Its now been about four days since President Obama announced to the nation, and the world, that elements of US Special Operations Command had executed a Raid on a safe house believed to be the hiding place for Osama bin Laden. In the ensuing 96 hours I haven’t watched too much news since most of it is pure speculation from paid consultants and journalists who really don’t know what they are talking about.
What I have seen has been at times amusing and at other times pretty disgusting. We have seen celebration by groups who want to cheer what they believe will be the end of al Qaeda, or who because of their level of maturity think the killing of a human, no matter how worthy that killing is, is something to cheer about. We have seen the emotional accusations from pro-bin laden supporters that the US somehow violated his rights and eternal soul. There has been speculation about top-secret organizations by people who should know better. There has been discussion of this new stealth helicopter and parts being shipped to China. And finally everyone with access to a microphone has weighted in on whether we should or should not show the post-mortem pictures of the three bodies.
Should we show the pictures? Everyone has an opinion but I will say in this matter I agree with the Presidents current position. We as a nation have shown gruesome pictures when it suited the political need, but in this particular case (at least to my way of thinking) the cons far out weight the pros. I hope this is one position he remains constant on.
Additionally we have heard from the former President of Pakistan and several Pakistan government officials about how the US actions have seriously jeopardized our relations. I fully expect within the next day or two we will hear from the women left behind how US forces terrorized them and the children because they are evil Americans who everyone knows are out to bring terror, death and destruction on the freedom loving Muslims of the world.
My feelings on those concerns are pretty basic. I am not sure what we are getting for our $3 billion dollars a year in aid, and perhaps that money would be better spent elsewhere.
In those 96 hours the seamen who conducted this raid have returned home where they will provide their after-action reports, hug their loved ones and attempt to return to their routine. The soldiers and airman who supported them will do the same. America’s special operations forces will learn from what went well and what didn’t and they will prepare for the next challenge. Hopefully they will slip quietly back into the shadows, because that is what they do. The shield for USSOCOM holds a spear to represent that US special operations forces are the tip of the spear, the first point to threaten the enemies of the US.
In these past 96 hours there are liberal commentators who have used this small victory to again complain about our past President and how many lives he cost over his term, and in some cases question why he has not been killed. In those complaints not one mention of the increasing casualties in Afghanistan, continuing casualties in Iraq and the unmentioned casualties in other theaters of operation. In the end, these shallow and empty souls know nothing but to look for political advantage or practice their demagoguery.
To the right of this post you will find a quote from Theodore Roosevelt I think captures perfectly my sentiments on all the news we see swirling around this endeavor. Speaking from my past experiences I am proud of the way this team conducted this operation, and I am glad we will not be enshrining any of them in Arlington because of it. The motto of the British Special Air Service “Who Dares Wins” sums up this effort.
1 comment:
Those 100 plus year old words say it quite well and so did your newly minted ones.
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