A chance to double down
The killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan has brought a debate, but also opportunity. The high-profile death of the world's best known terrorist has raised the odds against organised terrorism worldwide. Governments will be remiss if they fail to take advantage. So will civil and non-government groups counselling good government.
It is crystal clear that bin Laden's killing diminished his appeal. There have been no outburst of protests anywhere. Even the militants who claimed to support the goals of the dead al-Qaeda leader have been unable to rouse public support against even the violent manner of his death. With bin Laden gone, his network of supporters is exposed.
An alert world must move into the opportunity this presents. Two weeks after the death of the Saudi-born bin Laden, his irrelevance in today's world stands exposed. The terrorism he espoused has sickened even those who once claimed to support him _ not least because al-Qaeda has killed more Muslims than any other group. That includes groups in the Thai South as well. Although not linked to bin Laden, the gangs in the deep South have copied al-Qaeda's terrorist tactics, and Muslims have been a majority of their victims.
Al-Qaeda and supporters have been reduced to bluster in a post-bin Laden world. Their propaganda outlets promised attacks on the United States to avenge the killing of the old terrorist. The reality was very different. Two suicide bombers walked into a Pakistan police recruiting office, and blew themselves up. All of the 220 dead, maimed and wounded were Pakistani Muslims. No American was harmed. The terrorism of al-Qaeda, its affiliates and its supporters have come to this.
In the Middle East and North Africa, bin Laden hoped to unleash a terrorist-driven wave which would fight to restore the 14th century version of Islam. Instead, the ''Arab Spring'' has unleashed a democracy-driven wave which demands good governance. The demands in the lands bin Laden hoped to influence have no relation to al-Qaeda's goals. Bin Laden preached and practicsd death, bloodshed and intimidation. Today's revolutionaries shout and rally to oust the likes of Gadhafi, Ahmadinejad, Assad, Mubarak (already gone) and Ben Ali (also already overthrown). Dictators and oppressive regimes are the target in the Mideast. Protesters are entirely in favour of existing in a globalised world with Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews et al.
Governments which realise the window of opportunity after bin Laden will profit by taking advantage. In the Philippines, the government has stepped up efforts to find and neutralise five of the survivors of the al-Qaeda days. The days may be numbered for bomb-maker Marwan of Malaysia, Mauwiyah of Singapore and other foreigners loyal to the dead bin Laden. The army has sent out word to people in the southern region that it will be in everyone's interest to rid the area of the hiding terrorists.
A separate but equally profitable effort should be mounted in Thailand. The gangs of the deep South have held bin Laden in esteem, but it is past time to shelve such outdated aspirations as sweeping out Thailand and establishing a separatist homeland by the use of terrorism. The leaders of the southern gangs and the tactics they use have brought no progress and no hope to the deep South. The government and security forces must redouble their efforts to get this vital message across. The end of bin Laden is the symbolic end of the most forlorn hope of achieving political gain by terrorism. This is the chance to double down on the death of bin Laden, and use it to everyone's benefit.
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