Osama bin Laden’s death comes as great news for American counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the American civilian response has treaded too far in its fervent and often mindless patriotism. The youth, in particular, have responded with too much emotion and too little reason. For example, the U of C chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon launched a party immediately after news of bin Laden’s death had broken. According to its Facebook event, the party is aimed at “celebrating the death of America’s most wanted enemy.” Students across the country are engaged in similarly excessive adulation of a perceived American victory against terrorism, and the general population is exploding with cheer in light of retribution.
The flow of patriotism sweeping the nation following the assassination is not abominable; it is justified in that it represents united achievement after 10 long years of struggle and sacrifice. But the celebration is ultimately too much, too soon. Though bin Laden will not be spearheading terrorist attacks anymore, Al Qaeda will not be dismantled any time soon. Bin Laden’s death would have been more important 10 years ago, when he possessed more power and influence within the organization. For the past decade, he was mostly just a face, a symbol, an idea. Before we applaud America's triumph, we must remember that dangerous individuals like Egypt’s Ayman al-Zawahri and Yemen’s Anwar al-Awlaki are still undeterred. Our war has in no way ended – Afghanistan and Pakistan are still virulent pits of corruption, terrorism, and oppression. The killings of top Al Qaeda officials like bin Laden are merely symbolic victories—nothing tangible, nothing concrete, and nothing substantial.
Even more importantly, let’s not forget the often counterproductive catalysts of our military achievement. According to The New York Times, Al Qaeda detainees at the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention facility told U.S. military interrogators some time ago that bin Laden used a specific courier to maintain contact with the outside world.’ This information assisted U.S. intelligence officials in indirectly locating bin Laden’s whereabouts.’ In addition, the notoriously corrupt Pakistani ISI gave a lead about the highly secure compound bin Laden was residing in. But, even though these institutions did assist us, Guantanamo Bay still evades ethics and the Pakistani I.S.I. is still a dubious and unreliable ally (the compound bin Laden was residing in was located less than an hour away from the I.S.I. headquarters).’
So let us reflect on our precarious relationships with these institutions: Are they maintained only to gain symbolic victories?’ They certainly haven’t extinguished the chaos still burning throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, no matter how much they are lauded as being useful in targeting high-profile enemies. Will our victory in eliminating bin Laden validate unjust and unethical prisons as well as destructive relationships with foreign governments that are wholly ineffective in producing real regional progress? It seems that the goal of these relationships are to gain leads to target individuals and bring faces of depravity to their knees, a method that only dents the armor of these organizations. These dents are quickly refurbished with replacements of new leaders and soldiers, bringing us back to square one. We must step back even further and ask: Do we perceive this struggle against terrorism as some sort of mystical, symbolic, cosmic war against good and evil, or as a realistic operation to extinguish organized threats against civilians around the world?
To succumb to the former perception is to succumb to a fantastical narrative that is unnecessarily wasting lives and money. To align with the latter perception is to align with a just initiative guided by rational purpose. The people’s happiness is justified, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Our military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan have been conducted in the name of those who lost their lives on 9/11, those families who have endured the pain of loss for a decade, and those service men and women who risked their lives to assist those in dire need. We cannot compromise our mission by using immoral means or displaying premature ignorance of international situations. We must realize that the assassination of Osama bin Laden is not cause for a drunken party celebrating a victory in some sort of cosmic, transcendental war. Our response to the death of such an iconic and vilified figure must reflect the fact that the event brings closure and peace for American victims and fighters, and confidence to the soldiers fighting the much more difficult struggle abroad to help rebuild a fallen state and protect the innocent against terror.
Suchin Gururangan is a first-year in the College.
Bin Laden’s death is indeed a symbolic victory, and like the author points out, strategically rather meaningless. However, the event is emotionally cathartic for many, and what do you expect of college students after news like this? This is the University of Chicago – our student body is comprised of intelligent, well read people, and I believe that it’s highly unlikely anyone views bin Laden’s death as anything more than exactly what it is: an emotional victory with virtually no impact on the future of terrorism and the fight against it. In the war on terror, news is usually grim, and the small victories won come at a high price, and are frequently accompanied by a reminder of the unintended, negative consequences of America’s actions. Rarely do the American people get the chance to celebrate an achievement unmarred by accidental casualties or wounded soldiers, and when they do, it is a relatively minor win. Osama bin Laden’s death is an event unmarred by negative externalities, and at the same time, most Americans viewed bin Laden as the highest evil, the greatest single perpetrator of a crime against America. When most of the news on terrorism is bleak, how can you not celebrate such a momentous occasion? Our pursuit of justice, in this case of one man, is finally over. While there will be more to come, for the time being, we have eliminated a man whose name is synonymous with evil and hatred. As it is unlikely that we will ever truly eradicate terrorism, it is the emotional victories like these that must be celebrated, to remind the American people that justice will come, in one way or another, and to remind us why we fight. While not everyone may wish to celebrate the death of a human being, for many Americans, this is a day we have waited for, and we had been waiting far too long. So, please, for those who have eagerly awaited this day, come celebrate this day with the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon, of whom I am a proud brother, and a proud American.
