In the nearly 10 years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, if there was a man who could claim responsibility for single-handedly setting the world's agenda, it was Osama bin Laden. As the smiling face behind the 9/11 attacks, the leader of a global terror network that reared its head in countries from the U.S. to the United Kingdom to Indonesia, bin Laden changed the way we led our lives in more ways than has yet been fully understood. With the attacks on the Twin Towers, the U.S invaded Afghanistan, unleashing a war that has claimed thousands of civilian lives, in which much of the western world is involved to a greater or lesser degree. It did not make the world a safer place as promised but only made people everywhere more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Al-Qaeda's alleged spread into Saddam Hussein's Iraq was one of the reasons cited by the Bush administration for the 2003 invasion of that country. With an ideology that offered nothing but a pledge to destroy the U.S. and the “enemies of Islam” everywhere, bin Laden and his network of jihadists exploited a welter of real and perceived grievances of populations in the Islamic world, both against their own governments and the outside world, especially the U.S. In the al-Qaeda solution, there was no room for negotiations, bargains, or compromises with the “enemy.” The true path was that of violence, which created a self-fulfilling prophesy of a “clash of civilisations” by drawing the U.S. and other western powers into an ever-spiralling war against “terror” — a war al-Qaeda and its ally, the Taliban, and other groups linked to them by their radical ideologies were able to project as a war against Islam, strengthening bin Laden's hands with every passing day. The U.S. had been pursuing him even before 9/11, in fact from as far back as 1992. After his escape from the fierce assault on his hideout in Afghanistan's Tora Bora caves, he was suspected to be hiding in Pakistan. His killing on the night of May 1, in a targeted operation by U.S. Navy Seals at his hideout 150 km from the Pakistan capital city Islamabad, is a landmark development in the “war against terror.”
Beyond relief, what implications does this development hold for the world? When President Barack Obama announced the death of bin Laden in an address from the White House, he was correct in cautioning that this did not mean the end of al-Qaeda. Over the decade since 9/11, the network has expanded, spread, morphed, and broken off into what have come to be known as “al Qaeda franchises” round the world. These franchises have shown their ability to plan and carry out attacks in their area of operation independently of bin Laden. Only last year, a plot to carry out a bombing in the United States with explosives packed in couriered parcels was uncovered in the nick of time; the plot was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AIQM). Last month al-Qaeda warned it would unleash “a nuclear hell storm” in Europe, giving rise to fears that it might have a nuclear bomb. There is a real possibility that the killing of bin Laden will turn him into a martyr, inspiring others to take up the battle. Certainly, countries around the world are bracing for reprisal attacks. Much, however, depends on how Washington conducts itself from this point onwards. For starters, President Obama needs to rethink the war in Afghanistan. If the ultimate objective is to talk to “moderate” Taliban in order to negotiate an end to this war, there is no justification for further military operations in that country, and no excuse for delaying the departure of the U.S. and other foreign troops.
Pakistan certainly has some soul-searching to do. Its political leaders and officials always rejected suspicions that the al-Qaeda leader was holed up in their country. It is deeply troubling that the 54-year-old bin Laden, for whom the U.S. had announced a bounty of $50 million, had made a home not in some remote inaccessible corner of Pakistan, but in one of its most pleasant cities, close to the capital, in a house that was so big it could not have escaped notice. That it was located less than a kilometre from the Kakul Military Academy is even more troubling. Is it believable that Pakistan's intelligence agencies did not know about the presence of the world's most wanted terrorist? Did they ignore what was going on under their noses? Or worse, were they involved in maintaining the safe haven? During his 2008 election campaign, President Obama pledged that if there was “actionable intelligence” about bin Laden in Pakistan, he would authorise action with or without Islamabad's help. In his speech, he was careful to highlight Pakistan's counter-terrorism cooperation. But this daring operation, eight months in the planning, had no Pakistanis on board. In the last few months, relations between the two countries have deteriorated over the CIA's covert operations inside the country.
