The emotional celebrations in front of the White House are understandably an important part of a national catharsis. However, the media's eagerness to capitalize on the charged national mood by offering a tidy summary is misleading. Although Bin Laden's death is undoubtedly a landmark in the War on Terror, it by no means represents crossing a finish line. We do not yet know how involved Bin Laden was in the training, financing, and planning of Al-Qaeda's operations in recent years. If he had become disconnected from the core leadership while on the lam, then his death may not cause a serious operational disruption to the group. The symbolic significance is undeniable, but on its own, still may not be sufficient to cause the collapse of the organization. Audrey Kurth Cronin, author of "How Terrorism Ends," argues that "decapitation" is usually not enough independent of other factors. The recent democratic uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa have done a great deal to de-legitimize Al-Qaeda's founding premise that only asymmetrical holy war can bring about change. Couple that shifting landscape with the dramatic increase in drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Bin Laden's death may be enough to end Al-Qaeda as we know it.
9/11 was the most spectacular and traumatizing terrorist attack this generation has ever seen. After the attacks on New York and Washington, Bin Laden's legend grew to iconic status as the head of a terrorist organization with global reach and an agenda to take down the world's only super power. Before that terrible day, Bin Laden had been on par with the likes of Joseph Kony, the MRTA, Muammar Gaddafi, Idi Amin; murderous oddities on the fringe of American consciousness. Then entire world then knew the name Osama Bin Laden, a mass murderer and ideologue who delusionally strove for a transcontinental religious empire. For jihadist wannabes, he became an oversimplified brand whose subtext was deliverance from injustice, disrespect, and the ruin brought about by modernity. Other extremists took his mantle and started their own Al-Qaeda franchises in Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and even China. Terrorist groups similar to Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda will not stop targeting Americans. Extreme ideologies without the capability to confront a juggernaut like the U.S. military will always rely on ambushes, hiding amongst civilians, prying opportunities in open, cosmopolitan societies. As Bin Laden became more notorious, his role in directing attacks diminished, but the spread of his ideas is what made him most dangerous.
The death of Osama Bin Laden is certainly worth celebrating and while watching the revelry outside the White House I was struck by how young some of the people were. Some must have been children in 2001. It dawned on me that we too had bought into an oversimplified, grandiose idea of who Bin Laden was and what he stood for. As if all these extremist militants under his mantle would quietly go away, as if in an action movie. After 9/11, sympathy and support poured in from around the world and it was squandered in a wasteful war that had nothing to do with the attacks on two cities most emblematic of the United States. While rousing support for the War on Terror the United States became shamefully at ease with the blanket suspicion of Muslims. Islam was portrayed as a hateful monolith. There was no distinction made between secular dictators, militant groups with local agendas, and those touting a global holy war. Americans were told that breaking a tradition of anti-torture that was as old as their country was beyond question. Patriotism was said to trump the trampling of civil liberties. The United States had killed its boogieman, but terrorism did not start with Bin Laden and it will not end with his death. Justice has indeed been done, but the ideals that make the United States so great have been stained.
1: "Year of the Drone" New America Foundation
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