This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kabul, Afghanistan • After a decade-long hunt for the world's most famous terrorist ended Sunday, Afghan officials who have lived most intimately with the fight against terrorism expressed relief that the long wait for Osama bin Laden's killing was over at last.
"We thought this would never end, but finally there is a result," said Mohammad Umer Daudzai, the former chief of staff to President Hamid Karzai who is Afghanistan's incoming ambassador to Pakistan.
"It's wonderful. It's great news," said Mahmoud Karzai, the Afghan president's brother. "He's been one of the key enemies of humanity, civilization, and it's really been a major problem for the human race."
Despite the huge symbolic victory of bin Laden's killing, in this war-weary region no one expected any immediate cessation of violence. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has long carried the mantle of the war against Western armies here, vastly outnumbering the al-Qaida fighters in either Pakistan or Afghanistan.
"This may not put an end to violence," Daudzai said from Islamabad. "Al-Qaida has many splinter groups. He was the founder but not the manager."
The Washington Post