Osama Bin Laden is no more
Hell yeah.
First of all, this took way too long. Second, the fact that he was living in some posh mansion really pisses me off. Third, it makes me really damn happy that this was done by special op ground forces, not a predator strike. He showed himself to be a coward, and spent his last moments facing utter fear, which considering what he had done to so many others, is more than deserved (actually - what he deserved is probably a lifetime of punishment and humiliation, but this is better).
Finally, I want to say that I am a little disconcerted at much of the response I have been hearing from others my own age. War weary and not interested any longer in "war on terror", a lot of the reaction has basically been "it does not really matter." The theory goes, just as Hollywood has told us about terrorist groups so many times, that if you get rid of the leader, then someone else will just pop up. I disagree.
Al Qaeda is not a well-run, highly-organized group with significant ability to project power. We give them far more credit than they deserve. They are a bunch of untrained and often barely capable fighters. Most suicide bombers never reach their targets. About 1/3rd blow themselves up in the room where they prepare, largely because of the custom of giving hearty hugs to the guy heading "to paradise." Countless footage from drones etc show these "freedom fighters" having sex with donkeys outside of their caves. Our men on the ground face a very real threat: fighting on their home turf, often with public support, and using gorilla tactics, Al Qaeda and others can be dangerous. But we should not give them too much credit. Without Bin Laden, they will have a difficult time projecting power outside of the middle east.
Clearly, other leaders will step up, and many already have emerged in the loose-knit structure that is Al Qaeda, but we should still celebrate the fact that we finally brought him down.
First of all, this took way too long. Second, the fact that he was living in some posh mansion really pisses me off. Third, it makes me really damn happy that this was done by special op ground forces, not a predator strike. He showed himself to be a coward, and spent his last moments facing utter fear, which considering what he had done to so many others, is more than deserved (actually - what he deserved is probably a lifetime of punishment and humiliation, but this is better).
Finally, I want to say that I am a little disconcerted at much of the response I have been hearing from others my own age. War weary and not interested any longer in "war on terror", a lot of the reaction has basically been "it does not really matter." The theory goes, just as Hollywood has told us about terrorist groups so many times, that if you get rid of the leader, then someone else will just pop up. I disagree.
Al Qaeda is not a well-run, highly-organized group with significant ability to project power. We give them far more credit than they deserve. They are a bunch of untrained and often barely capable fighters. Most suicide bombers never reach their targets. About 1/3rd blow themselves up in the room where they prepare, largely because of the custom of giving hearty hugs to the guy heading "to paradise." Countless footage from drones etc show these "freedom fighters" having sex with donkeys outside of their caves. Our men on the ground face a very real threat: fighting on their home turf, often with public support, and using gorilla tactics, Al Qaeda and others can be dangerous. But we should not give them too much credit. Without Bin Laden, they will have a difficult time projecting power outside of the middle east.
Clearly, other leaders will step up, and many already have emerged in the loose-knit structure that is Al Qaeda, but we should still celebrate the fact that we finally brought him down.
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