Bin Laden already a ghost since the Arab Spring

An illuminating piece from Robert Fisk summing up why Bin Laden was no longer a major influential figure on the world stage and could be dispensed with at last.

This paragraph struck me as especially pertinent, raising important questions.

But a court would have worried more people than Bin Laden. After all, he might have talked about his contacts with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, or about his cosy meetings in Islamabad with Prince Turki, Saudi Arabia’s head of intelligence. Just as Saddam – who was tried for the murder of a mere 153 people rather than thousands of gassed Kurds – was hanged before he had the chance to tell us about the gas components that came from America, his friendship with Donald Rumsfeld, the US military assistance he received when he invaded Iran in 1980.

Indeed.

Let’s hope that, if nothing else, Americans can now emerge from their post-9/11 madness, and that those who lost loved ones can find some sort of closure.

What if Bin Laden had stood trial? ‘Imprisoned for life, Bin Laden would have been forced to reflect on the wicked crime of killing innocent civilians. He has been spared that fate. Bush, Blair and Obama should reflect whether they too have now killed too many innocent civilians in the name of the war on terror and revert to the rule of law – however difficult that may be.’