Usama Bin Laden - A Victory Too Long

It was stunning feat for the United States. It was a spectacular success for the Navy Seals. It was a pitiful ending for a complete scum bag who thought he could bring down the world, but ended up with a bullet in the head. I am glad President Obama decided not to bomb Bin Laden’s compound. I am glad Bin Laden understood he was a dead man, and that it was an American soldier looking him in the eye as he pulled the trigger to kill him.

The whole thing seemed anticlimactic. It took just forty minutes for our special ops to fly into the compound, kill him, gather intelligence, and fly out. Bin Laden was deprived of his long desired battle glorious as he entered into Islamist martyrdom. And now his body is fish meat at the bottom of the ocean. All in a few hours!

9/11 is the defining event for the 21st Century. Our nation was changed forever. We have relinquished our freedoms to an intrusive government in the name of security. Our economy is in shambles. We fought a war in Iraq. We are fighting a war in Afghanistan. We are fighting a non-war in Libya. People are dying. Our finest are dying.

To a demoralized nation, the death of Usama Bin Laden is a needed lift, however temporary it might be. His killing capped off a weekend of “events.” This weekend we watched a royal wedding. We watched Pope John Paul II beatified. We watched a White House Press Corps roast. And we watched our troops kill Usama Bin Laden. What a world we live in!

But now we must get back to the tasks at hand. The problems we had last Friday are still the problems we have today, most of which can be traced directly back to the 9/11 tragedy. The solutions are not easy. The country is divided politically as never before except for, perhaps, the Civil War. Our currency is in the toilet. Our position of economic supremacy is at risk. We, as Americans, are still trying to find our footing once again.

Add to the mix my doubts about Pakistan as a reliable partner. Do you really think the Pakistani government didn't know that Bin Laden was living in a mansion in a walled compound 100 yards from the Pakistani Military Academy located by one of the largest garrisons in Pakistan in a town that houses primarily retired generals? How stupid do they think we are? How many people died because Pakistan didn't play straight with us?

Tonight I had dinner with friends and toasted President Obama who showed guts I didn't know he had; President Bush who laid the intelligence groundwork to form the foundation of the operation; our troops who risk their lives daily;  the memories of those killed on 9/11; and all who have died in the wars and terrorist attacks before and since. I know we should be celebrating this national triumph…but somehow it seems like a victory too long.  Rather than cheering, it's time for quiet contemplation.  The true battles are yet to come.

God Bless America.