Vengeance. At last

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 2 May 2011

What does Osama bin Laden's death mean? Chief correspondent Paul McGeough says the full implications of bin Laden's death in the Middle East will take time to become clear.

Barely known beyond the world of the anti-terrorism cognescenti a decade ago, the name Osama bin Laden was horrifically etched in the globe's collective conscience on a bright, sunny morning in September 2001.

As the iconic towers of the World Trade Centre crumbled and sank into the earth of lower Manhattan, the landmark Pentagon headquarters were set ablaze in Washington and almost 3000 civilian Americans died. Those of us on the streets of New York that day watched and realised the world would never be the same.

On Sunday, US forces dumped the body of Osama bin Laden at sea.