In this post, I raise two questions: “Is Osama Bin Laden dead?” and “Does it matter?”
The answer to the first question is “Yes” — that is, if you believe the sources cited by Robert Fox in the first paragraph of an article he wrote for Great Britain’s The First Post today:
Osama bin Laden, charismatic founder of al-Qaeda, died of typhoid earlier this month in Pakistan, according to a highly classified intelligence brief given to the King of Saudi Arabia and President Chirac this week, and leaked to the French newspaper L’EstRepublicain.
Now that I’ve answered that question, I’ll answer the second one with a resounding “No!” and base that answer, in part, on what Fox wrote deeper in the article:
“(Al-Qaeda) has never done anything like 9/11 since,” he writes before proceeding to explain away attacks in Bali, Mombasa (Kenya), Madrid and London as having been “carried out in the name of Islamic revolution — adopting the al-Qaeda logo as it were — but they were not under bin Laden’s direct command.”
The remainder of my opinion is based on statements published in an article, Islamist Forum Debates the Fate of Bin Laden, in which Abdul Hameed Bakier highlights opinions of Muslims participating in a week-long online forum during which the possible reasons behind the disappearance of Osama Bin Laden from the international spotlight were discussed.
One of those participants, Baseer Al-Hijrawi, claimed a jihadi leader in Afghanistan announced on May 18 that bin Laden was alive and well and participating in jihad with his fellow mujahideen. He also reminded others in the forum that all individuals must die eventually and that the best death is through martyrdom. Through martyrdom, he said, one sets an example for many to follow in the path of jihad, such as in the model case of al-Zarqawi.
So there you have it. The War on Terror will not end with the death of a figurehead leader like Bin Laden, because the crazy jihadists follow an ideology, not a man. Furthermore, I believe the War on Terror will end only after the West renders all Islamic jihadists impotent and harmless, using all tools at our disposal.
One man’s sobering opinion.
5 responses so far ↓
1 NoisyRoom.net » Blog Archive » Noisy News from Around the Web - 6/12/07… // Jun 12, 2007 at 7:06 pm
[...] Dead or Alive — Does Osama Bin Laden Matter? – Bob McCarty Writes Bookmark to: Sphere It [link] [...]
2 winta // Jun 14, 2007 at 6:59 am
It doesnt make any difference whether bin laden is dead or alive because every muslim has a deep hatred towards America and that is enough to continue the aggression
3 hotoffthepress // Jun 14, 2007 at 7:06 am
Winta — I agree. Now, we must hope a majority of Americans understand this fact of life. If they don’t, the security of our Republic will be in jeopardy. Thanks for posting. — Bob
4 Lance // Jun 14, 2007 at 8:46 pm
The answer to your title is NO.
OBL has done all he could do for the cause. He’s done.
He fizzled out and his muji bros didn’t love him enough to promote him. Not until he’s dead, of course.
5 Proform Pete // May 2, 2011 at 1:45 pm
U! S! A! U! S! A U! S! A!
That’s all I feel needs to be said really.
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