As many of you already know, last night at about 23:30 EST it was confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was killed in a fire fight outside Islamabad, Pakistan.
As a former Air Force Officer I can say that I am extremely proud to be a veteran today.
Thank you to our men and women in the intelligence community and military for their hard work and determination in bringing one of the greatest international criminals to justice.
Heh, pretty excellent for sure. I'm also a veteran- all I have to say is, took us long enough! But it does make me happy :)
ReplyDeleteNow this I really don't get. As so called civilised people, we should not be celebrating deaths of anyone regardless of who they are or what they've done.
ReplyDeleteI do understand how much pain and suffering you Americans have gone through because of him, but celebrating his death only serves to further antagonise militant groups. Hell, the Taliban, though they were separate to Al'Quida, have proclaimed revenge against Western countries already!
Don't get me wrong, I don't support him under any stretch lf the imagination and am glad that his out of the picture; but what I cannot condone is the parties in the streets and such all across America.
To me that just makes you no worse than the Islamic extremists celebrating 9/11 on the streets of NY. The loss of life, no matter how despicable or malicious, is not a cause for joy.
@Anon:Death shouldn't be celebrated... However, with respect, your logic is flawed. There is no comparison between the 9-11 attack celebrations and the celebrations going on in America today.
ReplyDelete1. The casualties of 9-11 were, all included, women and children. The men were non-combatant civilians. Even those sent to help in humanitarian aide paid the ultimate price in attempting to save another. The debased individuals that celebrate victory over unsuspecting civilians are nothing but cowards and the worst possible samples of human kind that I can ever contemplate.
2. Osama Bin Laden was, in his own eyes, a soldier for his cause. He personally declared war against a foreign nation as an individual. When entering into that stance you are fully aware that loss of life is HIGHLY likely, and thus are willing to give your life for the cause.
The celebrations of the news of his death were in a response similar to Victory in Europe... A great cloud had been lifted, though brought through loss of life, it had been lifted nonetheless. When we celebrated victory in Europe it wasn't celebrating the death of Nazis (though that is the means through which we achieved victory). We celebrated victory and justice.
Today America celebrates justice and Victory, The means through which that victory were brought to the world meant a man died... tragic as it is.
You are correct that militant groups will only use this as a fire with which to attack us again, but in all honesty, would taking him alive been any better? We have all seen old Cold War terrorist movies where they hijack the President and demand the Release of "General Soandsovsky" this situation would have not been different at all. In life or in death he would have incited action against the West.
Please don't misunderstand me. Particularly as a veteran, I feel that war, in all its forms, is one of the greatest curses ever brought upon mankind, whether it is nation against nation or extremists against a nation. I would wish that Russia stayed out of Afghanistan, 9-11 never happened and that Osama Bin Laden would have faded into history never mentioned because he lived a peaceful life with his family. I wish that religions could see their similarities and not their differences, and particularly that they wouldn't kill each-other over those same differences. But sadly that is not the world we live in... That said, there never was a good war, or a bad peace.
Duke
Duke, I couldn't have said it better.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is celebrating Victory. This is not only an American victory, but a victory for the entire civilized world.
We are not celebrating the death of one man, we are celebrating the lives of all that will be unknowingly saved by his death… as such, we celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
‘Merica!
We make war that we may live in peace.
--Aristotle--