Good Riddance Osama, Good job Obama!

MaD dOG Sez:

I've been asked by several friends why I haven't posted a blog entry about the killing of Osama bin Laden. Some of them think I have some special insight due to my career in the military. The fact is I never participated in or directly supported any special operations missions, so all I can offer is still more uninformed opinion. Frankly, there's already plenty of that available.

For those who insist that my uninformed opinion has more value than other uninformed opinion, here goes...

First, I do believe that Osama bin Laden was killed during a raid by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan on May 1st. I don't really have a lot of "evidence" to back that up, I'm just taking the Government at their word on this. There are too many people involved already for this to be faked.

The other thing that I am absolutely 100% certain of, is that it did not happen the way it has been portrayed in the media. There's simply too much of a rush to be the first one to break even a tiny portion of the story that any semblance of fact checking goes out the window. Years from now we may have a clearer picture. but be prepared for a lot of backtracking and retelling by the media for the next few months. It's not that anyone is lying about events, it's just incompetent reporting. We should however, be used to that by now.

Some of the things I have been asked about include:

1. Do I think he's *really* dead.

Yes I do. If he's not, it's a brilliant move by the US. The whole world thinks he's gone. We can keep him in seclusion, waterboard him every hour, and dispose of him for real when we're done. No real downside here.

2. Was it a good idea to dispose of his body at sea?

I don't think so. Having the body would help dispel a lot of the doubt that some folks have. Of course, there are people that can find a conspiracy in a glass of water, and they will never accept any evidence, but a body would help. I also take issue with the reason behind the quick disposition of the body... to conform with Muslim tradition. Screw that! This man killed thousands of innocent people in the name of his religious beliefs, why honor them at all? I honestly would have fed him to pigs, taped it and sent it to Al Jazeera. The United States owes Osama bin Laden no courtesy of any kind.

And face it, radical Muslims are still going to hate us no matter how nice we are to them. We're like the idiots that think the tiger won't eat them because they treat it nice. It's still a tiger! It will eat you if you give it a chance. It's what they do. It's in their DNA. The Administration doesn't seem capable of understanding this... I think that is in *their* DNA.

3. Should Obama get any credit for this?

Let me be clear here... I am not a fan of President Obama. I dislike most of his policies. I detest his affinity for taxation and reckless spending. He strikes me as both cowardly and arrogant in the way he continually blames others for failures and openly takes credit for success... real leaders usually do it the other way around. I think he has weakened America since he took office.

With all that said, I have to say that I am VERY IMPRESSED with the way the President handled this operation. It is a clear home run for him, his administration, and the country. The level of competence and resolve he has shown with this effort caught me totally off guard. I still could never cast a vote for him, but he sure got this right.

Maybe this win will give him reason to revisit his decisions on closing Guantanamo Bay and using enhanced interrogation techniques because without them, this operation would not have been possible.

4. Should President Bush get any credit for this?

Yes. His authorization of enhanced interrogations, and detention outside of the US directly led to the intelligence that mad this operation possible. Obama still gets full credit for giving the go ahead, but he wouldn't have had the chance had it not been for Bush era policies.

5. Did Pakistan know bin Laden was there. Just a guess, but I think they did. Time will tell.

6 Were we right to violate Pakistan's sovereignty?

Yes. It is obvious that we cannot trust the Pakistani government (scary since they have 100 or so nuclear weapons) so including them in this operation would have been counter productive. In the military, we used to say, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness that to get permission." I wish America was more resolute in President Bush's framework that you are either with us, or against us... no middle ground. All this whining by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf about how we should have involved Pakistan security forces should be publicly rebuked.

7. Was this a capture of kill mission?

I don't know, and don't care. Osama is dead, that's what matters.

8. Should we be happy that bin Laden is dead?

Happy, yes. He was an evil person. Justice was served.

I was taken aback by the "spontaneous celebrations" that were shown on TV, and that moron Geraldo Rivera openly laughing at the news. America is better than that. I was ashamed that there were so many images of mostly young and apparently drunk people singing, chanting and yukking it up. It reminded me of the images of Palestinians in the streets celebrating after 9/11.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think a firm "YES!" under our collective breath would have better reflected the situation than Rivera jubilantly comparing it to Mardis Gras and New Year's Eve.

In the end, Osama bin Laden is gone, and it is a huge win for the US. The euphoria will be short lived though, as we remain a target for the misguided radicals of the world.