EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

Death of a terrorist

OSAMA bin Laden, creator of al-Qaeda and designer of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is now dead. American commandos took him out in what is said to have been a "kill" operation in Pakistan -- with or without the cooperation of Pakistani authorities, it is difficult to say. The American public rejoiced at the news that the mastermind behind the 9/11 tragedy had finally been terminated. Stock markets surged at the prospect of an end to the global war on terror. Such optimism was, however, quickly dampened by warnings that while the figurehead is indeed deceased, he has spawned enough zealots willing to don his mantle. And while the Western presence in Afghanistan will not end overnight, it will give President Barack Obama a chance to scale down the conflict. Announcing the bloody culmination of a 10-year manhunt on Sunday, he said once again that the United States was not and will not be at war with Islam.

The world cannot but welcome the demise of its most wanted terrorist, who has been largely to blame for the theatres of war that have opened up in the Muslim world over the last decade. Experts are divided as to exactly how large an impact Osama's removal will make on al-Qaeda operations. But there is no doubt that his cause remains -- perhaps more decentralised and dispersed, and thus harder to pin down, than before. America's CIA warned immediately of reprisals, and its facilities and citizens have been put on alert. Pakistan is certainly bracing for a backlash. Many other countries will be extra vigilant, for Islamic extremism has travelled well beyond its cauldron of the Middle East. Even in Malaysia, which is not normally a terrorist target, al-Qaeda offshoots like Jemaah Islamiyah have been sniffing around. The next terrorist act could take place where no one is looking hard enough -- as in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002 and 2005.

Muslim radicals did not, though, materialise for no reason. Malaysia had opposed the retaliatory invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan because they had recklessly enlarged the war on terror without any consideration of root causes. Aside from gross injustices and historic grievances in the Muslim lands, Palestine is a sore point in the transnational extremist mindset. Obama recognises this and is trying to reshape his country's relations with the Muslim world. The "Arab Spring" may take the sting out of extremism when democratic institutions are realised. But justice must prevail for the Palestinians and a large body of their Muslim brethren for terrorism to finally lose its appeal and its biggest excuses.