Why the Death of Osama bin Laden is (Essentially) Meaningless

(Just a note before I start. NO ONE loves America more than me. I may be critical of nearly every process and institution put forth by this great country, but that is all the more reason I love it. No other nation in the world would allow us such freedoms that border on outright rebellion. Not only allow it, but pretty much encourage it. America is made for those of free minds and open hearts. I LOVE America, even if I disagree with it all the same.)

Let us start with a history lesson, if you will. September 11th, 2001 (Gregorian calender). Four flights are hijacked by members of a terrorist organisation. Two of these were flown into the World Trade towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and one, possibly in route to D.C. as well, was brought down in Pennsylvania when passengers and crew fought back against the terrorists attempting to hijack the plane. In total, nearly 3,000 people, mostly Americans, were killed during the attacks and the subsequent rescue attempts. This was the largest and most successful terrorist attack on American soil to date. Al-Qaeda, led by one Osama bin Laden, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Due to these terrorist attacks, then President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, declared a "War on Terror", which spear-headed a movement within the American government which lead to such things as the 'USA PATRIOT Act' (which allowed the government to, among other things, track private communique in search for terrorists), the illegal arrest and detention of over 1,000 people at the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities, and the invasions of Afghanistan and (illegal and undeclared war on) Iraq. (There are many conspiracy theories to do with these terrorist attacks and the following invasions of foreign countries and American rights, but I will leave that alone for now and possibly make a post on it later.)

And now, to the actual point of this particular post. Why the death of Osama bin Laden is (essentially) meaningless. Al-Qaeda was formed in 1988 by bin Laden and other Islamic leaders to bring about a change in the Islamic world, to reinstate Islamic states and sharia law, which many felt had started to fade away. In order to do this, they believed they needed to remove non-Muslim influences from the Muslim people. Bin Laden's group took this a step further, calling for a global Jihad, to remove all non-Muslim influences from all lands bin Laden considered Islamic territory. The biggest target, of course, was the United States. (Needless to say, this wasn't just a random pick from a hat, as America has a need to stick its nose in everywhere and everyone's business...). Many attacks on America by al-Qaeda have taken place, the biggest being the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden became the FBI's No. 1 Most Wanted. Millions of dollars were put on his head. And then, on May 1st, 2011, a special task force approved by President Barack Obama infiltrated a compound in Pakistan, and there killed and secured the body of Osama bin Laden. Millions in the USA, and around the world, applauded and wept in joy that this mad man was now dead. But for what reason?

The death of bin Laden is not only a small and insignificant occurrence, but it may actually be a bad thing. First off, the death of bin Laden does not mean the death of terrorism. We, as Americans, fight not only al-Qaedean terrorism, but terrorism from many other sources, including many bred upon American soil by American citizens.

Second, the death of bin Laden does not mean the death of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda proper has, in the last several years, has been lead more openly and publicly by bin Laden's lackeys than bin Laden himself (who has been in hiding because, surprise, we were hunting him), many becoming just as powerful or more-so than bin Laden himself. And al-Qaeda isn't even the major problem that al-Qaeda presents anymore. (Wait, what? Just read on...) Al-Qaeda, those actually pledged to bin Laden, is a rather small group compared to those that are linked to al-Qaeda, terrorist groups that have no official ties to al-Qaeda, but still follow the idea of global Jihad and perform acts of terrorism in al-Qaeda's name.

Third, the death of bin Laden may actually be a bad thing. How can the death of the leader of a global terrorist organisation be a bad thing? Well, we probably just made a martyr of him. Imagine if some foreign nation invaded the White House and killed the President. (Wait, bad example, as many people, Republicans and bigots especially, would probably cheer...) Think back to when JFK was shot? Did the US crumble and fall apart? Did we just shrug our shoulders and move on? No, we hunted down and arrested the man responsible. Now, imagine if JFK were some radical religious leader who hated Lee Harvey Oswald with a fervor and passion? They would have most likely started hunting down and executing everyone Oswald was related too and every loved. Starting to see what I mean here? We may have just inadvertently fueled their religious hatred and Jihad against us, which could mean a rise in anti-American terrorism, home and abroad.

So, in the end, the point I am making is this. We just killed an ant. An ant wearing a religious crown, but what concern are ant politics to humans? None. We may have killed some figurehead, but we ended up doing nothing significant (save giving a sense of justice to people who mistakenly blame one man for all their ills), except possibly making things worse.

Go Team America.