Two Sides of the Coin

BIG DEAL – By Justin Penafiel

These days, less and less people remember the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Yet, on May 2, we were there for the ultimate demise of Osama bin Laden. Indeed, his demise is the Berlin Wall of our times. To suggest otherwise would be to dismiss the Berlin Wall as but another man-made structure, or bin Laden as just any other old geezer.

Never mind that bin Laden was found in a fortified residence in the aptly-named Abbottabad in Pakistan, rather than some cave in Afghanistan (because people like Osama could have only possibly lived in caves, right?). If even George W. Bush can bring himself to congratulate Barack Obama for doing what he could never do, so can we. Yes, yes we can.

That is not to deny that the war in terror was a foil in the struggle to track down bin Laden, after all. But in focusing on the fact that looking in caves and bombing Iraq was all in vain, we fail to comprehend and even appreciate the sheer awesomeness of America’s efforts under Obama to take down ‘Public Enemy Number One’. It was achieved completely under the radar, incognito, and without their closest allies ever knowing until Obama’s fateful and awe-inspiring announcement. Let’s not take this achievement away from the CIA and U.S. military, because they sorely needed it.

Many small-l liberals bemoan the lost opportunities to reassert some lofty, but nebulous ideals of the rule of law and presumption of innocence until proven guilty, that were thrown out with bin Laden’s body in the Arabian Sea. I know I do. But let’s not kid ourselves – the bin Laden trials were never going to see the light of day, let alone the pages of law school textbooks. This was Barack Obama’s moment and the accompanying boost in the polls is perhaps deserving of his perseverance.

Bin Laden, as a guerilla, may have been one of many, and he certainly did not define the Muslim world. Yet, the commemorations and celebrations there were of him are indicative of the cult of celebrity that surrounded bin Laden in his quest to define the Muslim world and its relations with the West.

In all the media and hype that surrounded bin Laden, the scale and history of his influence is often forgotten. It is easy to forget he was one of Saudi’s richest sons. As the mastermind behind al-Qaeda, bin Laden transformed the organisation into a well funded, transnational operation that stretched from the Middle East and Africa to the Far East and the United States itself. The sheer spectacle of September 11 and his subsequent pursuit wiped away the world’s memories of the decade of plane hijackings and bombing of embassies, train stations and public markets. Fewer still recall bin Laden’s nearly successful plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Manila in 1995. From the comfort of our distant Australian homes, where we have only ever needed to be alert but not alarmed, it was all too easy to forget the real, omnipresent threat posed by bin Laden’s transnational presence to the peace and security of the rest of the world.

NO DEAL – By Preethi Sundaram

It has been stated, “if Osama bin Laden didn’t exist, it would be necessary to manufacture him.”

After masterminding the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, bin Laden quickly assumed the mantle of ‘Public Enemy Number One’ by the United States. This was a title he happily adopted, but as the quote suggests, one he hardly deserved.

The War on Terror was a war the world had never seen before. It was the first in which an enemy, Al Qaeda, could no longer be clearly identified. What exactly were people fighting against? What exactly constituted ‘terror’?

Osama bin Laden filled this information void. George W. Bush promised in 2001 that Osama bin Laden would be captured to avenge those that died in the attacks on United States soil. This was presumably a satisfying response, as it would put an end to ‘terror’ – as though Osama bin Laden had some kind of monopoly on all terrorist activity.

In reality, Al Qaeda is a fragmented entity.  In some ways, it is almost a franchise, where anyone is free to use the name to commit acts of violence under the broad banner of Sunni Islamism. Osama bin Laden repeated claimed to be acting in defence of all Islamic people. In the end, his popularity was never as widespread as he assumed it to be. In most instances, the majority of his victims were the innocent Muslims who he purported to defend. Instead, his idea of an Islamic state – a caliphate of sorts – was soundly being rejected by millions of Muslims who had other ideas.

The Arab Spring arrived in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya as dictators are being thrown out one by one. Freedom, democracy and transparency are being demanded all over the Middle East, by Arabs who are willing to risk their lives in a way that they never would have for bin Laden’s obsolete ideologies. Osama bin Laden’s visions never found a place in the minds of those whose support he needed to continue his violent ways. In reality he was killed by the Arabs long before the Americans got him in Pakistan.

Instead his name was used to con a grieving people to comply with two invasions in the name of justice. A decade on, the objective of the original mission has finally been achieved by another President forced to adopt this war as his own, in another country. Ten years have seen the invasions of two countries and the deaths of countless innocent civilians. Osama bin Laden’s death won’t change the state of the countries that U.S. foreign policy destroyed in their mission.

It won’t cripple the decentralised command of al-Qaeda and it won’t end terrorist attacks. As this is being written revenge attacks are being plotted and executed in Pakistan. The United States’ budget will remain in a woeful state with domestic health care and education still in desperate need.

In the end Osama bin Laden was a caricature – a man with an obsolete ideology who fooled a superpower for a decade because they let him. He led the United States on a wild goose chase, stampeding through the Middle East where their tunnel vision blinded them to the seeds of democracy that were already in place.

BIG DEAL – By Justin Penafiel
These days, less and less people remember the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Yet, on May 2, we were there for the ultimate demise of Osama bin Laden. Indeed, his demise is the Berlin Wall of our times. To suggest otherwise would be to dismiss the Berlin Wall as but another man-made structure, or bin Laden as just any other old geezer.
Never mind that bin Laden was found in a fortified residence in the aptly-named Abbottabad in Pakistan, rather than some cave in Afghanistan (because people like Osama could have only possibly lived in caves, right?). If even George W. Bush can bring himself to congratulate Barack Obama for doing what he could never do, so can we. Yes, yes we can.
That is not to deny that the war in terror was a foil in the struggle to track down bin Laden, after all. But in focusing on the fact that looking in caves and bombing Iraq was all in vain, we fail to comprehend and even appreciate the sheer awesomeness of America’s efforts under Obama to take down ‘Public Enemy Number One’. It was achieved completely under the radar, incognito, and without their closest allies ever knowing until Obama’s fateful and awe-inspiring announcement. Let’s not take this achievement away from the CIA and U.S. military, because they sorely needed it.
Many small-l liberals bemoan the lost opportunities to reassert some lofty, but nebulous ideals of the rule of law and presumption of innocence until proven guilty, that were thrown out with bin Laden’s body in the Arabian Sea. I know I do. But let’s not kid ourselves – the bin Laden trials were never going to see the light of day, let alone the pages of law school textbooks. This was Barack Obama’s moment and the accompanying boost in the polls is perhaps deserving of his perseverance.
Bin Laden, as a guerilla, may have been one of many, and he certainly did not define the Muslim world. Yet, the commemorations and celebrations there were of him are indicative of the cult of celebrity that surrounded bin Laden in his quest to define the Muslim world and its relations with the West.
In all the media and hype that surrounded bin Laden, the scale and history of his influence is often forgotten. It is easy to forget he was one of Saudi’s richest sons. As the mastermind behind al-Qaeda, bin Laden transformed the organisation into a well funded, transnational operation that stretched from the Middle East and Africa to the Far East and the United States itself. The sheer spectacle of September 11 and his subsequent pursuit wiped away the world’s memories of the decade of plane hijackings and bombing of embassies, train stations and public markets. Fewer still recall bin Laden’s nearly successful plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Manila in 1995. From the comfort of our distant Australian homes, where we have only ever needed to be alert but not alarmed, it was all too easy to forget the real, omnipresent threat posed by bin Laden’s transnational presence to the peace and security of the rest of the world.