Osama bin Laden

“Allah knows it did not cross our minds to attack the towers but after the situation became unbearable and we witnessed the injustice and tyranny of the American-Israeli alliance against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, I thought about it. And the events that affected me directly were that of 1982 and the events that followed – when America allowed the Israelis to invade Lebanon, helped by the U.S. Sixth Fleet. As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me punish the unjust the same way (and) to destroy towers in America so it could taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women.”     —  Osama bin Laden, 2004

It was not until I read this passage more than seven years ago that I understood why the World Trade Center specifically was attacked almost ten years ago. According to bin Laden, its “twin towers” symbolized all that he blamed for destroying other towers in Lebanon.

The death of bin Laden by no means signals the end of Al-Qaeda. In fact, I fear, it could be viewed – at least by some among them – as another symbol, suggesting another act of retribution.