I for one was quite surprised to learn of Osama Bin Laden’s death last night along with the rest of the world, but I was even more surprised, somewhat impressed, and a little disturbed at how well the operation was carried out. You always hear of failed assassinations, rescue attempts, and other events in the US’ short intelligence and military history, but this one was planned almost a year ago and executed without raising a hair of anyone other than the local population at the time of the strike. So the analysis and words flying around the internet and old-and-new media today is what this means for the US, and the world?
No one appreciates death, that is, no moral human being with a conscious and right mind appreciates death, and yet the parties on the streets and the sighs of relief by many indicate a much different idea in the wake of Bin Laden’s death. Many compare it to Saddam Hussein’s death in Iraq, however for those people, they celebrated the fall of a tyrant, someone who controlled their country and persecuted those that did not belong to him. The celebration of Bin Laden’s death marked more of a celebration of justice, or what he represented. He represented a dark cloud of terror and instability in the world, where his Al-Qaida network struck innocents from the shadows without remorse. His removal will not stop terror from occuring, in fact, many believe it may increase in order to seek revenge, but the loss of a figurehead can also embolden those who seek to stop these terrorists, countries who previously may have not been in the fight because of how long and drawn out these conflicts have been may have new convictions, our own military, having heard the success of those Navy SEALS who bravely carried out the orders, strengthening to finish the job in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to discourage would-be terrorists and tyrants in other nations from laying a hand on a world that does not clearly want them.
It’s not the event of the century, it probably shouldn’t be a reason to celebrate, or so the Vatican says, but why not? We finally brought down the man who helped usher in a decade of terrorism and fear for an ideal nothing short of unoriginal, religious conquest, just like all of the other religions that have had a hand in history, and yet he clung to a belief that without the US, a vital player in the global economy, that this world would be absent of the thing that lives in all human hearts, greed and selfishness.
As for his body, frankly I don’t think Islamic customs was good enough for the man, but I respect that decision. Rather, I would have liked we dumped his body on Pakistan’s Asif Zardari’s desk with a shovel and told him to bury him themselves, since they likely always knew he was in the country and never bothered to say anything or do anything about it. I know we’re not the best of buds or anything, but not cool man, not cool.