The headline for the St. Petersburg Times newspaper read simply and briefly,
DEAD
over a picture of Osama bin Laden. It was the most pithy statement of Osama's death I've seen to date, and perhaps the most eloquent for its brevity.
Although I'm happy to see this almost decade-long chapter in American history finally closed, and the families of the victims of 9-11 find a measure of closure that Osama's death brought, we're all painfully and keenly aware that the fight continues against terrorism, and Islamic terrorism in particular.
Human nature being what it is never amazes me, but, in all honesty, it does surprise me from time to time. That was the case following the revelation that Osama had been killed in a U.S. led operation, by an elite military group (probably Navy SEALs taking the lead) to either capture or kill Osama.
The crowd that quickly gathered outside the White House, Ground Zero in Manhattan, and Times Square in New York as well as other locations throughout the United States to celebrate Osama's death, struck me as another of those moments of human interaction that I find puzzling, but not out of the realm of possible human reactions.
I found the jubilation, and the jubilant mood emanating from the throngs surreal and foreign to my sensibilities. Although I should have expected it, it nevertheless caught me off guard, and I wasn't immediately prepared to digest it. I'm not judging their actions. I'm merely sharing my response to their actions.
For one, learning of Osama's death didn't plunge me into a celebratory mood. I experienced a moment of disbelief as I read the announcement on my television screen, "Special Alert, Osama bin Laden is dead." My thoughts like a pendulum swung between the surreal and the real. Is this true? Are they mistaken? Did they get this wrong? How much should I believe?
My sister summed it up nicely when I notified her of Osama's death. "This isn't April first!"
Questions surrounding this successful military operation are already being formed:
How much did the Pakistani government and military know, and were they instrumental in assisting our forces with the capture of the compound where Osama lived, and in his death?
How much should we support a supposed ally that surely knew that Osama was living this close to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, and a mile from a Pakistani military training academy?
How far will the success of this mission, the completion of a campaign pledge to either capture or kill Osama bin Laden, go toward silencing Obama's critics who say that he's known for "leading from behind"? This operation was not only gutsy, for all the things that could have gone wrong, and the political fallout that could have ensued, but for the further tarnishing of our already sullied image abroad.
At some point, depending on the aftermath of Osama's death, we can expect a movie or a made-for-television recounting of what took place internally and externally to kill "the most wanted man in the world."
It's hard to say, now, if the death of Osama bin Laden will result in a political coup for Obama in 2012. Yet, this can't do much to hurt his image, and his approval rating this close to that pivotal election for him and democrats who may be running for office at that time.
I hope it will put to rest the oft-stated lie that only Republicans can keep America safe from terrorists. Republicans have already gotten more mileage from this lie than a bald tire with frayed steel threads exposed.
This has been a surprising several days all around, first the release of Obama's birth certificate, and now the death of Osama bin Laden.
21 comments:
The announcement did not make me feel like celebrating. I know that OBL was a mass murder and it stands to reason that he would resist being taken into custody-especially by Americans.
It is time to reflect and consider how humankind evolved to this point. People need to consider that our international policies have a hand in making an individual like Osama.
He's just one chicken. There's still plenty in the flock.
msladydeborah said...
"It is time to reflect and consider how humankind evolved to this point."
msladydeborah, I thought this reflection would have come days into the aftermath of 9-11. Alas, our nation chose to focus on revenge, and humankind missed a moment of introspection that might have catapulted us forward.
Instead we chose a path we've always chosen, and a response as predictable as the path.
"People need to consider that our international policies have a hand in making an individual like Osama."
True. But Americans have a hard time seeing their mistakes, and, once seen, doing anything about them. American exceptionalism extends as much to our actions abroad, as to how we acquit ourselves here at home.
To change, we have to look deep into our collective mirror, and take note of what's really there, instead of pompously throwing kisses at ourselves, and declaring how beautiful we are.
BD:
In the past I have reflected on your words of wisdom, and once again you have made several good points.
To pick one in particular is sometimes difficult, but overall your points are well taken.
I am making these statements based on something you said in your previous post; regarding the number of responses that are made regarding your post.
Although, the number of responses may be small. I don't believe that it reflects the number of people, including myself, that consistently read your blog.
Do not despair, your words do not fall on blind eyes.
There are many other blogs that receive a great many responses (an example being "the field Negro"), but the quality of the responses are not what I believe you would be looking for. You have a great blog. Keep up the good work.
Mr. I. M. BLACK said..."Although, the number of responses may be small. I don't believe that it reflects the number of people, including myself, that consistently read your blog.
