It's too easy to blame bin Laden
Heads of security services and governments around the world have something in common with Osama bin Laden. They all stand to benefit from exaggerating the capabilities of al-Qaeda

And so myth is born.

Of course no one can really say how much real influence Osama bin Laden can have nowadays on the things that a put in the name of Al-Qaida or whether the man is really alive anymore. But as a myth of evil and as an image of a man who has courage to stand against the U.S., the former in places like Washington D.C., U.S., and the latter in places like Kano, Nigeria, he has a tremendous influence.