Osama bin Laden's Death Is a Big Victory for the United States

Osama bin Laden was killed, and if Obama said so, then it ought to be true. If the United States has confirmed that bin Laden is dead, we can say that this will likely directly affect U.S. security policies and even some of its global strategies. The United States’ policy regarding relations with Afghanistan and other South Asian countries, in particular, will be affected. At the time the United States launched the War on Terror in Afghanistan, its main purpose was to destroy al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. So, no matter what way Osama bin Laden was eliminated, the result is a victory for the United States.

Looking at this from another angle, the first concern now needs to be al-Qaida’s ability to produce a replacement leader for bin Laden in the short term. My view is that this is unlikely because al-Qaida lacks such a base. The organization’s number two figure, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is not very well-understood. However, is al-Zawahiri getting involved on an increasingly large scale? That is hard to say.

Another aspect of this event is that it is no small blow to al-Qaida, Taliban and other organizations. America needs to carefully consider its policy in that region. Serious contemplation is needed, particularly regarding Central Asian countries, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and the surrounding areas of these countries. This is because for a long time, al-Qaida’s influence in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border has been weakening. Under the current situation, bin Laden’s death will further impede al-Qaida’s operations. Osama bin Laden was killed, his operations will be further restricted. In terms of regional security, this is obviously a good thing.

It is worth noting that we cannot generally call the Taliban a terrorist organization. We must now look at it as the “Afghan Taliban” and the “Pakistani Taliban,” because both are very different .

No matter how you say it, Osama bin Laden was killed, and this is a great American victory. This may be the greatest American victory since the beginning of the War on Terror in 2001. Based on such a major event like the death of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. will certainly have its own security and global strategy to think about, and there will be policy adjustments.

Yang Shu is head of Lanzhou University’s Central Asia Research Center and a counter-terrorism expert.