Should We Be Worried About Osama Bin Laden?

Osama Bin Laden

Why Bin Laden Isn't Worth Worrying About -- Time Magazine

Osama bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of a Northwest airliner on Christmas. That's not surprising, but what should be is that it took him nearly a month to do so. Either it took all of that time for news of the plan to reach him, or he's lying. And if he's lying, we need to consider that the man is completely irrelevant.

And why would bin Laden claim credit for a failed attack? The point of terrorism is to carry out your threats — that's what terrifies people. Take Lebanon's Hizballah, an organization whose early days were steeped in terrorism: it made a point of never botching an attack, bombing or kidnapping. So when Hizballah said it was not going to stop until it drove the West out of Lebanon, that threat carried a lot of weight. And the credibility of Hizballah's threat convinced U.S. President Ronald Reagan that Lebanon was lost, which prompted him to withdraw the Marines who were stationed there. In the Middle East, this is not stale history; and it's a history that bin Laden certainly hasn't forgotten.

Read more ....

My Comment: Who knows what Osama Bin Laden is doing or planning. Our information on him is scant .... if non-existent .... and what information we have on him is from sources that have either been filtered and/or manipulated by those who are loyal to Bin Laden's agenda.

So .... should we be worried about Osama Bin Laden? I would have to say yes. His biggest impact on the world wide Jihadist movement is one of symbolism. His demise will be a morale victory for us, and even if he becomes a martyr .... I would still say it is a good thing to see him out of the picture.