KABUL, Afghanistan — In Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden was based for many years and where Al Qaeda helped to train and pay insurgents, there was relief and uncertainty about how his death would play out in the fraught regional power politics now shaping the war. While senior political figures welcomed the news of his death, they cautioned that it did not necessarily translate into an immediate military victory over the Taliban, and urged the United States and NATO not to use it as a reason to withdraw.
“The killing of Osama should not be seen as mission accomplished,” said Hanif Atmar, a former interior minister who has been a strong opponent of the Taliban. “Al Qaeda is much more than just Osama bin Laden.”
“Mission accomplished means destroy, dismantle and defeat A.Q.,” he said. “And this should not be used as a justification for premature withdrawal. On the contrary, with this effort and the results it produced, it means we must stay the course.”
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