Osama Bin Laden: Repercussions

May 5, 2011

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I originally thought that I would write something about gas prices and how ridiculous they have gotten. How my family and friends, coworkers and neighbors have all vowed to change their driving habits, forego some vacations for “staycations” and even stick a “drill baby drill” bumper sticker on their car.

Having said that, this week the entire world was turned upside down with the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Having not yet beaten the horse to death, I thought I would cover yet another angle to this story: Repercussions.

First of all, let me say that this week was a repercussion of what happened in the United States nearly 10 years ago. It took a very long time for that justice to be served, but thanks to our intelligence teams and military teams the citizens of the United States can now feel that some sliver of justice was carried out following that tragic day that changed all of our lives forever.

On Monday as I slowly drove down the street of my quiet Fort Collins, CO neighborhood I was thrilled at the number of US flags that my neighbors had put up. My next door neighbor is a retired marine and he had his marine flag accompanying the US flag. There was obviously a great deal of pride that my neighbors felt with the news of Bin Laden’s death. For a moment it reminded me a little of the sentiment that filled our streets and hallways on September 12, 2001.

The media lit up following news of Bin Laden’s death and hasn’t slowed down much. Each day a few more details are spoon fed to us through the media as we try to digest what it must have been like for the team of Navy Seals to raid the Bin Laden compound. We have learned about their entry, the resistance (or lack of resistance) they encountered and we’ve even seen some pictures of the rooms where people there were found. One of the most prolific to date is the one of the bedroom showing the blood stains on the rug next to the bed. (You’ll have to scroll through a few pix)

I heard in at least one news outlet this afternoon (May 4, 2011) that the photo of the deceased Osama would not be released. However, if the photo of a dead Osama Bin Laden is released, can you imagine the traffic and discussion that it will generate? We’ve already seen viruses on the web exploiting people’s morbid curiosity to see what Bin Laden looked like following his demise. People clicking on alleged videos and pictures have found their computers infected with viruses, yet another repercussion.

Members of Seal Team 6 will have lasting repercussions as well. For the individual that took the shot and killed Bin Laden I imagine he will be filled with pride and likely wish that he could stand on the rooftop and shout, “I did it!” The other members of the team will also share the pride and enthusiasm of having taken down the most wanted terrorist in the United States history. They will all probably wish that they could have been the one to pull the trigger that night.

Now for the negative.

  • We have already heard from an Imam that there will be revenge taken on the “western dogs” for killing Bin Laden.
  • The media now has interviews with Bin Laden’s daughter that Osama was taken into custody alive then killed.
  • Politicians are being mocked for expressing joy over Bin Laden’s death. (I will shout my joy of Osama’s death from a roof top)
  • Individuals now believe that killing one person has virtually ended the Afghan war on terror and Al Qaeda.
  • Airports have increased security following the death of Bin Laden.
  • Terroristic threats against the US may increase
  • Finally, Obama’s actions to support the military in this action do not undo his past wrongs. For example, the situation where a wanted terrorist was captured in Iraq. Three SEALs were court martialed for allegedly giving this detainee a fat lip. Actually, one for punching the detainee and the other two for not protecting the detainee. That shouldn’t have ever happened.

We haven’t been told of any new plots on the US following Sunday, (but in the UK) five men were arrested (two days after Bin Laden’s death) when they were caught sitting in a car very close to a nuclear processing facility.

The fact that US forces went in to a country that we are not at war with (and didn’t advise the country upfront) in order to carry out the plot has caused some grief and likely will continue to cause grief. That being said, based on the limited information I have, I believe that it was the right call and I applaud Obama for having the stones to make the decision.

As the American people, I hope everyone stands behind our troops for the flawless execution of this mission. While today we revel in this victory, we need to remember that there will likely be repercussions in the future from Al Qaeda. We know that we may have delivered a blow to these terrorists, they have not been defeated and they will not simply give up now. Americans be strong and show your resolve no matter what we face next.

I’d like to take a moment to welcome home a friend of mine from Afghanistan. Corporal James “OJ” Alvarado will be returning back to the US in the next week. He’s spent a long tour in the sticks and hills of Afghanistan away from his beautiful wife and baby girl. His family will be happy to have him home and I’m sure OJ will be the happiest one in the group. Now your Mom and Sister can sleep again, thank God! None of us can imagine what your tour was like. MRE’s all the time, no running water, brutal weather and being away from your family. I appreciate all you’ve done for us, for our country and for the war on terror.

Welcome home OJ!




 
Squeaky…

14 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. USMCSis
    May 05, 2011 @ 10:48:05

    Great blog! I just find it funny that now the big media issue is that Bin Laden was not armed. HELLO all the thousands of victims that were killed on 9/11 were not armed either. Get a clue people.

    Reply

  2. Evan @40Tech
    May 05, 2011 @ 11:06:01

    Great post, Squeaky. Thank you for not politicizing this, and providing some real (mostly non-political) food for thought. I hope we never find out more repercussions from this, but time will tell. The “wishful thinking” part of me looks at the demonstrations in Egypt and elsewhere, and hopes that he world is changing, but the realistic side of me knows that the death of one man alone isn’t going to take us back to the days when we could stroll right up to our airport gates, with no worries about what someone might be carrying.

    Anyway, it is nice to find someone like you who follows politics, who doesn’t have to view everything in life through a political lens. I just shake my head sadly when I see some other people who are so consumed by politics that they can’t see anything but politics in any event, even this one.

    Reply

  3. kosmo
    May 05, 2011 @ 11:35:34

    First things first. Welcome home, OJ.

