Bin Laden is dead.
I have to admit, my first reaction was "yeah, right!" How many times have we thought he was dead. But as reports continued to come in, it became clear this was no rumor. My next thought went towards my brother in Iraq and other troops stationed there, as well as in Afghanistan and surrounding regions. Al-Qaida lost a figure head, an icon of sorts, but did they lose their determination or their desire? I think not! I have an immense source of pride in the men who carried out this mission, but I do not feel like the world is "safer" with Bin Laden dead.
I also do not believe his death can magically fix the hurt/pain/loss felt by the family member and friends of those who died on 9/11 or in other Bin Laden inspired attacks. It does something to the morale of Al-Qaida when an inspirational leader like Bin Laden is expunged, don't get me wrong. But his death, I believe, will embolden Al-Qaida members. The war on terror is FAR from over. Eliminating Bin Laden, and any Al-Qaida member for that matter, is a good thing, but we're far from seeing our troops come home. Sorry. It's not the end by a long shot.
I am also in agreement with the sentiment of celebration on the death of Bin Laden. What exactly are those people celebrating? Yes, Bin Laden is dead, but is Al-Qaida? Again, nope, no, nada. Al-Qaida frankly will see those images and use it as fuel to burn their (unfounded) rage. How does that make us any better than when they parade our dead soldiers on their streets? The reaction the U.S. has had to this event sends a message to our allies and our foes.
I was quite impressed with Pres. Obama's speech Sunday night. I didn't watch it, but I read a transcript of it. I want to word this carefully... while I know our President had a hand in this successful operation, he DID NOT start it. Credit should go to George W. Bush. His policies on the war on terror really got the ball rolling in the events that lead to May 1, 2011. Like it or not, many of the tactics his administration used in interrogating terrorist suspects: water boarding, Guantanamo Bay... (all things our current President has denounced and ran against in his campaign), were in fact used to gather intelligence in leading to Bin Laden's demise. Did Pres. Obama make the final call? Yes. Did he give the go-ahead orders? Yes. But it all started with the Bush administration and Bush's faith in our military. I believe Bush was right on the money in the War on Terror campaign. He was not able to be in office to see the end of this particular mission, but I'm glad he was around to see it finished. But the overall mission is not over. There are and will be more like Bin Laden, some may even be more dangerous than he was. I am a bit relieved to see that Pres. Obama didn't sweep this issue under the rug. I frankly believed terrorism wasn't on his to-do list. This, however, doesn't change his overall performance as President of our country in my book: he still hasn't dealt with our debt problem, his health care overhaul is a major fiasco for patients and health care workers alike, and food and gas prices continue to rise without a word as to why.
Bin Laden is dead. But let's not lose perspective on current issues and future problems sure to rear their ugly head on our soil just because one less man no longer treads on this earth.