On April 30 1945, the world’s number one public enemy Adolph Hitler committed suicide. One day and 66 years later — on May 1, 2011 — the world’s most recent public enemy, Osama Bin Laden was pronounced dead. Ten years, $1.2 trillion dollars, millions of civilians and thousands of U.S. soldiers later, and we can all go to bed knowing that there is one less evil mastermind out there that has inflicted pain on not just Americans, but also people throughout the entire world. So you can understand my irritation when I heard, watched and read numerous opinions bashing the end to this ten-year manhunt.
Let’s start with the ignorant people who questioned the significance of the event. Why is this an extremely important event? This is, in fact, a historic event. Sept. 11, 2001, marked a day of terror, awareness, unity and, for many, loss. Bin Laden’s death marks closure for many families that have sought closure for their loss of family members, spouse or friends since the tragedy took place. No doubt the world would have wanted him alive to possibly hear what he had to say about his ruthless actions throughout the years, or to get to the bottom of where exactly he has been hiding all of these years, but nonetheless the U.S. has finally achieved closure.
In an address immediately after the report was released, Pres. Obama said, “We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al-Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.”
I read some ignorant comments and trends on social media networks — like Twitter and Facebook — about how Obama is receiving credit for the work that former president George W. Bush did. We won’t talk about Bush’s track record, fails and successes, but any American knows that for eight years, our priority seemed to be Iraq, not Bin Laden. We have not spent nearly as much on Afghanistan as we have on Iraq within the last three years. It took the effectiveness of Obama to redirect our attention back to the heart of Middle Eastern terrorism: Bin Laden. Bush started the job, but the Obama administration was the engine needed to get the job done.
There are many people that are uncertain if this will help reduce terrorism or simply fuel it even more. In his address, Obama acknowledged that our job fighting terror is not done, but that this should send a message to the world of terrorism that “we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.”
Bush also pointed at the same idea. He said that the U.S sent a message with the idea that no matter how long it takes, justice will be done. He too congratulated Obama.
No one knows what the future holds; the presidents are right when they say that this should send a message to our enemies because the U.S is a country that does pride itself in standing for undying justice.
The fight isn’t over yet; there are still countless terrorism groups both overseas and in the U.S influenced by Bin Laden. But for now, instead of worrying about who did what and who is getting credit for what, we should all unite in celebration of the closure and, perhaps, the beginning of our healing process for this wound, just as we did in its opening.
The only way to stop the crazy, conspiracy theories and varying criticisms of Bin Laden’s death is by doing exactly what Obama suggested in the concluding portion of his address to the world: “Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Uzo Umeh is a junior communications major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.
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