As US President Obama announced the killing of terror kingpin Osama Bin Laden Sunday night, shouts of "USA, USA" spontaneously erupted in Times Square, New York, City, with huge crowds gathering at Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan where the 9/11 terror attack occurred. Crowds also gathered outside the White House. The battle cry was reminiscent of 2001 when then President George Bush stood on a mound of rubble at Ground Zero and promised to capture Bin Laden "dead or alive." Sunday night's address was greeted with relief and optimism by world leaders. Equity and commodity markets were given a shot in the arm and President Obama's approval ratings-dismal at the time-are expected to soar. A failed mission would have signalled his death knell. It did for Jimmy Carter in 1979. "Justice has been done," said the President. No doubt, especially for families of 9/11 victims-a sense of closure after nearly 10 years. But amid the celebration, all should be well counselled that the removal of the inspirational leader of the Al-Qaeda terror network will not magically efface this threat to civility. Al-Qaeda has been battered before. It has seen its base in Afghanistan destroyed, and so too was its dream of an Islamic state in Iraq. It has seen key players in its global operation either captured or killed, most notably Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.
Despite US gains and its for-midable military reach, Al-Qaeda has endured. Its resilience, global reach, and cross-cultural appeal can be attributed to its non-hierarchical and not centrifugal structure. The Al-Qaeda franchise has morphed into an amorphous and shadowy network of small cells initially commissioned to carry out attacks on the US, its interests and allies. Above all else though, one must examine the nature of its ideology, an ideology that even resonates with groups outside the direct sphere of US foreign policy. The ideology of resistance to imperialism, clothed with Qura-nic injunctions, has found a ready audience in Russia, Kashmir, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Indonesia and other nations. The US in many such scenarios is not the exploitative imperial power targeted, but other governments- Russia, India and even China-are on its hit list. This is what makes Al-Qaeda most dangerous and difficult to eradicate. Bin Laden was only the progenitor of this ideology. And an ideology rooted in religion may die a slow death-but is never killed.
Russia's long struggle with Chechen rebels proves this point. To Putin and Russia's Federal Security Service, the deaths of Shamil Basayev and Ibn Al Khattab-the ideological masterminds of attacks on Russian soil-were shortlived political victories. Chechnya's rebels, very much locked in step with Bin Laden's doctrine, still pose a credible threat to stability in the Caucasus.
This is true for Kashmir where Jais-e-Mohammed continues to function, and Somalia where Al Shabaab remains an influential force. Terrorism, as many experts will state, cannot be eradicated solely by military means. The US, unlike Russia and other nations bedeviled by terrorism, is in the unique position as a global superpower to use this symbolic victory to create a global environment less amen-able to the nihilism of Al-Qaeda. The hunt for Bin Laden started in Afghanistan with an understandable invasion. With the Bin Laden factor eliminated in Pakistan, shouldn't the US revisit its foreign policy in that region? As US troops target Taliban fighters and innocent civilians are killed, US involvement there becomes illegitimate in the eyes of Afghans. Deadly attacks on US personnel by Afghan soldiers (supposed US allies) are worrisome and may reflect growing anxiety of nationals over a domineering foreign presence. In fact, it was Bin Laden who used the US presence in Saudi Arabia to rally support for his jihad (holy war). The US should also be advised not to further alienate and embarrass Pakistan, a strategic ally in the war on terror. The US description of the Bin Laden operation as "unilateral" and without involvement of the ISI (Pakistan intelligence community) and govern- ment is highly incredulous and a major diplomatic blunder that must be reversed. Yes, celebratory messages are in place for the US, but the battle is far from over. There is already talk of retaliatory strikes. More importantly, though, is that the seeds of terror can never sprout when there is a sense of unqualified justice and equanimity-politically, socially and economically. All institutions at every level of governance must work toward that end.
Dr Glenville Ashby is a foreign correspondent for the Guardian