The tagline of this article contradicts its entire premise. To say that Osama bin Laden’s death is symbolic is to concede its immense significance as well. It is paramount to take note that we celebrate this week not because we have won a major battle in the War on Terror, but because we have won a significant battle in the war in our psyche. In many ways, America has never fully recovered from the blow dealt to us on September 11, 2001, and the elimination of the leader of the organization who so wounded us represents an important milestone in our road back to normalcy. It is very easy and convenient to spew platitudes about the “mere” symbolism of Osama bin Laden’s death and forget about the pain, confusion, and sadness that all of us felt almost ten years ago. Our celebration is an important and unifying release of much of the stress that has been built over the past ten years and also the newer, intensified tension caused by the polarization of more recent years. Conservatives, liberals, independents, and apolitical citizens can unite, however fleetingly, under the banner of patriotism for the first time since the tragedy of September 11th. And this time, we unite in exultation rather than grief. The joy that so many of us can’t help but feel is a perfectly natural delayed response to the the rape of our innocence a decade ago and it is good for us, for the sake of closure. Criticizing this release is quite frankly naive and indicative of an unreasonably idealistic world-view. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” cliched as it may be. There is no place for blind idealism, especially in foreign policy. I–and clearly many others–have no qualms in celebrating the death of a man who celebrated the deaths of thousands. And that is because we recognize that, in this case, taking the moral high ground gets us nowhere. So, if you pinch your nose at the celebrations happening across the country over the past few days, realize that the rest of us know full well that taking such a stance serves only self-satisfaction via “moral superiority.” Interestingly, that is all that any of us taking part in the celebration seek as well–satisfaction in the assurance that one cannot damage the lives of millions without retribution. In increasing order of importance, I speak as a proud SigEp, a proud liberal, a proud American, a proud Turk, and most importantly, a proud believer in justice in the world of man. Cheers.
EDIT: *Not in order of importance
Celebrate the death of a mass murderer? Absolutely.
It is usual for an instant euphoria about this great achievement after years of ceaseless counter terrorism tactics. The heroic deed of the navy seal needs a big ovation. It is only this ovation that gives a further moral boost to our men and women fighting the terrorists and give them their job satisfaction that their hard work do not go unnoticed. This gives them a lot of encouragement and pride of their work. The article by Suchin is very thought provoking.
lol couldn’t make it past the first paragraph
USA! USA! USA!
In response to Will, Osama bin Laden was not the single greatest perpetrator of the attacks. Though he may have been a mastermind, there are many other individuals that played an equally significant role in planning and execution. In addition, I would predict that 99.9 percent of the people celebrating bin Laden’s death would not say that they are celebrating because the event was “unmarred by negative externalities.” They are celebrating the actual death of an iconic enemy, not that no civilians were killed in his assassination.
Interestingly, your entire comment further strengthens my argument about what the war has become (or has always been, depending on the way you look at it). Take the two points in your comment that I have already touched upon. To perceive Osama bin Laden as a single perpetrator of the attacks is to naively suppose a world in which this one man symbolizes evil and the Americans as the “good” force of the world whose goal is to eradicate that face of evil. It is to favor a narrative over recognizing the stark reality of the scenario: that there were innumerable other individuals that played an equally significant role in the attacks’ planning and execution, and the death of one man will change the dire situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan very little. And the fact that no one would say that they are celebrating minimized negative externalities of the assassination is yet another testament to the fact that the symbolic victory of the eradication of an icon outweighs recognition of the realistic aspects of war. My essential argument is that we have created a cosmic framework to this war that reminds me of the Crusades. We have created an irrational narrative that the goal of the war is to eradicate evil from the world, and it is manifested by the mass celebration of symbolic victories and the disregard of the real struggles at hand. This mindset has led us to continually produce only these symbolic victories for the past 10 years. We cannot focus on killing top Al-Qaeda officials and expect to win the war and dismantle the organization – the officials will just be replaced by another evil person, and the cycle continues indefinitely. But the cosmic framework is thwarting that fact, elevating the battle between “good and evil” over everything else and wasting lives and money in the process.
I am completely glad that bin Laden did not die of natural causes, and that he received the retribution that he deserved. But is it correct to say that “this is a day we have waited for, and we had been waiting far too long”? It would be in a cosmic war, but in a realistic war, we wait for the day that Afghanistan and Pakistan can function without corruption and can secure their lands for themselves. Yes, University of Chicago students are extremely well read, as is most of the greater population of the United States. And with the intelligence and rationality that we have, we must release ourselves from the antiquated notion that war is transcendent battle between good and evil.