Do not despair, your words do not fall on blind eyes."
It's heartening to know that I'm not always yelling into the wind, only to have my words return to me.
Thanks for your fidelity. In the days ahead I'll try to match it.
BD...I felt sick watching the dumbed-down flag-waving keg partiers in front of the White House. These kids seemingly have no idea that their own country is the leading exporter of death in the world today. They also have no idea that Osama Bin Laden was our boy. We made him. We gave him Stinger missiles and millions of dollars. Ronald Reagan called him a freedom fighter. He only became a "terrorist" after the Soviet Union collapsed from its military overextensions into Afghanistan and Eastern Europe. We knew he hated us just as much as the Soviets yet still funded him for a decade. We built the terror network we now spend trillions trying to stop. No one ever learns, or ever bothers to find out and so history repeats.
Am I glad he is dead? No, because I know wher he came from and I know how much was lost in making him and then killing him.
Hello Black Diaspora:
Mr. I. M. Black beat me to it because I was getting ready to tell you basically the same thing. You do not want you blog to be contaminated with a lot of silly mess where people cannot have a decent intelligent conversation. Sometimes more comments means poor quality.
I used to think the same thing about my comments section, until I opened up my email, and I am an amateur writer compared to you.
>>>BD...I felt sick watching the dumbed-down flag-waving keg partiers in front of the White House. These kids seemingly have no idea that their own country is the leading exporter of death in the world today. They also have no idea that Osama Bin Laden was our boy. We made him. We gave him Stinger missiles and millions of dollars. Ronald Reagan called him a freedom fighter. He only became a "terrorist" after the Soviet Union collapsed from its military overextensions into Afghanistan and Eastern Europe. We knew he hated us just as much as the Soviets yet still funded him for a decade. We built the terror network we now spend trillions trying to stop. No one ever learns, or ever bothers to find out and so history repeats.
Am I glad he is dead? No, because I know wher he came from and I know how much was lost in making him and then killing him.<<<
Absolutely.
I have to co-sign with you here Ernesto. These are my sentiments exactly. OBL was strictly a creation of US policy just as Saddam and Ghaddafi were. It's those facts that get obscured and rather than being jubilant, folks need to mourn these policies, for it is these very policies that bring terrorism to our shores and put a bulls eye on the back of every American both here and abroad. Here's an excellent link on this whole issue of OBL and the American Empire. The author tells it like it is:
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay11/what-empire-creates5-11.html
BD, I posted a topic today. Check it out. I'll be leaving again going back South to do a little research to tie up a few loose ends next month and will be gone until sometime in August. Anyway, check out the topic I posted.
http://grannystandingfortruth.blogspot.com/2011/05/invisible-president.html
Ernesto said...
"These kids seemingly have no idea that their own country is the leading exporter of death in the world today. They also have no idea that Osama Bin Laden was our boy."
Which speaks to the quality of education that recession-harried parents are paying for.
I'm told many of these kids resided at nearby colleges and universities. Most weren't long out of diapers when the world trade center was struck.
I must admit, I was taken aback by the exuberance of the revelers upon hearing of Osama bin Laden's death. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that it was all orchestrated.
I'm beginning to think that the U.S. and Russia both wanted something from this "ancient focal point" and "important geostrategic location" that we know as Afghanistan.
The country is a virtual treasure trove of various ores, including gold, silver, copper, and zinc, possessing "potentially significant petroleum and natural gas reserves," as well as uranium, coal, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, and salt.
Further, "it was revealed in 2010 that the country has about $1–3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits."
I think that we and the Russians have suspected this for years, and it explains in part why both countries have spent vast sums of money and human life to secure the wealth of the region.
Afghanistan could become the next Arabian peninsula in terms of wealth, power, and influence in that part of the world if the country tapped the wealth inherent in their natural resources.
At some point, the U.S. decided that spending a trillion plus dollars to wrap up that part of the world was worth it.
And since we were already so close, why not bring another oil-rich country under our sphere of influence: Iraq.
I think that all of this war and "rumors of war" begin and end with money. Greed sets the policies, and ultimately calls the shots, as I have stated here many times before.
I think that OBL knew what we and the Russians were about in Afghanistan, so resisted the encroachment of the West, which would have transformed this primitive culture into the decadent societies that we see in Saudi Arabia and Western countries.
@Greg L: "It's those facts that get obscured and rather than being jubilant, folks need to mourn these policies, for it is these very policies that bring terrorism to our shores and put a bulls eye on the back of every American both here and abroad."
