Bin Laden's Fatal Error

The world’s most wanted terrorist made the mistake of thinking that when the Americans are struck hard, they end up discouraged.

The thousands of Americans who gathered together spontaneously until the early hours of the morning in front of the White House in Washington, or at ground zero in New York, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood before Sept. 11, 2001, all had the same feeling. The stars and stripes that were waved proudly and the chants of “God Bless America” in unison all had the same meaning: After nine years and eight months of mourning and humiliation, the culprit behind one of the greatest tragedies and one of the biggest provocations in U.S. history was finally out of action and no longer able to harm. Americans retrieved old notions of vengeful and speedy justice that they had never completely lost since the conquest of the West. “We got him,” proclaimed banners, in response to Barack Obama’s own words announcing that U.S. commandos had killed Osama bin Laden. “Justice has been done,” the president said simply.

Just as the Japanese had underestimated the terrifying consequences that their treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 would have for them four years later, bin Laden may have underestimated the anger and the desire for revenge that he would arouse by striking the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. An act of terrorism that killed 3,000 innocent people in appalling circumstances.

“Paper Tiger”

In the 1990s, after assuming a very indirect role in the withdrawal of the Soviets from Afghanistan, using his family’s fortune, Osama bin Laden appeared on the international stage. He declared that after the Russians, Muslims should attack American global interests to finish off the legend of this “so-called superpower,” once and for all. And he then explained in interviews that a hard strike was all that was needed to discourage the Americans. In short, it was a variant of the famous Asian “paper tiger” theory.

Bin Laden pursued his argument by citing two recent historical facts that showed that jihad fighters, provided they were determined, could make the most powerful nation in the world retreat: This was the case in Beirut after the suicide bombings of October 1983 at the U.S. forces’ headquarters, which left 241 dead, and the attack against the Drakkar building the same day, which resulted in the death of 58 French soldiers.

America Did Not Give up

A few months later, in February 1984, the Americans and the French, who had been mandated by the U.N. to carry out a peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, abandoned their mission. And the same happened in October 1993 in Somalia. Following a botched helicopter operation in the midst of a civil war, a painful episode that resulted in the loss of 19 G.I.s, some of whose bodies were dragged around as trophies in the streets of Mogadishu, Bill Clinton decided to cut his losses.

It was perhaps during this period that the idea originated in the perverse mind of the terrorist leader not only to attack U.S. interests in Islamic countries such as the bombings in Riyadh and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, but also to aim for the heart of the American “super Satan” — the place where its dazzling success was most outwardly visible — New York [City’s] business district.

Yet, bin Laden’s variant of the “paper tiger” theory proved to be false. America did not give up. And this is the very reason why it celebrated its victory with such fervor on May 2. Proud America was back. Despite the investigation taking a long time, and despite the manhunt beginning at the start of one president’s first term, and ending only two years and three months into his successor’s term, George Bush’s promise was not forgotten: We’ll get bin Laden “dead or alive,” he swore. Obama kept his word.