Wanted: Dead or Alive
I awoke to the news yesterday morning that the world’s most wanted man had been found and killed. It seemed odd that he was finally found after so many years, and I had to watch the coverage on the television before I could truly believe it.
I’ve since had 24 hours to contemplate what this all means. It was a Tuesday morning in September nearly 10 years ago that I woke up to a different — but related — news report. That day, September 11, 2001, I had to watch the coverage on the television before I could truly believe it.
A few years (or perhaps it was just a few months?) before September 11, 2001, I watched a special news documentary on TV about a man I had never heard of: Osama bin Laden. I was shocked at the things he was planning and organizing, and appalled that while a reporter could be willing to accept possible death to get his story (he agreed to be taken into a terrorist training camp), the United States couldn’t seem to find and “take out” this clear enemy. How could it be that our government intelligence agencies had not captured him yet?
On September 11, 2oo1, I heard the name of Osama bin Laden once again, and I sadly recognized it. Had President Clinton managed to take him out a dozen or more years ago, perhaps we wouldn’t be so deeply involved in a terroristic world… perhaps it would have nipped many terror cells in the bud… but perhaps we would still be where we are, locked in a forever battle against evil.
For now, despite the relief of the removal of Public Enemy #1, there are plenty of others ready to take his place, and we cannot be sure who is truly a friend. As Mike Allen of POLITICO said in an interview yesterday morning, Pakistan “has some ‘splainin’ to do.”
Yes, I am relieved at the verified death of Osama bin Laden, but I cannot be jubilant. This battle is not over, and our citizens and military alike are still in danger of plans being carried out by madmen.
Kcinnova's World 