Osama Bin Laden

In general, I do not wish death upon anyone. It happens soon enough for all of us. However, I do make a few exceptions. Osama Bin Laden is one of them. Mass murderers (including terrorists) are my general exception. So I am pleased to hear about his death. Even though I believe that this is good for the United States, it comes at a cost.

Many people will think that the war is now over and we should exit the region. In general, these same people do not understand what the issues are that are causing the wars. Why did Bin Laden attack us in the first place? It must be believed that only he and his relatively small group hold the ideology behind the reasons that they wanted to destroy the U.S. Pakistan is a good case in point.

Pakistan is a divided country. Many people within Pakistan believe as Bin Laden did. This explains why it took so long to find him. Even within the government, many were protecting him. I am actually surprised that we were able to pull it off. It is a good sign that we were able to take this type of action within Pakistan itself. What is troubling is the fact that Pakistan is not the only country where we see this problem.

Just about every country in the Middle East has this issue. Just look at Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran and Iraq, just to name a few. Islamic nationalism is alive and well. (Look at the militias that were generated within Iraq after our invasion. Many fought to repel the ‘occupiers’ of Muslim ‘lands’. ) In fact, with the deal that Hamas and Fatah are working on, our enemies are looking to be more alive and united than ever in my lifetime. Bin Laden’s death may actually help in this. Just listen to what is being said about our action. After all, when the shooting starts, whose side would you take? It is only natural that many from that part of the world will side with Islamic ideology. And make no mistake. Hundreds of millions of people are believers in many of Islamic government concepts. This is where the war becomes so dangerous.

The war is NOT over. Our enemies are actually more united and powerful than I have seen in a long time. The war is coming here. It is already here to a small extent. Europe is far more advanced in this, and yet the United States is heading in the same direction, in a number of ways. We are on the strategic defensive. Bin Laden’s death was a tactical victory. It will not reverse the tide of the war, nor will his death end the war.