Osama Bin Laden: Myth and Reality

The lead story in today’s New York Times, “Data from Raid Shows Bin Laden Plotted Attacks,” shows that his role in controlling the Al Qaeda network differed significantly from the commonly held viewpoint. That myth, that Osama bin Laden was living in a cave somewhere and had degenerated largely into a figurehead, with no real power, has now been shown to be false.

Not only was he living in a $1 million home, a complex in a suburb of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, but, according to the documents and computer hard drives secured in Monday’s raid by the Navy Seals, he was actively plotting the next major Al Qaeda plot against our nation.

Why did our government put out the rumor that he was living in a case? One, in my opinion, to justify or rationalize their impotence, largely the Bush administration’s impotence, in tracking him down and his remaining at large for almost a decade. Secondly, to avoid a sense of panic or concern among the American people and to let us continue our lives normally without generating a flow of false alerts burdening government authorities.

Now, the government says Osama bin Laden was actively plotting against us but states that the plans were mainly “aspirational.” We should disbelieve this characterization for the same reason. The next plot: the “aspirational” theme was blowing up a train on a bridge by tampering with the tracks, according to the treasure trove of documents found at the compound. I don’t know about you, but I would change my commuting habits.