Osama bin Laden Dead: Gives the U.S.

a Hard-Fought Victory
(Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

President Obama announced to a stunned but elated

American television audience that Osama bin Laden,
the man responsible for a number of attacks against
American and Western interests, including the
September 11, 2001 attacks, has been killed deep
inside Pakistan.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, President Obama announced from the East Room
of the White House, “Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world
that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the
leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of
innocent men, women, and children.”

Several dozen Navy SEALS in four Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters ascended on a
heavily fortified compound in Abbottabad, near Islamabad, Pakistan. In the spate of 40
minutes a firefight ensued that killed Osama bin Laden, a known Al Qaeda courier,
one of bin Laden’s adult sons and a woman who was being used as a human shield.
No American was killed or injured in the raid and a helicopter that experienced
mechanical problems was destroyed.

Following Islamic tradition and practice that a body must be buried within 24 hours,
bin Laden has been buried at sea, according to U.S. officials.

The Al Qaeda courier and the fortified compound provided the U.S. intelligence
community the ability to pinpoint the Al Qaeda leader’s location. The compound was
significantly larger than surrounding buildings and its value was estimated to be
around $1 million USD. The U.S. intelligence community had been searching for the
courier for several years and his travels to visit bin Laden gave important clues as to
bin Laden’s whereabouts. Additionally, in order to give bin Laden a false sense of
security, the administration had reduced drone missile attacks in the area to encourage
bin Laden to stay longer in the area and not relocate to another safe house.

The killing of bin Laden could prove to be the defining moment in the nearly decade
long war on terrorism.
However, it remains to be seen whether bin Laden’s supporters will turn him into a
martyr and whether his death affords the Obama administration enough political
cover to start bringing home a limited number of troops from Afghanistan.

The fact that bin Laden was killed rather than captured affords the administration and
its Justice Department the ability to avoid the question of what they would have done
with bin Laden once in custody.

Following objections from both Democrats and Republicans over the initial plans to try
some September 11 suspects in civilian courts versus military courts the Justice
Department eventually abandoned these plans and will rely on military tribunals.

According to the White House, President Obama had convened a number of national
security meetings before final approval was given for the mission by the president
himself.

Before leaving to survey tornado damage in Alabama, the president made the final
decision to commence with the operation.

At the time of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 bin Laden evaded capture in
the mountains of Tora Bora. Following other missed opportunities, bin Laden was
believed to be hiding in Pakistan at which point the American intelligence community
had lost his trail until further evidence to his whereabouts came to light last August.
According to the president, “Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our
intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from
certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with
my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that
we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And
finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and
authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.”

The killing of bin Laden also affords the administration a rare foreign policy victory. It
was during a presidential debate in 2008 that then-Senator Obama declared, “We will
kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security
priority.” With the outcome in Libya still undecided, American troops still stationed in
Iraq and the Taliban’s spring offensive expected to be especially brutal for American
troops, the administration needed this victory to give it breathing room in Congress.
Reminiscent of Mr. Obama’s speech in Tucson, following the Gabby Gifford’s
shooting, the president used Sunday’s national television address from the White
House to call for unity and importantly denied his supporters the opportunity to gloat.
“And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know
that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of
our country and the determination of the American people,” Obama said.

After speaking with Obama by telephone, former President Bush said in a statement,
“I congratulated him [Obama] and the men and women of our military and
intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our
everlasting gratitude. This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for
people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on
September 11, 2001.”

Despite the fact that bin Laden’s death was well received with cheers in Washington,
DC and in New York City as well as being greeted with sighs of relief in many
European capitals, his death at the hands of American troops will surely exacerbate
tensions with Pakistan.

Despite repeated calls by Mr. Obama that he would authorize unilateral operations if
there was evidence that bin Laden was residing in Pakistan, the fact that Pakistani
officials were not told of the operation before it took place could heighten tensions
between the United States and Pakistan. Increased drone missile attacks along the
Pakistan/Afghan border have already angered many local residents.

However, bin Laden’s location at a compound deep within Pakistan and not along the
border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan has raised significant questions
about how well the Pakistani government has been cooperating with Al Qaeda
elements to keep his location a secret.

Bin Laden’s death occurs at a precarious time for Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda’s anti-Western
messaging has largely been rejected by many Arabs seeking wholesale change in the
Middle East. Many Arab youths have rejected the notion that Osama bin Laden’s
narrative was the only feasible path forward. According to the Brookings Institution’s
Martin S. Indyk, “It comes at a time when Al Qaeda’s narrative is already very much
in doubt in the Arab world…Its narrative was that violence was the way to redeem
Arab honor and dignity. But Osama bin Laden and his violence didn’t succeed in
unseating anybody.”
However diminished bin Laden’s role as leader of Al Qaeda has become due to his
many years of hiding to avoid being killed or captured, his death brings into sharp
focus the mission of the Obama administration to kill or capture the senior leadership
of Al Qaeda.

Counterfactually, despite the significance of killing bin Laden the United States and its
allies will have to still contend with Al Qaeda factions in Yemen, North Africa and the
Far East.

The war on terrorism is far from over but the killing of Osama bin Laden affords the
United States a significant victory.

John Lyman is the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Affairs Journal.