Catching Bin Laden is only a matter of time. It will be great to get him so he can pay for his actions, but from a strategic point of view it is not as crucial as it once was. His terrorist camps are gone. What the war on terror has accomplish in the past two years is remarkable. Bin Laden and his organization are on the run and probably have no place to properly train new terrorists. Our biggest worry now are the 'sleeping' cells which may already be in place somewhere waiting to strike. I think for the present these cells which might be in place are the biggest challenge for our security forces. They potentially could produce another attack like 9/11 anywhere in the world. Long term we have to work to keep any nation from turning into another training ground for terrorists like Afghanistan. If we do that, then Bin Laden and his type will be impotent. The unfortunate thing is that, long after he is captured, Bin Laden is likely to still have power as a symbol. All the USA-haters and Western-haters will be inspired by what he and his organization was able to accomplish while America was asleep.
I think Bin Laden represents the first of a series of threats to the West. UBL was a private citizen who tried to take on the US. He was remarkably successful because he had a base of operations in Afghanistan and support from some in Saudi Arabia. In the future another private businessman could decided to take on the West. All he needs is the money and some place to hide for a while. Who can say that there isn’t a businessman in Malaysia trying to develop his own nuclear bomb?