Osama

When US Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden at his compound 100 miles from the Pakistani capital, America underwent a collective catharsis for which she had waited a decade.

The man behind 9-11 — in which more British sons and daughters died than in any other terrorist outrage — was shot dead and buried at sea, depriving him of the platform of a lengthy trial and his followers of a place of pilgrimage.

I believe that this dramatic milestone along the road of America's War on Terror has raised as many questions as it has answered.

On the one hand the US has again illustrated her ability to execute a surgical approach to dealing with terrorism outside her shores — a strategy that has increasingly employed drones to take out Al- Qaeda militants.

This capability is key to confronting the modern threat of internationalised and disparate terrorist organisations and it appears (with, admittedly, some controversy) to be working well.

On the other hand the Bin Laden mission was on Pakistani soil and without the prior notification of the Pakistani Government, a fact that highlights the lack of trust between the two countries. America and her allies will take some convincing that the world's most wanted man was living in a heavily guarded compound close to a Pakistani military base entirely unknown to the authorities.

It is too early to tell what Bin Laden's death will mean but what is immediately clear is that it should serve to highlight the importance of a closer co-operation between the US, her allies and Pakistan.

Our Government's recent aid for education in a country where poor schooling is arguably a major cause of Islamic extremism is therefore in my view absolutely vital. Bin Laden's removal should give pause for thanks but not for complacency.