Obama v. Osama: wet t-shirt contest

My lovely girlfriend’s birthday was yesterday as was the death of Osama bin Laden…..coincidence? Probably so. Actually, I’m only mildly interested in Osama’s death. I recognize it as good news, but we have been told that he is dead before. I guess I’m somewhat skeptical. Also, this isn’t some kind of light switch where everybody the world over just decides to stop hating on each other and take up crossword puzzles instead. One man is dead. So what?? I’m expected to be excited, but the outpouring of overtly patriotic and religious sentiments over someone’s death kind of makes my nauseous, you know? “Thanks be to Jesus that this old terrorist died of a bullet to the face! For the glory of (Allah) God!” We have been told that the extremists that we have been fighting say such things, no?
Hitler’s death and the end of WWII? I’ll drink to that, but to some separatist leader in the desert? I guess it’s just not as exciting.
It’s terrible, but on the same token I am glad that the US had some balls to drop in and kill someone they wanted to with ‘intimate’ force. No tactical bombings, just a classic firefight where a predetermined target got snuffed. If he were captured alive, there would be back and forths about the ethics of detaining someone, even a ‘bad guy’ and a trial and so much pandering to the world’s sentiments for justice and mercy. There is no chance to have a drawn out discussion when he was dead before most people even knew we was still at large.
Still, I don’t feel that this is something worth celebrating. It just seems like a sour victory….or I’m just moody before my mourning coffee kicks in.


Libyan commentary to follow this week!