Bin Laden is Dead

[Janet_Girl]

Personally I don't really care.  Just get our people out of Afghanistan.

[Ann Onymous]

The other more serious problem that comes from this is that once again, the world gets to see the USA act in its all-too-typical double-standard mode.  We were all up in arms at the celebrations occurring in parts of the world when the Towers fell.  We felt it was wholy inappropriate given the loss of life.  Yet when OBL is killed, we have crowds of people in the USA dancing in the streets precisely because ONE person has been killed. 

And yet the masses cannot grasp why significant parts of the world population HATE the USA with a fervent passion. 

Of course, with the heightened awareness of the potential for incidents, expect the government to also use the death as a basis to further restrict some freedoms within the USA vis a vis additional searches for travel, increased paperwork for travel, et al. 

[Suzy]

Personally, though this man was evil incarnate, I wish it had happened differently.  It would have been far better to capture him and bring him back and put him on trial in a very public way.  If he was to be executed (which he definitely deserved), it should be done in an orderly way.  I think we have just shown the adversary we are very much like them.

[MarinaM]

I have friends in the service and their moral is greatly improved, my brother almost cried (and he was mentally ruined by his naval experience).

Personally, I never liked all of this focus on death and war and terror. Maybe this will help some move on.

[V M]

Inside the compound *WARNING* Some graphic content

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/25088364#video=25090486

The elite team behind the raid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclusive/20110502/pl_yblog_exclusive/the-secret-team-that-killed-bin-laden

Americans Celebrating

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden_us_reaction

[quinn]

Sure, there's one less evil person in the world, but that isn't going to change much, and I'm not the kind of person who gets any sort of satisfaction or feeling of justice over anyone's death, no matter what they did with their life.

Personally, I think the U.S. should keep its nose out of other countries' business, unless said country specifically invites the U.S. to help them with whatever political, social, etc., stuff they're dealing with. Starting wars that you can never win is never going to solve anything, it's just more people dying faster (since we all die eventually). I know this is a rather idealistic (and thus unrealistic) statement, but if everyone in the world refused to fight in wars, we'd always be at peace (with the exception of the constant quibbling of politicians and other persons in power).

And, as Laura91 said, Americans are total hypocrites. All this nonsense about freedom, while limiting more and more of citizens' rights in the name of so-called security, is bloody ridiculous and a waste of effort. But I digress.. 

[AmySmiles]

It was a hollow victory.  If he had been hunted down and killed in this manner within 1 year of 9/11, without going into large-scale foreign conflicts, it would have been much better.  We took 10 years though.  Sure, it's great from a revenge point of view, but so much has been saddled on this one person's shoulders.  Someone else will step up and take his place.  We're never going to end the problem of extremist muslims without addressing the root of WHY there are extremist muslims in the first place.  In that respect, I fear the US has done too much damage already.

[some ftm guy]

last night i posted my comment on fb about this talking about how this isn't going to change anything at all. the war is still going, there's who knows how many hundreds of others that have probably already replaced him. this isn't going to make the world all sunshine and puppies. it took 2 minutes for someone to to give me flack for that. the entire homepage was people being all "wahoo! i think I'll have a drink to celebrate! ding dong the witch is dead!" probably dancing around like an idiot, yes it's true we got rid of one ONE evil mastermind to the attacks and it's better that he's not around anymore plus they would have executed him anyway but yeah wherever he was buried there would be a statue in no time and dancing around throwing a party about someone's death makes you no better than all the people over there we saw dancing and celebrating, burning american flags and effigies that looked like George W. Bush to upset us. and why did it take 10 years?! being super happy about a death even if they did horrible things seems barbaric to me. so I as soon as i found out and still am like "yep one down...now what?"

[BunnyBee]

A few things came to my mind watching the news last night.

A)  The USA USA! chants were really boorish and ugly.

B)  I do not like the idea of our govt assassinating enemies any more than invading countries or torturing suspects.  We have really lost our way.

C)  Somehow it was hard for me to feel sad for him though.  I don't think that has ever happened to me before.

[Amykins]

Oh let's see, he murdered over 3000 of our people, and when his time came he grabbed one of his 4 wives and used her for a human shield resulting in her death, and demonstrating Muslim attitudes toward women quite clearly.

He had it coming and so do all the other Muslim men who see women as property, chattel, and livestock.

[Shang]

I'd have loved to have gone to a party or rally or something last night, but my city wasn't having one and I had to get up really early for work.

My first thought was pure joy and relief, followed plenty of expletives on how I was feeling.  I proceeded to get the only alcoholic beverage in my fridge and drink it (while 'celebrating' online with my boyfriend and a friend.)

I realize that this is just one guy, that there is going to be a backlash at some point, that the 'war' (operation in reality, not war) will be going on for some time longer, and that terrorist organizations (within the US and outside of the US) will still be going strong.  I recognize this and I am mildly afraid for my family members in the service, but I'm still happy.   

I have no issues with killing people (who have committed atrocious crimes) and I have no issue with wars...and I don't feel remotely sad about this guy's death.

[Amy1177]

The world has enough bad people in it without a mastermind putting all of them together.  Granted terrorism isn't over yet but Bin Laden was the poster boy of terrorism.  Only the fanatics will miss him.

[V M]

9/11 Families react

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bin_laden_sept11_families;_ylt=AsBYyI6tgPlOqqlC1PBahzu9F4l4;_ylu=X3oDMTFjNHZxMTkxBHBvcwMzBHNlYwN5bl9wcm9tb3NfdG9wX2JhcgRzbGsDOTEx

A dear friend of mine who may well have become my S/O died in the 9/11 attacks

I have very mixed emotions about this whole thing at this time

Thank you everyone for your participation in this discussion

Hugs

- Virginia

[wheat thins are delicious]

I don't care. It's not really going to change anything.

This.

[V M]

Not Everyone is celebrating Bin Laden's death

http://observers.france24.com/content/20110502-pakistan-saudi-arabia-not-iraq-afghanistan-everyone-celebrating-bin-laden-death?ns_campaign=nl_quot_en&ns_mchannel=email_

[Michelle.]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/t/story?id=13512344

The backstory has started to emerge. If the above link works it's a piece about OBLs courier.

[Michelle.]

Oh, the party is this weekend. 

[justmeinoz]

I can understand that Americans might be happy at Bin Liner's death, but dancing in the streets is just not the sort of thing we would do here.
There was just a mood of sober reflection if I remember correctly, when the Bali bombers were executed in Indonesia, and a realisation that there were still some on the loose.
There is a general sense here of there being plenty to be done to defeat this menace yet.
Karen.

[tekla]

If he had been hunted down and killed in this manner within 1 year of 9/11, without going into large-scale foreign conflicts, it would have been much better.  We took 10 years though.

Oh I wouldn't be too sure of that.  Granted 10 years is a long time, so long that most people would have given up, lost hope, or quit.  Then there are the kind of people that only exist as Crazy Americans (though several other cultures also breed them).  Those people, pay any price, bear any burden, climb every mountain - ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep me from you types - they were always going to win out in the end.  There were just X number of people - the kind that tend to end up in places like Delta Seal Team 6, the Pentagon, the Presidential Administration, the CIA - who were always looking for him, and were always going to kill him when they found him.  This was no ordinary mission, this was a quest for revenge and justice (either one, epic in and of itself alone) that never quits.  I'm not sure it doesn't send an even deeper message.  There are people in the world who are not 'off topic' ever.  Not for a minute, not for a second - can't distract them.  Do Not Piss Them Off.  Also: DO NOT ATTACK THE UNITED STATES WE WILL VERY SERIOUSLY ->-bleeped-<- WITH YOU - ask Japan.^*  No matter when it's postmarked, all that matters is that its delivered.


As for the whole hunted him down and killed him.  Yeah, 'bout that...   Just imagine, had the Royal Wedding not gone as planed, had some terrorist got in and killed Kate, Willis, Harry or Liz?  How long would MI5 and those highly elite SAS and ex-SAS soldiers hunted that person down?  Would they have quite after one year?  Four?  Ten?  How 'bout never?  How long did Israel and other Jews hunt down the ex-Nazi's who ran the death camps?  Yeah.  So about America....  I mean the very real reason that heads of state are not ordering the assassination of other heads of state on a routine basis is that whole bit about revenge.  It's not that they are gentlemen, nope.  Far from it.  It's that they know, that they have guys who would do that, as does the other side.  Checkmate.

* - Or you could go with any of our fine number of domestic brands, like asking Tim McVie, the people at Waco, MOVE in Philadelphia, what's it's like to declare war on the USA, even if you're doing it from Texas or in the cradle of the nation.

[Suzy]

....even if you're doing it from Texas or in the cradle of the nation.

Aren't those the same thing?

*runs