Black Leaders Say Bin Laden’s Death Symbolizes Ending and Beginning
By Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It’s Over. Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 American citizens, has been killed.
Upon hearing the televised news from President Obama Sunday night, large crowds reveled outside the White House and in New York City where the Twin Towers were hit. But, Black leaders say Bin Laden’s death should not only signal an ending, but a beginning. Some say Americans must now explore why certain groups hate the U.S. so much. Others say the war against terrorism must now intensify. Still others say it’s time to place equal focus on domestic issues and suffering right here at home.
“It’s a victory at one level because you always want to defend yourself against attack. But if you don’t examine why you were attacked or the root causes of all the animosity and venom against the United States, you really haven’t ultimately resolved the question,” says Ron Daniels, president of the New York-based Institute of the Black World 21st Century.
Daniels speculated that America’s constant siding with Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East is a large part of the hatred.
“We need a new kind of war on terrorism,” he said. “We need to really get at the issue of why people hate Americans and at the end of the day, we will really never, ever rise above the venom and hatred toward Americans until we have been in a position to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East and have a more robust policy of outreach and some of the more humane and just policies toward nations throughout the world. I think that’s what Black should be standing for; that’s what we should be fighting for.”
In an unusual, nationally televised statement on a Sunday night, President Obama confirmed the news:
“Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children,” the President said.
He outlined the steps toward the killing as follows:
- Shortly after taking office two years ago, he said he directed CIA Director Leon Panetta to make the killing or capture of bin Laden “the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.”
- Then, last August, “after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.”
- Obama continued to recount: “Last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
- Finally, “Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”
It has since been reported that bin Laden was shot in the head during the strike by a group of Navy Seals. The shooting happened inside a mansion where he resided in a densely populated area of Pakistan. According to reports, his body was buried at sea while respecting Islamic tradition.
“This is a case in which revenge is redemption,” says the Rev. Jesse Jackson. “This closes the Osama bin Laden chapter, but it does not close the book on terrorism and therefore the struggle must continue … The fight against terrorism must continue.”
Though President Obama mentioned former President Bush in his speech and called him with the news before his public announcement, it is Obama who is winning praise for his leadership in doing what was not done in nearly 10 years under the Bush Administration.
"The death of Bin Laden represents a major victory for our nation as well as for President Obama and his foreign policy team. My thoughts are with the families of 9/11 and the men and women of our military,” says National Urban League President Marc Morial. “My hope is that this re-energizes the sense of unity which prevailed after 9/11 and therefore prompts us to confront the great difficulties that the nation faces at home and abroad together.”
Daniels agreed that a large focus must now be placed on domestic issues even as troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“There are billions upon billions upon billions of dollars going into these conflicts while Black people and other poor people are suffering in this country; so it is coming at a very high cost,” Daniels says.
Howard University political scientist Dr. Wilmer Leon also focuses on the price of the bin Laden search. "We got bin Laden, but at what cost?" he says. "I believe it was George Bush who told us that were going into Afghanistan to get bin Laden. Even though the perpetrators of 9-11 came from Saudi Arabia and bin Laden was in Afghanistan but we were not attacked by Afghanistan, but we still invaded a country. In 10 years and billions of dollars later, we finally get this guy. Now he was the creator of al Qaeda but he was no longer the leader of it. I'm not saying we shouldn't have gotten him. But, what I'm saying is okay, we got him, but we really have to sit back and ask ourselves, 'How much did this cost and was it worth it?'"
Still, in the midst of a re-election bid, Obama will no doubt reap significant political capital for his leadership, at least for now.
“This is a great day for America and a tremendous victory in the global war on terror. Justice has been served,” says U. S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), assistant Democratic leader. “Congratulations to President Obama, the intelligence community, the team who conducted the successful operation and the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought over the last decade in the war against al Qaeda and its affiliates.”
Ultimately, Jackson reminds that all Americans, at home and abroad, must remain vigilant. “Nine-Eleven indiscriminately killed people – Black, White, Muslim, Christian, Jew. The symbol of that movement is gone, but terrorism is still on the loose.”