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10 years, 2 wars, 919,967 deaths, and $1,188,263,000,000 later...mission accomplished. Oh wait, somebody already used that line...um, we did it - victory, hurray, woo hoo...
Pardon my cynicism, but so what?
We managed to kill a guy who hasn't done dick squat in the past 10 years with still fresh payment stubs from the CIA...
Will this bring back the 18 and 19 year olds whose names I rubber banded to wooden crosses in the sand?
Will this bring back the people slaughtered on 9/11, slaughtered in embassies in Africa, the civilians bombed in drones across Pakistan and Afghanistan?
Well, no, but propaganda dictates that this development is a giant leap in the war on terror. And that this provides bandages for wounded pride and emotions ripped open by horrific events.
I hope all people whose lives were burned by this monster find comfort in his death.
I don't.
Again, pardon my cynicism but how do we miss a 6 foot something vigilante hooked up to a dialysis machine for over 10 years?
And why is it that when things seem really fucked up in our national body politic that we manage to find some amazing good news or a tremendous catastrophe or war to focus all attention on?
And how about his hiding spot? A mansion only 60 miles outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, a city of 80,000 people, Abbottabad. No navy seals were injured, no civilians hurt - just the bad guy and a poor woman the evil ones used as a human shield. I'm sorry, but this whole story sounds like the fine weavings of a talented Hollywood screenwriter.
Of course, Obama and friends was sure to mention how this was an a-political victory and how being united moving forward will save us all (paraphrasing). If it's so a-political, why mention it? And how convenient that you're just now building your 2012 re-election campaign. You might think that's going too far, but I'll take bets now to whether that's on the re-election banner or not.
In reality, I'm glad it's over. The hate that over-ran us poured out onto innocent soldiers and civilians, both here and in the Middle East, paying with their lives, their mental and emotional health - this has done far more bad than good.
The question is, now what? OK, this man is dead, but you can't simply close the book on terrorism. As I said, Bin Laden wasn't a major player anymore - how could he be, holed up in this mansion with no technology to reach his minions? The real threat: the masses of people setting out to avenge his death, after years of non-stop bombings on their homes, wars ravaging their countries...
My heart goes out to all the people effected by the attacks on 9/11, the wars in the Middle East and all other political tragedies.
So yes, celebrate if you want. If it makes you feel better, I am glad for you.
But for me, this does nothing but highlight our inefficiencies, our ability for storytelling and twisted truths, and our downfall as a people to always accept and never question.
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