Operation Geronimo: An Apt Way to Eliminate a Global Terrorist (Essay Sample)

Operation Geronimo: An Apt Way to Eliminate a Global Terrorist
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Operation Geronimo: An Apt Way to Eliminate a Global Terrorist
Operation Geronimo or Neptune Spear was a covert military operation carried out by the U.S. Navy SEAL team on May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, Pakistan in which, they located and killed Osama bin Laden and his aides. Analysis of the background, outcome and fallouts of Operation Geronimo reveals that it was a well-justified and well-executed operation that finally neutralized a global terrorist. After declaring a "holy war" against the United States, Osama bin Laden planned and executed several terrorist attacks on the U.S. Besides being a threat to America, he had organized a global terrorist organization proliferating ominously under the aegis of the notorious Taliban regime. His organization 'Al-Qaeda' also threatened Muslim countries that do not fall under his criteria of a true Muslim state. He would have kept carrying out similar attacks if he had not been killed. Therefore, Operation Geronimo was well-justified, and it is one of the greatest achievements of the free world against the War on Terror.
The historical context of the establishment of Al-Qaida manifests that terrorism is the lifeblood of this organization. The history of Al-Qaida goes back to 1987 when Abdallah Azzam, Osama's mentor, created an organization of Islamic militants intending to fight against "infidels" after the defeat of Russian in Afghanistan. Osama took charge of the organization in 1989; however, he became a real threat to global peace only when he moved to Afghanistan in 1996 and reinforced his global terror network under the protection and aid of the Taliban (Soherwordi & Khattak, 2020). Bin Laden recruited Islamic militants worldwide through an international network called Maktab al-Khidmat to fight in the Afghan Jihad. According to one estimate, he managed to enlist 5000 militants from Saudi Arabia, 3000 from Algeria, and 2000 from Egypt (Post, 2002). His global operations and massive proliferation of Afghan Arab Islamic militants under his control indicate the extent of threat he was posing to global peace and freedom.
Several other aspects of bin Laden's vision aims, and activities reinforce the notion that he had become a global menace. For instance, he utilized his ostensibly ascetic lifestyle, fiery rhetoric to kindle the passion and zeal for Jihad in his followers. Moreover, his ideology is based on general hatred for non-Muslims and Muslim leaders who are not following Islam in the true sense. He was a follower of Muhammad Abdul Salam Farag, who considered Arab leaders as infidels who should be eliminated to restore Islam in Arab countries (Post, 2002). The end of Afghan Jihad opened up more global perspectives for Osama for his terrorist activities as he made plans to expand the so-called "Jihad" on a global scale. As discussed above, his ideology and mission were not limited to the fight against the invading Soviet army, but he was working systematically to spread hatred and terror in the name of religion on a global scale. This aspect of his personality is strong proof of his fascist mission and nefarious designs to jeopardize humanity's very existence.
His unjust and irrational animosity with Americans and American freedom was not unexposed to any wise and rational being. Even only this aspect of his personality justifies U.S. action against him. The history of his war with America goes way back before the terrorist of September 11. He developed rancor and hatred against the U.S. during Gulf War, and, afterward, he got severely enraged by the establishment of U.S. military bases on Saudi soil. He regarded this act as a desecration of the “holy soil” and ultimately issued a long fatwa against Americans and declared war against them in 1996 (Tierney, 2017). Since 1996, Osama conducted and abetted several attacks on Americans and American assets worldwide. His fight against American continued for over 20 years, and this long duration of the guerilla war against a superpower is unjustified in any sense and demands a severe and effective retaliation in kind.
The frequency and intensity of attacks carried out by Al-Qaida on U.S. interests all over the world provide a strong rationale to justify the necessity of Operation Geronimo. The long list of his successful attacks on U.S. military installations, embassies, and other assets signifies the brutality, terrorism, and massacre committed by Al-Qaida. In his fatwa, he categorically acclaimed the attacks of the U.S. military in Lebanon and Somalia and implied further attacks on U.S. interests all over the world. Consequently, he planned and executed some of the ghastly terrorist attacks on innocent people; first and foremost of those was the Khobar Bombing in June 1996 that destroyed the barracks of the United States Air Force and killed 20 American soldiers, and wounded 498 people (Ridel, 2021). This brutal display of religious terrorism was just the beginning of a decades-long covert war of bin Laden against the United States of American, but it surely verified the gravity and intensity of this looming threat on the values and freedom of the U.S.
Bin Laden kept planning and committing heinous crimes against the U.S. in particular and all the free world in general. He carried out further similar attacks, including bombing the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, killing at least 80 people, including 8 Americans. In October 2000, the USS Cole, a guided-missile destroyer ship of the United States, was destroyed in a suicide attack in Yemen. This attack claimed the lives of 17 American soldiers and injured many more. In the end, the perpetrators were found to be Muslim militants trained, financed, and motivated by Al-Qaida. However, the most lethal and devastating attack of Al-Qaida that shook the entire world was the September 11 attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This attack culminated in the world-famous War on Terror undertaken by the U.S. and its allies against the Taliban regime and Al-Qaida. These attacks finally exposed the extent and ambit of the threat posed by Bin Ladin and Al-Qaida to global peace and security.
The September 11 attacks triggered a violent and vehement reaction from the U.S. and global powers that ultimately led to the destruction of Al-Qaida and its global network. Likewise, these terror attacks justified the U.S. stance against Islamic militancy and the support of bin Laden to Islamic extremism worldwide. These terror attacks were presented as the biggest proof against the doctrine and principles of Al-Qaida and other associated Islamic militant organizations. The world comprehended the manifesto and doctrine of these terrorists and realized that they are not the preacher of peace and freedom but death and slavery. The world powers understood that these terrorists headed by bin Laden rancor intense hatred towards the value of freedom, liberty, and humanity. It further dawned at them that their religion is only the death and destruction of all institutions, societies, and individuals who believe in humanity, freedom, and equality. All of the above facts and figures, and logical proposition verify that bin Laden was indeed a global terrorist that must be eliminated in the wider interest of humanity.
Another important aspect of bin Laden's global terrorist activities was his association with the Afghan Taliban. This association was a merge