The Death of bin Laden — A Point for Barack Obama

Osama bin Laden has been killed in Pakistan. America rejoices. Barack Obama says that justice was served. Political analysts note that the U.S. president has earned extremely important political points.

Osama bin Laden was killed in the Pakistan city of Abbottabad. Navy SEALs, the principal U.S. Navy tactical unit, conducted the operation. The terrorist was shot in the head after he resisted the U.S. forces. The operation also resulted in the death of one of bin Laden’s sons, two of his couriers and also one woman, whom the terrorists used as a human shield. Another two women were wounded. The operation lasted approximately 40 minutes.

Osama bin Laden was considered the main enemy of the U.S. after 9/11. And today President Barack Obama announced that justice had been served and the terrorist killed. According to CNN, thousands of Americans went to the streets to celebrate Monday night. Gathering near the White House they chanted, “Good-bye Osama!” and “Four more years!” referring to President Obama’s new term.

Political analyst Leonid Polyakov notes that the U.S. president has earned himself some extremely important political points.

“In his speech, Obama emphasized that from the moment he became president he made the fight against terrorism, and especially the capture of Osama bin Laden, his first priority,” said Polyakov. “And not even three years later the goal has been achieved. This is an enormous plus for Obama in the context of his campaign, which he has begun. Obama’s current ratings will rise. It is important to consider this news in the immediate context. The U.S. landed in a rather unpleasant situation with the killing of Muammar Gadhafi’s son and three grandchildren, and this threatened Obama’s image with significant consequences. That’s why this news could not have come at a better time,” stressed Polyakov.

Vladimir Batyuk, an expert from the Institute for American and Canadian Studies, thinks that the announcement about the death of bin Laden is unlikely to make significant change in the current political situation in the U.S.

“The death of bin Laden is a point for Barack Obama. Now he can safely say that he isn’t a wimp and that he can defend American national interests,” said Batyuk. “At this point in time, problems related to Barack Obama’s reelection are predicated upon not so much political situations, but the economic and social problems of the U.S. If this somehow influences the outcome of the 2012 campaign, then in my opinion it will do so marginally. Osama bin Laden — he’s not some kind of terrorist ringleader, but a brand — a product trademark, if I may so put it.”

Operations to capture bin Laden had been carried out repeatedly, the largest of which occurred after high-profile terrorist attacks and during presidential campaigns in the U.S.

— After the U.S. embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998 and Nairobi, Kenya, 220 people died. The U.S. FBI placed him on the 10 most wanted list. Bill Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach, a series of cruise missile strikes on targets in Sudan and Afghanistan on Aug. 20, 1998. However, neither Osama bin Laden nor his closest associates were killed.

— In late 2001, coalition and U.S. troops entered Afghanistan and conducted a series of bombings of the cave complex at Tora Bora, where bin Laden was supposedly hidden. After this operation, it was initially announced that he had been killed. Later it became known that Osama bin Laden had not been killed and had escaped across the border to Pakistan.

— In March 2004, shortly before the U.S. presidential elections, American soldiers conducted an operation in the southern and eastern provinces of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. 13,500 American soldiers participated in Operation Mountain Storm. At that time they were not successful in killing bin Laden.

The Pakistani Taliban has already reacted to the death of bin Laden. They promise to organize attacks on the governments of the United States and Pakistan.