While much blame can be apportioned to the way the U.S. has conducted itself in the region, for Pakistan the killing of bin Laden on its soil is a moment of truth, somewhat similar to the discovery that the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were launched from its territory, only much bigger in its implications. In India, which has tried to overcome the public's hostility towards Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks through a series of peace moves under the personal initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it will certainly be hoped that the death of bin Laden strengthens the hands of those forces in Pakistan who want their state to shut the door on militancy, extremism, and terrorism once and for all. While it may be tempting to see bin Laden's killing at Abbottabad as confirmation of India's worst fears, New Delhi must resist the temptation to crow, and must push ahead with the peace process with the civilian government of Pakistan.
Keywords: Osama bin Laden killing, CIA, 9/11 mastermind, war on terror, Obama administration ISI, Pentagon, jihadi groups, Afghan war
One has to wish for utopia to realise what you said 'the death of bin Laden strengthens the hands of those forces in Pakistan who want their state to shut the door on militancy, extremism, and terrorism once and for all'.
If there was ONE voice of reason in Pakistan's Politics, Military, Intelegentia, media, educational institutions or madrassas we have not heard them in the past 60 years. It is is not that we are deaf but such voices have been snuffed out a long ago in Pakistan.
Killing of Osama Bin Laden may not end terrorism, but it has sent a strong message to the terrorist organizations: 'hands off America'. No wonder, USA has not been attacked after 9/11, while India gets periodical doses of terrorist attacks. We, Indians tend to rationalize and even philosophize our indecision, inability and lack of courage to act against terrorism. India should learn from USA and strike , in covert or overt ways, against known enemies of India, such as Dauwd Ibrahim.
Undoubtedly, one of the best episode in the ongoing turnmoil by satan of peace. It is satisfying that atleast from now we dont have such an architect of terrorism in our world. But as stated by Obama that this doesnt mean the end of al qaeda, the question of a peaceful and harmonious civilization remain the same. Now the technique and trend of war on terrorism need reforms, so that the ultimate objective of peace should sustain.Again a setback for Pak in its action on breeding terror and extremism, they need to just grow up and may generate a positve response on such issue, that not only help their country toppling democracy but also help to grow a healthier relation with its neighbor. With Osama in Pakistan, the story of a Hindi movie came in my mind but the only diference is thae the movie was a fiction and imaginative but the incidence happened is real.
As always great editorial. Yes, "New Delhi must resist the temptation to crow, and must push ahead with the peace process with the civilian government of Pakistan." Only by strenthening the civilian government of Pakistan can India hope for peace.
The thrilling execution of the world's most wanted man has come as a huge relief for the US and those fighting the 'war on terror' not because of the fact that it has freed the world from curse of terrorism but because it has now given them the much needed justification for waging this war for so long. Voice of the critics can now be conveniently silenced because the Obama and Co. now have the answer to the questions of gross human rights violations, brutalizations of thousands of innocent lives.
Your editorial treats the key points of the issue in a balanced manner. One must not, however, forget that what the U. S. has done is shooting down one of its own creations. There would have been no bin Laden if the U. S. had not used terror strategies to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan; if it had not intervened and fought unnecessary wars in West Asia; and if it had dealt justly with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. still does not acknowledge any of its mistakes, but rather continues to export wars and violence, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. The U. S. must review its foreign policy and change its course.
'Jihad' is a holy war which is fought against people who are a threat to the Islamic religion (OR) who oppose its teachings;(Cambridge Dictionary).Shahid is one who lays down his life in the path of Almighty, not necessarily taking part in the war; even one who dies of a natural death is referred to as shahid.I don't t know why our Hindu readers very often misquote these words. Dr.Zakir Naik once correctly replied 'What Lord Rama did to Ravana' is jihad.
It was U.S. which exploited the welter of real in Afghanistan and Iraq by stationing its army and killing thousands of innocent people. U.S. anticipates reprisals from Pakistani public and hence the orders for closing its consulate till further orders. If Americans have real guts & conscience, they should have continued their diplomatic affairs with out closing their consulate. Now the Americans are suffering from 'Islamophobia', continue committing mistakes after mistakes & reap the consequences of killing thousands of innocent Muslims. US which trained bin Laden against Russians in Afghanistan. Camouflage of U.S. against 'war against terror' is nothing but war for oil fields for its future use. Other European allies are share holders of uncle Sam's oil franchise. No doubt, if our country were rich in oil fields like Arab, U.S. will definitely try to fish in the troubled waters of Ayodhya. One can believe ones own enemy, but not a friendly enemy who is friendly to our enemy.
