The villain of September 11, 2001 has gone to his reward—courtesy of the United States military, specifically US Navy SEALS—while he sat in a Pakistani mansion rather that in an Afghani cave. Of course, there are reports of it everywhere.
President Obama’s announcement regarding the demise of bin Laden had its usual allotment of first-person singular references, but, for a change, it struck the right tone. Former President Bush responded as well.
Early this morning, there was celebration outside of the White House gates, reminiscent of the celebration that occurred in the Palestinian Territories in response to 9/11. One of my Facebook friends compared the celebrations, noting that we two peoples are not that different after all. Well, he’s right. All people fall short of the glory of God.
But there is this: Osama bin Laden continuously attacked US entities outside of the physical country and twice inside of it. His most successful attacks, in terms of body count, were the synchronized attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the attack for which United Airlines Flight 93 was meant. He planned them and carried them out because of the god he believed in and served.
Our military had no such motive. All we wanted to do was to neutralize a threat to our country, personalized in the man who declared war on it in the 1990s in the name of Islam. And while I question the appropriateness (and the spontaneity) of the mass celebration of our sworn enemy’s demise, it cannot be said that Osama bin Laden was killed in the name of the God of Jews and Christians—not that this will matter to bin Laden’s like-minded co-religionists.
Speaking of them, one wonders how this victory—and it is a victory—will play out in the Muslim world.
Anyway, congratulations to Presidents Obama and Bush, and, most importantly, congratulations to the men of our United States Armed Forces.
UPDATE: This was inevitable.
God bless America! It's about time we got that evil monster. All that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears shedded by all the brave men and women of the American armed forces finally paid off. Their work has not been in vain. Much respect to everyone serving in the military, I salute you.
Paul Makiz
Zeiss rifle scopes
Posted by: Paul Makiz | May 03, 2011 at 02:40 AM
Thanks and praise for the brave team that worked so hard and long and finally took down this enemy of our country and society. Both the military and the intel community deserve all the kudos that can be heaped upon them. And even President Obama must be recognized as having done his duty as the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, ensuring that this case was pursued to completion.
As this mass murderer is sent to his final reward, the souls of those who perished on 9-11 can rest a little easier.
Now we must maintain our vigilance and not drop our guard. Those who hate us still seek to harm and eventually destroy us.
Needless to say, I'd be proud to buy a round for Seal Team Six, any time, any where.
Posted by: Another Old Navy Chief | May 03, 2011 at 06:46 AM
With the death of bin Laden the United States has a historic opportunity to rethink its approach to a $120 billion a year war that is adding significantly to the national debt without adding to our national security. It is time to bring America’s engagement in Afghanistan back into balance with its interests there...and it can be done for far less than $120 billion a year. More and more conservatives see the struggling economy and excessive borrowing for decade-long wars as the greatest threat to America’s national security. Ann Coulter, for one, recognizes that this war is “bleeding us dry” with no strategic benefit.
You can find Coulter’s thoughts on Afghanistan here: http://www.afghanistanstudygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Coulter-Clip-Excerpt1.wmv
So why isn’t the Republican leadership taking a stand on wasteful spending in Afghanistan and offering a policy alternative to Obama's failed status quo?
Posted by: Will | May 10, 2011 at 12:13 PM