Osama and the media

For me, the past couple of days have been mainly spent in the media, as a result of Osama bin Laden's death. I am writing this from a computer at NRK, where I have an hour to kill between Aktuelt and URIX. Media waves, like this one, always come with no forewarning, and therefore have a tendency to crowd out other tasks, also important ones. I am in little doubt, though, that the visibility is important for PRIO, and therefore give it high priority. But, it is also challenging, and I therefore value highly feedback from colleagues - not the least critical feedback - on my contributions.

Bin Laden's death opens up a number of big questions. Perhaps the most challenging one is about the legality of a US military attack within the territory of a sovereign state, Pakistan. Such principal issues may be lost in the celebrations of the big terrorists departure, but are no less important. As Henrik pointed out in an e-mail exchange, the attack may be seen as ethichally permissible by two different standards. One is to see it as a police action, against a major criminal (undisputable in this case), with the inherent risk that resistance to arrest leads to the death of the suspect. That leaves open the question of the acceptability of collateral damage, which seems to me highly likely in this case, yet problematic in police action. The other type of justification would see this as an act of war, against Al Qaeda, targeting its leader who had himself declared war on the US and saw himself as a combatant. That leaves open the question of the acceptability of conducting armed attacks on the territory of other sovereign states, although it remains unclear whether or not Pakistan was informed and involved. Undoubtedly, though, the war on terror has changed conceptions of right and wrong, while international law is struggling to accommodate the new realities.

Another big question is what this will imply for the war in Afghanistan (and, by extension, Pakistan). In the region, it is already taken for granted that this will lead to a rapid reduction of US (and international) forces, as bin Laden's death can be presented as a major victory in the war on global terrorism. While I would be no means presume any automaticity, I do think this gives President Obama an opportunity to shift focus of the US efforts from being overwhelmingly military to being political. Obama has been clear since his inaugeration that the US engagement is motivated by the threat from global terror, not by the economic and political underdevelopment of Afghanistan. It is widely believed that the war in Afghanistan is lost, and that the current battle is about creating a narrative that allows the US and its allies to pull out while saving face. If so, the death of Osama may give Obama the momentum he needs.