Eight Years After 9/11: Why Osama bin Laden Is A Failure

The moon rises over lower Manhattan as the "Tribute in Lights" illuminates the sky on the anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2008. Gary Hershorn / Reuters

From Times Magazine:

He may have eluded justice and the long reach of the world's most powerful military force; his followers may (and probably will) strike again at some point in the future, near or distant; but history's verdict on Osama bin Laden has been in for some time, now: Al-Qaeda failed.

The 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington — like those that preceded it in East Africa in 1998 and those that followed in London, Madrid, Bali and other places — were tactical successes, in that they managed to kill hundreds of innocents, grab the world's headlines and briefly dominate the nightmares of Western policy makers. But the strategy of which those attacks formed part has proven to be fundamentally flawed. Terrorism departs from the rules of war by deliberately targeting the innocent, but it shares the basic motive force of conventional warfare — "the pursuit of politics by other means, " as Clausewitz wrote.

Read more ....

My comment: The families who have had love ones killed directly and/or indirectly from Al Qaeda may disagree.

But ignoring the loses of love ones, and looking at the strategic thinking of Al Qaeda .... I believe the Time Magazine article misses the big picture. They are looking at Al Qaeda and the men behind it .... what they should be looking at is the ideology and philosophy that drives it and the many organizations that are like it.

Islamic extremism has been with us for centuries, and long after Bin Laden is gone, Islamic extremism will still exist. While the majority of Muslims may have contempt (or do not care) for this brand of radicalism, a small and significant portion do not. Even if only 5% are supportive of his cause, we are then talking about tens of millions of Muslims .... a number that is not easy to either discount or ignore.

So .... is Osama Bin Laden a failure?

Hmmmm .... I think it is too early to say.

Ask me again 100 years from now.