Opinion

Bin Laden's death: end of a terror icon

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-04 13:22

BEIJING - The killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden means that the world's biggest terrorist has vanished, but the international community still has a long way to go in its fight against terrorism.

US special forces Sunday gunned down bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks that took thousands of lives, at a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

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The UN Security Council on Monday hailed bin Laden's death as a "critical development" in the global anti-terror campaign, and urged "all States to remain vigilant and intensify their efforts in the fight against terrorism."

During the past decade, after the US military toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001, bin Laden was at large, acting as the spiritual leader of al-Qaida.

He was accused of masterminding or instigating a series of terrorist activities around the world, besides the September 11 attacks, including massive bloody assaults in Kenya, Iraq and Yemen.

Al-Qaida's franchises are all over the world, and using the Internet as a propaganda and communication tool, they have recruited members in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and even Europe.

The terror network has killed many civilians, caused much property damage, and endangered civilian lives, social stability and economic development in many countries.

Bin Laden's death will surely deal a heavy blow to al-Qaida fighters, at least psychologically.

However, the international fight against terror is far from over.

After bin Laden's death, the United States, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand issued alerts against possible al-Qaida attacks, and strengthened anti-terror measures.

Meanwhile, the al-Qaida network is still in operation and may carry out more attacks for a very long time to come.

The past decade has taught us that mere military strength and intelligence work can't overcome terrorism. In fact, the international anti-terror mission calls for a sustainable and comprehensive anti-terror strategy that takes economic, social and cultural factors into consideration and requires cooperation among different countries.