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

[alverant.livejournal.com]

So once again a Democrat had to clean up a mess created, in part, by Republicans. In less than 2 years Obama did what W "claimed" he was trying to do in over 7.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Sorry if this was unnecessarily politicized (I noticed that I was late for the train and hit submit before I was ready). But for most of W's presidency OBL was used as a tool to gain support. I'm sure people here remember the suspicious timing between when W was dipping in the polls and when a new tape would surface. What really drove the point home for me was after the 2004 election my homestate newspaper printed an editorial from a person who said the November surprise tape made him change his vote from Kerry to W. Considering how W acted, I have to wonder how serious he was about OBL. He acted with more zeal towards Iraq than getting the person responsible for 9/11.

What's shocking were the deniers. The people who question the timing or dismiss the importance. After over 7 years of using him as the boogieman to scare people into voting for him, his death is seen as a stunt and refuse to credit Obama at all for this victory. I think they're mad because it shows Obama doing what W didn't and how now their favorite spectre is gone. IOKIYAR continues.