On a historic day like this, when the most wanted man in the history of CIA, Osama Bin Laden has been killed, it is only natural for people around the world to be curious about the two personalities that were engaged in a war of ideologies. While Osama Bin Laden was an international symbol of terrorism and a man hated for killings of innocent men, women , and children all over the world, Barrack Hussein Obama represented the other side of humanity, the will of all those who stood against terror and led the war on terror. It is no surprise then that Obama chose to address the people of the world to congratulate them on the killing of the most dreaded terrorist in the history of mankind and to proclaim victory in the war on terror. He said that with the end of Osama Bin Laden, justice has been done to all those martyrs and their families who suffered a lot in the bombings of World Trade Center in September 9, 2001. Let us make a comparison of the two personalities of Osama Bin Laden and barrack Hussein Obama, the vanquished and the victor on this historic day.
Osama Bin Laden
Osama was born in a wealthy Yemeni family in Saudi Arabia in 1957. His family was involved in construction business. At a young age, he felt disturbed by Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and with the tacit support of the US and Saudi Arabia, went to Afghanistan to mobilize troops from all parts of the world to wage a holy war (Jihad) against the Soviets. He recruited Mujahideens (warriors) who were mostly Afghan-Arabs and received training from CIA in gorilla warfare. He founded Al-Qaeda and recruited men to protect the Muslims and Islam. He finally succeeded in evicting Soviets from Afghanistan and returned to Saudi Arabia. He sent Mujahideens to various parts of the world wherever he felt Muslim population was oppressed such as Balkans, Chechnya, China, Kashmir, and Somalia. When US sent its troops to make an army base in Saudi Arabia, he voiced his displeasure. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia for his anti government activities. He shifted base to Sudan and also made headquarters of Al-Qaeda there. US government forced Sudan to expel Osama in 1996 which is when he returned to Afghanistan and declared a war on the US. The Gulf War and subsequent events made Osama worried about US presence in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
The Taliban in Afghanistan welcomed Osama as a guest and provided him with all help and assistance. US was worried about killings of innocent US citizens in various bombing incident in its embassies in Africa and at other places, but the turning point came on September 11, 2001 when Al-Qaeda carried out attacks on World Trade center and Pentagon. Nearly 3000 innocent citizens lost their lives in these attacks and shook the entire world. The then US President, George Bush declared a war on terror, and in October 2001, invaded Afghanistan to dismantle Al-Qaeda and to depose the Taliban. Though US succeeded in throwing out Taliban, Osama and his deputy Ayman Zawahiri escaped unscathed. It took the US and all its might almost 10 years to finally kill Osama, who was found hiding in a compound in Abotabad, a place near Islamabad in Pakistan. Barrack Hussein Obama, the US President himself authorized Special Forces of CIA to carry out drone attacks that killed Osama along with 4 of his men on the intervening night of 1st and 2nd of May, 2011.
Barrack Hussein Obama
Born in 1961 in a Muslim family in Honolulu, Barrack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the US. His birth father was a Muslim but his parents divorced in 1964. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian and Barrack spent his childhood in Jakarta, Indonesia. Later, his mother returned to Hawaii till his death because of ovarian cancer in 1984. Osama’s birth father was a black and his mother a white which left indelible mark on his personality and he recalls how difficult it was for him to adjust socially. He even experienced drugs to put questions of identity out of his mind.
Later Obama studied political science in Columbia University and graduated with a B.A. In 1988, he entered Law School at Harvard. He was elected as the first black President of the Harvard law Review. It was in 1996 that he was elected to Illinois senate. He is known for his anti war views that surfaced when the then President George Bush declared war against Iraq. Obama became a senator in 2005 and began nursing ambitions of Presidency. It was in 2007 that Barrack announced his plans for Presidency. As a Democrat candidate, Obama defeated Republican McCain and became the first Black President of the US. Though born a Muslim, Obama professes Christian faith.
It was on May 1, 2011 that President Obama appeared on television and declared that the most dreaded terrorist of the world, Osama Bin laden has been killed in a operation that had his authorization and that the body of the slain terrorist is in the US custody. He congratulated the people of the world, especially US citizens on the killing of Osama and said that finally justice has been served to the families of nearly 3000 innocent citizens of US who had been dastardly killed in the attack on the twin towers on 9/11.
Key Takeaways
- To compare or differentiate between Osama and Obama is to compare good with evil.
- Obama was on the side of justice and humanity while Osama was on the side of terror and hatred.
- Obama is the victor while Osama is vanquished.
