And find need for yet, another somber time of remembrance ...
I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
--
George W. Bush
“Tonight I can report to the American people and the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden,” Obama said during brief remarks at the White House.
“Justice has been done,” he said, in comments that marked a formal end of the manhunt for the most visible and emotionally-charged symbol of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"This war, like all wars, must end," Obama said Thursday. "That's what history advises. It's what our democracy demands."
The end of perpetual war
by kos for Daily Kos -- May 26, 2013
[...]
This might've been Obama's most substantive speech of his presidency. [...]
But aside from the argument over the details (which I'm sure is what'll get hashed out in the comments), the two passages above point to the most important takeaway from the speech: the declaration that our "war on terror" as we know it is over.
[...]
How many times must tired souls look up ...
Bob Dylan -- Blowin in the Wind
link to video and lyrics
Blowin in the Wind
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, and how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Bob Dylan Interview -- 60 Minutes
How many does it take?
How many deaths is enough?
Before we will turn this page of history,
and decide this tragic chapter is finally over?
That answer my friends, should really be up to us ...
When to wage war ... and when to wage peace.
That answer, should really be up to us.