Shantanu Mukharji
May 2, this year marked ten years of Osama bin Laden being killed by the US Navy Seals in a dare devil operation exterminating the Saudi born undisputed Al Qaeda leader on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan. After bin Laden was neutralised, the US and it’s western allies, who always portrayed the Al Qaeda supremo as the mastermind behind the September 11 aerial terrorist assaults, thought that the global Islamic terror would now come to an end bringing in universal peace and tranquil.
However, their assessment went wide off the mark and euphoria went for a toss as we examine ten years down the line, a plethora of terrorist linked activities with Al Qaeda under the leadership of another radical, Al Zawahiri. This said, we need to quickly recapitulate the unfolding of US led Special Operations culminating into the riddance of bin Laden, a decade ago.
US helicopter squadrons comprising special choppers, black hawks, stealth and chinooks were perched at a hidden base in Jalalabad in Afghanistan, very close to the Pakistan border. Rewinding the scenario that existed in Abbottabad that day , ten years ago, four US helicopters, two Stealth Black hawks, and two Chinooks flew very low to escape detection from the Pakistani radars overflying Ghursal and Shilman in northern Khyber area on their approach to the hideout.
A well coordinated, anti terror policy at the global level is
perhaps the need of the hour or else Ladens will continue
to emerge threatening the very tranquil and exploding the
myth that Osama’s killing would see an end to all terror activities
This is where Osama was thought to be safely ensconced as per the CIA inputs provided and gathered through Drones’ photography and human intelligence from one Dr Afridi, a veterinarian recruited by the CIA to look for bin Laden. The US Navy crack team for this mission landed in the hideout at nearly midnight, killed Osama and finished the operation in 40 minutes in a neat surgical precision. After ‘Mission Accomplished’, the choppers flew back safely to the Jalalabad air base giving no whiff at all to the Pakistani Air Force or Army.
It’s really ironic that the Pakistani Military Academy is at the heart of Abbottabad and Osama hideout was not far from it. Even ten years after Osama was killed, this is studies by security and military experts time and again and reiterate that Pakistani intelligence lay in tatters without any clue that Osama has been living in the Cantonment town for a considerable period without arousing any suspicion to the military or civil intelligence agencies while the fact remains that Osama bin Laden was the most wanted and haunted man by one and all. The Pakistan government was hugely embarrassed and the humiliation still runs even after ten years. History will judge it very harshly for the generations to come.
Here, it’s very pertinent to touch upon who all were important members of the dramatis persona in Pakistan during this US sponsored fool proof strike targeting Laden included the President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and DG Military Operations (DGMO), Maj Gen Ishfaq Nadeem. According to an upcoming book - ‘No Win War' on the subject, authored by famous Pakistani journalist, Zahid Hussain, after Osama was killed and his body carted away, US Armed Forces Chief, Mike Mueller phoned his Pakistani counterpart Gen Kayani and broke the news. Kayani was naturally shattered by the news that there was a blatant breach of territorial security in air space but he didn’t even muster the courage of making a token of protest.
Kayani, in turn, reported this incident of humiliation to his President, Zardari, who was also ex-officio the Supreme Commander of the Pakistani armed forces but his reaction too was muted, according to knowledgeable sources. Then ISI chief, Lt Gen Shujaat Pasha was conveyed about the operation by CIA head, Leon Panetta confirming the deadly and decisive act in killing Osama at the backyard of Pakistani military garrison by US Navy Seals. And, before Pakistani officials occupying crucial positions could recover from the shock, President Obama called up Asif Ali Zardari confirming the news. The humiliation was all round and complete.
Barely a month before May 2, 2011, the Chief of the Army Staff Pervez Ashfaq Qayani, while addressing the newly inducted commissioned officers in the Abbottabad based military academy had proudly claimed that the back of Al Qaeda was broken for good. Other than the face loss of Pakistan, the credibility of the country was severely dented and it remains so even after ten years. Anti terror experts reckon that Zahid Hussain’s book ‘ No Win war’ covering all relevant details as dwelt upon here will be shedding more light on this aspect.
However, contrary to the assessment that after Osama’s annihilation, terror activities will be checked, it didn’t happen. Al Qaeda by name may have suffered a reversal after his exit, but with similar ideology , with hundred times more ferocity, ISIS emerged under Baghdadi, who and his radicalised army, acted like a killer machine decimating innocents in Iraq, Syria and adjoining areas.
It’s impact was so devastating that recruits from almost all over the world inclined towards the religious extremism ideology joined the armed cadres to fight with ISIS. These gruesome activities continued unabated till recently when it perhaps cosmetically looked like losing its steam. Religious indoctrination through cyber space charmed strayed Muslim youth from several corners of the world. This included many educated and professionals too.
That was a disturbing trend threatening global peace. In Europe we found France battling to fight Islamic ideology in 2015 in the wake of Charlie Hebdo attacks. Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria were affected rather badly. In Africa, we still see Mali, Mauritania, Somalia, Kenya, Mozambique and some other countries, under the spell of Islamic radicalism and hate violence claiming thousands of lives. Asia too remains afflicted. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka etc are intermittently rocked by suicide bombings and mass coordinated killings. With or without Laden, ten years down the line the ideology lives on.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tough handling of the terrorists notwithstanding, we see emergence of Hefazat Islam which is nearly more than a decade old but has been wreaking havoc in the recent past. A well coordinated, anti terror policy at the global level is perhaps the need of the hour or else Ladens will continue to emerge threatening the very tranquil and exploding the myth that Osama’s killing would see an end to all terror activities.
Shantanu Mukharji is a retired member of the Indian Police Service (IPS), a security analyst and a former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Mauritius