The biggest tactile accomplishment in the War on Terror thus far has been the assassination of Al Qaeda founder and front-man Osama bin Laden. It seems like his name has largely disappeared from the news (until Sunday), but we all still kind of painted his picture with horns and a pitchfork in our minds, and the celebration of his death at baseball games, at the White House, and on the site of Ground Zero has reaffirmed the associations Americans have with this man.
I think that the best description of this benchmark is "a symbolic victory." Bin Laden, as far as I know, has been largely a figurehead for the group and although once maintained a position of unspeakable power, he had retired to a state of image and motions, not one of power and action like he once held. The fact that the United States has removed bin Laden from any position is meaningful, since he still held an important figure in al Qaeda, but will do very little to disenfranchise any fighters in the group. To me, this killing is akin to an enemy of Great Britain assassinating the Queen. No one would expect the government to crumble, since the Queen's role is largely symbolic, and other than a period of mourning and outrage, not much would change. The Queen is a figurehead, has a minimal role in running the country (although the monarchy once ran the entire empire - noticing the parallels here?), and there are several others in line for the throne. The similarities are stunning. I do not think that Americans should hope for much change in the way al Qaeda functions, and if anyone has their fingers crossed for a disbandment of the terrorist organization now that bin Laden is out of the picture...well, don't hold your breath.
Another side of this killing is the highly-suspicious in which bin Laden was found. First of all, the people who lived there were strangers to the rest of the population of Abbotabad, where they were located. They never left, except, according to some citizens there, to go to there store where they got what they came for and made no contact otherwise. Even though they are model shoppers, if that is really the case, people had to have been suspicious. Never going outside and not talking to anyone when they are out are suspicious enough, and to add to that isolation, there was no kind of internet or television connections, and waste removal was forfeited in favor of burning all of their garbage. Super-weird. Oh, and I guess it is relevant to say that the distance between the bin Laden's compound and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is just barely farther than Hope is from Calvin.
This country claims to be an ally, definitely a recipient of a TON of aid money from our American federal government (over $4 billion per year), and now has been found housing bin Laden, despite their claims that they did not know he was there and was not protecting him. I find this incredibly difficult to believe, considering the location of the compound in relation to the capital, and the fact that Abbotabad is home to the Pakistani's version of West Point Military Academy. Bin Laden was literally right under the Pakistani military's nose for over five years, and they did not find him, despite the obvious signs of suspicious activity mentioned about. Some ally.
This is really a lose-lose for Pakistan. I compare them to a guy I worked with at Wisconsin Memorial Park who was about as accident-prone as they get. He kept getting in accidents with machinery, and was taken to be drug tested after each accident. This implies that either 1) Drugs had to have influenced his behavior, because no normal person would suffer the same injury sober, or 2) He was acting in such a stupid way that no normal person should suffer the same injury, except on drugs. Pakistan is stuck in this same pickle. Either they admit to have been hiding bin Laden while claiming to assist the US in the manhunt and fight against bin Laden's organization and their associates, or they are ignorant enough to have him hiding in broad daylight in the middle of a military establishment. No way to win. Either the Pakistani government is on drugs, or they acted in a manner that can only be explained by substance abuse.
This, of course, is said with all due respect to Pakistani authorities...who can perhaps pull the knife out of the White House's back if they get the time.
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