The World is a Better Place Today

    I purposely waited a few days before posting anything about the killing of Osama bin Laden.  I wanted to make sure my initial reaction was going to be my thought-out reaction.  So, here are my thoughts.

    The world is better off without this mass murderer.  He was an evil man responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people.  Interestingly, a large percentage of those deaths were other Muslims.  Even today I heard of an al Qaeda attack on Muslims in Baghdad.  The Sunnis and Shiites hate each other almost as much as they hate everyone else who doesn’t agree with them completely.  I have no doubt bin Laden got what he deserved.

    The killing of bin Laden, as opposed to his capture, was not only a wise action, but a justified one.  I have been listening to the talk show callers.  I am amazed at the number of people who claim our constitution was violated by the actions of the Navy Seal team.  The objection is that bin Laden was denied due process.  When will people in this country understand that we are at war?  The rules of war are different from the rules of our civil justice system.  The strategy of war is to kill the enemy until they decide they’ve had enough.  That is why military budgets are heavy on weaponry.  When at war, a major objective is to dismantle the enemy’s command structure; kill the officers responsible for giving orders to everyone else.  Bin Laden was al Qaeda’s commander-in-chief.  He was a legitimate target.

     I think the problem is that our population is having difficulty redefining “war” in the 21^st century.  War has evolved since the creation of human beings.  The invention of gun powder diminished the need for hand-to-hand combat.  As a result, strategies changed and war took on a different look.  The American colonists’ experience with the Native Americans, especially in the French and Indian War, changed tactics.  The colonists learned that it was neither necessary nor desirable to stand in straight lines in an open field and trade shots with lines of the enemy.  Camouflage and taking cover behind rocks and trees changed the definition of war.  The invention of airplanes and tanks moved armies out of lines of trenches and made war a mobile event.  The advent of the helicopter made it even more mobile.  The Vietnam War was primarily a deadly game of hide and seek; no discernable lines of combat.  The technology we have today minimizes the loss of both military and civilian lives.  Instead of thousands of lives being deemed “acceptable loses” as in WWII, now a half-dozen lost lives get a large headline.  Make no mistake; we are at war.  But this time the enemy doesn’t wear uniforms or attack in strength of numbers, or limit their activities to a specific battlefield.  The 21^st century war is waged by small groups against a global civilian population. 

    One more thing: Photos of the dead body should not be released.  The conspiracy theorists won’t believe any picture they see.  I heard a caller just yesterday say if he saw a photo of a dead bin Laden he would admire the Photo Shop work.  Skeptics will not be convinced.  American haters will be more inflamed.  A photo will serve no good purpose for our country.

    It’s time I let you in on the results of the survey I took some months back regarding whether you would have been a patriot or a British loyalist when it came time to choose sides.  I promise an article in a few days…in between selling my truck, finishing the installation of a window, getting the yard in shape, volunteering with the police department, public cemetery and my church, spending time with some of my grandchildren, honoring my children’s mother and taking an occasional nap.  Ah, the relaxing retired life!