing a threat to the State and its people needs to be eliminated if found guilty.

Abbottabad remains today the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of Pakistan’s Northern Army Corps, and is dotted with military buildings and home to thousands of army personnel. The house where bin Laden died is just 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, was in the city last week for a  passing-out parade, where he said, “The terrorists’ backbone has been broken and God willing we will soon prevail.” That such a massive and unusual house with fortified walls and fences as well as close circuit cameras was allowed to remain undetected by Pakistani police and army sounds completely unbelievable.

The fact bin Laden was apparently living in relative luxury not far from Islamabad could pose awkward questions for Pakistan. This has been exactly the concern of the whole world that he had been hiding not in a remote border area but in the cities. After the elimination of Bin Laden, many in the Western world have woken to the realisation that Pakistan may be their next enemy. Political parties in Pakistan – JUI-F took out a rally in protest at Quetta calling Osama ‘Supreme Mujahid’, and Jamat-ul Dawa said that his ‘martyrdom‘ would not go in vain and offered funeral prayers.

Osama Bin Laden’s elimination is not just a long-awaited victory for the United States in the fight against terrorism but a significant and personal success for President Barack Obama. The death marks a psychological triumph in a long struggle, although its ultimate impact on al-Qaida is less clear. While this is an occasion to celebrate and for US to give themselves a pat on their back, excessive triumphalism will be over productive.

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