America has saved the world again. After thousands of civilians served as collateral fodder in the “smoke em out”  Bushfire in  Iraq and Afghanistan post 9/11, the poster boy of global terrorism is gone.  He did not go quietly into the night though and “personally” confronted the US forces after having dodged them for over a decade through cave bunkers and assorted hide-outs and releasing fresh warnings via Al Jazeera. It finally took just over 40 minutes for American security forces to partially end a story that began when (as President Obama put it) two hijacked jets streaked across a “cloudless September sky” and rammed into the twin WTC towers, searing images of  improbable horror into the American psyche. 

A psyche that has occasionally found itself grappling uneasily with images of a Napalmed Vietnam and nuked cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Wikileaked footage of American pilots randomly killing civilians in Baghdad. 

But the tragic and completely unexpected terrorist attack orchestrated by Osama on 9/11 was a huge psychological blow and resulted in a prolonged war against terror which may or may not abate even after Osama’s death considering he was simply a figure-head of an ideology that may not die with him. 

 What will happen for sure is that despite criticism of underperformance at many other fronts, Barack Obama will be back at the White House for a second tenure. Like vetaran journalist Robert Fisk said, from being asked to show his birth certificate, Obama has now gone on to show (metaphorically) the death certificate of Osama and this is his moment to show to the American people that he is a President who ends wars satisfactorily.

 This moment in history will also vindicate the US government’s routine excursions into weaker countries with drones and helicopters and missile launchers in the name of freedom and the greater common good. Sure, justice and closure have been achieved to some extent for those who died on 9/11 but what about the same for those who died in Iraq in a knee jerk war that began ostensibly to hunt weapons of mass destruction?  Or in Afghanistan and in Pakistan? (Please read Poonam Goel’s poignant story on war photography on Unboxed Writers)

 In the wake of Osama’s death, US war propagandists may once again project the country as the custodian of global security and the anti-war lobbyists may just  find themselves at even a bigger disadvantage than before. Post Osama’s death (incongruously in a big mansion near the Pakistani Military Academy in Abbottabad), the self-congratulatory rhetoric has begun. A certain Mr Bush called it a momentous achievement and said that the event sends an unmistakable message to terrorists that justice will be done. Spontaneous street celebrations have broken out around US. So what has been achieved, really?

 Like Fisk astutely pointed out, more significant than Osama’s death is the fact that millions have surged in an uprising against oppressive regimes in the Arab world in the past three months and rendered extreme outfits like the Al Qaeda obsolete. Osama was no longer a viable hero in islamic nations craving for progressive governance. Osama’s death brings relief to all those who lost someone they loved along with their innocence in the inhuman terrorist attacks ideated by him in America and other countries, but we also need to acknowledge that terrorism has many faces. It sometimes comes clad in robes of religious fundamentalism. And sometimes, it lights up civilian skies with missiles,  nukes or napalms.   

On a lighter note, An Indian American wrote on his Facebook status bar, “Can I fly with my shampoo now?” A question that will  be answered by Mr Obama’s triumphant government, hopefully in the near future.

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