People need to read Osama bin Laden’s history. The man is a moving target. He started out in Saudi Arabia then went to Afghanistan as a Mujahedin and founded al Qaeda to kill Soviets. After the Soviets were driven out of Afghanistan, Osama went back to Saudi Arabia, initially as a hero but soon became a trouble maker. At this point, al Qaeda metastasized from a purely anti-Soviet guerilla organization into an international jihad organization focused on refounding the Caliphate. Osama then went back to Afghanistan after being accused by the Saudi government of supporting subversive groups. Osama found things too hot for him in Afghanistan so he fled to the Sudan along with thousands of his al Qaeda cohorts. From this new sanctuary in the Sudan, Osama launched terrorist actions against the United States. The Saudi government then stripped Osama of his Saudi citizenship and attempted to seize his assets. Following US pressure, Osama was requested by Sudanese authorities to leave the Sudan. Osama left the Sudan and established himself in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. From Afghanistan, Osama launched the 9/11 atrocity and got lucky. The United States responded with the Global War on Terrorism and forced Osama out of Afghanistan into the tribal areas of Pakistan.

What history teaches us about Osama bin Laden is that he attacks when he can but also knows when to cut and run. Like a cockroach, if you find him underneath the kitchen sink, he’ll quickly run to underneath the refrigerator. Nobody with good sense chases after single cockroaches. You either spray the whole kitchen or put out baited traps.

Iraq was a baited trap and it worked well. It may not be necessary to spray the whole kitchen so we should think about setting another baited trap.