WI: Bin Laden killed at Tora Bora in 2001?

As stated above, supposing Osama meets his end at Tora Bora in December, what are the consequences for the War on Terror and the 2000s as a whole?

Does Iraq still happen? Presumably Bush would cruise to re-election in 2004, but what would happen to al-Qaeda without bin Laden's influence?

Furthermore, how would popular culture be affected by the lack of a real-life villain such as Osama? Does 24 and other shows of its ilk still become as popular as they did OTL?
Thanks in advance.
 
*Smack*
*Smack*

Stop promoting and answer the man.

Alright, these are the most helpful posts from the older thread:

I would argue a "victory" in Afghanistan (the death of OBL being the chief reason for said war in the first place, IMO) would grant the Bush Administration a great deal of political capital. He would be the "warrior-hero" he always aimed to be. His popularity would remain high, and there would be less mainstream opposition to Iraq due to a fear of being on the wrong side of Bush.
Another thought I was having on this -- the Battle of Tora Bora OTL ended just a week before Christmas; if his death is announced around this time, would there be some interesting cultural implications as Americans (and others) celebrate his death during the heydey of the Holiday season?

...it could be an interesting footnote, no? I can see Christmas themed celebrations of Osama's death being preserved for posterity in a Michael Moore documentary, for example...
 
I think it's going to be harder for Bush and the GOP to keep flogging the War on Terror in the long run. With bin Laden alive and releasing his videos he served as a very useful, enigmatic boogeyman for the tough on terror types. Kill him in 2001 and you won't have a single, easy to caricature villain running around like you did OTL. Add in the practical impact OTL of the deaths of all the mid and high ranking Al Quaida leadership and AQ is not going to be a credible threat for very long past 2006 at the latest.
 
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