So, unless you've been living under a rock, by now I'm sure you have heard about the death of Osama Bin Laden. The announcement of the killing of the world's most notorious terrorist brought a wide range of reactions across the globe. While I can completely and categorically state that I am glad that Bin Laden is no longer able to organize violence, inflict pain, or spread hatred, I still find myself torn by the events of the last 36-48 hours. Its been over 24 hours since I learned of his death (thanks to a message of "ding dong the witch is dead" from Kristen) and I still haven't quite organized my thoughts, but here they are to the best of my ability:
-First off, would I have preferred for Bin Laden to have been captured alive and brought to trial? I'm torn on this. I have always had a strong sense of justice and hate it when things seem to be unjust or unfair and because of this, my initial thought was indeed that I would have liked to have seen Bin Laden before a jury, answering for his crimes. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that a trial would have given him one final platform and a massive audience to spread his message of hate and vitriol. When he would have undoubtedly ended up being executed, the trial would have become a media circus that could have very easily gotten out of hand. Furthermore it would have given him the opportunity to appear the stoic martyr, standing up for his beliefs to the death, which could have galvanized support.
-While I was considering my thoughts on a trial I was comparing Bin Laden both to Saddam Hussein and to the Nazis. Saddam and the Nazis that were apprehended alive were all given trials and the chance to defend themselves. However thinking about the Nazis made me consider all those (including Hitler and Himmler) who killed themselves before they were apprehended by the Allies. I'm glad that Bin Laden didn't have this opportunity. Those Nazi's were able to take their own lives and end their lives on their own terms, a luxury that I'm glad wasn't afforded to Bin Laden. If he was going to be killed rather than apprehended I'm glad that it was a US military member who did it.
-The global reaction was been an interesting one. The celebrations that broke out (in NYC and DC especially) have given me a lot to consider. They've demonstrated a sense of patriotic unity that is far too rare in American society today and it seemed that everyone recognized the significance of the moment and united together in relief and release. However, it pains me to see such passionate celebrations over someone's death. I know he was a murderer responsible for the death of thousands of innocent men, women, and children, but still. Terrorism, especially the kind preached by Bin Laden, is first and foremost about hate. His goal was to spread hate throughout the world and I believe that he truly lacked the ability to love. However if we jubilantly celebrate the taking of his life, what does that say about us? Is that not similar to the hate that he preached? I know he wasn't innocent and, like I said already, I'm not shedding any tears that he is gone, but I'm also not going to go out into the streets and celebrate the killing of another human being. It rubs me the wrong way and I wish I could really put my finger on why...
-Now that I've considered the "what already happened" I need to consider the "now what" and, honestly, I don't know the answer to that question. Obviously, and it has already been stated many a time, this doesn't spell the end of Al Qaida or the threat of terrorism at home or abroad. I acknowledge we need to be vigilant (and perhaps doubly so in the short term for fear of retribution) but I wonder what impact this will have on our efforts in Afghanistan. I think that those who believe that, because we took out Bin Laden our job in Afghanistan is done and we should all come home are being shortsighted. We've known for some time that Bin Laden was no longer in Afghanistan and our mission there has been far more than a search for one man. Its been great to hear Neal's perspectives on what we're doing there and how important it is (check it out at his blog: nealwendt.com) and I believe there is still much work to be done there even with Bin Laden's death.
-One thing I know for sure is that I am truly thankful to all those involved in this mission: the members of the Intelligence community that continued the search even when it seemed that all leads had dried up; the National Security team who worked to give the President many options and sound advice; the President himself who made such a difficult decision. And lastly, but most certainly not least, the members of the US military. Not just SEAL Team 6 and those who supported them on this specific mission, but EVERY member of the military to trains tirelessly every day so that, when their name is called and they're given an assignment, they will be ready to complete that mission. I feel SO honoured to be a small part of the incredible organization and group of people that is the US military.
Now this post has been quite serious and difficult to write. I'd like to end it with some joke or witty remark but I think that would diminish the seriousness with which I'm taking this historic event. Instead I will just end it by saying a prayer for the people whose lives were effected by this man's horrendous actions and thank the Lord that he will no longer be able to inflict any further pain and suffering.
I'm sure this comes as no surprise but being the total space geek that I am I absolutely LOVE Apollo 13. No matter how many times I've seen it I still get the chills when those chutes open up at the end. For some reason the sight of all the kids patting Jim Lovell's son on the back and Ed Harris as Gene Kranz sitting down and letting out that amazing sigh of relief gets me every time! Love this movie!!
