Killing of 9/11 Ringleader Is a Fresh Starting Point to Eradicating Terrorism

Suspect Osama bin Laden, leader of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida, which planned the terrorist attacks that were at the center of 9/11, has been killed by American forces. This year is a turning point, as it marks 10 years since that tragic event that shocked the world. The American government has reached the end of one part of their massive war on terror.

However, the case is not yet closed. While the European, Russian and Pakistani governments are assessing the murder of bin Laden, Pakistani armed insurgents have declared that they will attack America; Islamic extremists are also getting ready to retaliate. How can we break this negative chain of revenge begetting revenge? Strictly speaking, the international community now finds itself at a new starting point in its ultimate goal of eradicating terrorism.

After the terrorist attacks in which roughly 3,000 people were victims, America aerial bombed Afghanistan, where bin Laden was given shelter. They brought down the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, and without pause expanded their military operations into Iraq as well, bringing down the Saddam Hussein regime.

Since the invasion of Iraq, it is said that the death toll of American soldiers has risen to over 4,400, and the number of Iraqis victimized exceeds 110,000. American solider casualties in Afghanistan and its surrounding areas exceed 1,200; if we include foreign troops stationed there, it is more than 2,000.

What we must not overlook is that there are many citizens in both Afghanistan and Iraq who are being dragged into the conflicts and so a new hatred for America is being born. Reparations for this war on terror will have to be big.

Rather than engaging in large-scale terrorist activities, al-Qaida’s current formation is slowly creating connections with Islamic extremist organizations in Asia and Arab countries, focusing on propaganda activities that encourage world terrorism. In Arab countries this year, with the successive non-violent democratic movements, there also emerged the opinion that these movements represent the decline of al-Qaida. The brunt of the anger of the youth who have lost their jobs and that of oppressed people looks to be aimed at their own dictatorial governments.

In moving toward the eradication of terrorism, it is now time for the international community to seriously face the contradictions and the problem of Islam. It is imperative that we treat the progress of peace in the Middle East, which has been a problem for some time now, as contingent on the actualization of democracy in Arab countries that seek a society of equality and freedom for their people.

In order to prevent a second or third bin Laden from coming into existence, we need to be quick in building new relationships between Islam and the West, starting with America. Without stirring up conflict between civilizations, it is important that we persistently call for and allow a union of civilizations to be realized.