After the shooting of Osama bin Laden, some now want to debate the details. Should more effort have been made to take him alive? Was this a cold-blooded assassination? Does this invite others to kill our leaders? Does this promote a might-makes-right mentality?
These are all questions that should be explored thoughtfully, and that is why they should not be asked now.
Right now Americans are happy, and rightly so. Whether the emerging details show that Obama acted justly or unjustly, wisely or unwisely, this is a time for rejoice.
What bin Laden did to this country goes beyond even the mass murder of 3,000 civilians. On 9/11, bin Laden damaged America’s soul.
Before 9/11, nearly all Americans opposed racial profiling. After 9/11, Americans were far more willing to see airport security treat our Arab friends and neighbors like suspects.
Before 9/11, we all expected some dignity at an airport. Now we tolerate being peeped at though monitors and groped by TSA agents.
Before 9/11, Americans were reluctant to send our soldiers into battle. In the 90’s, Bill Clinton could not even find sufficient support for humanitarian missions if they risked the death of any American troops. After 9/11, however, American voters cheered the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and if we had had enough troops available, would have cheered invasions of Syria and any other country Bush pointed his finger at.
After what bin Laden did to us, he deserved the worst punishment we could deliver. Bush promised to bring justice to bin Laden, then failed and changed the subject to Saddam Hussein. Obama finally got the job done – the real job, the job we were promised back in 2001 – and now we have every right to celebrate.
If bin Laden’s death was a cold-blooded assassination, then most Americans right now will find that to be a great argument in favor of cold-blooded assassinations.
In a few weeks, when the celebration dies down, we can consider more rationally the criticisms of how this was carried out. But for now, any criticism will backfire. For now, we are just happy that it was carried out at all. Bush promised. Obama delivered.
Some feel it’s improper, even immoral, to cheer the death of a man, no matter how horrible he was. But everyone should celebrate the fact that thousands of direct victims of 9/11 now have more justice and that millions of Americans now have more closure. Bin Laden is done laughing at our pain. Bin Laden is done encouraging others to follow his example. Bin Laden is done.
Until recently, my signature here at DailyKos showed support for a primary challenge to Obama in 2012. After news that Obama got bin Laden, however, I changed my signature. In a month or two, I may go back to remembering the ways he has disappointed me. But for right now, I’m proud Obama is my president.
To those who wish to sprinkle criticism on this victory, I ask only that you wait one month. We waited 10 years for our bin-Laden-is-dead parade; let us enjoy the parade a little longer.