The killing of Usama bin Laden has had a profound effect on the War on Terror. The news of his demise was trumpeted around the world and everyone had an opinion about the event and about Usama bin Laden himself.
For the War on Terror, bin Laden’s death may indeed prove to be a turning point – a symbolic blow to al Qaeda that might be this generation’s equivalent of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy.
That invasion helped bring about the end of World War II in Europe. In 1944, D-Day proved to be the critical turning point because the US and its Allies followed through with men and materiel beyond the initial invasion wave.
More importantly, the psychological impact of the success of the D-Day Invasion on both friend and foe cannot be understated. Coupled with a workable plan to defeat the Nazi enemy by force, the U.S. and its Allies seized and never relinquished the advantage.
To an extent, times are different now. This time the potential turning point occurred in an environment devoid of effective standing armies and fixed territorial control.
Today, in Afghanistan, some villages are “controlled” by our side during the day and by the Taliban at night. The kind of follow-through required to achieve irreversible victory is different, but the psychological advantage potentially gained by Usama bin Laden’s death is similar.
Many of the people hoping to exploit this psychological advantage live and work in our area. They are operational planners, logisticians, communicators, intelligence specialists, and foreign policy experts who shape the strategic and operational parameters of the war we are fighting today. They work at installations throughout Northern Virginia and Washington.
Using such concepts as “reach-back”, men and women in our area are helping their colleagues on the front lines fight this war with the precision we demand today.
Let’s hope they can exploit the treasure trove of information gained in the Abbottabad raid rapidly and that they never forget to plan those follow-through operations that will continue to give us the advantage we need to preserve our security.
Cedric Leighton lives in Lorton and is the Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a Washington area strategic risk and management consultancy.
