People throughout Delaware and around the world are reacting to the news that U.S. forces killed al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in a helicopter raid and firefight at a mansion near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Delaware’s Congressional delegation praised the strike that resulted in bin Laden’s demise and congratulated President Obama’s administration, the CIA and U.S military forces.
Delaware’s senior Senator Tom Carper (D) called it “remarkable news” and expressed hope that the death of the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks would bring some solace to Americans, especially to those who lost loved ones on 9/11.
“My hope is that they will feel that justice has been done and heal their hearts to some extent,” said Carper.
Senator Chris Coons (D) called bin Laden’s death “a momentous development for our country,” adding that he hopes bin Laden’s death “will both make the world safer and speed the day when our troops can return home.”
Rep. John Carney (D) stated, “This is a day to remember—and an important milestone in the ongoing war on terror. This should strengthen our resolve as we continue to protect the nation from serious threats from around the globe. We must remain vigilant in an extremely dangerous world.”
Bin Laden’s death in Pakistan comes just over a week after Senator Carper visited that country, including Islamabad. Carper says he is not surprised to learn bin Laden was found where he was. “A number of us have felt for many years that for [the U.S.] not to have found [bin Laden], and thinking he was somewhere in Pakistan, someone within Pakistan and at a fairly senior level had to be complicit,” said Carper.
Senator Tom Carper reacts to the death of Osama bin Laden
Sen. Carper discusses the message bin Laden’s death could send the Islamic world.
Sen. Carper on the impact the U.S. raid on bin Laden’s compound may have on U.S.-Pakistani relations
Sen. Carper outlines where the focus of the war on terror needs to move now.
Carper is impressed the operation was executed so smoothly. “The amazing thing to me is that they were able to keep it quiet and use the element of surprise,” said Carper. “The intelligence agency for Pakistan, the ISI, is notorious for leaking. So for us to have pulled this off is quite an accomplishment.” In retrospect, Carper suspects the presence of both General David Petraeus and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Pakistan, during his visit may be an indication that the groundwork for the raid was already being laid.
Carper says although he is concerned about the impact the raid may have on U.S.-Pakistani relations, he believes U.S. operations within Pakistani borders are less likely to have a long term impact than other issues. “If you ask most [Pakistanis] what they’re concerned about, they don’t say it’s the pilotless drones or U.S. covert operations,” said Carper. “They’re concerned about their economy, about getting jobs, about the quality of their schools, and terrorists running rampant throughout their country. My hope is that this action, rather than worsening our relations, will in the long term, put us on a better path.”
Muqtedar Khan, associate professor of Islam and Global Affairs at the University of Delaware, isn’t so sure. “I think this complicates U.S.-Pakistani relations incredibly,” said Khan. “I suspect there might be some backlash from Pakistan. Also, extremist groups may seek to take revenge. They might not be able to attack Americans and so they might attack ordinary Pakistani civilians and this will again raise anti-Americanism in Pakistan.”
In the United States, Khan acknowledges the symbolic value bin Laden’s death holds and hopes “the psychological pain many of us carried for a decade is assuaged by this event.” Still, he doesn’t believe bin Liden’s death holds any major strategic value. “In the past few years, bin Laden has become completely irrelevant to the struggle in the Muslim world,” said Khan.
Khan argues bin Laden showed one way for Muslims to fight to change chronic problems of “bad governance, corruption, dictatorship, lack of dignity, lack of freedom”—a violent way. He says after seeing the fruits of that method—wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the deaths of thousand of non-Muslims and hundreds of thousands of Muslims—those seeking change have already abandoned violence for the methods seen in recent civil uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
“Bin Laden gave Islam a bad name. The activists in Tunisia and Cairo brought dignity back to Muslims and Islam and they’ve been successful. Bid Laden failed to bring change. These [activists] brought change.” said Khan.
Reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden
Excerpts of interview with UD Associate Professor of Islam & Global Studies, Dr. Muqtedar Khan
Sen. Carper says the U.S. needs to foster that sentiment as best it can. “You can always hope that the message [of bin Laden's death] is ‘sometimes those who live by the sword die by the sword’ but I don’t think that’s enough,” said Carper. “We have to continue to try to make it clear that we’re not interested in telling them what to do or ruling their lives. We just want to make sure they have respect for life and that people who may have a different point of view are given the kind of tolerance we practice in our country.”
For more on Dr. Khan’s thoughts on bin Laden’s death and its impact, you can also read his blog post here.
