Osama's death rocks the world

           Osama bin Laden’s slaying by United States Navy Seals ended a decade of searching and brought closure to many Americans.  I was at a friend’s house when I got a text from another friend who lives in Washington, D.C. She told me to turn the news on because the President was about to make an announcement.  When I tuned into CNN, I was definitely not expecting what I saw on the ticker and what the anchor was saying.  When the tragedies of September 11, 2001 struck, I was only in seventh grade.  Now, as I am about to graduate college, the news of bin Laden’s death brought closure, but also more questions.  How are other countries reacting to this news?

           

            Coverage around the world about bin Laden’s death is vast.  Nearly every country had some sort of report on what happened.  While most news sites were objective reports as to what happened, there were also organizations that differed from the United State’s emotions of happiness.  From around the world, from the Middle East, to Africa, to Europe, coverage is as diverse as the people in each country.  Some are supportive of the United States and the end of terrorism, others are upset and are critical of the slaying. 

I found it interesting that this poster was hung with bandaids.   Someone found it important enough to hang up with any sort of sticky adhesive they had.  

            Even within the Middle Eastern countries, opinions differed.  For example, an article from the Jordan Times expressed extreme jubilation after bin Laden’s death.  The article explains that Jordan was one of the first countries targeted and terrorized by Osama and his al-Qaeda regime in the early 1990s.  It says America’s goal of ending the entire al-Qaeda regime is unrealistic because the organization cannot be stopped by one central area because the terrorist groups are so divided and localized in specific regions.  Instead, it suggests the United States focuses on solving other conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

            An article from Pakistan, where Osama was found and killed, has an entirely different viewpoint from the Jordanian piece.  The Frontier Post article says killing bin Laden was not as powerful as the western media is making it because he was “an ailing man, with no role in [current] al-Qaeda operations.”  It goes on to say he only symbolized terror and extremism.  Instead of feeling triumphant, it says, “What should matter to Pakistan is that its territory was invaded by foreign forces.” While the West is rejoicing, the authors of this article think their fellow Pakistanis should be upset with the United States for invading without permission from the Pakistani government.  It represents a broken allegiance between the two nations. It states, “the invasion of airspace, then the landing of American boots on Pakistan soil, any doubts about the role that Pakistan has in its relationship with its favourite ally have been removed.” Another article says, “The attack came at the time when the Pakistan’s army and the civil leadership are being harshly criticised in the backdrop of unilateral US operation in Abbottabad.”  It seems like the United States and Pakistan were already in a touchy relationship with each other, and the secret mission did not do anything to better that relationship. 

            In article, from Cairo, there is a discussion about the divide between opinions on the death.  It says, “For starters, the divisions are apparent. Some see bin Laden as a hero and a martyr, others look at him as a terrorist and then there is the third group that is trying to make sense of it all.”  It’s interesting to me that there is such a division in support of the death.  It means such different things to each group. 

Some Islamic extremists in Egypt take to the streets to protest Osama's death. 

            Another interesting report is from a Nigerian newspaper.  Nigeria is a traditionally Muslim nation, the same religion as bin Laden.  While they have an extensive article detailing the events of May 1 and bin Laden’s reign as the king of terror, many facts were incorrect.  For example, the article stated twice “the man who evaded the USA’s massive security network for 10 years after masterminding the crash of three aircraft into the US world trade towers on September 9, 2001.”  The lack of fact checking may be a sign that that Nigerians did not pay much attention to the September 11^th attacks.  It also noted that three planes went into the World Trade Towers.  Most people in western societies know that it was actually 2 planes into the Twin Towers, and one into the Pentagon. 

            To move to another continent, the Argentinean press has articles with a positive spin on the death.  It says, “There’s been a complete change of mood in this country— a feeling of relief, a new climate.”  The mood seems to be more like our’s in the United States. 

           

            Western media couldn’t get enough of Osama coverage.  Twitter and Facebook were filled with posts about the death.  The United Kingdom’s Telegraph says according to Twitter officials, “news of bin Laden’s death ‘saw the highest sustained rate of tweets ever’.”  It is even reported that the news was leaked on Twitter first by the former chief of staff to Donald Rumsfeld, Keith Urbahn. 

I saw this picture all over Facebook in the days following the death.  Lady Liberty represents freedom, and now the world is free from the world's most wanted terrorist. 

            The announcement of the death way a hay-day for the conservative Fox News Network.  The lead to an article posted one day after reads, “Declaring “justice has been done,” President Obama announced late Sunday that Usama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, marking the end of the worldwide manhunt that began nearly a decade ago on Sept. 11, 2001.”  The article details the events from start to finish.  It explains the US government got a tip over the summer about Osama’s whereabouts and the mission was highly secretive.  The President made the announcement to the American people, and the world within hours of informing top White House officials and members of Congress. 

           

            I will never forget turning my television on and hearing the news.  I felt a feeling of triumph, and am hopeful that the United States patriotism can be renewed to what it was like right after 9/11.  In the days following the death, nightly newscasts were filled with stories about families who were hurt in the attacks in 2001.  It brought tears to my eyes quite a few times hearing families of fallen firefighters say they felt closure and relief to hear that Osama was now dead.