People are speculating how the al-Qaida terrorist organization will operate after its terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden, was killed by the Navy SEAL Special Forces last week.

Serious questions need to be answered about the harboring of such terrorists, which will determine our future relationship with the Pakistani government.

Bin Laden was seen as the operational, financial and symbolic leader of al-Qaida, a ruthless terrorist group with a jihad against America. Rumors persisted that bin Laden lived in a cave in the high mountains of Afghanistan, along the Pakistan border, but that was not true. Intelligence information gained carefully and secretly over a period of years, through the work of the CIA and our military defense community, located bin Laden in a high-walled housing compound next to a large military facility in a city in Pakistan.

Patient gathering of leads, including some that were obtained through torture on captive terrorists, resulted in the positive information leading to where bin Laden was located. It was a shame our Justice Department made the terrible decision to stop the use of water boarding. Bad as they are, and much as we regret having to use such methods, we need to remember that we still are in two wars. Terrorists are ruthless. We must protect our own citizens at all costs, by any means.

In the end, intelligence information led to a stake-out on people going in and out of bin Laden’s hide-away complex, and it really paid off. It resulted in bin Laden, the head of the terrorist organization responsible of the 9/11 disaster, being eliminated. 

If a country harbors terrorists who attack you, that country is involved in terrorism against you, too.  Our leaders need to remember this, as we reflect on our nation’s future relationship with Pakistan. We have to be careful and deliberate in our dealing with Pakistan because the stakes are so high. America has given billions of dollars to Pakistan in the past and had plans to give more of our taxpayer monies to Pakistan in the future. We need to question which side the Pakistani government is on, when it apparently permitted terrorists to reside and operate openly in Pakistan, while plotting against targets outside of Pakistan.

It seems most likely that Pakistan’s government knew where bin Laden was during the past five years, especially since he was located next to a Pakistani military facility. How else could it have been possible for bin Laden to hide, under plain sight, in his substantial housing compound?

We need to rethink or clarify our relations with Pakistan. Al-Qaida must be stopped from recruiting, fundraising and continuing operations in Pakistan. Many Taliban fighters also operate from Pakistan against our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. These terrorists must be stopped in order for full confidence to be reestablished between our countries. 

Maybe our administration has strategic concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and military forces that could adversely affect political policies for the region involving Afghanistan, India and other nearby Mideast countries. We have to face the decision now to scale back our troops substantially or withdraw them totally from Iraq and Afghanistan. The reason we went into the Afghanistan war in the first place was because of al-Qaida. Since its leader has been killed, now is the time to bring our troops home.

As a political solution on terrorism, we need negotiate with the Taliban organization, about our expectations if we leave their areas. Pakistan needs to co-operate by eliminating al-Qaida followers from operating in its country. Tribal areas must be encouraged not to give aid or support to these terrorists. 

In America, we must continue to be vigilant, watching for anything out of the ordinary, even in day-to-day occurrences. al-Qaida terrorists had intended to attack our railroad system. In fact, all transportation systems including bus and airline facilities must be closely watched. Crowded public and large private events must be properly protected. Counter-terrorism policies must be instituted in all major cities against isolated attacks, which can come at any time.

Both President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush should be commended for doing the planning and work that went into the successful raid. The courageous actions taken by our Navy SEALs should be applauded.  They deserve our deepest appreciation. 

We should never forget what happened on 9/11. We must remain vigilant. The stakes are still very high.

— Bernard Featherman is a former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.