It is clear that the US is trying to demystify OBL image in the eyes of the world. It did that with Saddam Hussein, when the video of that helpless man after being caught by the US forces was splashed across the world. I am in no way condoning the acts of OBL, especially killing of innocent civilians in the US and across the World through his acts. However, I would caution the US in just how they portray OBL after his death so as to not create any sympathy for him.
Mysterious Death and Burial at Sea
The mere thought of capturing and killing OBL was unimaginable until last Monday (May 2, 2011) to the common man. In fact, when Saddam Hussein was given the ultimatum in 2003, someone I know told me that he had built tunnels, escape routes, strong army, oil explosives, and something else that made it a foolhardy for the US to invade Iraq, let alone capture Saddam Hussein. We all know what happened after that. The reason I am providing this example is to point that until the US captured and killed OBL, he had built a significant level of myth and legend about how he brought the US on its knees.
Clearly, the circumstances of OBL’s death are still mysterious, let alone daring. Yet, his mysterious burial at sea is all the more thrilling (as my friend had asked “do the sharks want to eat his body?”). You could have taken this story right out of Hollywood and rendered justice to the script in real world. The man even in his death has built some sort of myth!
He Doesn’t Need Any More Sympathy
The details of the daring raid have made the US come out in a very positive light, than its prey. The US has tons of positives coming out of this raid, and that is why it is important to navigate post-OBL in a careful manner. The initial stories (there was a firefight) and its resulting contradictions (OBL was unarmed) by the US have created more news than the death of OBL. Therefore, showing more videos of OBL in poor light is going to make people wonder whether the US is creating its own propaganda in order to show him as just another common man. And, not releasing the death photos makes some people believe that he may still be not dead. All of this only would create more sympathy for this man, and he doesn’t deserve any of our sympathies.
Misread World Public Opinion
Although Arab countries are fighting their leaders for free and democratic countries, the US has to be careful to not upset the delicate public opinion. OBL is hated throughout the world, but Arab public opinion is a different matter. Arabs have been victims of the innumerous foreign invasions, rule by tyrants etc. People are so anxious about their future that showing OBL in such poor light especially after his death may end up creating more sympathy for that man. We should look at the long term image of OBL, not just the short-term. People are reacting to OBL’s death, and there is no need to show him in poor light until the time is right for us to leak these videos of him, not now I believe. People now have a lot to talk about (his death, burial at sea, the raid etc.), we don’t need additional fuel to the fire. So, the US has to be careful to not misread and misdirect Arab public opinion. Look to what Obama said on CBS news: “we are different, we don’t do that sort of thing (i.e., showing dead photos)”, it shows why the US is a great country. Let us keep the positives!
Creating the David and Goliath
Although OBL had a destructive network under his command, the network was invisible to the common man, whereas the might of the US was on full display. So, we certainly don’t want to create a David and Goliath situation, wherein people in certain parts of the world think that this one man went against a giant and mighty country. I certainly don’t want OBL ever to be mentioned in history at all, except that he was a mass murder who had a twisted logic to rationalize his deeds. But with the US showing videos / photos showing OBL as frail old grandfather only would create more sympathy for that man, which he doesn’t deserve. So, I would urge us to be more careful with how we portray this man and his network.
Closing Thoughts
I’d like to put this OBL phase in distant memory and move on to other better things in life. I would like to get our freedom back, which people like OBL have deftly taken it away from us (e.g. airport security). I don’t want any sympathy for OBL, as in a David vs. Goliath type, who inspires more radicals to take up destructive measures. My closing thought is that we, the US, have to be more careful in how we portray OBL post-death and ensure that we don’t create unnecessary sympathy for that man and his deeds.
Signing off.
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