Friday, April 19, 2013

“Perhaps the US Navy seals did capture Osama alive...”

Cairo-based max rodenbeck, middle east bureau chief at the economist, discusses Bin Laden’s death, the involvement of Pakistan and the effects of Osama’s death on other terror outfits.

B&E: Recently, America celebrated the end of Osama bin Laden, as the end of the mastermind behind the biggest terror threats worldwide. Is it actually such a victory?
Max Rodenbeck (MR): Understanding that he was one of the biggest criminals in world history and the biggest threat to peace, the celebration was called for. But to hope that this would bring an end to all kinds of terrorist attacks like those masterminded by the al-Qaeda under bin Laden’s leadership, I think it is premature to think that such a thing will happen. Osama’s death is a big blow to al-Qaeda, The outfit has grown considerably weaker in the past ten years, and it is not clear as to who will be the successor to Osama.

B&E: While reacting to the news of Osama’s death, the British PM had said that there was a need for the West to be cautious of a backlash. Also, Taliban has vowed to launch an attack on US and Pakistan to avenge Osama’s death. How real are these threats?
MR: More than considering them real or not, it is better to understand these as short-term threats. The most striking response to Laden’s death from the Muslim world has been the silence. There was not a great deal of comment at all. Besides the people who are on the fringe of Islamic radicalism – the Jihadist fringe, which is a very small fringe element in the Muslim world today – the rest are not upset about Osama’s death. But in terms of an immediate backlash, it is pretty likely that some of those groups associated with al-Qaeda will feel the need to either express their anger or reassert the fact that they still exist by launching an attack.

B&E: Reports have claimed that Osama bin Laden, in recent times, was not as active as he was, say about 10-15 years ago. What are your views?
MR: It is true that Osama’s leadership has not been that important in recent years. In fact, the central leadership of al-Qaeda has not been that critical. The work of al-Qaeda around the world over the last couple of years has been carried out by groups that are only remotely linked to al-Qaeda. Laden’s leadership has been less important of late. I think this has also largely been because he has been unable to communicate. His leadership position had weakened even before his death.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
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