拉登走后 基地组织何去何从

美国追捕了十年的恐怖大亨本拉登日前被美国特种部队击毙。但拉登之死“余震”将对基地组织乃至全球造成深远影响。拉登的离去是否意味着恐怖主义的终结？亦或是宣告新一代恐怖主义时代的来临？

Following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001, President Bush made it clear that Osama Bin Laden was the number one target for America.

"I want Justice, and there is an old poster out West if I recall that said 'Wanted: Dead or Alive'"

With a new President now in office ten years later, Osama bin Laden's death is clearly politically momentous for Barack Obama, and has generally been greeted by celebration around the world.

However, its actual impact on al-Qaeda is not so clear cut.

Some have been suggesting Bin Laden's death is "the end of the war on terror". However, analysts say al-Qaeda in 2011 is a very different organisation than it was in 2001, with a new generation of leaders and a much larger network.

"Osama Bin Laden is just one person, he is representative of networks of people who absolutely have made their cause to defeat the freedoms that we take, we understand, and we will not allow them to do so."

It has always been unclear to what extent Bin Laden, or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has actually directed al-Qaeda's operations. The two men have largely been in hiding since September 11, leaving other subordinates to handle many of the group's day-to-day operations.

The question now is whether the philosophy that Bin Laden operated by will continue to resonate among al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups.