May 2, 2011

bin Laden dead

As I am sure you have all seen.

My first thought was that this didn't have to take this long. We had him at Tora Bora, but didn't do it right. Instead, we turned our sights on Iraq and an unrelated war. That has to be said. This didn't have to take this long. And this feels like catching a criminal after he has retired.

I understand that many will think this is the wrong time to point fingers. Or that I am capitalizing on this death for political reasons. Politics are sometimes just a game, but many times they are the way we get serious stuff done. This is serious. This isn't just about politics, but it is naive to suggest that politics don't matter here. And there is this. I am thinking of all the times I watched or read conservatives bash liberals for being unPatriotic for not supporting the Iraq war. And I am thinking of conservatives who have bashed Obama as soft on terrorism, or as one of my Christian friends said, "sympathetic to terrorists." And I am thinking that had this happened under Bush's watch, Fox News and my conservative friends might have passed out from the excitement. Disingenuous to now say that this wasn't due to Obama's actions.

My niece questioned the constant celebration on FB for a person's death. I see that too. I personally felt no celebration. Instead, as I noted, I was thinking of the past. I felt no celebration when they hung Saddam. I like the Wendell Berry quote from our friend Kevin:
"‎"Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in 'justice' or in affirmation of 'rights' or in defense of 'peace' do not end violence. They prepare and justify its continuation."
And that is the really sad part of this. This won't end the killing.

12 comments:

Gary said...

Where's the proof? I want to see the body. But I hear they quickly buried it at sea. How convenient.

Bob said...

Is Gary joking? Not that I would be shocked by someone saying this.

Monk-in-Training said...

The Navy took DNA samples and confirmed the identification.

The body was buried at sea because trying to find a country to bury him in within 24 hours would be problematic at best, and because there would be no shrine to this murderer.

Streak said...

Oh God, I hope Gary is kidding, but I don't know. The stupidity is out there, that is for sure. As I posted on twitter, the far right lunatic fringe in this country actually shares this viewpoint with the followers of, yep, Osama bin Laden.

Monk-in-Training said...

Well, didn't take long for me to hear from my first 'deather' not even 24 hours.

Ugh.

Streak said...

Maybe it took a beer, but how unbelievably stupid are the "deathers?" All it would take was one OBL videotape message from a cave to make this a lie. I guess you would have to believe that bin Laden and Obama and the US government were in on the act. Unbelivablyfucking stupid.

Gary said...

Some people seem to be willing to believe anything the government says. I am not. If they have proof that it was bin Laden, then fine, that's great. I'm just not willing to take their word for it.

Streak said...

Gary, you are a fucking moron. Sorry, but it is true, and I am searching for better words, but not finding them. If they faked it, as I noted in my last comment, all Osama has to do is pop up out of his cave with a video of a current newspaper.

Jesus. What fucking stupidity!

Gary said...

No body. No photos. Just take hussein obama's word for it. Nope.

Streak, if obama told you that you were the Queen of England, you would believe it. You're the moron.

Streak said...

Gary, I am beginning to think that you can't read. What did I just say, you fucking racist? That if bin Laden is alive, all he would have to do is pop up with a video of him holding the headline announcing his death.

But no. You racist idiots have to cling to the idea that Obama isn't one of us. Take your racism elsewhere. Any more of that "hussein" Obama comments and you get deleted. Fuck off.

Gary said...

I don't think bin Laden is alive. I'm just not convinced he died last weekend.

By the way, the reports are that bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot. If Bush had been president, you, and the other liberals would be charging him with murder!

You're supposed to be an historian, is there anyone in history that the mere mention of his actual name brought charges of racism? How entertaining!

Streak said...

Gary, you are not helping your claim to intelligence. But then again, I really expect little else. But you also reveal how you and others project your own hatred on to others. I would not have attacked Bush for the death of bin Laden. I didn't just disagree with everything he did. That is what you do with Obama.

And if you seriously and honestly are telling me that you used Obama's middle name as you would every other key historical figure, then I might believe you. But I don't. You used it, as does every bigot who emphasizes his middle name, to call attention to "hussein." Because you are a bigot. And you need to go away.