Is America Safe Again with Osama Dead?

U.S. President Barack Obama made an announcement at the White House at midnight May 1 (U.S. time) that Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, had been killed during an operation conducted by the United States near Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The announcement shocked the world. A big crowd of American citizens rushed to the street to celebrate. Some people even made their way to the site of 9/11 to express their excitement.

To all of the peace-loving, anti-war people around the world, the death of bin Laden is a big relief. What happened at the World Trade Center 10 years ago on 9/11 not only scared the American people, but it also made people all over the world gasp at the danger of terrorism. Many countries, including China, condemned the terrorists for killing and wounding many innocent civilians. Although he has been hiding for nearly 10 years, bin Laden could not escape from his fate of death. His death is believed to hurt terrorist organizations around the world. However, does bin Laden’s death solve all the problems that America is facing? Will the world be a fairer, more reasonable and safer place? I do not think so.

After the “execution” of bin Laden, Obama said at the end of his speech, “Tonight we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to.”

Has Obama been blinded by the victory? In fact, Obama was telling the truth, at least at the time. However, similar arrogant, hegemonic comments to the American people were what brought this particular nightmare. Bin Laden, as a member of the Islamic Jihad, was supported by the United States to fight against the Soviet Union, who invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s. Later, when the United States started the Gulf War and stationed their troops in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden and his supporters then flipped sides, set the United States as the “enemy” of the Arabian countries, and vowed to bring chaos to the United States by fighting violence with violence.

America did accomplish its goal of capturing or killing Bin Laden. However, in the past 10 years, starting in October 2001, the U.S. government in the name of “anti terrorism” accused Afghanistan of hiding bin Laden and carried out large-scale military actions in that country. After many raids and bombings, America overturned the Taliban regime and the mess remains unresolved. In 2003, the United States once again started a war against Iraq, saying that it helped bin Laden and possessed “weapons of mass destruction.” With its high-tech missiles, the United Stated overturned Saddam Hussein’s regime but failed to find bin Laden and the so-called “weapons of mass destruction.” There are still over 10,000 U.S. troops in Iraq as Obama keeps on delaying the promise to withdraw.

As the so-called “war against terrorism” is exhausting and ineffective, the American people are getting more and more fed up. A battlefield that is far away; a war for an uncertain goal: Every American who has lost a husband or son on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan is angry and upset. What has the “war against terrorism” brought to the American people?

Today, the threat of bin Laden has been removed, but the Obama administration is facing many more challenges than just the war against terrorism. With no end to the economic depression created by the financial crisis and high unemployment rate, the death of bin Laden is only a slight comfort for what happened on 9/11 — it does not really fix any current problems. However, with bin Laden dead, there is no reason for the nearly 10,000 U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. If the Obama administration still has a little bit of courage and intelligence, it should totally change its strategy on terrorism and end this ridiculous war — with “victory nowhere to be found” — by withdrawing its troops, or else America will never be safe. As the joyful announcement of bin Laden’s death was announced, the U.S. State Department also announced that it was raising the national threat level. Isn’t it ironic?