The Death of Osama: a Blow to al Qaeda?

The Death of Osama: a Blow to al Qaeda?

600 words, no less

Background:After almost ten years of searching for revenge, the United States finally got it. On Sunday night, President Obama announced to the nation that Osama bin Laden, the man who planned the horrid slaughter on September 11, 2001, had been shot by the U.S special forces. His body now lies at the bottom of the ocean.
The team that brought Osama down, containing a total of six CIA officers and Navy SEALS, arrived at Osama’s mansion hideout in Pakistani late on Friday night. There was a violent firefight where three other men with Osama were killed along with one of Osama’s sons. A woman who was used as a shield was also killed. Two other women were injured. After shooting Osama in the head, they claimed his body and were out in less then forty minutes of arriving.
The death of Osama bin Laden is a major milestone for America and for the constant struggle to bring down al Qaeda. Now that their leader is dead, there is no knowing if it will bring al Qaeda down or just create an uprising against the U.S. Paul Cruickshank, an analyst on terrorism, has declared that “Osama bin Laden played a crucial unifying role in al Qaeda” and that
‘Without him, al Qaeda could very likely unravel.”
In President Obama’s stunning speech he reminded the nation that although the death of Osama bin Laden marks the most significant achievement in the nation’s effort to bring down Al Qaeda, we are still not out of the woods. Mr. Obama says that we must remain vigilant. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will try to strike again.
After the President’s speech, military bases around the world stood on high alert due to possible retaliation. A worldwide travel warning was placed by the State Department. They urged people to limit travel and avoid mass gatherings. Officials fear that the killing of Osama will deepen tensions with Pakistan.
My Opinion:After everything that people of the United States have gone through because of Osama bin Laden, I’m grateful that he is now out of the picture for good. On that dreadful day in September he killed about 3,000 innocent people. He was the face of terrorism, there’s no doubt about that.
However, I don’t know if how far people are going due to his death are appropriate. There seems to be a fine line between celebrating the victory of defeating an enemy, one who took our family members away, compared to celebrating the death of a person’s life. No matter how bad he spent his life, it’s inhumane.
There is a lot of speculation that there will be retaliation from remaining members of Al Qaeda. The news has said it, teachers have said it, even the president admits that the possibility of attacks is likely. These are very scary facts. We’ve seen what al Qaeda is capable of. Whether or not the fact that Osama bin Laden will not be there to lead al Qaeda in attacks is irrelevant.
On the up side, there seems to be no one worthy to take Osama’s place. Osama was the disgusting glue that held the whole ridiculous group together. They need a leader who was just as sick and “charismatic” as Osama was. Hopefully, that will be very hard to find.
As for the time being I think we should be very careful. We don’t know if Osama left a plan for if this kind of thing ever happened. For all we know a plan could be in motion at this very minute.
But as I said, lets celebrate the fact that the murderer of our family members and fellow Americans has been dealt justice. Ding, Dong, the wicked witch is dead!