The death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is a major victory in the war on terrorism, but doesn\u2019t eliminate the threat, says a Wright State terrorism expert.<\/p>\n
Bin Laden was killed May 1 at a compound in Pakistan during a firefight with U.S. Special Operations Forces. It capped a nearly 10-year search for the elusive bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind of the 9\/11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not a whole lot safer today, but it really is a big accomplishment,\u201d said terrorism expert Donna Schlagheck, Ph.D., a Wright State political science professor. \u201cHe was the first cancer cell, and it has metastasized. Our problems don\u2019t go away. There are numerous contenders for leadership of this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlagheck said bin Laden\u2019s death might even make the United States a bit more vulnerable to attacks in the short term because competing groups will be vying for recognition, recruits and money.<\/p>\n
Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D., an expert on the Middle East and terrorism, expects al-Qaida to continue to plan and conduct operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may try some quick retaliatory response to get back,\u201d said Shannon, assistant professor of political science.<\/p>\n
However, he said that whoever takes charge of al-
\nQaida will lack the reach and appeal Bin Laden had with a small section of the Islamic world.<\/p>\n
And Schlagheck suggested that al-Qaida may have already lost influence as Muslims around the world have taken control of their lives and made political changes in a non-violent way, for the most part.<\/p>\n
Schlagheck credited unrelenting intelligence work with leading U.S. forces to the elusive bin Laden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we tried every day since 9\/11 to get intel,\u201d she said. \u201cThis was just a long-term persistent intelligence effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlagheck said bin Laden\u2019s death could create sentiment among the American public to begin withdrawing U.S. military forces from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it may fuel the public\u2019s desire to conclude our Afghanistan operations as soon as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
White House officials say DNA evidence confirmed the identification of bin Laden.<\/p>\n
\u201cDNA tests are the gold standard of forensic science these days,\u201d said Wright State DNA expert Dan Krane. \u201cThe tests and the underlying biology lend themselves very well to answer this kind of question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krane, a biology professor, in recent years has testified as a DNA expert in 90 court cases around the globe. He is president and CEO of Forensic Bioinformatics, which reviews DNA test results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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