Law Over Terrorism

A federal jury’s conviction of four of Osama bin Laden’s agents in the 1998 embassy bombings is a victory in the battle against terrorism and for the rule of law. That achievement won’t stop the merciless holy war proclaimed by Bin Laden and others who hate Western values and loathe the United States. But the investigation into the attacks in Kenya and Tanzania yielded significant insights into Bin Laden’s terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.

Thanks to the exhaustive international investigation mounted in the wake of those attacks--hundreds of thousands of pages of material were presented at the trial--we understand our enemy better than before, and that will help deter future outrages.

The embassy bombings killed 224 people and wounded more than 4,500. A dozen of the dead were Americans, the rest mainly Africans who were in or near the embassy buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Nothing better defines the monomania behind the attacks than this callous contempt for innocent lives, including those of the host countries’ citizens.

The terrorists’ goal was to humiliate the United States by destroying the most visible symbols of its presence abroad and murdering as many Americans as possible. They were unconcerned that the simultaneous daytime attacks would inescapably kill or maim thousands of others.

Besides the four men convicted this week, the investigation produced 22 other indictments. Six of those accused are in custody. Bin Laden himself remains secure in Afghanistan, whose Taliban regime shares many of his fanatical views.

Wednesday a spokesman for the Taliban hailed the exiled Saudi Arabian millionaire and alleged terrorist mastermind as “a great holy warrior of Islam and a great benefactor of the Afghan people.” He vowed again that Bin Laden would never be turned over to the United States.

That remains to be seen. But the successful prosecution of his agents is a strike against him.

Last month Bin Laden exhorted a convention of 200,000 students from Muslim countries gathered for a convention in Afghanistan to prepare the “young generation for the holy war.” The investigation of the embassy bombings makes the United States and other nations better prepared for that threat.