Osama bin Laden: Reflections on his "death"

Disclaimers and Cross-References:

Today, I am posting two blogs on Osama bin Laden with these titles:

Osama bin Laden: A Eulogy by a US President

Osama bin Laden: Reflections on his “death”

I am going to assume, at least for the sake of these posts, that Osama bin Laden is really dead and that he died, as advertised, at the hands of a Navy SEAL team. I make this assumption knowing full well the ease with which our leaders lie to us, and their unparalleled capacity for doing so.

What follows are just my initial reactions to what must qualify as a breaking story.

General comments

ONE: I find it hard to believe that the SEAL team went in without being ready to document this event. Most likely: Each team member had a vid cam mounted on his helmet. That must be why it had to be admitted Bin Laden was unarmed. If Wikileaks had ever obtained SEAL footage that contradicted the official version, the political fallout would have been devastating.

TWO: The commandos had to have known at least two things: That Bin Laden was definitely home and that no high-level member of the Pakistani government or military was there. Had that been Osama’s hiding place and he’d been out in the neighborhood taking his dog for a walk, we’d have blown a perfect opportunity. If he had had a high-level official visitor, that would have been awkward to say the least.

THREE:  How is it that the commandos were there for 40 minutes and making all that noise – with explosions to boot – and the Pakistani military didn’t interrupt the proceedings?

FOUR:  I have other comments, which appear below as posts I’d made to various news articles appearing on Yahoo News:

My Yahoo News Postings

In my usual style, any quotes appearing at the beginning were taken directly from the articles I was commenting on:

ONE:

"The Pakistani intelligence official acknowledged bin Laden's whereabouts may cause problems with the United States, and also embarrass Pakistan."

Oh, the Pakistanis shouldn't worry too much about that. After all, Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard was responsible for the gravest leak of classified info in our history (Wikileaks has nothing on this guy). And yet, Israeli PM Netanyahu visited Pollard in prison in 2002 and actively seeks his release from a life sentence.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"Just as we keep wrapping our ever-luvin arms around Israel, so shall we around Pakistan. But...give us a couple of days to get over their complicity."

TWO:

"U.S. military planners had to take pains to move in and out of the country without having to shoot at Pakistani military forces..."

Be very sure about one thing: We would have opened fire on any Pakistani military that tried to protect its turf against an unknown and unannounced invader. If, for some reason, though, the Pak air force had shot down the SEAL team and killed them all (allowing Bin Laden to get away), our ally could have scolded us by saying, "Why didn't you tell us? Then we would have known not to shoot at you."

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"There were a lot of ways this thing could have gone wrong - and a lot of ways it can still go wrong."

THREE:

"Americans have been absorbing the world-changing news..."

What's changed, except we've informed the world we shot an unarmed man and that man's wife rushed one of his attackers? So we've created sympathy for the unarmed and made a [hero] of a woman protecting her husband.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"Too often in my life, I have found those who seek 'justice' are really seeking vengeance. Too few instances of turn the other cheek or has that turned into another hated Islamic teaching?"

FOUR:

Why didn't the SEAL team simply leave the Osama's body where they shot him? Let the Pakistani's take care of the remains. As our ally, that would be the least they could have done. I'm sure Saudi Arabia, where bin Laden's kin still live, would have taken his body. No doubt about it. And we could have gotten that body there within 24 hours - easily.

I can tell you this much: We had no intention from the get-go of doing anything but burying him at sea and, no, we didn't even bother to ask if any country would accept the corpse. NOTE: I've developed knack of knocking down the BS lies of govt spokesmen -- not a bad talent to have in this day and age.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"I hope, after all our chest-thumping, self-righteous, bloodlusty cheering dies down, that we will conclude (cost/benefit wise) that chasing down bin Laden was worth it."

FIVE:

“U.S. special forces set out to kill Osama bin Laden and dump his body in the sea…”

And then the article says if bin Laden would have waved the white flag of surrender, they wouldn’t have killed him. Those are the ROE, you know.

Well…I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but that’s not true. If he would have surrendered, he would still have been shot dead. Those were the orders, straight from Obama’s mouth.

Anyone paying attention over the past 8 years has seen how, when convenient, we violate our own most cherished values. “We don’t torture.” Yes we do. “Our citizens have inviolable civil rights granted to them by God.” No they don’t. The only part anyone got right: “We will spend whatever it takes.” I recall one of Bin Laden’s goals was to get us to spend ourselves into bankruptcy. In that, we have been his greatest ally.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

“Be careful what you ask for.”

SIX:

It doesn't take much in the way of brains to be a late-night humorist, a point [David] Letterman has labored mightily for years to prove. For instance, it didn't occur to any of these jokers that they've just painted a bulls-eye on themselves. And, unlike the secretive SEALS team (smart enough to lie low and avoid bragging), the whole world knows where they live. And all in the name of pandering for ratings.

These puppies are sick, and lack even the brains to have self-preservation skills. A public display of sheer glee is never pretty to look at. What I'd like to see is an audience greeting such "celebratory remarks" with the comedian’s worst enemy: Stone, stark silence. That's worse than being booed. Even that can be converted into a joke.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"Careful of joyous escalation - you know what they say about he-who-laughs-last."

SEVEN:

“Closure” is a loaded and deceptive word, for nothing is ever truly and entirely left behind us. Our existence is a continuum, therefore anything we might like to think of as “closed” has a mind of its own and continues its ripple effects. That’s basic karma.

It is much to the preference of Western-style accountants to “close the books” and “move on.” But those are mere conventions of convenience, which have nothing to do with reality. This might also have a lot to do with our current economic malaise but that’s another story.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

“Reality has a funny way of morphing and refusing to die, preferring to reincarnate in forms to test men’s souls.”

EIGHT:

"We got beat up for it, but those efforts led to this great day," said Marty Martin, a retired CIA officer who for years led the hunt for bin Laden.

So what Martin is saying is, "The end justifies the means." Hmm...seems there were some guys who thought the same way, and flew some planes into some towers once upon a time. Politics do make some strange bedfellows indeed.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

"Well, Marty, ask yourself this: 'What did we give up by ignoring our values to get one guy...a guy admittedly no more than a bit player at the end?'"

NINE:

Obama’s plan is brilliant. “Deathers” (same kind of people as “birthers”) will start claiming Osama’s still alive. They’ll blast Obama for not showing off the body. “Show us the death certificate,” they’ll bleat. Then, just before the election, Osama’s body will mysteriously show up – as in “washed up on shore” or “that burial-at-sea stuff was just a story…of course we’ve got the body.” And that will discredit the “deathers” (careful before you jump on this bandwagon, Donald [Trump]) – good riddance, too.

TEN:

I wonder if the Pakistani government had been asked permission for the US to conduct this operation. In a perfect world, US intel would have told our Pakistani allies, “We know where bin Laden is; now you guys should go get him.”

But it’s not a perfect world. And to prove it, the death of bin Laden (in the long-run scheme of things) won’t matter. To be sure, we have created a martyr with all that implies. Young boys will be inspired by this legend and will willingly blow themselves up in his memory. But after a while, even bin Laden’s martyrdom will fade into memory. What’s going on at ground level has more to do with just one man. But, sadly, there will be the bloodthirsty and vengeful among us who won’t see that point.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

“It will be interesting to see what we do with the body. Return him to Saudi Arabia ? For a hero’s welcome?”

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“The hardest thing is to fight the temptation to exact revenge.”