Bin the can!

Like many I woke this morning to the news that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan (BBC News). A relief to many in the Western World no doubt, given Bin Laden’s involvement in so much terrorism… There will be no greater and immediate celebration of the fact than in the USA, given the majority of the population there hold him singularly responsible for the 9/11 Twin Towers attack. My initial thought was “oh shit!”

Once the Americans have finished celebrating their turkey shoot, with marching bands and tailgate parties, will they realise they have suffered a massive own goal? Will giving martyrdom to a fanatical islamic extremist present an even greater danger than the ones we face at present? How will Al-Qaeda actually react to the demise of their leader? As martyrdom is what many of them actually crave, won’t Bin Laden’s death actually serve to strengthen their resolve. No doubt the Obama administration already has plans in place to combat possible revenge attacks however; many are wondering, will al-Qaeda survive in the long-run?

As Roger Hardy (Islamic affairs analyst) says in the BBC article; “Since the start of the year, some experts have argued that the uprisings in the Arab world have rendered it (al-Qaeda) irrelevant. They will see Bin Laden’s death as confirming the trend. Perhaps.” He continues “the root causes of radical Islam – the range of issues that enabled al-Qaeda to recruit disaffected young Muslims to its cause – remain, for the most part, unaddressed.”

The Americans may proclaim that, removal of the global jihad focal point is ‘in the can’ however, I don’t see them receiving a sudden deluge of Facebook ‘Friend’ requests from the Muslim world.

Al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden Dead (legendsarising.com)
President Obama Announces Osama bin Laden has be Killed (sugarslam.com)
World reacts on Twitter to Osama Bin Laden’s death (news-briefs.ew.com)
Bin Laden killing brings anger, relief in Arab world (theglobeandmail.com)

2 thoughts on “Bin the can!”

Pingback: Blogging: my personal views and opinion… « The Bankside Babble

Several hours after this incident hit the news, comment and observations abound. One of the more interesting was made by Sir Norman Tebbit Blogging in The Telegraph; The Government lavishes praise on the killers of Osama bin Laden while giving protection to IRA terrorists…

The more I think about it the more it seems to me that bin Laden was a bit of a mug not to come here and ask for political asylum. Had he managed to get his wife and family in first he would have had a very strong case on grounds of his right to family life, and a nice house all paid for by the British taxpayers, not to mention… (Read more)

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