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2011: Controversial figures meet their demise
Though it’s never something to rejoice, 2011 may be most remembered for the demise of some controversial figures. Their deaths sparked both celebration and anger; they had fanatical supporters but many more who loathed them and what they stood for. Here is a look back at the significance of the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Gadhafi.
Osama bin Laden killed on May 2 – Enemy number 1 for many Western governments, the al Qaeda leader managed to remain hidden despite a worldwide manhunt to track him down after he planned the September 11th attacks. Nearly 10 years after that tragic day, a search by the CIA finally tracked him down to a compound in Pakistan. With the go-ahead from President Obama, Seal Team 6 launched a night raid on the compound in the city of Abbottabad and killed bin Laden.
[cnn-video url="http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/05/02/griffin.obl.killed.timeline.cnn.html"%5DAnwar al-Awlaki killed on September 30 – If Osama bin Laden was the heart and soul of al Qaeda, Anwar al-Awlaki was its voice. The English-speaking propagandist was famed for his ability to speak to and inspire jihadists around the world, prompting President Obama to approve the first-ever targeted killing of a U.S. citizen. The American-born cleric had managed to escape at least two previous assassination attempts, before being killed by a Predator drone in Yemen.
[cnn-video url="http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/10/01/starr-al-awlaki-killed.cnn.html"%5DMoammar Gadhafi killed on October 20 – In the eyes of Americans, the Libyan leader alternated between potential North African ally and the “mad dog” of the Middle East – but to many in his country he was simply a brutal dictator. As the Arab Spring spread to Libya, protests turned to outright rebellion as civilians and some army units took up arms against pro-Gadhafi forces. After months of heavy fighting, support from NATO forces helped the rebels overthrow the Gadhafi regime and, a month later, Gadhafi was found in his hometown of Sirte. Cell phone video captured his final moments.
[cnn-video url="http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/10/21/lister-gadhafi-last-moments-alive.cnn.html"%5D
I bought the entire town a drink when Bin Laden was killed. Best money I ever spent.
'Twas the year of the terrorist SMACKDOWN.
And the GOP claims Obama has failed the American People! Past presidents were not able to do this well!
I agree with you, Micky D.
And it is probably one of the few things the President has gotten absolutely right. If he can get Mullah Omar and the entire Shura Council, P Obama gets my vote.
Indeed. President Obama did quite a good job as Commander in Chief in 2011. If he keeps this up I will definitely be voting for him again next November.
How is Kim Jong Il not on this list?
I agree. What? Is Kim somehow much more lovely and fluffy than the rest? Maybe the author has a thing for fat freaks with goofy hair? If that is the case, than the author will love me; but when I die, I will not have killed millions through starvation, ideological tyranny and Stalinistic paranoia.
Kim Jong Il just had a heart attack. he wasn't killed by anyone.
HA HA are you Kidding me, all these people mentioned, were CIA operatives, created by your own government. Re learn your History CNN and fellow Americans.
Billy Bob, you have swallowed the Ron Paul's poisonous koolaide...
While this might likely be true (but who cares), it is still a good thing they got squished. I think more deviant CIA ops should be croaked.
only Bin Laden worked for the CIA. Awlaki was a commoner who betrayed his country. Gaddafi was never under the CIA's payroll.
billy bob, Alex Jones has a radio show I think you'd like. He loves blaming the CIA for everything too.
the only one not on their is the boy king obama that would have been great
Fool...
Idiot... Can you do a better job cleaning up the mess the Bush's made?
Bush and Cheney are the greastest terrorists of all time
Go home and tell that to Mulla Omar... or Ahmadinijad... or Hugo Chavez ...or whichever Utopia it is
that you came from...Canada maybe?...where ever...
Jim, that's baloney and you know it. I'm no fan of either of them, but to insinuate that they are worse than people like Bin Laden, who intentionally murdered thousands of civilians is an absolute lie.
Ha ha. You can put all the 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls in a sack along with Sarah Palin and hit it with a ball bat. You'll get the right one everytime.
Gaddafi was forced out of power, not by his people, but the criminals at NATO and its rats. A lot of Libyans supported him.
Then you should go to Libya and loudly proclaim that you support Gadaffi.
And you should go to the courts in Libya and file suit against everyone who may have been involved in his death.
Actually....you should just STFU.
This cannot be a coincidence.
1 word: Obama
Should put the republicans in the congress on this list. just kidding 😛
I love that someone hijacked me at 6:16 AM as a Sicilian hired killer.
Non sono italiano affatto. Sono un WASP, nato in Mississippi.
Mi piace la macchina di Norma Desmond.
whatever...
how about focusing on the heroes of 2011 that gave their lives for our country
that could be the next article.
Wow, or how about controversial figures in South America. Seriously, these guys hiding in caves cause relatively little damage to America when you consider some groups and leaders in South America.
Did Bill Warren ever find Bin-Laden's body?
not yet. he's probably in bikini bottom.
Really? No Kim Jong Il?
I thought they should've listed him too.
Agree. We'll have to wait and see no if the son is as crazy as the father. North Korea for some time has had the potential to be the starting point for WWIII
Agreed. Probably not PC to add him since he's not even in the ground yet.