It's not unlike what's happening now, and continues to happen--corporations that benefit from these policies (the military industrial complex) as well as other policies that allow tariffs for imported Chinese goods to remain low compared to the extraordinary high tariffs that China imposes upon our goods--the rich grow richer at the expense of the people, and their "general welfare."
We are seeing an Arab rising. An American rising is long overdue. I'm not calling for violence, just the overthrow of those forces that have supplanted the people as the governing body of this nation.
GrannyStandingforTruth said...
"You do not want you blog to be contaminated with a lot of silly mess where people cannot have a decent intelligent conversation. Sometimes more comments means poor quality."
You have a good point, Granny. One that I'll remember. On many of these so-called popular blogs the wheat gets lost among the chaff. It's one reason why I quit posting to some of these blogs. As you've stated, more doesn't necessarily mean better.
It's good to have you back, even for a short time. I'll check out your recent blog entry.
Whoop There It Is!!
"A Fine Mess That You Have Gotten Us Into Watson" - Indeed.
My dear friend, Black Diaspora - I actually came to your blog, hoping to see an UPDATE on your Postmortem on Osama Bin Laden and instead see your views on the bombing of LIBYA by the United States - and 3 former African Colonizers:
* France
* The United Kingdom - where the sun never sets
* Italy - the European force that USED TO command the land now known as Libya.
As the accoutrement necessary for another African nation to defend itself is destroyed by the Western Imperialist powers (8 Libyan naval ships destroyed) I was searching the web - far and neigh for ONE BLACK PROGRESSIVE who was willing to TIE THIS ALL TOGETHER!!!
My dear friend Black Diaspora - the lack of PROTESTS of these actions by NATO upon Libya is MORE DAMNING than any INACTION by the American government in Rwanda or the Congo.
Some of you can't see that you just GREEN LIGHTED a precedent by which the next time the Europeans see GRIEVANCE AMONGST SOME AFRICANS - this gives them the right to OVER-TURN the government there.
Are you sure that Progressives DO NOT believe in "Might Makes Right"?
One day you will see that I AM NOT the "Enemy that you think I am" - Black Diaspora.
@Constructive Feedback: "One day you will see that I AM NOT the "Enemy that you think I am" - Black Diaspora."
Perhaps the world did come to an end today.
You were never the enemy, CF. Misguided? Yes. An ideologue? Yes. But an enemy? Never.
I have no enemies among the family of men. You see, we're all grappling with illusions. Unfortunately, these illusions are mistaken for the "real."
If I have an enemy, it would be that.
"Are you sure that Progressives DO NOT believe in 'Might Makes Right'?"
No more than the rest of the world, be they conservatives, liberals or what have you.
Nevertheless, I defy being labeled. Those who attempt to niche me end up niching themselves.
The closet label that fits is that of a humanist, and even that label falls short.
There are other mytholgies that drive our human actions other than "might makes right."
Here's a few, a small sampling:
"Survival of the fittest," "To the the victor belongs the spoils," "Every man for himself," "It's a dog eat dog world," and "There's just not enough of the things we need to assure our happiness."
"Might" and "right" are diametrically opposed concepts. He who is "right" or righteous, has might on his side. He who leads with "might" rarely so, because might achieves with force what it can't achieve with example, or the superior power of good.
"[T]his gives them the right to OVER-TURN the government there...."
You can say many things, but you can't say that Lybia was governed, or that its governance represented a legitimate government.
An oppressive, autocratic regime which used threats, violence, and intimidation to establish itself, in order to control, manipulate, and suppress those whose natural instinct cries out for freedom, and self-governance, can't be called a government, and those who fight to overthrow said government can be said to have "GREEN LIGHTED a precedent."
Liberty provides its own justification.
II
@C.F:
"[T]he lack of PROTESTS of these actions by NATO upon Libya is MORE DAMNING than any INACTION by the American government in Rwanda or the Congo."
It's hard to "protest" actions directed toward a madman more intent on slaughtering his people, than serving them, more intent on enslaving his people than vouchsafing their liberties.
"As the accoutrement necessary for another African nation to defend itself is destroyed by the Western Imperialist powers...."
Defend itself against whom? Its own people? Before we targeted Gaddafi, he was targeting his own people, and, regrettably, using weapons that we (the West) had sold to him.
So Lybia's armada has been destroyed. It never stood a chance against our own, but Gaddafi could use it to continue his reign of terror against his own people and keep neighbors from interfering in his oppressive regime.
"Good fences make good neighbours."
