Students and professors reacted to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden as more details emerged about the situation Monday.
Finding bin Laden and capturing or killing him had been a top priority for the U.S. since al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
In a televised address to the nation Sunday night, President Barack Obama called bin Laden a terrorist responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people.
“This is a good day for America,” Obama proclaimed at the White House on Monday. “Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. The world is safer; it is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden.”
The raid
President Obama said that he received a lead that bin Laden was living in a compound in Pakistan last August. The CIA identified one of bin Laden’s couriers after interrogating detainees held by the U.S., intelligence officials reported.
After months of CIA operations and at least nine meetings with the national security team, President Obama ordered a small team to go in to the compound in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, Pakistan.
On Sunday, the U.S. special operations team tasked with capturing or killing the al-Qaida leader cleared the fortified compound and tracked down bin Laden.
For 40 minutes, the team was engaged in a firefight. Bin Laden reportedly fired on the U.S. assault team and may have tried to use his wife as a shield. She was also killed.
U.S. officers said they buried bin Laden’s body at sea because no country was willing to take it for burial. It was also reported that officials avoided burying him on U.S. soil to avoid having the location become a shrine for bin Laden supporters.
US on high alert
After bin Laden’s death, a surfacing question is whether retaliation against the United States is now imminent.
CBS News reported Monday that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security released a joint bulletin warning of possible retaliation. The bulletin warned of possible retribution from “homegrown violent extremists” and an increase in “violent extremist rhetoric calling for retaliation.”
Meanwhile, the State Department issued a warning to Americans traveling abroad, urging them to limit travel in areas where “recent events could cause anti-American violence.”
According to professor Barry Steiner from the Cal State Long Beach Department of Political Science, al-Qaida is not centralized but “franchised” with various groups around the world. Bin Laden’s death is an event that will keep Western governments on high alert, he said.
History professor Arlene Lazarowitz called retaliation a strong possibility.
“One has to assume that the U.S. took it into account when they made the attack,” she said.
Some students also expressed concern about possible retaliation.
“I feel that even though he’s dead, it won’t stop terrorism,” junior Francisca Aguirre said. “We should be happy he’s dead, but we should prepare for retaliation from al-Qaida.”
Senior Stewart Giotta still sees the death as a victory.
“I’m just happy it’s finally over,” Giotta said.
A decade-long battle
The death of bin Laden occurred almost a decade after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Larry George, a professor of political science and international politics, said bin Laden was in hiding for so long that his power had weakened.
“Killing bin Laden will have an effect on al-Qaida itself, but it doesn’t do anything to remove the problem,” George said.
“Bin Laden hasn’t had a command role in global jihadists anymore,” he continued. “There are dozens of organizations now… I don’t see it as solving any problems.”
Still, George and others see the death as an important symbol for the U.S. In his address to the nation, President Obama called the killing “justice served” for those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.
Student Andrew Maldonado, 20, has served in the Army for two years. He said the death would boost morale for soldiers. He and others see the celebration as a positive thing for the U.S., which has fought the “war on terror” for nearly a decade.
“It was really touching to see how everyone came together outsize Ground Zero [at the World Trade Center in New York] and the White House,” said freshman Diana Sanglab.
Political impact
Political science professor Mary Kaputi said the death of bin Laden does not mark the end of the war, but it is a symbol for change.
“This is a way to start talking about the end of the war on terror,” she said.
U.S. officials echoed similar sentiments on Monday.
“What we’re doing now is going to try to take advantage of this opportunity that we have to demonstrate to the Pakistani people, to the people in the area, that al-Qaida is something in the past, and we’re hoping to bury the rest of al-Qaida along with bin Laden,” said John Brennan, the president’s top adviser on terrorism.
“Here is bin Laden, who has been calling for these attacks, living in this million-dollar-plus compound; living in an area that is far removed from the front; hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield. I think it really just speaks to just how false his narrative has been over the years.”
James Oliphant, Tribune Washington Bureau (MCT) and Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) contributed to this article.
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