It is now pretty much certain that Bin Laden is dead. By inference too, it had to be him living in that mysterious fortress because his wives and children could not have been living there with some look-alike impersonator. With that chapter closed, we as a nation need to turn our attention to making up our minds once and for all as to what did OBL represent as well as our future direction? Was he worthy of all the fuss and attention? Did he stand for good or evil, for peace or death and destruction? Was he deserving of respect or contempt? As a nation, we have never been able to firm up our views whether we supported or hated him.
For a change we need to think only of our best interests, virtually excluding all other actors from the scene. Let us assume the wretched Americans, the mischievous Indians, the tribal Afghans, the evil societies of Europe, the Communist Russians and all others have taken a long sabbatical from planet earth; forcing us into making an independent choice between right and wrong; differentiating good from evil.
On Aug 7, 1998, the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam were bombed by terrorists, leaving 258 people dead and more than 5,000 injured in Nairobi. Of those only 12 were Americans citizens. The causalities inflicted in Dar-es-Salaam did not include a single American. During an international Commonwealth conference hosted by Kenya in Nairobi, delegates were taken to the memorial site for the bombing in 1998. Some were told by accompanying hosts about a very aged and near lifeless women seated in a corner on that occasion that her college student daughter was a victim of that tragedy. In the 9/11 bombing in New York nearly 3,000 victims died in the attacks. Osama bin Laden initially denied involvement but in 2004 claimed responsibility for the attacks. Theoretically, there are two possibilities in relation to Bin Laden. Either he masterminded or supported these atrocities with the intention of punishing Americans and in the process inflicted more tragedy on other unsuspecting nationalities. His supporters say collateral damage is an unavoidable fact in a larger cause, but then they take the opposite view altogether about collateral damage caused by drone attacks by CIA in Pakistan.
Let us assume that Bin Laden was the mastermind or sponsor of most of these tragedies. That achievement of hurting the Americans at home and abroad is what made him a hero or cult figure in the minds and drawing rooms of many. Having taken this position, he must then share full responsibility for the death and destruction caused, international conflicts triggered as a consequence and the hardships and stigma it brought upon Muslims of all types and nationalities, especially the millions of expatriates settled in the developed world. They have never ever been treated the same way as before 9/11 by indigenous populations. While his actions may have made him a hero in the minds of those who lives are driven primarily by hatred of others, it brought hardly any good to Muslims, individually or collectively in any part of the globe. If there is evidence of a positive fall out in consequence of his actions, it must be shared immediately with everyone to rectify the imbalance in perception.
Therefore, it is important for us now to take up a definite position. If he is to be credited with teaching the Americans many lessons in the course of which thousands of others, including many anti-Americans themselves have been wiped off this earth, then those who rate him in that manner must share the burden of being party to all the sufferings inflicted in the process.
Why did Laden feel safe hiding Pakistan when he could have moved to another unknown destination? It is a serious question we must ask ourselves. What assuring circumstances could have led him into selecting Pakistan as his safest option? That perception in his mind alone is worth taking very seriously as an uncomplimentary national image that will do us no good at all.
The only way he could have settled for that would be if he had assurances of security from elsewhere. That is why it is imperative for our own sake without caring in the slightest for others to ascertain what kind of support network allowed him that mental comfort. For far too long, the secret state has taken the common man for granted and in the process managed to sweep all wrong doings under the carpet. If the truth is not unearthed this time, the next event may lead to consequences that may leave thoughts of future enquiries irrelevant.
Sadly we have never been good at learning from history or thinking long term objectively. So far there is little evidence of any honest attempt or intention to let the public know what dirty games were being played in the background for all these years. Official explanations offered thus far have been unconvincing, repetitive and often contradictory. At a time when even honest explanations may be difficult to sell to the international community, cut and paste cover up jobs will only add to our future woes. That display of honesty seems unlikely.
