The Bin Ladens' Simmering Hate

The U.S. felt a sense of relief from their 9/11 pains as global counterterrorism made a successful coup by killing Osama bin Laden, the world-renowned terrorist and head of al-Qaida. A few U.S. commentators said that although the operation was a “victory,” it was by no means the “end.” There are still long days ahead, and rejoicing should be kept to a single day.

In fact, the U.S. could hardly rejoice for a single day. Hours after President Obama announced bin Laden’s death, the State Department began issuing travel warnings to citizens traveling and residing abroad that there are “enhanced potential for anti-American violence,” and that citizens were “urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.”

At the same time, U.S. embassies overseas in Muslim countries heightened their level of security, and in the U.S., domestic airports and other facilities also increased their level of security checks.

It is just like how Obama said, “There’s no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us.” Despite bin Laden’s death, there will be more followers of bin Laden and possibly more execrable leaders succeeding him. This phenomenon has already occurred in Yemen, where al-Qaida established a strong base, while key al-Qaida members reside in Pakistan. Two years ago on Christmas, there was an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. civil aircraft; last fall, explosives were discovered on two U.S. civil cargo aircraft. Both were attacks orchestrated by the al-Qaida group in Yemen and not directed by bin Laden.

　

Although bin Laden was the head of terrorist attacks and the symbol of terrorism, he is not the root of terrorism. In fact, terrorism arises from our hatred, fears, greed, misunderstandings, disgrace, discrimination and prejudice. So removing one bin Laden does not prevent us from seeing more bin Ladens in the future. One of the Washington Post’s cartoons portrayed the military and intelligence removing a huge chicken. Although removed, the chicken had laid numerous eggs, already with several hatchlings that lay the seed for future counterterrorism efforts.

Bin Laden’s main offense is 9/11, but the media was unable to find 9/11 victims’ family members celebrating in front of the White House. The next day, a few family members wrote in the paper: “Can celebration fill the emptiness in our heart?” Another wrote, “The only thing I can do is not stop crying at home. And another wrote a long passage saying that for the past 10 years he has been asking, “Why do they hate us so much? Why do they have to take my loved ones?” His conclusion was: U.S. hegemony, including the military, economy and culture, increased aversion in the rest of the world, of which the U.S. was completely unaware. And the Muslim zealots (equally applicable to other religions and regimes), who adhere to extremist doctrines, created an irreparable crack among different ideologies.

Many Americans say, “Because of bin Laden, America will never be the same.” Indeed, the U.S. government has since been able to pry into personal privacy, request identification by all means and strip travelers during airport security checks; and not another car can drive on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of White House. These transformations all started because of 9/11. If the root cause was bin Laden, after his death, should America return to the good old days? The answer is certainly not, because the many clones of bin Laden are still floating around.

Americans should perhaps ask, “Why do we have bin Laden?” More importantly, they should ask, “Why was bin Laden our ally, then our most-wanted enemy?”

Bin Laden died because his trail was exposed. And who discovered his trail and successfully killed him? It was the CIA. We barely remember that 30 years ago, the CIA was in contact with bin Laden and supported his military efforts in Afghanistan against the Soviets. Ironically, bin Laden thrived because of the CIA and now dies because of the CIA. This is surely a historical tragedy.

When Obama announced bin Laden’s death, it was close to midnight in Washington. The news televised this event until dawn. One of the 9/11 victim’s family members said on television that if America did not fight the Iraq War and dealt only with the Afghan problems, America would perhaps have caught bin Laden already.

Bush initiated the Iraq War according to false intelligence (from sources regarding weapons of mass destruction) and poor judgment, which drew America into a second war. The war was fought tens of thousands of miles from home and met with strong opposition both at home and abroad. This reminds us of the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when Soong Chu-yu, then-governor of Taiwan province, discussed the meaning of “intelligence” (as in the CIA intelligence) — that intelligence represents not only “information” but also wisdom. He urged China’s government to exercise intelligence with wisdom. Otherwise, how can cross-strait problems be resolved?

Today, the U.S. intelligence accomplished its mission, but we need to ask: Have the U.S. government and people exercised their intelligence? After the assault the Pope said — though not in the usual interest and language akin to the Americans — that, “A Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man.”

After committing mass murders, bin Laden should certainly go to hell, even though he thinks 72 virgins will await him in heaven. “Live by the sword, die by the sword” — bin Laden is the living proof. Many felt relieved, but many felt the sorrow too, especially in the Muslim world, where various vigils were in place to remember him. America should be more attentive these days.