Terrorism: The Hunt for Osama bin Laden and the War on Terrorism

The United States reacted to the bombing of the U. S. Embassy in Kenya and Tanzania by embarking on a hunt for Osama bin Laden that lasted over twelve years (Morgan). In addition, after the suicide attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon of September 11, 2001, the United States government, under the Bush Administration, declared a worldwide war against terrorism ("War on Terrorism"). During this period, bin Laden released both video and audio recordings letting the world know that he was alive and well, and continuing his efforts to shape the jihad against America and its interests (Morgan).

Terrorism Attacks and the Hunt for Osama bin Laden

The hunt for bin Laden began in earnest in August of 1998 (Morgan). President Bill Clinton announced that the six strikes on Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and the Sudanese El Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries facility, said to house chemical weapons, were retaliatory actions taken in response to the embassy bombings ("U.S. missiles pound”). The military used cruise missiles which were fired from ships located on the Red and Arabian seas. The attacks were simultaneous. President Clinton stated that the strikes were ordered because they had received highly credible information that subsequent terrorist attacks were planned and that the infidels were seeking to obtain chemical and other precarious weaponry. Sudanese officials responded stating that the factory had no chemical weapons and that the strike was abusive. In Afghanistan, the Taliban rulers indicated that bin Laden and his compatriots were all safe, that they would have safe haven in their country, and that the Al Qaeda leader would never be released to the United States ("U.S. missiles pound”). 

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen declared that the planned strikes were for the purpose of creating havoc among the training and resource facilities that Al Qaeda used to facilitate its terroristic efforts ("U.S. missiles pound”). Cohen added that he did not expect the strikes to end the matter, but that it represented the U.S.’ message, and that message was loud and clear, the lives of American citizens would be protected at all costs. Later, in June 2001, CBS News got hold of an Al Qaeda video confirming that the terrorist organization was responsible for the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen (Morgan). The bomb run killed seventeen American seamen and injured thirty nine sailors. Bin Laden had not specifically taken responsibility on the video footage, but intelligence indicated that he was the primary suspect. 

On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda suicide terrorists hijacked four aircraft, two of which crashed into the World Trade Center buildings, one crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth airplane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to fight the four hijackers ("9/11 Attacks"). It is still unclear the exact intended target of the hijackers, but it is certain that it would have been a high profile target, like the White House or the U.S. Capitol. On September 13, 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell declared Osama bin Laden as the main suspect in the World Trade Center attacks. Less than a month later, the White House announced a checklist of twenty two of the Most Wanted Terrorist in the world. Bin Laden among others had made the cut. October 7, 2001 also saw Operation Enduring Freedom take its first air strikes in Afghanistan, in an effort to remove the Taliban and trample bin Laden’s terrorist network which had taken up residency in the country. It took only two months to remove the Taliban from power, but there was still a Taliban insurgency waged from Pakistan that needed to be addressed ("9/11 Attacks").

In November and December of 2001, video footage of bin Laden confirmed that bin Laden was the foundation for the September 11 strikes (Morgan). Also, it was clear that not all of the hijackers realized that the intent was for them to die. Bin Laden’s hideout in Tora Bora, Afghanistan was pummeled by airstrikes. However, after about a month of invasive action, bin Laden escaped to Pakistan. In 2002, there were reports that bin Laden had developed kidney disease, though his doctor announced to Associated Press that this was preposterous, that the Al Qaeda leader was in excellent health. In March 2003, as a result of a CIA led clandestine operation, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was placed in U.S. custody in Rawalpindi, Pakistan (Ressa, Boettcher, Quraishi, Arena, and Malveaux). Aside from bin Laden, he was the key planner of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Law enforcement viewed his capture as one of the most significant accomplishments since the 9/11 attacks. “The White House commended the arrests, calling Mohammed one of Osama bin Laden's ‘most senior and significant lieutenants, [and] a key al Qaeda planner and the mastermind of the September 11th attacks’” (Ressa, Boettcher, Quraishi, Arena, and Malveaux). Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Apparently, he is suffering from enhanced waterboarding interrogation techniques ("Khalid Sheikh Mohammed”). It was also later determined that bin Laden was blocked into a 350 mile area within Pakistan between Chaman and the Afghan-Iranian border.

There continued to be bin Laden sightings, reports of his death and comedy leveled at the topic, yet nothing seemed to occur regarding the United States’ number one goal – capturing Osama bin Laden. The in 2010, a tape was discovered where bin Laden accepted responsibility for a failed Christmas Day attack against an aircraft in Michigan (Morgan). The audio tape declared that the assailant, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was a hero.

The U.S. Special Ops Killing of Osama bin Laden

On May 2, 2011, President Barack Obama announced:Goo d evening.  Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children (Phillips).

On May 2, 2011, after over a decade long international manhunt, the Al Qaeda leader of a network of Islamist extremist, and killer of thousands of innocents was dead ("Osama bin Laden killed”). 

