Terrorist groups likely will continue using bin Laden for recruiting

IOWA CITY - Many terrorist groups likely will continue to use Osama bin Laden in death as they used him in life - as a recruiting tool, Brian Lai, an associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa, said.

“Groups that are affiliated with him by name only … their organizations won't change very much,” Lai said Monday.

Lai's specialities include international relations, American foreign policy and terrorism.

The killing of bin Laden, announced by President Barack Obama Sunday night, will give a morale boost to the U.S. military and intelligence community, Lai said, because bin Laden was a notorious figure who evaded capture for so long.

“For a lot of these (terrorist) organizations, he was a figure head, a way to mobilize people, and I don't think that's going to change very much,” Lai said. “But in terms of the greatest threats the U.S. is most concerned about, his death doesn't really change a lot of those.”

Bin Laden's death doesn't change the threats faced in Afghanistan, where problems center around the Afghan government being unable to take control of territories, Lai said. And the branch of al-Qaida in Yemen, a group the United States has been highly focused on recently, likely won't be greatly affected by bin Laden's death, Lai said.

“The situation, the problems that we have in terms of getting out of Afghanistan still exist without him,” Lai said.

The fact that bin Laden was found at a compound in Pakistan likely will further strain U.S./Pakistan relations, Lai said. The two governments have been in a continued back-and-forth, with U.S. officials upset about how willing or unwilling Pakistani officials are to deal with militants along the border, and with Pakistani officials upset at U.S. leaders for their willingness to enter Pakistan and use force, mostly predator drones, Lai said.

“This sort of highlights the division we have with Pakistan in how we deal with militants in Pakistan,” Lai said.