And for our part in the West, we made sure that Gaddafi had more than "good fences," but an almost impregnable bastion that kept both his people and others at bay.
If we have sinned, it's in building the "fence" in the first place, and fortifying it with an array of weapons, and artillery.
"I actually came to your blog, hoping to see an UPDATE on your Postmortem on Osama Bin Laden and instead see your views on the bombing of LIBYA by the United States - and 3 former African Colonizers:"
To wage war for any reason is to draw immeasurable harm to oneself. Yet, if we're to indulge in it at all, we need to do so on the side of "freedom," the liberation of the body, and the mind, for the soul cannot be enslaved.
I fear that in the days ahead, the people of this world will face many challenges and many hardships.
We're victims of our choices: We choose that which is convenient over than which is hard, that which brings comfort, over that which secures, that which brings security over that which sets free, and that which satisfies our needs over that which we can do without.
Accretion is killing us!
Indeed you are correct, Brother Black Diaspora - I am indeed - "MISGUIDED".
Here I am always seeking evidence where your moniker matches your world view and I have seem to have lost my way in my analysis.
Here is what I don't understand about you.
With you pursuing the "Meme" of the "Mad Man" Gaddahfi - when NATO announced yesterday that they had DESTROYED 8 LIBYAN MILITARY NAVAL VESSELS that were docked in port - GET THIS ............because THEY POSED A THREAT TO HUMANITARIAN AID SHIPS that were heading toward Libya .............
it appears that YOU fell for the news as told by NATO and its former African Colonizers.
I am struggling to understand how you recover from this one.
1) Why did the police shoot the Black man dead?
BD - "BECAUSE they told me he made an aggressive move toward them"
2) Why did the police break down the door of the apartment without a search warrant?
BD - "BECAUSE they heard a WOMAN'S SCREAM and figured that she was in need of help." In truth she stubbed her bare foot toe on the end table and yet the police found open packets of marijuana - thus arresting all of the occupants of the house.
Tell me this BD - when you see that over 800 Syrians have been shot dead by their government - outpacing the Libyans do you ever wonder WHY the American powers and their colonialist buddies aren't providing "NATO 'help'" in that nation?
[quote]more intent on slaughtering his people, than serving them, more intent on enslaving his people than vouchsafing their liberties.[/quote]
WOW.
Black Diaspora - do you have a record that you can point to regarding the "on going MASSACRE in Libya" at the hands of Gaddahfi?
OR are you merely choosing to buy into the key talking points from YOUR government?
(You'll never know the disappointment that I have in you over this)
BD,
We view the situation in Libya differently. No biggie, that's not a show stopper. But here's one thing I wanted to offer for what it's worth that you may or may not be aware of. Of course, you know that I tend to view things from the economic side and one of the first things this motley unorganized band rebels did was establish a new Central Bank of Libya. That requires a great degree of sophistication--far more sophistication than they've shown on the battlefield where they seem to be getting consistently routed by Ghadaffi's forces. The new central bank would firmly put Libya into the west's economic sphere and is an attempt to subvert the existing central bank which is state controlled. I think it may be indicative of something much more than a group of rag tag rebels afoot here. There are several reports on the web about this and here's a link from one blog that gets into this:
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/wow-that-was-fast-libyan-rebels-have-already-established-a-new-central-bank-of-libya
@CF: "Here I am always seeking evidence where your moniker matches your world view and I have seem to have lost my way in my analysis."
Understandable, since you don't know the source of my worldview, and neither have I expounded the fullness of it here.
Were I to, you'd dismiss it out of hand, with total disbelief.
If you attempt to extrapolate it, based on what I write, and express here, you'll come up short each and every time.
I will always be an enigma, not because I choose to be, but because remaining so allows me to be relevant in your world.
"[I]t appears that YOU fell for the news as told by NATO and its former African Colonizers."
And what "news" have you that's more credible than that provided by NATO?
"Tell me this BD - when you see that over 800 Syrians have been shot dead by their government - outpacing the Libyans do you ever wonder WHY the American powers and their colonialist buddies aren't providing "NATO 'help'" in that nation?"
No.
Why would you believe this story, and discount the Lybian one? Why would you believe, that is, that the Syrian government has killed 800 Syrians, and discount the slaughter that's has been reported taking place in Lybia?
Let me reiterate an earlier statement:
To wage war for any reason is to draw immeasurable harm to oneself. Yet, if we're to indulge in it at all, we need to do so on the side of "freedom," the liberation of the body, and the mind, for the soul cannot be enslaved.