Ozan, I’m surprised that you call me naive and idealistic with my argument – I was actually going for the complete opposite perspective and called your perspective naive and idealistic. I do think that bin Laden’s death was important for confidence, closure, etc. – maybe the tagline could have been written better. But symbolic victory does not equal tangible victory, and that’s the distinction I’m trying to draw. I’m not morally against any of your celebrations. I’m rationally against them. I’m extremely glad that Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces and not by natural causes, and I’m happy that he received the retribution he deserved. But that does not mean that we should irrationally fuel the cosmic war by inflating this event as the great American triumph over evil. It is a regressive way of thinking about war and is a big reason why we haven’t made real achievements in Afghanistan/Pakistan for 10 years.
Last, I’m going to respond to a phrase that both Ozan and Will used to end their comments with: “proud American”. “Patriotism” is a major food for this cosmic framework. Your association of symbolic victory with being American is yet another example of how the war has been distorted to become a means of asserting the pride of America. Is this war necessary if it is merely a symbolic one? Is it necessary to lose thousands of lives and spend billions of dollars to merely inflate American pride and confidence in their being a force of good? My answer to both questions would be No. The perspective and priorities of the war need to change at home and abroad if we’re going to produce any progress in the region.
This is one of the worst Maroon articles i have read and the fact that the author proposes that he knows what ’99.9 percent of the people celebrating bin Laden’s death’ are thinking just proves how unworthy of our attention it is.
The death of Osama certainly calls for celebration by every civil society member all across the world . Bin Laden founded Al-Queda whose members were responsible for the death of thousands of innocent civilians not just in US but in other countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan,Europe and India.Today USA is fighting a modern day war where they minimize the casuality. The operation was conducted by the US Special Forces from the elite Navy Seal Team Six. The operation was as a result of four years of intelligence gathering. The US president has taken a big risk in giving a go ahead for this operation which was successful which certainly calls for celebration not just in US but every country which has lost many innocent lives .The death of Bin Laden will definitely have a great psychological impact on the Taliban and other terrorist organization which are off shoots of Osama’s idealogy .It will boost the morale of many people who are fight terrorism and also unite many countries in their fight to counter terrorism.
Suchin ,in today’s world all wars including terrorism is fought as good v/s evil or US v/s Al-Queda. etc etc . In my thinking it is just one person’s belief system versus other person’s belief. What might look right from USA’s perspective will be viewed differently by other countries and vice versa. There is no absolute right or wrong policies or argument . Just one person’s belief versus other’s . However both terrorism and US foreign policies which are both cause and effect will be forced to rethink their strategy in future !!!
Finally ,any policies,incidents, act which brings maximum benefit to maximum number of people weather in US or else where will need to be supported and celebrated and Osama’s death is One such incident similar to the death of Hitler and Saddam, V.Prabakaran(LTTE)etc….
Best wishes
Chithra
Suchin, my argument here is not about the viability of the war on terror, it is about the validity of celebrating bin Laden’s demise. My point was that this is a tremendous emotional victory worth celebrating. I view it as a reprieve from the realism that I normally associate with the war. You say that symbolic victory does not equal tangible victory – I could not agree more. But realistically, when will tangible victory come? When will we live in a world without fear of terror, where the middle eastern region is known for democracy and prosperity, rather than war and dictatorships? In nine long years, Afghanistan is far from rebuilt. Iraq faces frequent, devastating attacks, both on Americans and Iraqis. We fight against an amorphous enemy, one that costs so much to pursue and eliminate. As has been pointed out, with every action we take we run the risk of killing innocents, which in turns drives more to the cause of our enemies.
You speak of a cosmic war, with grand notions of good and evil, accompanied by symbolic victories. This is not the war of reality, despite however many Americans wish it was. The reality of this war is that with every action we take, we create more enemies for ourselves. At the same time, our government blindly spends nearly a quarter of its money (half of which is borrowed) fueling this war and channeling money to the private military economy, most of which does nothing to counter an insurgency. In the past ten years, American civil liberties have been curtailed rapidly, with law enforcement being given increasingly greater privileges to pursue American citizens without judicial oversight. We have held nearly one thousand “enemy combatants” captive for years, many of whom were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, and most of them will never see a courtroom. We can no longer fly without going through rigorous security. Visiting the US is now an ordeal for foreigners. The repercussions of this war comprise a very long list, and I could continue on down the list, although that is not what I wish to address.
