By Tandia T. Vernasius
Surprise, anxiety and jubilation across the globe followed President Obama’s nighttime announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden ― the world’s most notorious terrorist. In Korea the atmosphere was somewhat different, in short expressionless.
The reason: bin Laden had never been a threat to Korea! So be it but paradoxically, the average Korean might have no clue how much of his tax money has been drained in efforts to track, capture or kill this terror lord or at least prevent him from inflicting damage on Korea.
Through his al-Qaida network, bin Laden and his cohorts have practically transformed the world into one frightful place. They have troubled Korea in a number of ways, compelling government to dig into vital budget for health, education and welfare for costly anti-terror activity. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Korea joined forces with the international community in the struggle against terrorism.
As a responsible member of the international community, the nation developed mechanisms for dealing with terrorism as well as secured membership in a number of multilateral counterterrorism frameworks. Attaining these require heavy costs borne by the government. Teams of special forces dispatched to Afghanistan and Iraq to help restore life troubled for the most parts by bin Laden’s agents or affiliates impose severe financial burdens on government.
The over 300 aid workers and police currently working in the northern Afghan province of Parwan and the 340 troops protecting them take with them a huge cost. So too are the terrorist drills systematically carried out in Korea that require vast training and heavy costs in equipment and technology.
Last year alone, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was after a budget hike for counter-terrorism efforts with a proposal to parliament seeking a drastic increase of 63.6 percent or 265 million won ($237,000) in anti-terrorism response system and security cooperation, much designated for beefing up security at over 38 Korean diplomatic missions being operated in areas vulnerable to terrorist strikes. A colossal 4.45 billion won ($410 million) was recently earmarked just for moving the Korean Embassy in Iraq to the Green Zone in western Baghdad considered safer with the manning of U.S forces.
Korea has often been a terrorist target, especially overseas with the attack of its nationals and investments. Last year a Korean operated pipeline was blown up in Yemen in an apparent terrorist attack. Eliminating bin Laden could be an important preemptive measure against further al-Qaida attacks in a crusade already inbound as evidenced by the arrest of some 74 terrorist suspects in Korea, most of them from South and Southeast Asian countries said to be collecting information on American forces in Korea or engaging in activities thought to be for the purpose of providing financial assistance to terrorists.
Bin Laden was an unparallel threat and influence. When he spoke, financial markets shrank. He was revered and regarded a supreme being by his followers. His network threatened to “make Korea suffer” if it failed to pull out its 3,000 troops deployed to northern Iraq in 2005, this coming after the abduction and killing of a Korean national Kim Sun-il, a 33-year old Arabic interpreter.
Simply washed up in water now, it is but certain that he has taken down with him critical attributes, values and even resources that none in his network is known to be capable of amazing or possessing. It is genuine worry that al-Qaida’s No. 2 Ayman Alzawahiri remains at large and as lethal as thought.
However, his success has been largely owed to bin Laden's ideological leadership, his immortal figure and above all his giant personal financial sponsorship or at least his ability to safely secure funds from across his network. It was bin Laden's ring that al-Qaida followers wanted to kiss; his sight they all yearned to be at and not Alzawahiri’s and it was him that placed gold bounties on the heads of Kofi Annan, Lakhdar Brahimi and Paul Bremer.
It is also significant that unlike bin Laden, Alzawahiri's authority is not universally accepted across the al-Qaida landscape, especially in the gulf region. He is more of a polarizing agent, with no charisma or divine figure. While it can be generally agreed that al-Qaida's insurgency would persist, there is hardly any serious expectation that it would retain an organized, sophisticated and lethal form as to bring down the Seoul Finance building!
The eminent sigh of relief that should come with the demise of the terror king should not however blind Korea to the vulnerabilities that still lurk in the air. American forces continue to maintain a heavy presence in Korea and as the nation remains a critical ally of the U.S, it is but likely it would continue to lie under the terrorist radar.
Even more, as Korea seeks to emerge as the global hub for convention hosting, tourism and design, it is expected that huge crowds would continue to convene here, wetting the appetite of terrorists. Also, Korea’s prime enemy North Korea remains on the Terrorist Watch List and retains its nuclear arsenal.
This could be exploited for the worse by new al-Qaida leadership though doubted as bin Laden has possibly gone away with a substantial portion of financing ability feared to be exploited to acquire nuclear weapons through rogue states. Bin Laden’s disappearance from a decade-long hot scene therefore symbolizes more and also offers Korea an opportunity to proactively evaluate its counter-terrorism strategy ― not simply stay aloof.
The writer received his Ph.D. in international studies (international relations) from Sogang University in Korea. He specializes in international peace and security and is currently researching on political exit and transition. He can be reached at tvtandia@gmail.com