Tonight, in a televised statement, President Obama has confirmed previous reports that a small team of U.S. military forces killed Osama Bin Laden at a compound deep inside Pakistan today and took custody of his body.
I don’t know how much this means to people outside the U.S., or what it means to people in other nations. In this country, it means a great deal, a kind of closure after nearly a decade since 9/11. Â At least when I’m in my right mind, I don’t wish the death of anyone, but I confess to a feeling of relief tonight, a feeling that some small measure of justice has been done for the nearly three thousand families, both here and in other countries, who lost loved ones on that awful day.
But, really, I’m just a part-time metal blogger, and no one in their right mind visits NCS to get their “hard news”, so I’m keeping this brief and I’m going to withhold any further comment. Anyone else who feels like saying something, please do so. I just couldn’t let this pass without notice.
23 Responses to “OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS BEEN KILLED”
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Good on you sir for posting this. I was checking the metal blogs to see if anyone would mention this so I am glad someone did.
Big news here too. Good thing the dude’s dead. In the end I fear it won’t matter much though, apart from justice having been served. But hey that still counts for something.
Yeah, if only the death of one man could put an end to terror, but others will try to take Bin Laden’s place. No doubt, Al Qaeda has something in the works right now, as an act of vengeance,
I’m a Kenyan and it means a HUGE deal over here. I was 13 when Al Qaeda bombed us in 1998. So many were killed though not as many as on 9/11, and to this day, we still remember and have a memorial on the site of the bomb blast.
I think Americans tend to forget that Al Qaeda has killed people in many countries, and not just Americans. President Obama gave us one reminder of that last night in his statement: “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”
Unfortunately, justice is hollow. It doesn’t undo what the dude was responsible for 10 years ago. This doesn’t spell the end of terror. Sure it isn’t cool, but it is the world we live in. I’m not going to celebrate this news. I can’t judge bin Ladin no matter how many people he killed. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
I’m not celebrating either. I saw scenes on TV last night of jubilant crowds chanting “U-S-A!”, and that’s not how I felt. All I could think about was how emotionally destroyed I felt on 9/11, and about how many lives have been lost not only in the multiple acts of terror inflicted by Al Qaeda but also all the blood that has been spilled (our own and others’) by the US in its efforts to exact retribution. It mainly makes me sad. Having said that, I do feel a grim satisfaction that the murdering fucker is dead and gone, whatever else may come.
That’s pretty much the essence of things. His death is an emotional victory, but in practice probably not much will change.
I share your feeling of relief as well. Not only is another major Tyrant dead but those families, as you mentioned, have a sense of closure.
Not only are Americans relieved but I’m willing to guess that many other countries breathed a sigh of relief as well.
All that said, I know I’m a pessimist, I am a bit leery as to what this could mean in the near future in terms of terrorist threats and who, if anyone, will step up in his place.
If anyone would step up, that’d make it easy. Truth is I don’t think these dudes need a big leader. They operate in small cells and have minimal links to each other. That’s what keeps ’em off the radar.
Unfortunately true, but they need money, and maybe Bin Laden’s death will make it a bit harder on that score. Also, I heard last night that the US operations team who killed him also took with them a bunch of intelligence from his compound when they left. Maybe that will help find some of those cells and put them out of commission.
Keeping my fingers crossed. Though you can bet those slimey fucks will know about that intel too and get right the fuck out of wherever they are. Let’s hope they can pick up their trail.
I hope that asshole is enjoying is eternal ass raping and bukkake by his “72 virgins” in hell right now. I will happily tap dance all over his non-existant grave. That son of a bitch deserved to die a slow, horrible painful death. It’s too bad that he didn’t suffer more.
Phro-esque imagery, but no tentacle penetration?
I would be doing Phro a grave disservice to try and imitate his use of tentacle penetration imagery.
Hey one good thing for us here in America. This could possibly mean a small drop in gas prices. Here’s to wishful thinking!
I’m afraid that really IS only wishful thinking. 🙂
At least the stock market responds to the death of bin Laden. That’s got to sting his supporters that his death is fueling our “heathen commercialisim”
I’m glad he’s dead, though I’m not sure if will change anything…..I think this is the best D-Day that our generation is going to get. For better or for worse. Which explains the cheering and such. Not particularly proud of Americans doing that–but I don’t really begrudge them of it either. I only note that we shouldn’t be angry when people in other countries dance at our pain…
I’ve mentioned before that I’m against the death penalty. I’d like to amend that by saying I’m happy with mass murderers getting it. Not because they deserve it, but because, as political figureheads and what not, it eliminates their ability to carry out further operations. Think about Napoleon, if I’m not making sense. (Also, I have no problem with using lethal force to stop an aggressor…but I think that’s a different situation.)
I’m against the death penalty, too, and I think you’ve expressed why this is different. This blood-lover would have continued to take lives, and I’m afraid he would have become more of a martyr to his followers if he had been captured alive and imprisoned (if that was even possible). But mainly, he declared war on the U.S. and other countries, and in war, people die.
Conversations like these remind me why I love the camaraderie and kinship I feel with the metal community.
We have our share of idiots like any other genre, sure, but for the most part we have more intelligence than most
That being said, I agree with you Phro. I didn’t feel like chanting U-S-A! I don’t feel more pride for my country. Instead, as noted several times already, it’s an emotional victory. I felt relief but also nervousness for the possible repercussions this may have.
The positive “hit” it had on our economy, unfortunately, will be very short lived. This still doesn’t change our occupation of Afghanistan, or the troops who still won’t see their families for years.
Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean we can say, “Job well done gents, Mission Accomplished, lets go home!”
Just like anyone else, the death of bin Laden only does so much on its own and unfortunately, many of his supporters/followers/lackeys are going to see him as a martyr – when they’re not bitching about how his “burial” was handled. I saw no reason to celebrate, the world didn’t suddenly change. Just one less madman in the world, albeit one with a loyal following.
The true test is to come; what can be made of the fact that he’s no longer around.
I know a lot of people love to criticize the Bush administration about going to Iraq, but honestly, I do think it was the right thing to do, false information from an informant or not. Sure, maybe there weren’t WMD’s to be found, but Saddam did have them before (Gulf War) and probably had the means to make and use them again. He was captured, put on trial and dealt with by the Iraqi people and for all the problems that still exist in Iraq and the region in general, I think there have been some positive steps taken.
Now, with the death of Osama bin Laden, there’s a chance to take that opportunity and make it pay off, whereever al Qaeda and groups sympathetic to their “cause” may have a foothold. And who knows, maybe it’ll help put an end to the aggressive (and in many cases, downright wrong) tactics employed by the TSA at the airports and allow a bit of common sense back into traveling.
I hope you’re right that something significantly good will come from the Iraq invasion, because lord knows we’ve paid a huge price for it in lives lost and maimed and a staggering national debt. I’ll never get over the fact that Bush and his minders used 9/11 to deceive us into that war.
I’ve been reading that Al Qaida was already being viewed as a failure in much of the Arab world after all the revolts of the past spring — which achieved through protest what all of Bin Laden’s killing never achieved: the beginning of change toward democracy in a bunch of despotic countries. It would be nice if Bin Laden’s death would help push Al Qaida over the brink into oblivion. And it would also be nice if Obama would take advantage of this window of opportunity and start getting us the fuck out of Afghanistan. That place is a damned quagmire, and a fatal one at that.