Many of you remember when Osama bin Laden was Public Enemy #1.
Videos of the bearded cave-dweller constantly replayed on American television, and some wondered: How can a guy for whom people all over the world are searching remain at large for so long?
On May 2nd, 2011 — almost a full decade after the fall of the Twin Towers — that question lost all relevance.
Holed up in Pakistan, Osama got holed up in Pakistan — he was shot by Seal Team Six.
Al-Qaeda confirmed their founder’s passing on May 6th, promising revenge on both America and Pakistan.
If the terrorist group’s a family organization, they may now have an additional grievance: As reported by The New York Times Wednesday, a U.S.-involved military operation took out Osama’s son, Hamza, who’d repeatedly vowed to avenge his father’s killing.
The Times cited “two American officials” for the news, saying very little else in the way of U.S. participation.
In February, the State Department placed a $1 million bounty on Hamza. At the time, they didn’t know he was dead — he was killed sometime during this present presidential administration.
More from The Washington Times:
Bin Laden had been announced as a voice of Al Qaeda, the Islamist terror group founded by his father, in August 2015, called “a young lion to carry forth the cause.”
However, the regular messages from Hamza bin Laden ceased months ago, the Times reported.
President Trump was asked Wednesday about the early reports of Hamza bin Laden’s death, but declined.
“I don’t want to comment on that,” he said.
Does this, in some small way, close a chapter in the tale begun with a giant cloud of New York? Perhaps.
As reported by ABC News:
Tom Joscelyn, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that while it’s “doubtful” Hamza bin Laden was next in line to take over al-Qaida compared to some older fighters, there’s “no question that he was being groomed to be a leader.”
Is this the last time we’ll hear the name bin Laden?
Not likely: Osama had more than 20 children.
There may be more yet.
-ALEX
See 3 more pieces from me:
Find all my RedState work here.
And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.
If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member