In spite of his departure ,we can not come to a conclusion Terror is over.The Young followers ,may follow the foot steps of their Great Terrorist.
On 25th September, 2001, while President GW Bush was readying his response to the 9/11 attack on US locations, the Hindu had published a remarkable opinion piece "Avoid Osama's Trap" (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/09/25/stories/05252523.htm), by Bernard Haykel, a New York University specialist on Islamic studies.
Professor Haykel had argued compellingly that the vast majority of Muslims worldwide were utterly horrified by the 9/11 attack and would utterly disavow it as being an action entirely contrary to the teachings of Islam: Osama had, at that time, Haykel showed, gathered only about 4000 people to his cause of jehad against the USA (out of a Muslim population worldwide of over 1 billion!!_. Haykel suggested that President GW Bush should therefore NOT rush headlong into his Afghan adventure. The US, said Haykel, "Should not send U.S. or Western troops and Special Forces into Afghanistan with the aim of arresting or killing Osama bin Laden. He has thought about this scenario and desires it. A military attack on him would provide a double victory: if he is killed he dies a martyr and symbol of resistance to Western domination; he also gets to kill a number of U.S. soldiers and tarnishes the image of America in the minds of ordinary Muslims."
As to what the US SHOULD do, Haykel suggested: "We must publish a list of all the Muslims and women and children who died in the World Trade Center attack, since Islamic law categorically prohibits this. We must engage our own Muslim community leaders, and send the respected ones among them with facts to the Middle East and South Asia to meet with impartial and respected Islamic legal scholars; people who are respected by the man on the street and who are clearly not in the employ of their respective Governments. Scholars in Mecca, Medina and Riyadh will be central in this regard, as will scholars in India and Pakistan. These scholars must be convinced to issue fatwas declaring Osama bin Laden's teachings and opinions illegal. Because it is prohibited by mainstream Islam, they cannot declare Osama bin Laden an infidel (a practice called takfir) and we should not expect this of them. These opinions will help bolster the consensus mentioned above and may convince the Taliban that they need to hand Osama bin Laden over. We must encourage Muslim countries to lead the fight against Osama bin Laden. Support the Northern Alliance which has 15,000 troops in Afghanistan and work on the Pakistani moderates to get involved in the fight. If retribution, as seems to be the case, has to take place and America must feel it is the prime agent in the pursuit of justice, then no military action can afford not to involve moderate Muslim forces and their cooperation. This is not a plea for war, far from it: there is too much bellicose rhetoric as it is. In the not too distant future, we must make some subtle noises that we will be willing to reassess our foreign policies in the world."
As it turned out, GW Bush did not listen to that excellent advice, and marched to his 'Crusade' against the Muslim world: starting with his foolish attack on Afghanistan, he just two years later also marched triumphantly into Iraq! We all know what happened: the US (and the rest of the world with it) has been paying ever since) in trillions of dollars for GW Bush's foolish decisions then. And we have all been paying much more as all those resources of money and effort expended on the Bush Wars were totally lost forever - and we were entirely unable to pay attention to any of the global issues that really trouble us: lack of energy resources; global warming; deforestation; pollution; poor educational systems; and so on. Undoubtedly President Barack Obama is vastly wiser in word and in deed than the 'Crusader' President GW Bush - but the real issue is that we most likely do not have the time to cure our real ills.
What are the lessons we in India should draw from this historical instance? Have we drawn any useful lessons? I believe, sadly, that we have not.
Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster. You kill one and ten other arise. The remedy lies in a twofold approach, the short term and the long term. Kill one swiftly that shows itself on the radar screen, and kill without mercy. Employ the full military valour in it, the power of the arm. And there cannot be any compromise in it. The other is the long term rapprochement wherein more of the civil than the political engagement works itself out promoting sound civic and principled possibilities. Exchange of cultural, educational, commercial measures could bring about a slow change. This should eventually lead to a kind of federation between the two countries. After all, partition was an artifact produced by a dubious element, and this has to be corrected. If such a lesson is learnt, then we could be really thankful to the American aggressiveness in their single-minded objective of symbolically destroying the cause of all this turmoil. They did it, but perhaps they do not know what is really valuable. The depth is yet unplumbable. The full sub-continental spirit has to emerge. Will that happen?
We really wonder whether it is the fall of jihadis with the killing of Osama. We are really forced to think that the war has only begun with the groups realigning themselves. Now there is no head to guide or plan things. It will be like a guerilla war type henceforth. One thing is very sure. Pakistan is going to pay a heavy price for harbouring or protecting the terror groups closer to its heart. While debating on NDTV channel, with Burka dutt, one Pak commentator openly challenged in response to the hysteria being created here about US type attack to flush out the masterminds of 26/11. He wondered whether India possessed the type of resources both financial and the weapon power to dare such attacks. As you have rightly pointed out in your Editorial, India is left with no choice than to build bridges with Pakistan at this juncture. Any type of war hysteria will invite the terror groups to our doorstep. Pak will be too willing to divert the splinter groups to come to their Eastern borders. After all, when they can hide Osama, this is no big deal for them. We should stop crowing about terror outfits and ensure that we are awake at all times.
The closing paragraph which advocated diplomacy with Pakistan didn't quite go down well with me.Especially after it became quite apparent that bin laden had been hiding within Islamabad with a military basement few kilometers away.Doesn't that provide substantive evidence that similar high profile terrorists are being provided safe havens by Pakistan to use its soil for carnage across the world.The immediate need of the hour is not to pursue dialogue but to put Pakistan under an intense radar and put pressure on them to dig out and hunt down such qualified terrorists operating from within their territory and dismantle the deep rooted terror network.Equally important is to press them to take the severest of the severe action against the names linked to Mumbai 26/11.There is no way talks can be initiated without justice being delivered to those who lost their loved ones.I believe that with Osama finished, a moral and confidence breakdown of the AL- qaeda is conceivable, but their resurgence and retaliation cannot be altogether dismissed.India and the rest of the world should beef up their security immediately and be more alert and vigilant.
After 9/11 gruesome incident America's pride was razed to the ground.By killing bin Laden after a decade long sustained efforts America has regained its lost pride.But how far Laden's death would demoralise the terrorists or lessen the incidences of terrorism world over is yet to be seen.What's important is Laden's killing in Pakistan's soil put the country on the dock.It's now proved beyond doubt that Pakistan is the safe haven of terrorists, if not the breeding ground of terrorism as is being allegeed by India.
Does the death of Osama bin Laden means that the war on terrorism is over? Can we be relieved now that the boogieman is killed? Was 10 years of war, thousands of lives lost, many thousands more harassed, living in fear,was it all worth it?
The reality is Al Qaeda and other such organizations are bigger than ever. They are more spread out and recruit more men, majority of them young and raised from childhood in an atmosphere of hatred towards the West.There are more such organizations coming up. The credibility of America has taken a beating in middle East after what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq. No country, however isolated or remote it may call itself to these happenings, is safe. The world, in general is a much more dangerous place to live in now than it ever was. We can only hope that sanity prevails and that no further Osamas are created in the first place by the power hungry countries.
We should not forget that those who say that they have taken revenge and done justice have their own hands stained in innocent blood.
