World

What bin Laden's death really means

May 03, 2011
Has the hunt for Osama bin Laden been a distraction from Britain and America's domestic problems?
Has the hunt for Osama bin Laden been a distraction from Britain and America's domestic problems?

Hurrah! Osama bin Laden is dead, shot by US Special Forces in a raid on his mansion near Islamabad.  George W Bush calls it “a momentous achievement.” David Cameron says it “will bring great relief to people across the world.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killing a "resounding triumph for justice, freedom and the values shared by all democratic nations.”

Let us not exaggerate. Yes, the families of victims of bin Laden deserve this comfort and yes, better late than never, but we should not give this event more significance than it deserves.  Had his capture occurred in Tora Bora two months after 9/11, it would have been more impressive, and timely. Bin Laden’s ability to hide in plain sight for ten years doesn’t speak well for the US intelligence services nor its alliance with the Pakistani military.

The death of bin Laden has symbolic significance, but in practical terms it means little. For one thing, al Qaeda isn’t a centralized organization controlled and directed by one man. As William Hague has reminded us, bin Laden’s death may spark more terrorism, not less.

For another thing, we are finally realizing that the “war on terror” and “clash of civilizations” claims have been overblown. An American is still more likely to be killed by a bee sting than by a terrorist attack. The Arab Spring suggests that the aspirations of the young in the Middle East are much closer to our own than counterterrorism experts pretend.  Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, Bahrainis, Yemenis and Syrians are driven by the desire for freedom and economic opportunity, not lust for a pan-Islamic caliphate.

But the main reason not to inflate the importance of bin Laden’s death is that our  biggest problems, both in Britain and America, are domestic, not international.  His death, or even the elimination of al Qaeda, won’t find an unemployed auto worker in Detroit a union job, nor will it get a man on disability in Newcastle into employment.  America’s infrastructure continues to decline, and Britain, too, faces serious domestic challenges in areas such as education.

Remember, despite their murder of thousands, al Qaeda was a political failure.   They did not oust the house of Saud, they did not bring the caliphate closer to existence, they did not advance the cause of political Islam, it was not the Salafists that overthrew Hosni Mubarak. Celebrity was the primary accomplishment of bin Laden and al Qaeda.

The killing of bin Laden will undoubtedly be transformed into a Hollywood film.  In a way, the entire “war on terror” has already been something like a perverted piece of blockbuster entertainment, a distraction from our real difficulties.  If we are lucky, bin Laden’s death will allow us to direct our attentions to our actual problems.