Wow! I'm stunned, numbed, and still letting it all sink in. What does this news mean? Where do we go from here. Were the last 10 years worth it and what will the next 10 years bring? Follow me below the Fleur-de-Kos as I live-blog my reaction as the news breaks.
Just got the news from my land lord that Geraldo on Fox (ironic, that) that the President will be announcing shortly that Usama Bin Laden is dead! WOW! Given the source, I am, of course dubious, yet hopefull, so I flick on the TV to MSNBC. Yep! Brian Williams et. al. are reporting same. Well now....
BRB -
My wife back in Brooklyn calls to tell me that the neighbors are setting off fireworks. For good reason - just about EVERYONE in the neighborhood lost someone in the Towers, be it office workers, cops, or firefighters. This has been a long time coming.
President Obama on TV now!
Intro - on 9/11 - ouch! Listening to him recap the day itelf and the aftermath is a punch to the kidneys. I lost 2 myself. Jean Gerard Baptiste, a fellow officer in my Army National Guard unit who went into the towers in his role as a firefighter, and Lisa Ehrlich, long time friend of my wife who I had known for close to 10 years. Lisa was last seen outside of Tower 2 - apparently she had gone back in to assist others to get out. She left behind two sons orphaned. My thoughts are on them right now.
Over the last 10 years we've captured/killed "scores" of Al Qeada? Hmmm. Let that sink in. All this effort for less than a couple hundred people. Hmmm.
We've known since last August? Abadabad? I'm VERY impressed that were able to keep that secret for so long!
Not at war against Islam - Amen to that! Some of my brother Soldiers I served with at Ground Xero and in Afghanistan were themselves Muslims. Not to mention not an insignificant number of those at the WTC.
Pakistan - helpful? Again , interesting. Let's see how that plays out in Pakistan as they've had they're own war of late with Pakistani Taliban, who've been sheltering UBL since he escaped Afghanistan. Now where's Mullah Omar?
Justice Has been Done!
America Can Do!
American Values reign supreme!
Okay, I'll buy it, but can we now have war crime trials? Much has been done the past 10 years that needs to be reckoned for if those American Values stand for what we say they do!
Overall, good speech!
Okay, off to bed - I have much to ponder tonight. I'll write more this week once I sort out my feelings. Right now, they are a mixture of gladnesss (if that's the right emotion for any human being's death) and anger and sadness as the past 10 years roll over me in waves as I recollect the sacrafices and turmoil inflicted on the 1% of us that have been actively and directly affected by this.
Apologies for the typos/incoherence. I'll clean this up latter this week once I can think this through....
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