The assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by US Special Forces on May 2, 2011 provoked mixed reactions around the world. In the United States, it was greeted in many quarters with spontaneous celebrations and public rhetoric about justice finally having been seen to be done for the victims of 9/11. In Pakistan, it was met with some discomfort that he had lived there unnoticed and unmolested for so long, and with a sense of genuine concern about the potential political fall-out of the raid for US-Pakistan relations and domestic stability.
On the anniversary of the extra-judicial killing of Osama bin Laden, I am re-posting this blog about the wasted opportunities brought about by his death and the inherent dangers in the manner of his death. Instead of re-evaluating the policy of killing suspected terrorists - from an ethical or legal perspective or in terms of effectiveness in ending the use of terrorism - the US and its allies have expanded the use of killing as a counter-terrorism strategy to include the whole world as its domain and a greatly expanded set of targets. I expect that in a few years time, no doubt following another terrorist atrocity, we will look back at this killing programme as the reason for the next round of blowback. Has anything changed? No, the cylce of violence rolls on without interruption...
