The Fall-Out of Bin Laden's Death

[AB Editor]

Morning all,

This is likely to be big news today, so I just wondered if anyone wanted to speak about what they think is the fall-out of Bin Laden's Death.

I've heard some suggest it is a bit "too little too late", and possibly even helpful to Al-Queda. By this it is meant that they've gained a handy martyr and removed a potential liability from the organization.

Others have simply been happy to claim a "win for the good guys" and that the world is a safer place, which it may in fact be.

Where do you fall in this spectrum?

Spare Ed

[sp1814]

I'm a little confused by the positive DNA match. I understood that the process took weeks?

[venator]

It was on CNN.
I think they have improved the process these days, it's much faster, but perhaps they just want to tell the guys in Pakistan that they have DNA samples.

[classylady60]

My sentiments are like most on here, he will become a martyr and there are plenty of people of his ilk to take his place. I don't think the world is a safer place nor will become so anytime soon unfortunately.

[Gromit]

Bin Laden was a CIA agent (before he turned bad) and there was no way he was ever going to be allowed to be captured alive - he knew too much that would greatly embarrass the US.

In the last 5 years he had become largely irrelevant and had very little influence. The Spring Revolutions in the middle East had caught Bin Laden and al qaeda napping. He had worked for 30 years to topple the dictators and replace them with an Islamic theocracy. In the event, the people in those countries did not want to replace one dictatorship for another, and chose democracy.

Al qaeda, if it ever really existed, is finished despite our best efforts to give it a helping hand in Libya. That is not to say there will be an end to terrorism, there won't.

[Tuddypat]

Anyone with murderous intent was already doing all they could to kill as many people as possible anyway, so this isn't going to make any difference to that.

What it does do is send a message to the people concerned that says none of you is safe. It may take a while but you will be caught and you will die.
That can't be a bad thing.

[Old_Geezer]

Apparently Osama was really surprised when the yanks came for him. He didn't think they collected Bins on a Bank Holiday Monday.

[steg]

this is a warning from "The Smeaton" to any would be terrorist that is thinking about trying it on up here again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCqprbH7mrg

[Answerprancer]

Morning Ed.
I think there will be an increase in hysteria from Daily Mail reading sheep types who believe every letter of what they read.
I don't think the killing without trial of Osama Bin Laden will achieve anything other than a few whoops and cheers from pro death sentence revengemongers and maybe some consolation for the victims of the alleged attacks.
I very much doubt that removing him has made the world a safer place, someone else will probably pop up to replace him.

[Answerprancer]

...that is of course if he really was killed.

[sandyRoe]

Some American commentators were saying on the radio this morning that Osama's death should be the start of the end of their engagement in Afghanistan. If the Americans left how long would it be before the Taliban were again in Kabul?