Bin Laden is dead... Now what?

I promised myself I wouldn't say anything about it, but I have to.  I've been reading reactions from people celebrating that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Yes, it's true that he was the leader of an organization responsible for some of the most devastating attacks against US citizens in recorded history.  And yes, it's true that it will probably take some time for Al Queda to regroup.  I estimate it will take...  Oh wait.  They've already started?  Yep.  A pipe bomb was found this morning on the Coronado Bridge.*  And one of their ideologues has promised retribution against the US.

So, let me tell everyone what they can celebrate.  We have killed a man who was seeking revenge against us for abandoning his cause back in the 80's.  The problem was, he happened be charismatic enough to inspire others to follow him in his revenge using religious propaganda.  Al Queda is not one of those movie terrorist organizations that will simply crumble because we have killed their leader.  What we have done is martyr him to his followers.  Not only his current followers, but now thousands of other Muslims who otherwise may not have have gotten involved.  With the attacks on the US, Bin Laden catapulted himself from mere terrorist to figurehead for a movement.  What we have done is catapulted him from figurehead to martyr, a reason in and of itself for attacking the US and it's citizens.

For years, Al Queda has been our bogeyman, and Bin Laden was the face of that monster.  Now Al Queda is a faceless monster, the kind that is even more terrifying.  There will be people who will be screaming his name as they willingly blow themselves up in just the hopes that they will get a chance to take a few US citizens with them in retribution for his death.

So go ahead.  Celebrate the fact that we have gotten our revenge against the mastermind behind the 9/11 and USS Cole attacks.  But be ever vigilant against the attacks to come.  For those saying that they wish they "had been the one to execute Bin Laden," I say this to you.  Remember the cost it took to do so.  Remember the lives of the military members who have died on this road to revenge of ours.  And for those who are thinking that now Bin Laden is dead we can relax and have some of those freedoms back that were taken away in the interest of safety and security, remember that the threat is still out there, and as long as there is a perceived threat, the government will not relent in it's pursuit of safety and security.



*EDIT: Special thanks to my friend for catching me on my blunder.  It was not in fact a pipe bomb.  Full story is here.