Editorial, May 11-17, 2011

Cycle of Violence

Osama Bin laden was recently slain by American forces during an engagement in a compound near Islamabad, capital of Afghanistan. Some have claimed that the world has become a safer place as a consequence of this. I very much doubt it.

It was Bin Laden who masterminded the attack upon the World Trade Center on 9/11 in 2001, an atrocity carried out now almost ten years ago, and the most significant attack upon America since Pearl Harbor. Bin Laden has been a wanted man ever since and has remained high on the US target list.

Reports indicate that in recent years his health had deteriorated, probably owing to wounds that he received during the conflict that followed 9/11. Being as he was a fugitive his movements were restricted, despite which he has continued to be a powerful figurehead for the Al-Quaeda movement. As such he has remained a source of inspiration for those who have vowed to oppose what they describe as the injustice of the west.

Bin Laden was trained and financed by the CIA during the war in Afghanistan when Afghanis sought to repel an invasion by the Russian army. He was also supplied with arms by the USA. His subsequent turning against the west has become another classic example of US policy gone badly wrong.

George Bush described his death as a ‘momentous achievement’ after previously having vowed that no matter how long it took, justice would be done. President Barack Obama described the incident as ‘the most significant event in the effort to defeat Al Quaeda.’ People throughout took to the streets after hearing the news in order to celebrate Bin Laden’s death.

What impact this event will have upon national security in the mid to long term is unclear, but threats of reprisals have already been made against the leaders of Pakistan, the Pakistan army, and the US. Pakistan troops having already been put on high alert.

History has taught us that violence simply begets violence, and regardless of how justified the killing of Bin Laden might appear to be, this incident will undoubtedly provide additional fuel for the violence and hatred which so afflicts our planet. The sight of so many Americans dancing in the street to celebrate his death, will I suspect, only serve to harden the resolve of those avowed to bring havoc and destruction to the west. Only the coming weeks and months will tell if this will be so.

One thing is for sure however, and that is that this seemingly unending cycle of violence which besets our world today is unlikely to end any time soon./TE