President Obama has announced that US forces have killed Osama Bin Laden:
“Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” Obama said. “A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”
If this is true –and it’s hard to imagine Obama announcing this without being absolutely sure about it — it will change little. Osama never was some sort of Blofeld and Al-Quida never was SPECTRE, useless without its leader. At Most Osama was an example, an inspiration for those who shared his ideology and with every nutter with a boxcutter able to call themselves Al-Quida, his death won’t be the end of it. That much is obvious.
So it’s good to see America celebrating this news with its usual good manners — groups of people inf ront of the White House with American flags chanting USA! USA! — because the war on Afghanistanwon’t end because of this. That long ago ceased to be about Al-Quida or Osama.
Meanwhile the most interesting thing about the news is that the American forces killed, rather than arrested Bin Laden. The president said this happened after a firefight, not during it, so it looks more like a gangland execution than a death in battle. Was this planned? It would’ve been interesting to see Osama Bin Laden in court but probably not very convenient for the US government…