The Death of Osama Bin Laden: Success and Crisis

At long last, the Americans have managed to eliminate their primary target in their War on Terror. What looked like searching for a needle in a haystack has finally been met with success. It is safe to say that the world is a better place without him. However Osama Bin Laden is dead, not Al-Qaeda! It is in fact a very crucial time and the Americans and their allies must remain vigilant. However charismatic a villain Osama may have been, he was one man. The structure and network of Al-Qaeda still remains and as such still pose just as credible a threat as before. If anything, vigilance should be enhanced.

The reason is two-fold. Firstly, it is no secret that Osama was held in high regard, even glorified (?), by many fundamentalist Muslims. That could be easily manipulated by Al-Qaeda operatives to garner favorable support using a concept of vendetta.

The second reason for increased vigilance is to create further inroads in to the War on Terror by striking strategic blows on Al-Qaeda networks, while it is in relative disarray. Their obvious attempts to consolidate must be quashed.

No doubt, the death of Osama is a landmark success in the War on Terror, but it also presents a potential crisis. Over exuberant celebration and thinking that the worst is over will be a classic case of myopia. One that future generations will reflect as an opportunity lost!