The Death of Osama Bin Laden

On May 2, 2011, United States President Barack Obama ordered Operation Neptune Spear to commence. That day the United States Navy SEALS raided Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, where he was then killed.

This event will go down as a moment in history. This is the day that the iconic symbol of the al-Qaeda was shattered, the day where the victims of 9/11 were one step closer to recovering, and the day the al-Qaeda vowed to seek revenge. This day was a proud moment in the lives of the average American citizen. But were they too proud? There were numerous celebrations over this man’s death nationwide. Although this was a somewhat necessary action, shouldn’t we still show some level of respect? Celebrating over Osama’s death will only further instill hatred among the al-Qaeda. It is inevitable that the al-Qaeda will retaliate. As stated by this Islamist group: “We will continue to hunt the Americans and their operatives inside and outside their country. Soon by God’s help, their happiness will be turned to grief and their tears will be mixed with their blood.”

Since May 2, security has been intensified across the US. Although the al-Qaeda have been hindered by Bin Laden’s death, it is very likely that this group will continue to exist. Bin Laden was a charismatic leader and an important symbol for this group, however he was not their powerhouse. The al-Qaeda are largely independent of the main leadership. The al-Qaeda have called on Pakistanis to “cleanse” their country of Americans and have threatened that the reign of terror’ is not over.

Many Muslim countries are defying Osama’s original principles: that terror and violence is necessary to overthrow a dictatorship. The Muslim world is beginning to seek democracy through non-violent protests, and this is ultimately killing the al-Qaeda’s ideology.

Whether the al-Qaeda’s threats are real or not is unknown, but it is clear that the rivalry between both the United States and this Islamic group is growing immensely. This unresolved conflict is bound to lead to further retaliations or acts of violence, but only time will tell.