Osama is Dead ~ What Now

All morning I have been watching the News Channel's coverage of the death of Osama Bin Laden, and as I watched, trepidation began to grow in my heart. Yes, he truly is dead, but the extremist organization that he founded is not. Al Qaeda always was much more than just Osama, and I have no doubt that reprisals will be forthcoming. Already there is a report of the bombing of a Mosque in Pakistan. This is probably a knee-jerk reaction by some of his followers, but serious reaction is sure to follow. Don't be one who equates the death of Osama with the death of Hitler. The similarity ends with the date that the deaths were reported, May first. Hitler led a traditional army against opposing traditional armies. When he died, his army was defeated. But Osama was the leader of a world wide movement, and that movement is still out there, still alive.

Al Qaeda is not like the armies of the past. And, as evil and hated as Osama was, he was not a stupid man. Others have been trained and primed to take his place, and they will without doubt. The one question that I have is how will this change of leadership play out. I fear that it will play out badly. The worst way this could happen is that Al Qaeda will fracture into different philosophic camps, each bent upon the destruction of America and Western Civilization, one more extreme than the next, but all determined to wreck destruction and ruin upon America where ever they can. I fear a very dark period is dawning for all of Western Civilization, and I fear that we are ill prepared to deal with this impending doom.

Our military is trained to meet the enemy in a traditional was, and we are the very best at this. We have superior weapons, we have superior training and we have superior technology. But, what good is a Division of Armored Infantry against a single extremist who is willing to die by strapping on a bomb and getting on a crowded bus or commuter train? What can the Air Force do against a martyr who releases a poison gas canister in a shopping mall? How can the Marines protect us from one single person who is bent upon killing him or herself and taking out as many innocent as possible in the process? Facts are facts, and in this case the undeniable fact is that our military is not structured to wage this type of war. So, what can we do?

I wish that I had the answer to this question, but I don't. In years past, you could talk about a peace treaty. But that involves the governments of different countries to come together and make an agreement. If we wanted to make a peace accord, to whom would we approach? There is no current structure in any government to do this. America has always had great success when dealing with other countries. But it has failed miserably in dealing with organizational opponents. I give you the Mafia as a prime example. I see many similarities between the Mafia and Al Qaeda.

Each has a "Top Dog", and each has levels flowing down from that top level. And as the levels descend we find increasing autonomy in the organization. When the "Top Dog" is eliminated, there is a brief period of confusion and struggle within the organization that results in another assuming that leader status. But, we all know that if the top Mafia leader is eliminated, the crime continues on the streets. And therein lies my fear. A fear as chilling as anything I have ever felt.

Yes, Americans should rejoice, but do not be lulled into a belief that this is over. I think that it is just beginning. And beware of the other Islamic extremist groups. Al Qaeda is not the only extremist group working for the downfall of this country. There are many more, and they will become bolder with the death of Bin Laden. There is much to fear, and there are few ways to battle what is coming. If you are a religious person, then I ask you to pray to whatever God you serve to give the world the answers it needs. And if you are like me, a person who is not religious, then I ask you to search for the answer deep within yourself. I ask all of you to find a way to end this lunacy that has infected the world of man.

The Old Hippie