The following is purely opinion, but one that I find needs to be written.
1 May 2011, 22:45
FLASH TRAFFIC:
BIN LADEN, DOA.
REPEAT, BIN LADEN, DOA
That was the news last night around 10:30 EDT, and man was it some good news! I admit, I partook in staying up until the early hours of Monday, gaining a sense of the speculation by the MSM (mostly wrong as they fondled themselves to talk up Obama and to beat their competitors to the punch) and the reaction to the speculation by the people in the streets (and to a lesser extent, the country). Now that the reaction has died down, and the details have emerged, I find it prudent to express a few more sentiments to support my Tweets from last night (read them via the panel on the home page).
As the day has progressed, I've listened to the talking heads, I've read the retail news outlets, and the blogosphere, and even listened to talk-radio callers fornicate over this great success. Unfortunately, that opinion will not be seen here. Yes, undoubtedly justice has been served, and that is great news (without any discount). Great credit should be given to the nameless and tireless work done by the grunts, the SpecOps, the Spooks and the intel-guys (and gals) who have spent countless man-years (not man-hours), attempting to piece together the mouse crumbs left by, perhaps, the most illusive man on the (then) face of the planet. The preceding sentence should be interrupted as a resounding and major Kudos to those who have given their lives or put their lives in harms way to make the past 36~48 hours (and several prep months before) a resounding success. The .mil and .spook folk "done good" and get a major "atta boy!"
So shall I now begin my qualification of the whole thing; I am not celebrating, and I refuse to celebrate. While this is America, and I would be a bit of a hypocrite to prevent anyone from freely expressing their emotions, ideas, and expressions, I would call these people fools for acting out the celebration one witnessed last night. My reasoning? Simple. Celebrating the death of one individual (a spiritual figurehead of an Islamic militant movement) does not win the War on Terror. There are many whom still wish our citizens and soldiers dead, and further wish our way of life to die a death with which will banish it for perhaps a thousand years (historical reference to be written tomorrow). Further, celebrating the death of humans is not something even great soldiers wish for (namesake of this blog included).
The celebrations I witnessed last night on TV make us as civilized (or barbaric) as our foe. I don't condemn them, but it certainly speaks to how bin Laden's legacy has truly affected our country. As I write what follows this sentence, please realize that I absolutely HATE this analogy, but it must be made. We, as a country, did not celebrate the death of one despotic dictator (Hitler) until the War was officially over, and our troops were brought home to march in armistice parades. Today, that is not happening. Today, the WOT continues, and today, the war against an idea continues.
Ideas supersede martyrs, and wars supersede soldiers (and generals). While I will leave our military actions and interventions to another day's debate, let me continue by saying again, history has been made and this is great news. The families affected by 9/11 have some closure, and closure is certainly welcome for human benefit. Yet let us as a united people not look towards our political leaders for this success, and let us not look at our foe for the status that will surly be lauded upon him. Freedom resides within the hearts and minds of man and I encourage the intelligent readers to remember exactly this and discuss it with their family and friends.
I would hope that as our country moves forward, we take this "battle" win, and learn from it. Perhaps this small, tireless effort to bring justice will be the next step in the War on Terror, and thus shape the battle field away from the protracted natures we have found ourselves in. I pen this as a wish of mine, for the people o the front lines, as well as our country whom tires here at home of extended engagements. Though, the last thought in all of this is that we, the American People, know how to fight. We are not weak, and we will always be resolute for justice and that freedom based upon that justice within our society. Of course, we encourage the entire world to join us in this endeavor, but it is up to the citizens of other countries to make this happen.
To sign off...ObL, you have lost the battle, you have lost the war. Regardless of the political leadership's imperial policies, the people realize what freedom means, and we realize what justice means. We have served justice, and unfortunately for you, it was not vengeful (for the most part) but righteous.
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