October 7

1. On October 7, 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom began. The attack began with airstrikes from heavy bombers, carrier-based aircraft, and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from both British and American ships. These strikes were directed at terrorist training camps and suspected locations of Usama bin Laden. Ground forces soon followed, and the War on Terror had begun to pick up steam. This operation would have worked fine, had it been executed correctly. However, the failure at Tora Bora got the the Coalition stuck in Afghanistan for ten long years and counting. Had Usama bin Laden been killed or captured at Tora Bora, Al-Qaeda would have been dealt an even harder blow. As is, the War in Afghanistan has evolved into a ten-year stalemate. The world has been changed in both positive and negative ways by this event. Though numerous lives have been lost, the leadership of Al-Qaeda has been dealt a heavy blow. To quote Alexander the Great-

2. “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

3. While they still have the willingness, they lack the cohesion and resources to carry out another attack on par with 9/11. It is too early to judge whether this event is good or bad. Only time will tell.