Times-Standard - 'One step closer to peace: Locals react to bin Ladens death'

Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Allan Dollison spent parts of 2005 and 2006 serving in Afghanistan's war-torn Helmand province.

Consequently, he said he felt three strong emotions upon learning Sunday that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed thousands of civilians and led to the war in Afghanistan.

”The three things are: Just incredible relief, a feeling of justice and, lastly, a feeling of revenge,” Dollison said, adding that he received the news via text message after landing on a United Airlines flight in Los Angeles. “I almost wanted to scream it out on the plane.”

News of bin Laden's death spread quickly, after President Barack Obama addressed the nation Sunday night. Within an hour, the park in front of the White House was packed with people, many of whom cheered and chanted patriotically. Monday, newspapers across the country carried the news beneath headlines like “Dead,” “Justice has been done,” and “U.S. Kills Bin Laden.”

Largely, the news has been met with celebration.

North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson issued a statement Sunday night praising the intelligence community and the armed forces for their hard work “bringing bin Laden to justice.”

”The impact of bin Laden's death cannot be overstated,” Thompson said. “For over two decades, bin Laden and his terrorist network have brought death and destruction to communities around the world. This is a defining moment in our nation's history and, I hope, a turning point in the ongoing war on terrorism.”

Paul Geck, a lecturer in Humboldt State University's history department, seconded one of Thompson's points, saying May 1, 2011, will certainly wind up in history books as a “bookend” to the chapter on the war against al-Qaeda. But Geck said it's important for people to put bin Laden in context and not simply view him as 9/11's mastermind. In reality, he was much more than that, Geck said, as bin Laden was behind numerous terrorist bombings targeting Americans, including those of the USS Cole, embassies in Kenya and the first World Trade Center bombing on Feb. 26, 1993, among others.

”He was also involved in fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan (from 1979 to 1989) and was getting support, indirectly, from the U.S. to do that,” Geck said.

Abdul Aziz, a former finance professor at Humboldt State University, said bin Laden's death is also a milestone for the Muslim community, which will feel safer without him in the world.

”He was a problem for the whole Muslim world,” Aziz said. “He got more Muslims killed through his terrorist activities than he was able to do to other (people). I appreciate those young men who put their life in jeopardy and took him out.”

The covert operation that Aziz referred to, the one that ultimately took bin Laden's life Sunday, may also be seen as historic, Geck said, as it may be a symbol that the American military has finally adapted to the new challenges of fighting terrorists wherever they take refuge. The operation also depended on agencies working together to do so.

Dollison agreed.

”It pretty much went off picture perfect,” he said. “It was a great operation -- an aggressive, difficult, gutsy mission that depended on just good-old-fashioned-human intelligence.”

Dollison said he was also pleased to learn that U.S. forces took custody of bin Laden's body and buried it within 24 hours, which he said showed sensitivity to the Muslim culture and religion.

While most took Sunday's news as a cause for celebration, not everyone felt that way.

Navy veteran and Humboldt State University student Megan Parfitt, who served from 2001 to 2006 in Italy and Norfolk, Va., said she saw a lot of discussion among military friends on her Facebook network Sunday night.

”A lot of them were very happy he's dead, but I read (there's ) a lot of people who don't think it's right to celebrate somebody's death,” she said. “I kind of feel that way. I don't think it's really right to celebrate anybody's death, no matter what they've done.”

Lori Guadagno, the sister of Richard Guadagno, a Humboldt County resident who died when United Airlines Flight 93 was brought down in rural Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, said she would rather have seen bin Laden brought to justice in a different way, but conceded there was likely no alternative. She said she believes many relatives of the victims of 9/11 met Sunday's news with some sadness and reflection mixed with their feelings of relief and closure.

In addition to 9/11 victims, Guadagno said she hopes people take a moment to reflect on and remember the losses suffered by members of the armed forces in conflicts that have followed the terrorist attacks. She said she hopes to see a day when violence isn't necessary and when conflicts aren't solved with guns and bombs.

”It's scary times -- it truly, truly is,” she said. “I just hope that there's a day when we don't have to resort to hate and violence. I hope we can move forward in a positive way.”

Dollison said bin Laden's killing Sunday stands as a point of pride among members of the military but said it obviously does not end the war against al-Qaeda.

”Obviously, we're not over, but this is a huge, huge, symbolic blow to al-Qaeda that we were able to take him out,” Dollison said, adding that intelligence gathered at bin Laden's compound might “yield tremendous results” in helping to dismantle other parts of the al-Qaeda network.

Aziz also questioned Pakistan's role in unearthing the terrorist leader. He said he served in the Pakistani air force prior to moving to the United States, noting that he was stationed about 40 miles from Abbottabad, not far from where bin Laden was killed. He said the area is well-populated and not someplace where someone can easily hide.

”I don't know whether the government of Pakistan is saying the truth, that they didn't know it, or they're simply denying it,” he said. “Only God knows whether he was really able to hide.”

In his statement, Thompson made clear that, as historic as bin Laden's killing is, it does not represent an end to the so-called “war on terror.”

”While our fight against terror is far from over, I am hopeful that bin Laden's death will bring us one step closer to peace,” he said.