Bin Laden's death could trigger a backlash against Americans and other Westerners by those who had strong feelings of affinity for the al-Qaida leader. He remained hugely popular in much of the Middle East. al-Qaida as an institution is unlikely to be in a position to organize a sophisticated counter-response to bin Laden's death, at least for the time being. Al Qaida's style is to run well-organized operations that involve complex moving parts which simultaneously converge on a high profile target. Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had become symbolic rather than command and control leaders over al-Qaida assets in recent years. Killing bin Laden removes the symbol, but he could become a rallying martyr in the eyes of some extremists.
Al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian cleric who remains at large, was an operational and strategic force in building and animating al Qaeda alongside bin Laden. He now becomes the most wanted terrorist in the world. Bin Laden's death will affect the war in Afghanistan in the sense that the hunt for him was one of the primary rationales for the invasion. This is the prize George W. Bush wanted and couldn't achieve before the end of his term. The killing of bin Laden shores up Barack Obama's hard power credentials and will force political opponents like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin to change their talking points. President Obama approached the bin Laden challenge seriously, cautiously, and showed a focused earnestness in bringing him to justice.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclusive/20110502/pl_yblog_exclusive/after-bin-ladens-death-whats-next-for-the-u-s-and-al-qaida
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