Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

MERCY COLLEGE

Why It Was A Must To

Find Bin Laden?
Junior Seminar 301- Fall 2011
Professor Steven Witte
Nader Fares
May 4, 2011

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Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

Although it doesnt end the terrorism, killing Bin Laden is a tremendous achievement that will
help reduce the danger of terrorism around the world. All the news channels and political shows now
days are talking about killing Bin Laden and its consequences. Its been a decade since the attack of
9/11, finding Bin Laden was still a high priority. Some might argue that it wasnt so important to find
him anymore because after the war on Afghanistan, he had no organizational muscle. However, the
truth is that Bin Laden was always important for Al Qaeda. There are four main reasons that explain
why finding Bin Laden was important. The first reason is to bring justice. The second reason is to stop
him from planning more attacks. The third reason is to prove that Americans are able to accomplish the
goal of ending terrorism. The fourth reason is the good consequences that will follow after finding him.
The first reason is to bring justice. Bin Laden was the person behind many terrorism attacks
such as the 1998 US embassy bombings and September 11 attacks. His terrorism attacks resulted in
more than a million victims (Osama bin Laden). It was so important to bring justice by capturing such a
criminal who was the main reason for the death of many people. It was a necessity for the society in
general and specifically for the victims families who suffered by losing their beloved ones. The most
effective way for these families to live in peace was to see Bin Laden - the face of terror- brought down
to justice in whatever way. If we ignored Bin Laden, many others would have developed similar ideas
without any concern to the consequences since there is no justice. According to a CNN reporter: Diana
Massaroli, whose husband died in the World Trade Center, said holding a picture of her husband. Im
missing him, but I feel that justice has been done. (Greene, 2011).

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Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

The second reason is to stop the danger of more attacks planned by Bin Laden. Its
obvious that Bin Laden the head of Al Qaeda was the mastermind of most if not all the attacks.
Being the mastermind of the attacks, it was very crucial to find him in order to abolish his
plannings. Furthermore, as a wealthy man Bin Laden always helped in building training camps
for extremists from all over the Muslim world. He also funded the operations. President Obama
stated in his speech 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. (Full text of Obama's speech on Bin Laden's death, 2011). On the
other hand if bin Laden was left free, more Muslim extremists would have gathered around him.
The third reason is to accomplish the goal of our military. After the 9/11 attacks, a war on
terrorism was declared. Bin Laden was the iconic figure of terrorism all over the world. If the
military didnt achieve the goal of nailing Bin Laden, it would have been seen as a huge failure
after all the sacrifices that were made. Furthermore, the terrorism movements would have had
more confidence in their abilities to hide and do more attacks. Without finding Bin Laden all
what we did by entering into two wars and expending a great deal of blood and treasure since
Sept. 11 would have been done in vain. The American military have shown terrorists around the
world that they are solid and determined to end terrorism. As President Obama Stated But
tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is
the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for
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Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices
to make the world a safer place. (Full text of Obama's speech on Bin Laden's death, 2011).
The fourth reason is the good consequences that will follow the death of Bin Laden. There are
many good aspects of these consequences. Some of them are psychological and economical.
Psychologically, its essential to end the myth of the person who killed thousands of Americans in order
to give a partial peace to the victims families and friends. On the other hand, it has a very negative
impact on Al Qaeda recruits. Even if one accepts that Bin Laden had been less relevant and only a
figurehead without organizational muscle, this judgment greatly underestimates the impact of removing
him from the center of the radical terrorist movement. On the run, he would have been a symbol that
terrorism can prevail and a leader who was able to survive despite our massive military power.
The fall of a charismatic leader traditionally deflates a movements followers, and these leaders
are seldom replaced with individuals of even remotely similar presence and charisma. In the 1960s and
70s, for example, when terrorism and insurgency were rampant in Latin America, the Cuban-inspired
ideological movement rippling through South America lost much of its luster with Che Guevaras death
in the mountains of Bolivia in 1967 (Devine, 2010).Moreover, some analysts predicted that the death of
bin Laden might make terrorists worry, proving that the U.S. is able to find anyone, anywhere and
bring him to justice. (Kittle, 2011)
Economically, at FT Alphaville, PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian writes that bin Laden's death
means a long-term reduction in global economic risk (Goldstein, 2011). Other financial analysts
suggested an increase in peoples appetite to invest. Its positive because people have been avoiding
stocks because they think theyve been risky, and part of it is global security. This is going to basically
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Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

really boost inflows into stocks, said Thomas J. Lee, chief U.S. equity strategist for JPMorgan Chase &
Co. (JPM) in New York (Kearns, 2011).

In sum, there were four main reasons why finding bin Laden was a must. The first reason is to
bring justice. It has to be shown that nobody is above the law. Justice was also important to families
and relatives of the victims. The second reason is to stop him from planning more attacks. It was so
essential to find the mastermind of these dangerous attacks in order to prevent any further attacks. The
third reason is to prove that Americans are able to accomplish the goal of ending terrorism. Our troops
were sent to Afghanistan to put an end to Al Qaeda governance over Afghanistan, and since Bin Laden
was the leader, it was so essential to get him. The fourth reason is the good consequences that will
follow after capturing him. Some of these consequences can be seen in the short run, and some will be
seen on the long run. Psychologically, the families of the victims feel better after killing Bin Laden. On
the other hand, Bin Laden followers will fear and panic after losing their leaders. World will be seen as
a safer place after bin Ladens death which will help in improving the economy in the long run.

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Why It Was A Must To Find Bin Laden?

REFERENCES
Devine, J. (2010, october 10). Top U.S. goal in Afghanistan ought to be capturing bin
Laden. Retrieved may 4, 2011, from www.washingtonpost.com:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/10/08/AR2010100806340.html
Full text of Obama's speech on Bin Laden's death. (2011, may 2). Retrieved may 4, 2011,
from Cbsnews.com: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20058783-503544.html
Goldstein, J. (2011, may 2). The Economic Impact Of Bin Laden's Death. Retrieved may 4,
2011, from http://www.npr.org:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/05/02/135919196/the-economic-impact-of-binladens-death
Greene, R. A. (2011, 5 2). Death of bin Laden brings healing to old wounds. Retrieved 5 4,
2011, from cnn.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.catharsis/index.html
Kearns, J. (2011, may 3). Bin Laden Death Adds to Bulls Clout After Weathering Europe,
Japan Crises. Retrieved may 4, 2011, from http://www.bloomberg.com:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-03/bin-laden-death-adds-to-bulls-clout-aftereurope-japan-crises.html
Kittle, R. (2011, may 4). USC Expert Says Bin Laden Death Could Have Unintended
Consequences. Retrieved may 4, 2011, from http://www2.wjbf.com/:
http://www2.wjbf.com/news/2011/may/02/usc-expert-says-bin-laden-death-could-haveuninten-ar-1793222/
Osama bin Laden. (n.d.). Retrieved from wikipedia.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden
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