Sunday, May 01, 2011

The End of an Era -- The Death of Osama Bin Laden

It took 3,159 days since the worst terrorist attack on American soil but it finally happened.  Osama bin Laden, the spiritual head of al-Qaeda, was killed today by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden in an undated photo

U.S. President Barak Obama announced to the nation at 11:30 p.m. EDT tonight that a small U.S. operation shot and killed bin Laden after a firefight in northern Pakistan.  There were no American casualties.  The body of the former 9/11 mastermind is reported to be in the custody of the United States in Afghanistan.
If you missed the President's announcement, here it is (courtesy of MSNBC.com):

There are now celebrations throughout Washington and it is believed that New York will be joining in the celebrations in due course.

The Shadow would like to offer a personal reflection.  Over 3,000 lives were lost between the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack at the Pentagon, and the brave men and women who stopped what could have been another attack on Washington on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.  First and foremost, we should not forget those needless lost lives.  There is also the countless men and women who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting the War on Terror.  We must not forget their unselfish service to this nation.

We must also thank the brave forces who went after bin Laden today.  It was a successful mission based on good intelligence and not a single American life or civilian life was lost.  This was a good result.

It is uncharacteristic for The Shadow to celebrate death, but we will make an exception here.  Tonight, the American people are one in celebration behind their president and a mass murderer has finally been killed.  Our minds are clear and we will sleep well tonight.

But keep in mind that the War on Terror is far from over.  We are sure that in the coming days, there will be talk of retaliation or maybe even retreat from al-Qaeda.  Only time will tell.  But for tonight, let us celebrate this major victory.

Good night and good luck.