In the United States, and even in San Luis Obispo, fireworks could be heard being set off in response to the late night breaking news that Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. troops. “Crowds celebrated throughout the night outside the White House and at ground zero in Lower Manhattan where the Twin Towers once stood. Thousands of students at Penn State University and in other college towns spilled into the streets and set off firecrackers to mark the moment,” said an article in the Seattle Times (Goldman). There truly was a sense of pride and a wave of positive energy coming from everyone within those first few days. However, not everyone was so cheery.
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| Americans, unlike others around the world, rejoiced upon hearing the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. |
Upon hearing the news that Bin Laden was killed by a United States navy seal team, a majority of Kenyans congratulated the country. According to an article from Africa News, “Kenyans believe that Osama’s death has opened a new dawn in the fight against terrorism in the world and the country in particular.” Kenya was previously the target of two al-Qaeda attacks, therefore grateful that their bully was defeated. However, some believed the way the U.S handled the situation could have been better; they believe that Bin Laden should have been tortured into taking about his previous and future plans. “It would have been better if he (Osama) was captured alive so that he could confess his sins to the world,” said Douglas Sidialo, a Kenyan citizen and victim of the 2002 terrorist attack (Wangui). Meanwhile, others believe that Kenya is not safe quite yet. According to the article, an al-Qaeda network is still targeting Kenya for a future attack leaving the citizens in an unsafe environment. Similarly, the Philippines feel as though they are not completely safe now that Bin Laden is dead.
According to a statement released by President Benigno S. Aquino lll, “the world must continue to consistently and courageously raise its collective voice against religious hatred, political intolerance, and terrorism of all kinds.” Aquino believes that the Philippines are not in grave danger, but that the world needs to unite and continue to fight the terrorists in order to be completely safe and peaceful. In addition, Benigno said, “one sword has been beaten down; we must continue to be dedicated to the principle of beating the swords of terrorism into the shares of progress and peace” (Aquino). While the U.S. is still worried about future terrorist attacks, they did not worry about the immediate danger. Instead, the U.S. focused on their great accomplishment. "The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden," Obama said hours after the killing occurred (Goldman). Celebrating was the U.S.’s way to show their approval. However, in Egypt, celebrating was the complete opposite reaction of citizens.
The reactions in Egypt varied greatly; some believed Bin Laden’s death was insignificant, others mourned his death, while others were oblivious to the news. Egyptian citizen, Sherif Ahmed, was not happy upon hearing the news of Bin Laden’s death. “I am saddened [by his death]…he’s the only one who stood up to America,” he said. “Bin Laden is an important figure to us and he’s the only person who intimidated the United States.” Another Egyptian citizen, Mohamed Omar mourned his death because of his religion. “As a muslim, it was sad to hear the news, may God bless his soul,” he said (Fahmy). Meanwhile, an American student in Egypt at the time believed that this would only benefit Obama’s image and election campaign. According to a Fox News poll, pre-raid, Obama was at 47% approval; post-raid he jumped up to 52% approval from United States citizens.
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| Egyptians mourned the death of Osama Bin Laden claiming he was the only person in the world who stood up to the United States. |
Even more mixed reactions came from Bollywood celebrities in India. Pooja Bhatt tweeted, “[I] Refuse to celebrate Osama’s death. Next we’ll all be screaming ‘throw him to the lions’ on a daily basis. Lust for blood is perverse.” Bhatt believes that just because Bin Laden was a terrorist does not give anyone the right to celebrate his death. He was still a human being who was cared about and loved by some. Taking a different side, Anupam Kher tweeted, “Kudos to America’s intelligence and security forces for operation Bin Laden. It is important to pursue goals and then achieve them.”Kher, who highlights a majority of America’s feelings about the subject, looks more to the benefits of the government/military strategy that took place in order for the effort to succeed. Other celebrities of India were skeptical about the whole situation. Dino Morea tweeted, “Strange feeling Osama still lurking somewhere, and planning something bigger” (IANS). Chile’s citizens also don’t quite believe the news.
“A taxi driver in Puerto Montt said he really didn’t believe the news, ‘but it doesn’t really matter because there will be a hundred more to replace bin Laden,” an article from the Santiago Times said. In addition, student David Gomez said, “I was thinking to myself, really? Hadn’t they already got him?” It seems as though Gomez hits a key point that many Americans have come to realize: though Bin Laden has always been on our mind, he really hasn’t been the main focus of the news in the Western world for quite some time. Right after September 11th, our main goal was to locate this man, however ten years later this mission was actually accomplished. What happened to the time in between? In 2008, an intelligence analyst told msnbc said, “"We don't have a clue where he is or even may be. We have had no credible intelligence on OBL since 2001." (Still Desperately Seeking Osama). To know if this is true or not, we may never know. However, uniquely, some Chileans felt that America had a right to celebrate and that they were not necessarily celebrating his death, but celebrating the relief of the whole situation (Ebergencyi). In Thailand, there isn’t much of a threat of terrorism despite the death of Osama Bin Laden, however they are still taking precautions.
According to an article from the Bangkok Post, the Deputy Prime Minister called on security to make sure that all places that enveloped an American image or were related to the United States should be carefully watched; even places such as McDonalds. In addition, he, “told security forces to be vigilant at border crossings to ensure no al-Qaeda members enter the country.” Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha , however, saw bin Laden’s death as significant, but not an end to the war on terror by any means. Overall, Thailand’s residents don’t seem to overwhelmed by the death of the number one terrorist in the world, yet they still are taking measures in order to ensure their peoples’ safety.
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| Each country portrayed Bin Laden in a different light, however, he still graced the cover of most newspapers the day after his death. |
Each country has its own reaction to the news. However, many people throughout the world seem to believe that America could have handled the entire situation differently. We portray the killing as a feat and something to be proud of, while others are in mourning. The Western media may like to glamorize their events, but one has to wonder if the same would be done if troops from a different country got to bin Laden first.
