In a hideout somewhere on this planet there’s a man blowing out fifty candles today, that is if he has the strength to do so. Osama is not a well man and it’s quite possible that he’s connected to a dialysis machine or that he is no longer with us.
Now let’s imagine that Osama is still alive. Is he enjoying turning fifty surrounded by a loving family who are singing “Happy Birthday” to him? Is he celebrating the occasion in a downtown resort?
I seriously doubt it. Saddam was found down a hole. Al Zaquiri scurried around from hiding place to hiding place, unable to relax for a minute. So things don’t look so cheerful for Osama either.
But, does it really matter if Osama bin Laden is dead or alive?
No, not in the least, because it suits both sides to pretend that he is alive. The terrorists want to pretend that the leader of Al Qaeda is still strong and vital. Naturally they want to promote the myth that Osama is invincible because they have a lot at stake in glorifying him.
It would be quite a letdown for the truth to come out that Osama was really a weakling who was nothing like the ancient Arab warrior his people would like him to be.
As for the West, it doesn’t give a damn whether he is still alive but is happy to focus on his evil deeds, which are many. He personifies all that is loathed in the civilised parts of the world and even when he is dead he will still be reviled. Perhaps it even suits the West to promote the myth of a living Osama who is yet to be captured and dispatched.
However, since Al Qaeda has now become a franchise whose product is terror, Osama has long been irrelevant in the organisation.
One doesn’t have to be a genius to conclude that since Ayman Zawakiri, his Second in Command, is doing all the media appearances, that the birthday boy is not up to it. In fact, he hasn’t been doing much of anything lately.
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The person who has the most to gain from the irrelevance of Osama is Osama. He is, alas, a rare individual who has created a lasting legacy that will reflect his ideals long after his death.
Sadly, in contrast to Saddam’s time as a fugitive, Osama isn’t living in a hole awaiting betrayal by his own people, but rather is surrounded by friends and protected by an ally of his enemy. It shows how impotent we are against him that the only real hope for justice is from diabetes.
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Are you referring to Pakistan when you say an ally of his enemy? Interesting observation, Jeremy, but I’m not sure that I agree with you about his being surrounded by friends. I think that he is dead and will be forgotten. In that case, let’s hope his friends join him soon.
Does anyone mention Arafat nowadays? He thought he was indispensable. As for Osama, he was said to have kidney disease. I didn’t know about his diabetes.
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Yes, I was referring to Pakistan, our ‘ally’ in the war in Iraq. Osama (dead or alive) is almost certainly in northwest Pakisan and the CIA would probably have a a number of good guesses as to where he and the rest of the core Al Qaeda leadership is. But they cannot attack because to do so would destabalise Musharaff, a dictator with a slim grip on power. Similarly, we cannot attack the ideological leaders of militant Islam in Saudi Arabia’s schools, because that would destabilise the Saudi monarchy. Such are our allies.
Oops, I did mean kidney disease, though Osama’s also rumoured to be dead of typhoid. Arafat did regard himself as indispensable, but no-one else did. More importantly, his cult died with him. But my point (and yours?) is that Osama isn’t indispensable, which is a pity for everyone except Al Qaeda.
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So true. With such friends, who needs enemies?
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