The Late 'Osama bin Laden'

Breathe in … Breathe out. Osama bin Laden is dead.

"Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children." - Barack Obama.

Nearly 10 years ago, the entire world as we knew it changed: the World Trade Center was destroyed - an attack masterminded by Osama bin Laden. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two 767 jets into the complex, one into each tower, in a coordinated terrorist attack. After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapsed, followed a half-hour later by the North Tower, with the attacks on the World Trade Center resulting in 2,752 deaths.

Certainly his crimes go beyond the 9/11 attacks:
- He was involved in the December 29, 1992 bombing of the Gold Mihor Hotel in Aden. Two people were killed.
- He and three others are believed to have killed 2 German citizens in Libya on March 10, 1994.
- He funded the Luxor massacre of November 17, 1997. Sixty-two civilians were killed.
- He is linked to the August 7, 1998 US Embassy bombings, where hundreds of people were killed by suicide bombers.
- He co-signed a “fatwa” (Islamic decree) with Ayman al-Zawahiri in the name of the “World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders”, which declared the killing of North Americans and their allies as an “individual duty for every Muslim”. He labeled North Americans as “easy targets”.
- In 2004, he claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

In his 2008 campaign, Obama repeatedly vowed: “We will kill Osama bin Laden.”

On May 1, 2011, the complex where he was hiding was infiltrated by a small group of American “special forces” soldiers. Osama bin Laden resisted the attack, and was killed along with three other men in a fire-fight. Thankfully, none of the American soldiers were killed.

Yes, one of the world’s most wanted men is now dead. Many people across the world celebrate his death. Is it our place to celebrate it? That’s not for me to dictate. You can’t help how you feel about the death of a terrorist and mass murderer. I’ll tell you how I feel: relieved. Safe. Secure. … And worried. Yes, I will sleep soundly tonight knowing that the man responsible for countless murders can no longer harm a single soul on this planet. But, there is also a heavy burden on my heart, because I don’t know what tomorrow, or the next day will bring, as a result of his death. Will al-Qaeda strike back? Will his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, simply replace him as the world’s most-feared, and most-wanted man? I don’t have the answers to these questions.

What I have is this: Terrorism will never stop. This is a reality that I accept. There will always be conflicting super-powers, there will always be religious fanatics, there will always be clashing beliefs and values that spark the flame of war. But on May 1, 2011, the world got to breathe a sigh of relief. On May 1, 2011, Barack Obama, President of the United States, fulfilled his promise to the American people - and the world - that he would put an end to Osama bin Laden’s tyranny and mass-murder.

Breathe in, Breathe out. Sleep safe tonight. He cannot hurt you anymore.