Your article is one that many Americans can learn from, but I believe that for some of us, we celebrate the victories of the “cosmic war,” without suffering the delusion that the real war does not exist. I can simultaneously recognize that bin Laden’s death does not affect the war on terror in any significant way, while at the same time celebrating the death of an evil man who engineered the deaths of thousands of Americans. My original comment was not written to criticize your analysis of the war, it was to criticize your judgment of celebrating bin Laden’s death. I doubt there will ever be an ultimate victory over terror, although we may finally achieve some sort of stabilized peace, albeit somewhere far in the future. For those who believe that America is not in the wrong and that freedom from opression and terror will someday become commonplace where today it is not, we need things like this to celebrate, to keep us sane. The war on terror is leading us down a long, dark road, and the American people need small victories along the way to remind them why we fight. Our government, whether it be Democrat- or Republican-led, has made it very clear that the war on terror will continue, no matter the cost. Calling it quits is not an option here; too many Americans bear the emotional scars from September 11th to consider that. For us not to give up in the wake of American deaths, scores of Iraqi deaths, and massive, destructive deficit spending with little realized benefit, we need something to believe in. Ultimately, my point is that when someone like bin Laden dies, it warrants celebration. Americans need to be able to celebrate the death of an enemy, for we never know how long it will be until the next one falls.
Very good article, Suchin. You made some very valid points, and I agree with you. The death of Osama bin Laden is symbolic to not only the people of America, but for the world as well. We do have to remember that there are other dangerous terrorist factions out there, and the close supporters of bin Laden and Al Qaeda still exist. This is a symbolic victory on the journey for world peace.
good article… but why is it so far down the Maroon’s op-ed site? there are literally months of old articles above it… weird.
Very good article Suchin.
You can tell a first year wrote the article because he/she uses big words but misses the point entirely. Generally speaking anyone who had not hit puberty before 9/11 should really have no say in this matter. They have no clue what life was like before 9/11 and the general inconvenience to our lifestyle caused by Bin Laden forever. I’m all for relativism and perspective, but there are certain things in life that are what they are. Bin Laden was a really bad guy, and his death (both in the flesh and symbolically) should be celebrated. There is no element of remorse or moral high ground. Even Jesus whipped the merchants at the temple and drove them out.
The first year who wrote this article is responding to a whole lot of other first years who were out partying it up in the streets. A lot of the most enthusiastic celebration seems to be coming from college students, “who had not hit puberty before 9/11″. As you say, very few of them had any real understanding of what was going on at the time. This may be part of the reason why they now see fit to treat this like a frat party or the Olympics.
I resent this. Just because we were younger at the time does not mean that we were not cognizant of the way that 9/11 changed the world around us. We weren’t toddlers. In many ways, it affected us–younger Americans–more deeply than it did others. That day represented a generation’s sudden exposure to the extent of hate, violence, and horror present in the world in a way that had not happened since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. While we may not have understood all of the implications, it was immensely traumatizing nonetheless and it is wrong to dismiss our experience as less significant than anyone else’s.
It’s fine for you to resent his assertion that first years don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s great that you have feelings about 9/11. The point is that since you’re a naive, ignorant, first-year who fancies himself a meddling kid, you don’t know what you’re talking about and neither does this author. College students your age (and mine) realistically have a very limited understanding of the political, social, and economical changes that came with the destruction of the World Trade Center.
I think JK makes a good point about our lack of knowledge; I also happen to share his rather explicit distaste for this author’s self-righteous stance on celebrating the death of a mass murderer… of Americans.
And Toby, indeed there were parties in response to bin Laden’s death. Why not? Are college students not prone to drinking? Perhaps if you examined things a bit closer you’d see the irony in UChicago’s own parties celebrating this event as slightly mocking nationalist fanaticism. But hey, I clearly like to show how big my dick is by being condescending, too.
Seriously, I really enjoy that.
When a person is 10 years old, they don’t understand world news. I don’t see how this is debatable.
But this is entirely compatible with them being deeply affected.
I don’t understand how anything I said amounted to dismissing what anyone of any age experienced on 9/11.
On the other hand, I did have a real problem with some of the celebratory behaviour I saw Sunday night (on TV, not at the UofC), which I found grotesque. This isn’t to target any particular age group, since it clearly wasn’t limited in that way. Though I guess it did sound like I thought otherwise in my response to JK–my bad.
Great article Suchin. It is absolutely disgusting that people are celebrating this man’s death, and completely disregarding the million+ lives and countless civil liberties it took to get him. Americans are better than this, or at least we claim to be.
Smile and possibly a slight sigh of relief, sure, but we’re still knee-deep in problems. No time to high-five one another on how awesome and tough we are.
I’m 23. His death hasn’t changed much for me psychologically, but it’s pleasant to know we can nab a guy eventually. That’s all.
I have more to say, but it’s inappropriate.