Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Belated Congratulations to Our Special Forces AND President Obama

Yes.  I said it.  Congratulations to our Special Forces and President Obama.  It has been a week of great emotion regarding the killing of Osama/Usama bin Laden.  My first reaction was, "We finally got the bastard."  Then I heard about the burial at sea and got suspicious.  I am now thoroughly convinced OBL is dead.  

Having said that, my next layer of thoughts pertained to, “How did they get him?”  I’ve read, watched and listened to the details of the operation, from the initial code name for the courier coming out a few years ago, to the spotting of the suspicious compound.  All I can say is I'm glad I'm on our side.  

As for the motivation of Obama to order this type of mission, I do believe he apparently does possess some ability to make the correct decisions for the good of the USA.  This is an ability I've been wondering doubt for some time.  It is important to know BHO has this capability, for reasons I'll get back to.  BHO also seems to be willing to take risk.  This was a politically risky move, no doubt about it.  Had the choppers crashed inside Pakistan or had they invaded a compound and killed people that turned out to be innocent civilians, this could have been the end of his presidency and been a very significant international fiasco.   This leads me to believe that despite it being a "gutsy" decision for Obama, he had to be completely convinced OBL was there and that the Special Forces had every contingency covered.  BHO does not make decisions like this quickly or easily.  I see there were reports it took him 16 hours to decide.  I'd say for this president, that is record speed.  I do not begrudge him for taking the time; it has to be a gut wrenching process of weighing all the options and ultimately being the guy on the hook for the success or failure of such an operation.  Barrack Hussein Obama made the right call.  Congratulations Mr. President!

Next, I have to congratulate the intelligence community.  I do not know how they do what they do, but I'm damn glad they do it for us and not them.  The fact that it took years of putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and that the information did not get ignored or confined to a specific agency was nothing less than a bureaucratic miracle.  Many people whose names will never be spoken touched, read, passed on the information that kept the information flow alive.

And, of course, the Special Forces (specifically Navy Seals Team 6, if reports are to be believed) community is simply amazing.  I am convinced they are far deadlier than have ever been portrayed in movies.  These are men of incredible resolve, intellect, bravery who have endured years of brutal training to become the best of the best.  I cannot put into words the esteem in which I hold them, other than to say I am simply in awe.  Congratulations men!  Congratulations from a grateful citizen.

I do believe that the Bush administration ought to be thanked.  It was the resolve of GHWB who put us on the trajectory to find OBL and bring him to justice, "dead or alive".  It was men like Rumsfeld who realized that our armed forced had to be rebuilt to face the reality of a new type of enemy.  Rummy had to turn that ship around ASAP and build up capabilities, some from the ground up, and divert budgets and resources to fight a war like we've never fought before.  It was sweeping action of the Bush administration that reversed Jamie Gorelick's idiotic FISA provision's that allowed 9/11 to occur in the first place. So, congratulations to the men & women who served in the Bush administration that allowed us to have the capabilities to even conduct such a mission to begin with...  If I were a crazy terrorist I would be scared to death of the U.S. because we finish what we start, even when our president’s change through our peaceful election process.

I have a couple more thoughts on this subject.  First, I am a little appalled by all the celebration regarding OBL's death.  Please don't misunderstand me; I am glad we are rid of what was the world's worst homicidal maniac.  But, I find the celebration is a little unseemly for two reasons.  I don't think we are necessarily safer because OBL is dead.  In fact, some would argue that we may now experience a spike in attacks.  We'll see.  Mainly, I hope we are not lulled into a false sense of security.  But, more importantly, I do not believe we should be seen as celebrating because it is simply in bad taste.  It is not humble behavior at all.  I believe it would have been better for the USA to be seen as simply finishing what it said it was going to do.  I don't ever remember John Wayne screaming, "Yippie!  I killed the bastard!"  The Duke simply blew the smoke from the barrel of his gun and re-holstered it, looking at the dead body with disdain and disgust as he got on his horse and rode away.  Classy.  Death, even that of a vile homicidal maniac should not be celebrated.  This war is not over.  

That leads me to my last train if thought regarding the death of OBL.  I am appalled by the lack of gratitude expressed by the "peaceful" Muslims around the world.  If, in fact, OBL represented a dishonest faction of Islam, then they ought to be glad to be rid of him and all he represented.  Aside from Saudi Arabia, no other Muslim country nor any "moderate/peaceful" Muslim leader has said that Islam is better off now that OBL is dead.  That, to me, is an ominous sign.  It leads me to believe that there may not be as many "peace-loving moderate" Muslims in the world.  Maybe, though they have never said so, they secretly reveled in the fact that OBL was able to elude the U.S. for so long. 

I believe we have seen the end of round one in the battle against radical Islamists.  Only time will tell if Islam is a religion of peace, as they say.  

I hope (and pray) for the best but, I am preparing for the worst.

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