The death of Osama bin Laden raises more questions than it answers. I have always wondered if bin Laden was alive and a real threat to United States or if he was created as the excuse for the war on terror. It is clear that he was born in Saudi Arabia and was a wealthy man. It is also clear that the United States supported him against the Russians in Afghanistan. As with many other dictators we financed, including Fidel Castro, Manuel Noriega and Saddam Hussein, bin Laden had his own agenda.

In deciding to take on the Great Satan and attack the United States he sealed his fate. Death would be the only solution that America could accept. My concern is that we did not take action last August when we knew where he was. We failed to take action on several other occasions when his whereabouts were certain. I do not understand why we waited until now to attack and destroy this menace. His alleged death leaves many unanswered questions that will provide fuel to the conspiracy theorists, including me, for decades to come.Personally, I believe he is alive and well and living in an isolated villa. There, U.S. Intelligence will interrogate him. As of this writing, there is no proof of the attack nor have I seen any independently confirmed proof of bin Laden's death. I just cannot believe that our military would kill him when they had the opportunity to capture him. My conspiracy theory is that we created his death to mask his capture. By now he has been secreted away to a site where our interrogators can work on him to extract the information we need to continue our war on terrorism. At some point in the future, we will launch a major coordinated surprise attack against Al Qaeda. We will hit them with lightning strikes and destroy them wherever they are, eliminating their leadership and their sources of funding.As for Pakistan, they knew or should have known that bin Laden was in their country. I expect that senior Pakistani officials were aware of his location. This supposed ally provided sanctuary to the Beast of 9/11 for over five years. They must be punished. Since 9/11, we have given Pakistan over $18 billion in foreign aid. I'm sure we gave them more funding under the table. Our current stated funding obligation for this year is $3 billion with more committed for 2012. I implore our elected representatives to cancel all funding for Pakistan. It is clear that our money has been used to pad the pockets of Pakistani politicians and may have been used to fund terrorism. Furthermore, we continue to send billions of our dollars to countries that openly detest America and American values. Let's stop financing our enemies right now. It is foolish to think we can bribe dictators into peaceful submission.Now that bin Laden is dead or captured, our interest in Afghanistan is gone. There is no need to continue wasting American lives in this godforsaken place. Bring home our troops and leave the Afghanis to find their own way. We are not the world's peacemaker nor can we be expected to fight other people's battles when there is no American interest. It is time for us to recognize that the Pax Americana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Americana) is over, just as the British had to recognize when the sun was setting on the British Empire. We can look to Great Britain to discover how to unwind our involvement in other countries in a way that ensures these countries do not become threats to America.Towards the end of the First World War, Great Britain realized that the days of the British Empire were numbered. Starting with the Balfour Declaration in 1919 and continuing through the mid-30s and again after World War II, Great Britain granted independence to several countries in the Middle East. They were careful to ensure that these countries were formed in a way that could not harm the British Empire or the new British Commonwealth of Nations. By carefully carving the new nations from the British ruled Middle East, they ensured that each country would have several factions, none of which could completely dominate the nation. The philosophy was that a country divided would not be a threat to the British Empire and would not require the presence of British troops.Iraq was created in 1932. It is a good example of how carefully creating a nation that contains warring factions ensures instability. It took ruthless actions by Saddam Hussein to unify the country. He had to be a tyrant to remain in power and to ensure other factions did not overthrow him. When he invaded Kuwait, disrupting the delicate balance, we and our allies freed Kuwait and dethroned Saddam. Once our troops are fully withdrawn, Iraq will again be divided by religious and political groups struggling for, but not achieving, full power.The British used the same philosophy in the creation of Pakistan. In 1947, Great Britain partitioned Pakistan from India. To ensure instability, they gave portions of Kashmir to Pakistan and to India. China already had taken the rest of Kashmir. Since then, Pakistan and India have constantly feuded over who should rule this primarily Muslim region. The British technique withstood the test of time. There are no British troops in the Middle East except for a small number on training missions with the Iraqi forces. These missions will be over by the end of this year. There are no British troops in Pakistan, India, Egypt or Palestine. Britain has successfully transitioned from an empire preserved by a huge military to a Commonwealth of Nations loosely linked by a common language and international trade. No more need to waste British blood in desolate lands!We have much to learn from the British. We can no longer afford to dominate the world. We must withdraw our troops from overseas bases. We must review our foreign aid to eliminate funding for dictatorships, religious zealots and land grabbers. We can easily fight terrorism through our long-range military systems. We can make each country responsible for what happens within their borders. If terrorists from Saudi Arabia again attack the United States, then we will bomb Saudi Arabia and the royal palaces. It is up to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and any other country offering sanctuary to terrorists to police their own nations. If they fail to do so, and Americans die as a result, then America must take swift and deadly action to neutralize the threat. Yes, the Pax Americana is over, but we in America must never again let a terrorist attack go unpunished. We will not police the world, but we will obliterate those who choose to attack our nation or our citizens.© 2011 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved.