Osama is Dead

Last evening we learned that Osama bin Laden has been killed by a unit of Navy Seals. My first reaction was to not believe it, simply because it seemed impossible. Once I believed it, I felt excited, but not so much I wanted to jump up and down. I was conflicted, for a couple of reason: 1.) his death will probably not have a big impact on terrorist activities, and 2.) it just wasn’t right to be happy that someone was dead.

Hopefully bin Laden’s death will mean that some of his money will stop flowing into Al Qaida and that will hamper their ability to pull so many misguided people to the organization. Of course this bring up the question of is a fractured Al Qaida any less dangerous? I don’t know.

I am very proud that our president carried through on his promise to make getting bin Laden a priority, and actually got the job done!! I know that an ongoing frustration within the military is when they have a group or a person pinpointed and then can’t get the go ahead to make the move. In this instance, our president made the right decisions all along the way. Our service members are second to none in the world, especially when they are allowed to do what they do best.

How sad is it that someone with so much influence and power, chose to focus it on evil actions to so many around the world? He was a man with every opportunity, and a vast amount of resources at his disposal and at every point seemed to be unable to make a choice that would truly benefit the world he lived in. He made an art of attracting the disenfranchised and building on their insecurities and then using them in the most thoughtless ways, and without regard for them or their families.

The really sad thing is the loss to all us of the positive potential that he and his followers do not live up to.