"Black Diaspora - do you have a record that you can point to regarding the "on going MASSACRE in Libya" at the hands of Gaddahfi?
"OR are you merely choosing to buy into the key talking points from YOUR government?"
Let me ask you: Do you have an unimpeachable source that informs you that the "on going MASSACRE in Libya" at the hands of Gaddahfi" is not going on?
Are you privy to inerrant, and indisputable sources that Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN aren't privy to?
If not, then we're all, which includes you, dependent on unreliable sources, and must make our assessment of what's going on base on limited, and potentially agenda-driven information.
"(You'll never know the disappointment that I have in you over this)"
I live as my conscience dictates, and not to please another, just as I'm certain that you do.
Don't hold me prisoner to your expectations, and I'll give you the freedom to be "misguided," and an "ideologue."
@Greg L: "I think it may be indicative of something much more than a group of rag tag rebels afoot here. There are several reports on the web about this and here's a link from one blog that gets into this:"
Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.
I'm under no illusion that the West, including our government, may have motives, unsavory or not, which they haven't disclosed.
Those motives don't dismiss the Arab spring that we're seeing in the middle east, where the people are ostensibly in a struggle to throw off the yoke of their oppressors.
Whether a segment of these Arab societies accept these autocratic regimes, is no more compelling than had blacks in this country accepted slavery, because it was sanctioned by the government.
When these newly formed states, if it comes to that, find that our hand is as heavy as that of their previous tyrannical government, I'm certain that they'll, too, cut if off at the wrist.
What's not stated, is that the rebels are using us, as we seek to use them.
BD:
I have got to admit that "Jedi Mind Trick" that you use is slick.
You ask me to PROVE that the detailed accounts of more than 800 people killed by the Government of Syria is correct.
(Please, BY ALL MEANS - go purchase a Roku Box - so you can see various INTERNATIONAL news sources from all angles)
Then you ask me to PROVE that the MASSACRE in Libya has NOT transpired.
I thought that BEFORE we take US Military action that it was important to have PROOF? OR is it a matter of YOU
* Liking the Commander In Chief that drops bombs and then send "Munitions Restocking Requests" to - General Dynamics, Lockeed, Loreal Space Systems and Boeing?
Fear not Brother BD -
the next time you tell me about the interactions that you have with "brothers" who are incarcerated and they tell you that they got a BUM RAP from the POLICE who SAID that he had a gun or drugs - I am going to ask you to save your breath.
The incarcerated brother needs to FIND A MORE CREDIBLE SOURCE than the Police before I believe him or YOU.
@C.F.:
"(Please, BY ALL MEANS - go purchase a Roku Box - so you can see various INTERNATIONAL news sources from all angles)
"Then you ask me to PROVE that the MASSACRE in Libya has NOT transpired."
And I thought that I was cynical!
Is there no credible information coming from our news agencies, that you have to resort to "international news," using a Roku Box, to keep you updated on world affairs?
Why should I believe these news sources just because they're prefaced with the word "international," and do not originate here?
What will I learn? Gaddafi's not a tyrant. That he has mad love for his people. That mercenaries haven't been used to decimate rebels. That peaceful protest and assembly are encouraged by the Gaddafi regime.
That the Arab spring throughout the Arab world is nothing more than a figment of our Western propaganda machine.
That Arabs are some of the happiest people in the world and are at peace with their near-slave conditions.
They said the same of slaves in this country. The picture of the docile, tranquil, and contented slave who would die to save the Massa, and his house, has been overblown and overplayed.
"I thought that BEFORE we take US Military action that it was important to have PROOF? OR is it a matter of YOU."
Did it matter to you when Bush, without proof, and after weeks of searching for weapons of mass destruction, and turning up nothing, attacked Iraq anyway?
And if you did criticize Bush, send me the link to that blog entry so that I can give you several mea culpas to atone for my sin.
If not, then your silence speaks volumes about your motives now.
"The incarcerated brother needs to FIND A MORE CREDIBLE SOURCE than the Police before I believe him or YOU."
And here I thought you were a "law and order conservative."
Are you telling me that the word of a potential black felon carries more weight than a duly appointed law enforcement agent?
CF, have I misjudged you?
You're going to take the word of this "STREET PIRATE," this rap spouting, corner hugging, 40 oz beer guzzling, discredit to his race, brother, with sagging pants, over that of Johnny Law?
Well, knock me over with a feather, and call me light!
The next time I hear you denigrating our young black men, referring to many of them as STREET PIRATES, I'll remind you of this comment.
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