U.S. Navy SEALs arrived at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, just north of the capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan ("Osama bin Laden killed”). The helicopter crashed on landing, but none of the occupants were hurt. The raid lasted for approximately 48 minutes, longer than the SEALs had intended ("Architect of bin Laden raid”). The goal was to limit the time to 30 minutes, in order to maintain the element of surprise, ensuring there would be no time for the Pakistani military, or others to respond. However, once bin Laden had been killed, along with his son, wife and bodyguards, some of the SEALs found documents and hard drives which they had not planned on, but wanted to collect. The time was passing and Admiral William "Bill" McRaven, architect of the surprise attack, was getting nervous. He communicated with the ground commander at the compound and said, "hey, get everything you can. But it's time to wrap this up and get out of Abbottabad" (Bergen). The team grabbed what they could, hoisted bin Laden’s body and left the scene. They flew from Abbottabad back to command, at the airbase in Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan. McRaven was there waiting for them.  

President Obama asked McRaven if he could confirm that the body was that of bin Laden (Bergen). Based on the pictures they had of him and his unusual height, McRaven reported that they were 99% certain that it was him. But the only absolute confirmation would be the DNA tests, which later confirmed what the world already knew. In an effort to determine the height of the body, since bin Laden was 6 foot 4 inches, McRaven asked a SEAL to lay next to the cadaver. The SEAL was 6 foot 2 inches and the body was just a little bit longer than his own. When McRaven communicated how he had determined bin Laden’s height, Obama said, in a moment of lightheartedness, that we had invested in $60 million stealth Black Hawks, but he couldn’t afford to bring a tape measure with him to determine bin Laden’s height (Bergen)!

Osama bin Laden was thereafter buried in the Arabian Sea, at a location that was undisclosed, within 24 hours of his death, consistent with Islamic practice (Bergen). Examination of the computer files collected by the SEALs showed that bin Laden’s next plan was to assassinate President Obama and to prepare other attacks, particularly one on the anniversary of September 11 ("Osama bin Laden killed").

The Al Qaeda Aftermath

In the aftermath of bin Laden’s death, Al Qaeda has continued to expand and consolidate its strength, but not as obviously and not in the public spotlight, as was the case in its former incarnation (Gilsinan). In addition, Al Qaeda must deal with its former affiliate, and now splinter group ISIS, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which is essentially, the extreme-extremist version of Al Qaeda, if that can be said. Al Qaeda is quietly expanding into Syria and Yemen, taking advantage of the upheaval within the countries to solidify their support.  Al Qaeda’s modus operandi is to not employ extremist brutality similar to that used by ISIS. In what amounts to the, you catch more flies with honey philosophy, Al Qaeda has turned its nose up on the brutal tactics employed by ISIS and prefers to be seen as the less terroristic terrorism group. The theory is that you can get more people to support and join you, and provide needed financing, if you do not behead individuals and roll their head down the street of a neighborhood for the world to see. Al Qaeda has also learned lessons from bin Laden, let’s not mobilize international military angst against us, no need to poke that bear (Gilsinan).

Dr. Farhan Zahid, a counter terrorism expert, who writes on Al Qaeda, Pakistani Al Qaeda- linked groups, and ISIS, and authored Roots of Islamic Violent Activism in South Asia in 2014, says that Al Qaeda is in a troubled state because of drone strikes hitting their safe haven in the tribal regions of Pakistan (Researchgate). Since 2004, numerous Al Qaeda top leadership and strike worthy targets have been killed due to CIA counter terrorism efforts. But since Al Qaeda has a decentralized format, the organization still exists. Al Qaeda is located in over sixty countries globally, utilizing a cell based structure. Al Qaeda is effectively spread across the Middle East, Asia, Western Europe and Africa, and is composed of vexed Islamist malcontents. Zahid compared some Al Qaeda relationships with local groups as functioning similar to that of a franchisor and franchisee. Consequently, Al Qaeda has been able to survive the counter terrorism actions taken by the West. Similar to snakes that survive after their head has been severed, Al Qaeda still has some bite (Researchgate).

When asked what impact the killing of bin Laden had on the perpetuation of Al Qaeda, Zahid stated that his death had a substantial chilling effect on the group (Researchgate). Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s current leader, is working hard to rejuvenate the Islamist organization, though ISIS gets more coverage, due to its terroristic implementation strategy.

Works Cited

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Gilsinan, Kathy. "Five Years After bin Laden's Death, al-Qaeda Lives On." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. 2 May 2016. Web. 3 September 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/al-qaeda-bin-laden-death/480801/>.

"Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Fast Facts." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 9 December 2015. Web. 3 September 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/world/meast/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-fast-facts/>.

Morgan, David. "Key dates in the hunt for Osama bin Laden." CBS News. CBS Interactive, Inc. 2 May 2011. Web. 3 September 2016. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/key-dates-in-the-hunt-for-osama-bin-laden/>.

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Phillips, Macon. "Osama Bin Laden Dead." White House. WhiteHouse.gov. 2 May 2011. Web. 3 September 2016. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead>.

Researchgate. "Al-Qaeda: 5 Years After the Death of Osama bin Laden." Huffington Post. TheHuffintonPost.com Inc. 28 April 2016. Web. 3 September 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/researchgate/al-qaeda-5-years-after-th_b_9795238.html>.

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