We should know that Pakistan can never succeed in shutting down terror groups. Will U.S stop believing Pakistan beyond its limits? Why no tactics of international politics and diplomacy could win terrorists burgeoning out of Pakistan soil one after the other? The fact is that Terror kingpins are privileged to get security cover and even honored by the Political democracy including Legislature, Executive and judiciary, which are under the clemency of joint consortiums of military and mafia. Leaked Pentagon docs had clearly revealed the U.S annoyance on the Pakistan's ambiguous policies towards terrorism while depending on its war against militia in Afghanistan. U.S has to discontinue its dramas which were clouding-off the imagination of the global communities. U.S cannot conceal the double-standards of Pakistan that fights against certain extremists and simultaneously harboring others. All these years Pakistan never intensified actions against a host of terrorist groups as the intelligence agencies and unfortunately certain vested interests were there in government or Military which saw them as their 'future strategic assets' against India! Pakistan must dismantle this sort of mindset, otherwise it will have blank future.We all know about the collaboration of the terror network in Afghanistan with local insurgent groups in Afghan-Pak boarder and housing training camps that are full-fledged by advantageously converting into small and mobile clusters to be undetected by security forces. Reports on these camps captured news headlines in last year when the U.S investigation Officers probed the accused New York terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan expatriate who had fled to Pakistan in the last year and camped at Peshawar in the North-West frontier for undergoing training on weapons and explosives. This was evident from the indictment by the DoJ (Dept. of Justice) in U.S on the Pak involvement of terror attacks targeting America and England.There is a threat that non-state actors or terrorists of Pakistan might even get hold of nuclear material and misuse to develop weapons to take the world into ransom. Thus it is quite natural that India must be too much concerned on the Sino-Pak nuclear deal.
Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Osama etc. are clandestine monsters created by USA itself, USA nurtured Taliban to contain spread of Russian communism and Al-Queda is the result of USA's oil politics. Now USA is destroying them to avoid it's own destruction. With the killing of Osama one cycle is complete but several others are in the process of completion like Qaddafi, Pakistan's extremists etc. This is the cycle of 'Jaisi Karni Vaisi Bharni' i.e. what you sow will you reap.
THE HINDU is being totally insensitive in suggesting rapproachment and talk peace with Pakistan. This , inspite of the fact, that Pakistan has been shielding and brazenly refusing to act on the 26/11 planners sitting in that country and continue to mock at India's impotency and its inability to punish them. If we have to take the US route in forming a partnership for terror and send-in our special forces to take out Hafez Saeed , may be it is worth talking to them, but we are only a regional power, not a super power like the US.My view is, no talks with Pakistan until Justice is served on the victims of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. The Govt. owes it to its people and the surviving families of the victims, and "No Talking unless verifiable Action" line of policy is the least that is expected of the Govt. Both THE HINDU and MMS, in my view, dont reflect the majority Indian opinion, in advocating for talks with Pakistan. MMS ,of course, has other reasons to talk ,just to divert attention from his current domestic predicament.
Aside from this, the rest of the Editorial contents are absolutely valid and brilliantly conceived. One must admit with a grudge the superb single minded approach of the US in pursuing the most wanted terrorist responsible for 9/11 and punishing him. Wish our forces are as committed as the US's forces in tackling terror across the border. When even smaller states like Israel sends in planes and missles if they are provoked, we settle for a Director General's Flag meeting for a tea even if Pakistan bombards us on our borders regularly, as a cover to send-in terrorists.I feel ,the killing of Osama Bin Laden, should be seen as a turning point in atleast one way. It must dawn on the policy makers in US that the creation of a phenomena such as Bin Laden is due to their own inconsistent and dishonourable foreign policy leading to uninvited interventions in Gulf ,in gross violation of those countries' sovriegnity, and more importantly, their half-hearted attempts at solving the longest conflict in the Gulf, namely the one between Arabs and Israel. Unless US Policy makers show vision and boldness in their foreign Policy designs and initiatives, fanatics like Osama Bin Laden will continue to be born and kill and maim innocent people, all under the garb of jihad and religion .This is more of a wake-up call for US foreign policy nerds ,than even for AlQueda.
As you have rightly said ,India must resist the temptation to crow for the simple reason that America orchestrates everything,be it pampering Bin Laden in the 80s or conspiring against him after 9/11.As pointed out by Prakash Karat,how could America have remained unaware of Bin Laden's existence in Pakistan.It suited America now to kill him without waiting for the consequences for Pakistan and in it remains a lesson for India-beware the Americans and conduct the country's foreign policy on principles of justice and fairness.Pakistan stands as the supreme example of what will happen to a country unreasonably tied to the apron strings of a superpower.
