t is no longer news that the world’s most wanted fugitive has reportedly been killed by the United States. Osama Bin Laden once again, as it was late in 2001 has become the most popular name on earth. The Royal Wedding, Muammar Gadhafi and the Syrian uprising have all taken the back burner since early Monday morning. A sense of relief has washed through the world and the United States President Barack Obama is the man of the hour. Majority of the earth’s population (I mean citizens of the world who have enough to eat and then a little more energy to follow trending topics), are elated by this news, not interested in the unanswered questions arising from this ‘victory’.
I am not pro-violence, therefore do not like terrorists. They are radical murderers hiding behind whatever ideologies that fuel their sensibilities. I believe they are cowards and not bold-faced fighters like they would want to be remembered as. Be that as it may, intelligent watchers of these events still have questions; most of which have not been answered so far.
I am not being impatient, because I am playing the hand that the world and I have been dealt with. The United States Government and the world media played the events of the last few days as a fanfare, a Hollywood movie. Footages of President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and members of the National Security team of the US Government in the White House, were released this week, of them watching the action all go down in Abbottabad, Pakistan. So, they have created this atmosphere of ‘we are all in this together. There is no secret between us. No information is on a need- to- know basis.’ But at the end of the day, the story we have come to believe has so many holes in it. I want those holes filled, what about you? I would attempt to piece together a bunch of questions that, I guess are on the minds of most people.
Osama Bin Laden was said to be killed by an army of 25 members of the United States Special Forces that swooped on his Abbottabad mansion. They came in three helicopters and a lot of noise. Osama was captured and shot on the head and chest, causing his death. The US Government said the operatives were on a kill-mission. They were not given the direction to capture him alive, which they would very well have done if that were the plan. But, they did not. They have done that in the past, Saddam Hussein, for example, so it is not a farfetched idea. My question is: Had Bin Laden been captured and arrested, would the United Sates have survived the can of worms that would have been opened? His connection with the C.I.A during the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in the 1970s? His connection with the Prince of Turkey, including Osama’s alleged visits to the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad in the 1980s, as a ‘friend’ of the Prince? Mind you, Turkey has been a major United States ally, for a long time.
People around the world have taken to the streets, to social media to celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden. I am planning a party to commemorate that too. You are all invited, by the way. And yet, we have not seen any visual proof of his death. Neither videos nor pictures that prove that this monster is really dead and gone. I do not like to see blood or mangled bodies, but we will be more satisfied if such visual evidence exists; even though I would choose not to look. The United States Government has led us to believe that it runs a fairly open book. What they have revealed about this issue is a statement saying that they used facial recognition techniques to identify him at death and then DNA testing were used to crosscheck his body samples with that of his family members; possibly in the US Government’s data bank. That is all we have now, people. And we believe? Where is the evidence of Osama Bin Laden’s death? Why have we all decided to trust the US so much? When did we all learn to trust? Just asking, anyway.
The US Government told us all that Osama’s corpse was buried at sea after Islamic burial rites were carried out on the body. Burying his body at sea is as far from Muslim practice as it gets. At sea? Really? For a government that loves to gloat, does this seem like what they will do?
I also wonder about the other three adult male and a woman; among who is allegedly his son and his wife. What became of their corpses? Nothing has been heard about these victims of the raid. Is it too early to get answers to these questions?
Then, there is the war of words from both the US and the Pakistani Governments. The he-said, she-said situation that has pervaded the raid on Bin Laden is another issue that brings distrust to the fore. US said it was a ‘unilateral decision’ to go through with an operation of such importance. They claim they held the raid plans close to their chest; carrying out such operation in the middle of another country, disregarding the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. Is that what they want us all to believe?
On the other hand, the Pakistanis call it ‘a shared achievement’. They still maintain, despite being contradicted by the US, that they gave some sort of cooperation to the operation. Guess what? I will go with the Pakistanis on this one. This is not a Hollywood movie. There are implications and consequences for actions. Why do I believe the Pakistanis? The US Special Ops helicopters that were used for the raid would have been shot down if the Pakistanis were not informed, at least at the last minutes before the raids. It would have been an invasion of their airspace and severe repercussions would follow such abuse of a Nation’s sovereign rights. Also, eyewitness reports show the planes were flying very low, despite the fact that that area of Abbotabad is residential. In the footages from the Western media, the raid was carried out in pitch darkness; electricity was cut off. Tweets were going on with the news that phone lines were also down at that point. If the Pakistani government had not been privy to the operation, how would the US have pulled it off? We know they are the US, but Pakistan is Pakistan too. The US government said they got intelligent information since September 2010 and subsequently held five intelligence meetings since mid March this year. Again, where did the intelligence come from? And with whom did the US meet with? Pakistan?
President Obama in his broadcast announcing Bin Laden’s death said, among other things: ‘Justice has been served.’ What is justice? According to my limited knowledge, it includes respect for human rights, fair trial, fair conviction, etc. Why wasn’t he captured and tried like Saddam Hussein? The US Government has to give us more clarification. He has been ‘killed’ and shrouding the whole thing in secrecy will not answer our questions. Or do they even care? I doubt it very much. It is the US, remember?
Everyone is raving about who Bin Laden’s al- Qaeda successor would be. You want my two cents on that? I’m always willing to give it. I’m generous like that. Anyway, in the first place, I believe al- Qaeda is not an organization with membership cards but a state of mind, an ideology.
Bin Laden, earlier on in this his murderous campaign urged for a ‘global jihad’ against the West (whom he called ‘Infidels’). Anyone with radical views against the West and who is willing to kill innocent people to prove is Al Qaeda. That is what I have deciphered from following their activities (which I derived no joy in). Granted, Bin Laden is a leader in the campaign, but his death would not bring more peace on earth than would buckets of ice cream make me obese; no matter how much I try. Terrorism will continue (I’m sorry to say), because many Arab and North African countries that are sympathetic to the Osama cause, have organizations that follow the Al- Qaeda footsteps.
For me, Bin Laden died ten years ago when a cave in Tora Bora in Afghanistan where he was allegedly staying was bombed by US forces. His presence was only felt by videos released after the 9/11 attacks on the United States; like in 2006 and 2008. And they were generic messages of vengeance against the West. There were not specific assignments like ‘Go bomb London’ or ‘Let’s give Madrid a taste of Al Qaeda. This goes to show Bin Laden as the leader of an ideology and not an organization with membership cards, like PDP.
Again, now Bin Laden has reportedly been killed, would the military invasion by the West in Afghanistan be halted? Would President Obama keep his promise to withdraw a major chunk of the troop come July? How long will the US continue to spend money, about $1 trillion and counting, in this campaign?
