Bin Laden's Death Won't Erase the Long-Term Effects of His Strategy
The author argues that, despite Osama bin Laden’s death in 2011, the broader aims he pursued continue to shape U.S. policy and spending.
Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special operators in Pakistan in 2011 and his remains were reportedly dumped in the Arabian Sea. While his organization, Al-Qaeda, never achieved its ultimate goals of toppling governments or establishing a global caliphate, the author contends that bin Laden’s strategy of provoking a protracted, expensive war on American resources has largely succeeded. The United States has kept a sizable military footprint in Saudi Arabia beyond the early-2000s and has been involved in extended conflicts across the Muslim world, reflecting the very scenario bin Laden sought to create.
Why it matters
It highlights how the legacy of a terrorist leader can influence U.S. foreign policy and defense spending decades later.
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