International, Military

BIN LADEN DEAD

Various news organizations are reporting that Osama Bin Laden is dead. President Obama is expected to announce the news. Bin Laden was reportedly killed in Pakistan by an operation involving Navy Seals but the story is still unfolding. YahooReports indicate that he was shot in the head after he and his bodyboards resisted an attack by the elite unit.

The fact that he reportedly went down fighting will likely add to his image as a martyr — though people who follow him need little encouragement or reason.

Bin Laden was a murderous fanatic who used religion to spread hate. His passing from this Earth would be welcomed news and, even for the most agnostic or atheist among us, there is a lingering wish that there is place for the damned to greet men like Bin Laden after the untold harm that he caused not just to his country but to many countries. Hundreds of thousands of dead can be credited to his dark legacy and beliefs.

While liberals and conservatives differed on the means used to fight Bin Laden, there was never any division on the commitment to fight terrorism or the shared loss from his crimes. On September 11th, the plane that hit the Pentagon struck just after I passed the building on my way to work. I made it about a mile away after blowing my tire on the curb and changing the tire as huge columns of smoke filled the air.

In the end, Bin Laden remained the authentic symbol of radical Islam — an extremist filled with hate living with fellow troglodytes in caves and crevices.

Bin Laden’s death will force some accounting of what has been gained and what has been lost since his infamous wave of terror began. Too much of the damage of 9-11 proved to be self-inflicted, including our use of torture and the launching of two wars that have cost thousands of more American lives and hundreds of billions as the nation sinks into debt and economic distress.

There is no indication that our continued loss of money or personnel in Afghanistan will decrease in any way as a result of the news. While the Afghanistan war seemed personality driven with Bin Laden as the face of evil, it has taken on a type perpetual war due to a lack of political courage to end it.

The world is far better without the likes of Osama Bin Laden. However, he left an ample legacy (and legions) to guarantee that religious hate will continue to shape the future of that region and the world at large.

369 thoughts on “BIN LADEN DEAD”

  2. Bda,

    Come on … you and I don’t play those kind of games. The Trib is reporting what others are saying. Don’t insult my intelligence again … I will have to beat you with a wet noodle.

  3. Ms. Blouise

    Bush’s people are just trying to get their boy some credit for something and all that’s left for him is torture.

    Is the Trib considered Bush’s people?

  5. Bdaman,
    Once again this article says that KSM and AFL were subjected to harsh interrogations, but it does not say that those harsh interrogations recovered this information. Remember that these guys actually gave more information before they were tortured according to FBI agents years ago. Oh, by the way, as it was said earlier. torture was illegal then and it is illegal now so there is no rainbow in torturing anyone at any time.

  6. Bda,

    Harsh interrogation techniques were not specifically attributed to the acquiring of the “nickname” … Bush’s people are just trying to get their boy some credit for something and all that’s left for him is torture. That’s his legacy.

  7. Both were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics inside CIA prisons in Poland and Romania.

    Sometimes if you want the pleasure of the rainbow you have to endure the storm.

  8. WASHINGTON – Officials say CIA interrogators in secret overseas prisons developed the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

    Current and former U.S. officials say that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, provided the nom de guerre of one of bin Laden’s most trusted aides. The CIA got similar information from Mohammed’s successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi. Both were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics inside CIA prisons in Poland and Romania.

    The news is sure to reignite debate over whether the now-closed interrogation and detention program was successful. Former president George W. Bush authorized the CIA to use the harshest interrogation tactics in U.S. history. President Barack Obama closed the prison system.

    http://www.startribune.com/nation/121089124.html

  9. eniobob,

    No matter the spin, the history books will read: After 8 years, Bush left office without capturing Bin Laden. Obama did so within the first 2 years of his Presidency. Facts are a bitch.

  12. Pakistani Urdu TV channel Geo News quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying that the world’s most wanted terrorist

    Osama Bin Laden was killed in a search operation launched by the Pakistani forces

    after a Pakistani army helicopter was shot down in the wee hours of Monday in Abbotabad, a mountainous town located some 60 kilometers north of Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad.

    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/02/c_13854920.htm

  13. If I’m not mistaken when Bush was in office,wasn’t he asked about OBL and his response was:

    “THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven’t heard much from him. And I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don’t know where he is. I — I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.”

    You would never know that by the spin some are trying to put on this.

    Osama Bin Laden Dead: President Obama’s Announcement Prompts Outpouring Of Reaction

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-reaction_n_856118.html#s272178&title=George_W_Bush

  14. Slarti et all,

    I’ve been listening to the White House briefing and Brennan is answering questions … from his answers I think it would be safe to say that everything was filmed. He will not totally confirm that but keeps using the phrase “real time” and “visuals”. However, he was not able to say whether the woman used to shield Bin Laden was put in front of him by others, herself, or Bin Laden … he answered that question with …”I don’t know who put her in front of him … I wasn’t there.”

    This Brennan dude is really very good at giving information in an orderly and understandable manner. I’m impressed.

  15. Ayman al-Zawahiri: “What the hell is this?”

    Clemenza: “It’s a Sicilian message. It means Osama Bin Laden sleeps with the fishes.”

    Aymam al-Zawahiri: “I thought that was Luca Brasi.”

    Clemenza: “Not this time.”

  17. Blouise,
    I would expect that a video may have been taken, but the pictures should be sufficient, along with the DNA evidence.

  18. Blouise,

    I’m sure EVERYTHING was filmed – though I doubt we’ll see the video of the firefight…

  19. I’m sure everything after the extraction from the compound was filmed … just makes sense from a forensics and historical standpoint.

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