Expert warns of massive and horrific backlash after bin Laden death
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Pastor Dale Morgan
May 2, 2011, 12:34:10 AM5/2/11
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Expert warns of massive and horrific backlash after bin Laden death
Will Brodie
May 2, 2011 - 1:52PM
An expert in global terrorism says the death of Osama bin Laden is "by no means a knockout blow".
Professor Greg Barton from Monash University described news of the al-Qaeda leader's demise as "quite remarkable", given the lack of progress in tracking the terrorist leader in the past decade, but warned America and its allies that their reaction to the news must be measured.
"I think he's (US President Barack Obama) going to play it very carefully and very coolly and not to gloat, not to have any sense of hubris because if the President or America and its allies in general are not very careful this could backfire.
"For many bin Laden will be a martyr once his death is confirmed so any sense of gloating or any sense of unnecessary demonising is only going to help that cause."
Professor Barton told radio 3AW this afternoon that al-Qaeda will remain strong without its infamous leader.
"Al Qaeda has become several things today its become a series of organisations in based geographically different parts of the world so the loss of bin Laden doesn't change that.
"There will be others moving into his position. He was never a great intellectual or a great writer so his role was really as a charismatic front man more than anything else and his greatest claim to fame was being on the run for so long and escaping arrest or capture."
Professor Barton said there would be other figures to take the place of the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
"There certainly are. Whether they can project the same sort of sense of almost a prophet of an Old Testament figure emerging with tremendous charismatic appeal to some people in the world is the question.
"A lot of scholars and intellectuals don't have that sense of charisma that somehow bin Laden seemed to conjure up. We can be sure he will be replaced and we can be sure the movement he started is not going to go away.
"I don't think we get closure emotionally with this news nor do we get a clear sense that the threat is over. There have to be great concerns that this could spark a massive and horrific wave of reprisals.
"If nothing else, Al-Qaeda will want to show it's not a spent force, that it still has teeth and will still have something up its sleeve to show the world it is still in business."
Expert warns of massive and horrific backlash after bin Laden death
Will Brodie
May 2, 2011 - 1:52PM
An expert in global terrorism says the death of Osama bin Laden is "by no means a knockout blow".
Professor Greg Barton from Monash University described news of the al-Qaeda leader's demise as "quite remarkable", given the lack of progress in tracking the terrorist leader in the past decade, but warned America and its allies that their reaction to the news must be measured.
"I think he's (US President Barack Obama) going to play it very carefully and very coolly and not to gloat, not to have any sense of hubris because if the President or America and its allies in general are not very careful this could backfire.
"For many bin Laden will be a martyr once his death is confirmed so any sense of gloating or any sense of unnecessary demonising is only going to help that cause."
Professor Barton told radio 3AW this afternoon that al-Qaeda will remain strong without its infamous leader.
"Al Qaeda has become several things today its become a series of organisations in based geographically different parts of the world so the loss of bin Laden doesn't change that.
"There will be others moving into his position. He was never a great intellectual or a great writer so his role was really as a charismatic front man more than anything else and his greatest claim to fame was being on the run for so long and escaping arrest or capture."
Professor Barton said there would be other figures to take the place of the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
"There certainly are. Whether they can project the same sort of sense of almost a prophet of an Old Testament figure emerging with tremendous charismatic appeal to some people in the world is the question.
"A lot of scholars and intellectuals don't have that sense of charisma that somehow bin Laden seemed to conjure up. We can be sure he will be replaced and we can be sure the movement he started is not going to go away.
"I don't think we get closure emotionally with this news nor do we get a clear sense that the threat is over. There have to be great concerns that this could spark a massive and horrific wave of reprisals.
"If nothing else, Al-Qaeda will want to show it's not a spent force, that it still has teeth and will still have something up its sleeve to show the world it is still in business."
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