did UBL plan the 9/11 attacks? no... does he plan most of al qaeda's attacks? no... he is the spiritual and at one point financial leader of the group. figurehead may have been too strong of a word in the over-all scheme of things, but as far as 9/11 goes, yes... he was just a figurehead.
the men who did the planning of the 9/11 attacks are either dead or captured. does that mean we're safe? of course not... they weren't the only men who want to attack us. there are thousands like them out there. UBL was not staying in Hamburg when the attacks were planned. UBL did not board the planes that day.
there is this assumption out there that after we catch UBL everything will be fine and dandy again. are you naive enough to believe that if we catch UBL, we will then be at less risk than we're at now? that there won't be someone to replace him? for all we know, the man may be dead already, yet terrorist attacks continue around the world.
is UBL a threat? yes... a huge one. but he is not the biggest threat. the biggest threat is not any one person, it's the idea of jihadism it's self... the idea that UBL preaches. the idea that many more islamic leaders preach, and will continue to preach when UBL is dead and gone... if he isn't already.
this is THE whole point... and why i support the bush adminstration still despite not agreeing with all their actions. the jihad against america and the west is bigger than just one man. it's bigger than UBL.
i'm not trying to downplay the importance of capturing UBL. i lost friends on 9/11, too. i want the man to burn. but i'm not so naive to think that capturing and killing him is the end all.