- The assassination of bin Laden has been celebrated as
a great strategic victory by the White House, the European capitals and
all the major mass media outlets throughout the world. The killing has
served as a major propaganda tool to enhance the standing of the US military
in the eyes of the domestic public and to serve as a warning to overseas
adversaries.
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- Contrary to this immense propaganda campaign and despite
whatever symbolic value the killing may have in the eyes of his executioners,
there is no evidence that the death will have any impact on the deteriorating
military and political position of the US in South Asia, the Middle East,
North Africa or elsewhere.
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- Bin Laden and Al Qaeda
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- Even in terms of weakening, let along defeating Al Qaeda,
the killing will have minimal effect. Al Qaeda is a highly decentralized
organization, a loose collection of groups distributed throughout the conflict
zones, each with its own leaders, programs, tactics and strategies. Al
Qaeda is not a centralized international organization dependent on a 'central
command' directed by a single person: bin Laden was an ideological symbol
more than an operative leader directing operations. His death will merely
lead to a new leader and will have zero impact on the rest of the loosely
associated global network of groups which call themselves Al Qaeda. Hence,
whatever actions and activities taken in the past will continue into the
future.
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- Bin Laden and the Afghan Resistance
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- The killing of bin Laden will have the most minimum
impact in Afghanistan, for the obvious reason that the major forces carrying
out the armed resistance are the Taliban and various other independent
nationalist movements. The Taliban is totally independent of Al Qaeda
in its origins, structure, leadership, tactics, strategy and social composition.
Moreover, the Taliban is a mass organization with roots and sympathizers
throughout the country. It has tens of thousands of trained Afghans fighters;
it has deeply penetrated the Afghani government and military and has recently
announced (May 1, 2011) a major 'spring offensive'. The Taliban is overwhelmingly
'national' in it composition, leadership and ideology; while Al Qaeda is
'international' (Arab) in its membership and leadership. The Taliban may
have tolerated or even in certain circumstances tactically collaborated
with Al Qaeda, but at no point is there any evidence that they took orders
from bin Laden. The overwhelming majority of US and NATO casualties in
Afghanistan were inflicted by the Taliban. The major bases of operation
and support in Pakistan are linked to the Taliban. In summary the killing
of Osama bin Laden will have zero impact on the correlation of forces in
Afghanistan; it will have zero impact on the capacity of the Taliban to
carry-out its prolonged war against the US occupation and inflict dozens
of casualties each week.
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- Bin Laden and the Mass Arab Revolts
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- From Tunisia to the Gulf States, mass popular revolts
have either overthrown US collaborator regimes or are on the verge of doing
so. Al Qaeda had played a minor role, except perhaps among the Libyan
"rebels". In Egypt and Tunisia, the mass movements embracing
a wide gamut of secular students, trade unions and civic groups and moderate
Islamic movements have dominated the uprisings. Al Qaeda is a marginal
factor and bin Laden is a very marginal figure, where he is not openly
rejected. The killing of bin Laden will not have any impact on the rising
anti-imperialist sentiments which inform these mass movements. Some commentators
even suggest that the killing will weaken White House propaganda efforts
to justify US military operations under the pretext of "anti-terrorist"
activities.
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- Bin Laden and Iraq/Iran
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- The major opposition to the US in Iraq is the Shia majority,
minority Sunnis and ex-Bathists. Al Qaeda's terrorist actions have played
a minor role and do not resonate with the mass of Iraqis demanding a US
withdrawal. The major religious based mass anti-occupation movements have
their own leaders and militias and community bases; none accept Al Qaeda
leadership or even collaboration. The US withdrawal is a response to mass
pressure from below, it is not a result of civilian deaths from the occasional
Al Qaeda "suicide bombers". Clearly the retreat of the US from
Iraq will not be affected by the killing of bin Laden; nor will the transition
be affected by his local followers.
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- Bin Laden and Iran
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- The Iranian Islamic regime was a mortal enemy of Al
Qaeda, jailing suspects and early in the Afghan war (2001-2003) collaborating
with the US in its pursuit of its followers. Both the political opposition,
secular and religious, were hostile to Al Qaeda. As a result, bin Laden
had very little organized influence, even as he may have had a mass appeal
as a symbol of armed resistance to the US: "The enemy of our enemy
is our friend". The killing of bin Laden will not have any impact
on Iran which has its own icon "Khomeini"; its own brand of Islamic
nationalism and is much more engaged in supporting Syria, Hezbollah and
Hamas. The US will not gain the least advantage in its efforts to undermine
or destroy its Iranian adversaries.
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- The Significance of the bin Laden Assassination
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- Clearly the killing of bin Laden has absolutely no strategic
or tactical importance in the major theaters of war and political revolt
in the Arab world.
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- The major significance of the killing is in the context
of the strategic military and political defeats suffered by the US, especially
most recently in Afghanistan. On April 27, 2011, nine senior US military
officers were assassinated by a "trusted" Afghan fighter pilot
in the high security Kabul airport. Four majors, two captains and two
lieutenant colonials were killed in the single biggest killing of high
US military officials in the 20th and 21st century wars. Several facts
mark this out as a strategically important event. It took place in a high
security installation, suggesting that no place in Afghanistan is safe
from deadly armed attacks by the Taliban or the armed resistance. Secondly,
all US military, no matter how high their rank, are vulnerable to deadly
attack. Thirdly, no US trained Afghan military official or soldier can
be considered "loyal" even those most closely in collaboration
can and will turn their guns on their "mentors".
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- If the US cannot protect its senior officers in its
highest security compounds, how can it claim to have "secured"
any of the territory outside namely the cities, towns and villages?
Two weeks earlier, with the collaboration of jail officials, almost 500
jailed Taliban fighters and leaders escaped via a 300 meter tunnel to a
dozen waiting trucks. Only two years earlier 900 prisoners also escaped.
In its aftermath the US insisted on the appointment of "highly screened"
loyalist collaborators as heads and directors of security and prisons,
to no avail.
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- The overwhelming evidence shows that the US war effort
is failing to create an effective puppet regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban
is slowly but surely eroding US influence. In the face of major strategic
losses, as evident in the astonishing assassination of top military officials,
Obama had to mount a political spectacle a "military success
story" the killing of unarmed bin Laden, to buoy the spirits
of the American public, military and its NATO followers. Every popular
uprising against US puppets in North Africa and the Middle East is a political
defeat; the enduring regime in Iran is a defeat for the US - Israel bellicose
efforts for regime change; even Gadhaffi's resistance is a defeat for the
believers in instant victories. So Obama and his mass media acolytes have
to mega magnify the killing of an isolated, political leader of a loose
association of marginal terrorists as a world shattering, game turning
event. When in fact, the losses and defeats accumulate every day before,
during and after the assassination.
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- The Taliban didn't even blink their 'spring offensive'
marches on; US military officials are wary of any encounters with any 'loyal'
Afghan collaborators. Egypt rejects US-Israeli politics toward the unity
of Palestinians; the revolts in the Gulf continue. The only stalemate
not victory that Washington can celebrate including the
killing of Gadhaffi's grandchildren is in Libya where, allied with
Al Qaeda, in Benghazi, the war continues.
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- JAMES PETRAS MOST RECENT BOOK IS "THE ARAB REVOLT
AND THE IMPERIALIST COUNTERATTACK"(CLEAR DAY BOOKS A SUBSIDIARY
OF CLARITY BOOKS :ATLANTA GA)
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