Thursday, May 5, 2011

Osama Bin Laden is dead... Now what?

Osama Bin Ladin

What should be disclosed about this operation?
The  US and world press clamoring to discuss what was done, how it was done, who should get credit, and should pictures be posted. I think the less publicity that is given to" who, what, where, when, and how" the better. There are conflicting stories about the details, so don't say anything. If some people want to believe it is a hoax, fine let them. 

More to do.
The main point is There is much yet to do like analyzing the information collected by the Seals. The terrorist network will pass the info around quickly enough.The quicker and more secretly this can be sifted through, the better. there are lots of terrorists out there that still need to be rounded up, and the less publicity given to things, the better the chances of tracking these folks. Do not give these terrorists any clues as to how things get done, let them remain in the dark.

Pakistan.
It seems that our relationship with Pakistan is quite complicated. Back channels are the best place to discuss this operation rather that making claims that the Pakistanis were negligent or complicit in harboring Bin Laden.

Presidents Speech.
Even though President Obama wants to make a speech at Ground Zero, I think it is inappropriate to indicate that killing Bin Laden closes the chapter on 9/11. Afghanistan and Iraq remain huge drains on US resources, and a tidy end to either of these operations is unclear. 

Political football.
Americans and the media need to stop trying to figure out who gets credit and realize that this is a continuum of effort from the first time Bin Laden and al-Qaida first surfaced to today and going forward.  President Clinton, Bush, and Obama and their security teams and defense departments have all focused on the threat to the level they perceived it to be. Politics should not be part of this discussion, and the quicker we can stop making it so the better. Nobody wins that game.

It is still about oil and money.
  Oil and money are part of the Bin Laden story. If there were no oil in the Arabian Peninsula, this story would be so different. Bin Laden's hatred of the US and his radical Islamic ideals needed to be funded in order to go forward. If Bin Laden were running amuck in central Africa, he could not have done near as much damage, because the resources were not there. Since he has gotten his message out, many others around the world have joined the cause.

A call to energy Independence. 
The US also needs to focus on energy independence so that things in the Middle East have less impact at home. Our economy is in a shambles, and unless we can stop being held hostage to high oil prices  and being the world's police force, we will continue to be depleted.

In the mean time.
We need to stay vigilant, track down these terrorists, and stop the public grandstanding.

Just my Humble Two Cents worth.

 I welcome your comments.







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Born in the Midwest. Married with 6 children and 3 grandchildren. Attended Maine West High School, Harper Jr College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. Practice in Crystal Lake, Illinois.