    I’m mostly a “live and let live” type of person, but don’t have any object to Bin Laden’s killing. As for him being unarmed … do you really want to take that risk? Just because someone doesn’t appear to be armed doesn’t mean that he isn’t. It was probably prudent to shoot first and ask questions later.

    This is a situation where there is no doubt as to Bin Laden’s guilt. He publiclty admitted responsibility.

    The photos … sure, I’d look at them if they were released … but I can understand not wanting to release them. No point in enhancing the case for Bin Laden’s “martyrdom” amongst his followers.

    I agree with Evan that it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get back to pre-9/11 airport security. Nor would I really want to. Things were probably a bit more lax than they should have been. I’m listening (again) to one of my favorite all-time books – The Lion’s Game by Nelson DeMille. Very scary how the main character moves around in a pre-9/11 America.

    Reply

    • wuzafuzz
      May 05, 2011 @ 16:58:10

      Great book! I have read most of his novels. Detective John Corey is far and away my favorite character.

      Reply

    • Evan @40tech.com
      May 05, 2011 @ 19:59:54

      I stumbled on the Lion’s Game on vacation a few years ago, when it was in the book collection at the resort, in the stand by the pool. I enjoyed it enough that my wife and I have now listened to all the other John Corey novels on Audible. Enjoyable stuff.

      Reply

    • kosmo
      May 05, 2011 @ 21:26:37

      I’ve listened to the unabridged audio version – 25 hours – probably 8 times. In addition to reading the book a couple of times. I really like it.

      I also became a big fan of the reader, Scott Brick. He also reads DeMille’s Up Country, which is another fascinating story (but features Paul Brenner of The General’s daughter fame). Also 25 hours unabridged.

      A reader can make or break an audio book, and IMHO, Scott Brick is L33T.

      Reply

  4. Squeaky
    May 05, 2011 @ 13:01:34

    Thank you for the comments everybody. Welcome to the Soapboxers USMCSis.

    @Evan, Thank you! I’m glad you liked today’s posting. On a personal level I don’t see everything politically, but Kosmo is paying me big bucks for to cast that illusion. Usually, I’m just trying to see how irritated I can make the angry squirrel.

    @Kos, I’d look at the photos too. I’m curious to see just how bad was the damage. I know, morbid, sick and wrong. At least it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as a shotgun. I see the risk in releasing the photos and understand their position. If it were my call, I’d probably release it just to help quash the doubts. Fortunately, for me I don’t have to make that decision and face the repercussions from that action.

    Whoever pops up as the next Al Qaeda leader needs to be introduced to Jack Bauer.

    Reply

  5. wuzafuzz
    May 05, 2011 @ 17:26:29

    The repercussions of bin Laden’s death will be relatively mild. We won’t see a serious uptick in attacks, attempted or successful. The people who liked him already wish all of us dead. They can’t wish us any “deaderer” than they already do. Since they still wish harm upon us we have to remain vigilant.

    The neccessity for continued vigilance means the positive repercussions will also mild. Since previous security gaps were exposed, they have to remain plugged forever. (Reasonable security instead of the nonsense we have seen from DHS.) The genie cannot be forced back into the bottle.

    We also lost some of our national innocence after 9/11. Many U.S. citizens were babes in the woods, blissfully ignorant of the brutal nature of life in much of the world. The elimination of bin Laden won’t permit us to bury our heads in the sand again.

    The Obama Administration has, in my opinion, mismanaged events following bin Laden’s killing. An event that held the potential for a significant lift has instead fallen victim to a disjointed public affairs campaign. Photos: yes. Photos: no. Usama armed? Yes. Then no. Portraying Obama and his national security team as heroes while largely ignoring the heroes in uniform…bad move. Although Obama earned some kudos his team has inadverently kicked the crutches out for under him. The potential for positive political repurcussions has already been spirited away from Obama.

    There is no doubt the world is a better place without Usama bin Laden. Unfortunately, it’s not a lot better. We still need folks like O.J. out there to help make things better and keep them from getting worse.

    Reply

  6. Squeaky
    May 05, 2011 @ 21:52:54

    Ok Fuzz and Kos. I’m a big fan of reading too so you’re not that special. I prefer Maxim though, it’s filled with great information and some fantasstic (yes I realize that is misspelled) photos.

    Anyone? I’m sure Evan is with me.

    Reply

    • wuzafuzz
      May 06, 2011 @ 15:46:03

      Piktures r good 😉

      Reply

  7. Squeaky
    May 05, 2011 @ 21:54:45

    Reply

  8. Martin Kelly
    May 06, 2011 @ 08:09:05

    So I was listening to the news after the “event”. Al Queda is supposed to have a bunch of stuff just waiting for a reason to hit us, like killing bin Ladin. There were supposed to be Nukes planted through out Europe and sleeper cells in the US, and yet there is nothing. I do not for once think that the threat is diminished, but I do think most of vocal community (media and blogers) do not understand the enemy. They are exceptionally patient in developing plots, but are not so patient once they have a weapon. They seem to use anything they get as soon as they get it, which when you think about it is smart on their part. The US and our allies are always trying to track them down, if they do not use a weapon today, it could be snatched from their hands tomorrow. My belief is that they are hunkered down planning now. The pay back will be in a couple of months when almost everyone is settled down from the joy of this victory. I also believe that the people responsible for directly fighting these guys will not be caught flat footed. The intelegence community, military and law enforcement are doing an excellent job. The capture of the guys in England are an example of both the renewed planning of the bad guys and the vigelance of the good guys.

    Reply

    • wuzafuzz
      May 06, 2011 @ 15:08:29

      I agree. If they had a nuke somewhere they would have used it by now, probably in Israel, New York, or D.C. How could they resist?

      Reply

  9. Squeaky
    May 09, 2011 @ 15:23:11

    Reply

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