Monday, May 02, 2011

Osamathanatopsis: A meditation on the death of the devil

There is one less Saudi-born terrorist multibillionaire in the world today.  I met the news of the death of Osama bin Laden (hereafter referred to as UBF, for UglyBeardedFuckstick™) believe it or not, with mixed emotions.
Relief, because I knew that there was one less truly evil sonofabitch roaming the planet, making plans to kill my family.  Granted, he wasn’t very likely to specifically target my family, but then again, I am the #1 google result for “new funny pictures” so there is always the possibility.
Gratitude, for the hundreds of thousands of military personnel, and the millions of their family members who have sacrificed so much through all of this, and will continue to sacrifice, as this is not the end, any more than killing Hitler in 1942 would’ve brought an end to WWII.  Sure, we stand outside the Whitehouse and in Times square and celebrate and clap and sing and whatever else goes on at these rallies, but it is the families and friends of our fighting men and women who are truly the ones who show support for the troops, far more than a one-off rally or a car magnet.  It is to these silent heroes that we, the military, owe our undying love and gratitude.
Apprehension, because our enemy may very well be emboldened to double down, now that UBF has been brought to room temperature.    Ask yourself, if AQ were to attack and kill the US President, despite what you may think of his administration, would you want, even more, to hunt down and kill everyone even remotely responsible?  What about when you saw pictures of the jubilant celebrations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, etc. on 9/12/01?  Do you remember how you felt when you saw that?  Do you think our enemy will feel differently?  The DoD has raised the force protection level across the board--but a smart enemy (and only fools believe their enemy to be anything else) will bide his time, and wait for us to become complacent.
Some things I don’t feel, necessarily, are pride, or joy, or happiness.  I don’t really think it goes well with taking a human life.  Granted, I do believe that UBF was sub-human (see untermensch) but I also believe that we should not let our emotions into the business of killing.  We took UBF to the mattresses, nothing more.  We killed him, with no more regard for him than a cockroach, and we should celebrate his death with the same fanfare.  To do any more only deifies him, and will fuel his martyrdom.

I am, to be sure, glad that the UBF is dead.  I am thankful that he was hunted down and killed.  I am extremely glad that he was not captured, as we can only wonder at what the Department of Justice and Pantywaist Politics would have done had we captured him.  I can easily imagine a trial in the Hauge followed by a strongly worded letter to his parents from the UN, and a sentence of time served because he was forced to live in caves (and later, Pakistan) after 9/11.  A trial like that would certainly have happened, and rest assured, there would be NO death sentence found, either in a US court (no physical proof he actually ordered the attacks--at least none that could be declassified) or in an International court (seriously, Angola, Cuba, Saudi, and China are on the UNHRC).  Clearly, capturing him would have meant, at most, a life sentence in a jail where his "rights" were assiduously monitored, along with his health, and appeals from everyone from Code Pink to Amnesty International calling for his release under humanitarian grounds (He's been rehabilitated!)  All the while every terrorist on the planet conducting attacks and holding hostages until he is released.

This is a win in the War on Terror, or the War on Man-Made Disasters, or whatever the euphemism du jour.   This, however, is not a football game.  In war, the only cause for celebration, in the eyes of a warrior, is its victorious end.  There will still be the empty chair at the table, the salt of tears, the bitterness of friends and family no longer among us,  and the emptiness that comes from their loss.  We will continue this fight, and so will our enemy.  We are in a war for survival as not just a nation, but western civilization as the beacon of light in the world.  In the end, there can be only one winner.  When that day comes, and I am sure it will, I will toast absent companions, and wish them fair skies and following seas, and celebrate.  Until that day, I, and we in the Armed Forces, stand ready, ever vigilant, and ready to do violence on your behalf.
--Chuck

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