Flog: May 8, 1945 2011
I’ve always been fond of Andrea Mitchell. I’m not going to hit on her because I can’t reconcile my checkbook and there’s no way I can compete with Alan Greenspan. But I will say that had I been Federal Reserve Chairman I would not have put too much faith in the free markets and triggered the most recent Depression. But when I heard Andrea say we “Celebrate” the killing of Osama bin Laden, I was a little shocked at the semantics.
The statement took me back to April 30, 1945 when Adolf Hitler saved us from putting an end to his vile life by taking a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head in his bunker in Berlin.
I wouldn’t have used the word celebrate in regard to Hitler’s death. Relief would have been a better word. Eight days later I went downtown in Seattle (a “military” city at the time). The day (66 years ago today) marked the Allied victory over Europe in World War II. Confetti fell from the buildings and sailors and soldiers hugged and kissed every woman in the overwhelming crowd, including my mother, grandmother and two aunts. I was a few weeks from my eighth birthday and may not have known the word “celebration,” but if I had I wouldn’t have used that word to describe that remarkable event. Maybe Jubilation. In the words of Center for Strategic and International Studies Rick “Ozzie” Nelson said it better than I can:
"It's important to remember that bin Laden's vision was always for there to be 1,000 bin Ladens, not just one Osama bin Laden." So there is an opportunity here for many individuals inside the organization to step forward and carry forth the al-Qaida narrative."
Ayman al-Zawahiri has long been bin Laden’s No. 2 man, and he remains a key target for law enforcement officials. There is a $25 million reward for information leading the FBI to al-Zawahiri, who is believed to have played a key role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kenya.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
I won't even count the eggs, much less the chickens but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for him. I could use the $25 million as I'm sure by the time I reach 65 Medicare will be a distant memory. Maybe we'll all have to become bounty hunters just to make ends meet. There will obviously be a multitude of bin L's to look for by then.
ReplyDelete