Bin Laden — Dead!

Only a few months shy of the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on America, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead.  President Barack Obama announced from the White House that bin Laden was killed by a U.S.-led operation in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and the al-Qaeda leader’s body is in U.S. custody.

According to Obama, he was briefed on bin Laden’s possible whereabouts last August. He said he felt the White House had enough intelligence last week to stage an attack.

The U.S. offered a reward of 25-million dollars for information leading to bin Laden after he was implicated in the 9-11 attacks.  He was suspected of being involved in the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 and the 1996 bombing of a U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American soldiers and indicted for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

“We have been pursuing bin Laden for ten years, and obviously that puts us at greater risk. There are probably going to be a number of follow on attacks,” said Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold to KOLO-TV in Reno, who was aboard the Cole when it was struck by terrorists.

“I don’t think any American realistically expected that, when we caught or killed bin Laden, that the war would suddenly collapse in on itself and be over in a matter of days if not weeks,” said Lippold.

Born in Saudi Arabia in 1958, bin Laden was the 17th of 57 children of a Saudi construction magnate.  Bin Laden attended college in Saudi Arabia.

He was 23 when he arrived in Afghanistan to join the jihad against the Soviet Union.  Bin Laden used his family’s fortune to help the mujahideen, then after the Soviets were defeated in 1988, he decided to form what would become al-Qaeda as a potential general headquarters group for future jihads.

In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and bin Laden proposed to the Saudi monarchy that he summon his fighters for a jihad to retake Kuwait.  The Saudis turned him down and instead joined the U.S.-led coalition.

Bin Laden publicly spoke out about Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow U.S. troops to be based there.  Saudi Arabia eventually froze all of bin Laden’s assets and revoked his citizenship.

He moved to Sudan in 1991, where he set up a large and complex set of businesses and terrorist enterprises including Al-Qaeda. He also issued a call for jihad against the West, especially the U.S.

Bin Laden eventually returned to Afghanistan, where its Taliban government was overthrown by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.  Since then, he was believed to be hiding in the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where he was estimated to have about 300-million-dollars in personal assets and rumored to be suffering from kidney ailments and receiving dialysis treatment.

Intelligence reports indicate DNA testing on bin Laden’s body is a perfect match.  A woman believed to be one his wives also positively identified the al-Qaeda leader’s body.

Most Americans stand behind the killing of the al-Qaeda leader.  An online Reuters poll indicates 79 percent believe killing bin Laden was the right thing to do.

However, 14 percent of respondents said killing him was not a good decision.  The poll also shows just 25 percent feel safer, compared to 59 percent who do not feel that way after his death.

Dead or alive — that’s how White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan characterized the mission to go after bin Laden. Brennan told the Associated Press that U.S. forces were prepared for resistance and for the possibility of a relatively peaceful capture.

As it turned out, bin Laden fired at U.S. forces before being killed, but Brennen adds bin Laden tried to use women as human shields when U.S. special forces raided his compound.  Brennan said the women died in the attack as a result.

He said it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have some sort of support system within Pakistan.  Brennen said the U.S. acted alone and did not inform Pakistan government beforehand.

Pakistan is a U.S. ally and a major recipient of American aid received an estimated $1.2 billion in military and security aid in the last fiscal year and another $1.4 billion in economic assistance.  Questions have been raised about Pakistan’s commitment to the fight against terrorism.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid tells The Economic Times the successful operation against bin Laden was mainly due to President Obama’s efforts to refocus on Afghanistan and Pakistan as a central battleground in the fight against terror, adding “Over the past two and a half years, the Obama administration has significantly escalated our military, diplomatic, intelligence and economic efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al- Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan and around the world.”

Meanwhile, Brennan described the scene in the White House situation room as extremely tense as the President and high-level officials awaited word about the outcome of the mission.  Brennan said minutes passed like days.

He also sidestepped questions about whether photos of the dead bin Laden will be released.  He said the issue is being assessed.

Brennan stressed the U.S. will do everything possible to head-off speculation that bin Laden was not killed.  Brennan confirmed that bin Laden was buried at sea, in strict compliance with Islamic practices.  He declined to say where the burial occurred — although it was later learned to have been the Arabian Sea.

He said the bin Laden strike is a strategic blow to al-Qaeda but probably not the end of the terror network.  Brennen stressed that the U.S. is on alert for possible retaliatory actions as al-Qaeda and its sympathizers ponder possible moves to avenge bin Laden’s death.

With news of  bin Laden’s death, al-Qaeda’s second in command may be taking over.  Egyptian-born doctor Ayman al-Zawahri is largely rumored to be the first choice to succeed bin Laden.

Zawahri was bin Laden’s closest mentor after meeting him in the mid-1980s when both were fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan.  Since the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Zawahri has broadcast dozens of anti-American messages, most recently, urging Muslims to fight NATO and American forces in Libya.

There is no word yet on who — if anyone — will collect the $25 million dollar bounty offered on bin Laden’s head.