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FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Penn
State’s
Terrorism
Center
responds
to
death
of
Osama
Bin
Laden
UNIVERSITY
PARK,
Pennsylvania —May
2,
2011
Ten
years
into
a
relentless
hunt,
following
a
trail
that
ha d
long
gone
cold,
Osama
Bin
Laden
was
finally
tracked
down
to
a
large
house
in
Abbottabad,
more
than
20
miles
outside
of
the
Pakistani
capital
of
Islamabad.
The
founder
and
former
leader
of
Al
Qaeda
w as
killed
by
U .S.
Special
Forces
in
a n
assault
on
the
location,
leaving
Bin
Laden
and
at
least
two
of
his
compatriots
dead
in
the
shoot ‐out.
John
Horgan,
director
of
the
International
Center
for
the
Study
of
Terrorism
(ICST)
sa ys:
“The
boogeyman ,
and
for
many,
the
face
of
terrorism,
has
finally
been
put
down.
The
event
will
serve
as
a
badly
needed
morale
boost
for
U .S.
troops
serving
overseas,
and ,
as
we
approach
the
ten ‐year
mark
since
the
9/11
attacks,
the
news
may
come
as
some
small
relief
to
those
bereaved
frien ds
and
families
for
whom
the
pending
anniversary
will
be
especially
difficult.”
“Surprisingly,
Bin
Laden
was
not
found
where
everybody
predicted
he
wo uld
be,
in
a
remote
tribal
area,”
says
Horgan .
“The
event
is
most
likely
the
result
of
an
intensive
and
l ong ‐running
intelligence
operation ,
and
it’s
equally
likely
that
the
Pakistani
security
services
played
a
key
role
in
this .”
On
the
effects
of
Bin
Laden’s
assassination
on
the
future
of
Al
Qaeda,
Horgan
cautions:
“ While
this
is
a
critical
psychological
b low
to
Al
Qaeda
and
its
affiliates,
the
reality
is
that
Bin
Laden
has
not
occupied
an
operational
role
in
the
movement
for
several
years
now.
The
Al
Qaeda
that
exist ed
in
early
2001
has
long
gone.”
Dr.
Mia
Bloom,
a
Fellow
at
ICST
concurs ,
adding :
“It’s
highly
unlikely
that
Bin
Laden’s
second
in
command,
Ayman
al ‐Zawahiri,
will
effectively
galvanize
the
movement.
He
is
a
deeply
divisive
figure,
and
he
doesn’t
ooze
an
ounce
of
the
charm
that
Bin
Laden
in
his
heyday
did,
nor
does
he
even
come
close
to
the
kind
of
allure
on
offer
by
Anwar
al ‐Awlaki
(leader
of
Al
Q aeda
in
the
Arabian
Peninsula —AQAP) .
In
effect,
Bin
Laden
has
no
real
replacement.”
“However,
as
far
as
the
future
is
concerned,”
Bloom
continues,
“the
death
of
one
man ,
even
Bin
Laden,
will
not
end
attacks
against
Americans.
T argeted
assassinations
rarely
result
in
the
end
of
a
terrorist
organization
and,
in
fact,
might
increase
the
likelihood
of
competition
among
the
younger
generation
of
Al
Qaeda
affiliates
to
lead
the
movement
in
the
fut ure.”
Horgan
agrees.
“ Undoubtedly,
t he
more
significant
threat
in
recent
years
has
been
from
AQ AP,
who
were
inspired
by
Bin
Laden’s
ideas.
His
assassination
may
provide
them,
and
Anwar
al ‐Awlaki
in
particular,
with
the
opportunity
to
be
the
new
face
of
terrorism .”
Dedicated
to
the
scientific
study
of
terrorism
and
political
violence,
the
International
Center
for
the
Study
of
Terrorism,
based
in
the
College
of
the
Liberal
Arts
at
Penn
State,
engages
in
research,
teaching,
and
training
activities
that
are
international
in
scope
and
multidisciplinary
in
nature.
The
Center
is
committed
to
promoting
and
engaging
in
data ‐driven
empirical
research
performed
to
the
highest
academic
standards.
Media
enquiries:
Alex
Novak,
ICST
Executive
Director,
anovak@psu.edu ,
814.863.9550
For
additional
information
on
ICST
visit
www.icst.psu.edu .
