A Cause For Thought

What an incredible 12 hours. Just before 10:00 p.m. EST on May 1, 2011, news broke that President Barack Obama would make an unplanned television address to the American people. After an hour and a half of media speculation and trickling tips from White House aides, Obama took to the podium and officially confirmed that American forces had in fact killed Osama bin Laden.

As could be seen in watching NBC News' and MSNBC's coverage of the aftermath of this announcement last night in the U.S., there were many individuals who were overcome with glee. People from all generations rose from their homes and made their way to Times Square, Ground Zero and the White House. Those who were at major hockey or baseball games heard the announcement of bin Laden's death over the loud speaker and began chants of "USA! USA!" without a second thought. Even members of the Wake Forest community found their way out of the library or dorm beds and rolled the quad in celebration. Yet, I have to admit, I myself was not hit with an overwhelming sense of joy at the news. Instead, I was forced into a trance-like two hours of intense thought with all that I had learned about terrorism and the Middle East throughout my Wake Forest Political Science career colliding head on with all that I had felt as a dramatic, overly romantic seventh grader on September 11, 2001.

The question I raise here is: how right was this move? Yes, Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks on American soil. Yes, he was a figurehead for jihadists worldwide. And yes, his ability to evade arrest or death by American hands for ten long years was reminiscent of Tantalus' inability to drink the water below him or eat the grapes above him for eternity. Yet, will the backlash be worth it? Will ending the life of a symbolic leader, crippled logistically by his isolation in Pakistan, bring an end to anything other than our manhunt? And if so, how should we feel?

I hope, as always, that the American people and those who approve of bin Laden's death are taking the time to look at every side of this. Brave, American special forces brought about the official demise of a mass murderer who did not discriminate in his victims. Yet, these forces also committed a military action that was not approved by Congress or shared with Pakistani officials beforehand. An instrumental man in jihadist strategy and global Islamic radicalization is dead. Yet, the realms of thought and action to which he was critical uplift those who die for causes and praise martyrs with the same obsessiveness as Western civilization praises Hollywood stars and athletes. A figurehead is dead, but his fellow leaders and foot soldiers are still alive with the same tools of destruction and skewed ideology just as available to them as it was this time yesterday, before bin Laden was killed. Perhaps the death of this man will extinguish the fire that has propelled Islamic extremism forth. Yet, it is just as possible that it will further feed this fire and further compel those who believe in jihadist ideology to take action against their enemies.

Only time will tell how the Osama bin Laden narrative will unfold in coming years. However, as is essential in all times of dramatic change in the global, political landscape, until one outcome prevails, all potential outcomes should be considered imminent.