Osama bin Laden Has Been Killed

[filkertom]

Here's your news day.

So very many things can and will be and already have been said about this, especially given the irony of it occurring on the eight anniversary of George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" show. What occurs to me, though, is this:

• Now, maybe, just maybe, we can start boldly saying "enough already" and start removing ourselves from Iraq and Afghanistan and maybe even Pakistan.
• There will always be another bad guy to rise and take his place. Stop committing to permanent warfare based on chasing shadows. That's what bin Laden was able to do to us for years, and our nation has suffered for it.
• Some people are already protesting about the directive that bin Laden's remains "will be handled in accordance with Islamic tradition". Well, it only makes sense. He's already going to be a martyr to his followers; there is absolutely no reason to rile up those who otherwise would not consider him a martyr by desecrating his remains further.
• There is already a hue and cry from the Right about President Obama "politicizing" this. I do believe we've had enough precedent over the past eight years of the Republicans doing precisely the same thing. Moreover, there's already this (h/t jblaque).

Thoughts? Please keep it civil. And no unseemly gloating. This is not a cause for celebration; it's a cause for sighing with relief that this portion of a long and tragic story is over, and for moving on.

Comments

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

I think this is utterly irrelevant. I don't think a single thing will change on either side as a result of this. I don't think he's been a driving force on the terrorism side for years, and I think the government is too drunk on emergency funding and powers to stop the wars.

It's ridiculous to think that we've been at war so that we could kill this one guy, so why would we think that we'd stop fighting the war because he's dead?

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

It is indeed more symbolic than anything at this point. And, unfortunately, it cannot help but be politicized, as bin Laden's very existence has been politicized by both parties since the Reagan administration. In a way, it's just counting coup.

However, it also takes the invocation of bin Laden as an existent threat off the table, both politically and realistically if not as a martyr, and I'm satisfied at the nullification of that particular boogieman.