Pakistan's military and civillian brass needs to do more than 'some soul searching' as you mentioned. The Indian side always maintained that Pakistan trained, financed, armed, instigated and gave sanctuary to the corss-border terrorists. This stand has been vindicated now. The US administration for their own political ends may profess the innocence of Pakistan in the Osama affair. But to the world at large, Pakistan with full knowledge was harboring the most dreaded face of Islamic terror.
The leader of international terrorism is no more there to plan and execute deadly terrorist attacks. But the terrorist infrastructure he created and its underlying 'ideology' are still alive. The US and other countries have a long way to go before they push to the pages of history the unconventional warfare of the type which Osama bin Laden and others of his ilk have been engaged in during recent years.
The editorial has very aptly presented the implications of the big moment in the history of 'War against terror' .Retaliations should not be a concern as there was never any kind of cease fire for keeping Osama alive.Al Qaida has always been looking for opportunities to disrupt the world peace as it was evident by its plan to bomb the Times Square some time earlier. Far from implications the need from world peace perspective US needs to attain a paradigm shift in its policies towards Pakistan.Time and time again it has lighten the fact that Pakistan is a safe haven for major terrorist groups. Therefore the United States needs to define its priority between 'War against terror' or to have a soft hold in Asia to counter China.
Osama was a terrorist given birth by the US to counter USSR now Russia and later the plan backfired .Killing a terrorist is just another news and it wont effect the mentality prevailing amongst terror groups or in other way its going to augment the hatred.To procure World peace the not just the problem but the source of the problem needs to be killed. It's been all work of haste after 9/11 , now its time for complete analysis of the problem and than drafting a solution for it with no innocent civilian causalities else it would be difficult to differentiate between militant and military.
The bigger picture is that Osama's death does not specify end of jehad or terrorism . Its more complex issue or topic to mull or think upon, how to put an end to it? Osama was the only the face or a tip of the iceberg . But how can we convince some people who had seen him as an inspiration . As i read that few media are calling Osama's death as 'shaheed'. How the whole world is going to make that right . But i believe that every people in this world has his or her opinion and conceive things their own way but a sense of rationality has to established to resolve such complex issues.
The death of Osama Bin Laden has undoubtedly brought the curtains down on a decade which started with the attack on twin towers and ended with Osama's death. This particular decade was significant for many reasons. The prime reasons among them being the increased resolve of the whole world to fight terror cohesively. The flagbearer in this war against terror was the united states of america. India on its part chose either to suffer from the terror strikes or speak intermittently sometimes. I do feel that more effort was needed from india's side
What does the death of Osama hold for the future of world politics? There will be an increase in terrorist activities in near future to avenge the death of Laden, but the death would do more than good to punch a silent death to the terror groups in long term future happenings. Active co-operation is required from the countries to counter this global menace. Moreover, the muslim countries need to be taken in confidence and made to understand that development and prosperity for their children should be their prime concern rather than fighting jihad propagated by a sinister religious preacher. Islam always teaches peace not violence. Education should be made available in remote corners of the world so that people can understand the difference between a holy war that is jihad and a war suggested by some religious fanatics. Once people are educated, development follows into the region nad prosperity kicks in, people will have no reasons to fall into the trap. In fact, most of the terrorists fight for their stomachs rather than for the cause. Kasab is an excellent example.
Even if India does indeed push ahead with the normalization of ties, the fact that Bin Laden was killed just 80 km from the capital totally destroys the credibility of the civilian government. The talks may continue, but it is fanciful to expect a breakthrough because the Army has a stake in keeping the Indo-Pak ties fractious. There have been a number of big gestures by India, followed by events which took the relationship back a long way. So it is always going to be like in the old Tamil saying(loosely translated) 'Go up a span and go down a cubit'. It sounds cynical, but there have been too many false dawns.
Over and over, Pakistani leaders reiterated that Osama Bin Laden was not in Pakistan. For India the question is: How do you negotiate with Pakistan, where civilian leaders have no control over their own army and its secret service?
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