Thursday, May 05, 2011

The Waiver: My sentiments waiver (so what else is new) about the special opp killing of bin laden and I also waiver as to whether OSBL's dead body should be released to the press. I put up on my blog an opinion entitled "Body of Evidence" which discussed the skeptical thoughts I have. I did not send it because I was not sure about its content and I still am not. But I have read many things that lead me to believe that the president, perhaps, is correct to not release the photos. It would, I think, indeed, be possible to incite people even more albeit some are already incited.

I am now of the opinion, until I read and deduce otherwise, that bin laden was killed on May 1, 2011 and that the unbelievably capable and brave US Navy Seals performed their job with the highest expertise. It is easy to Monday morning quarterback. How would anyone feel going into an atmosphere where one has NO idea what to expect? Even ONE man (or woman) with a gun is enough to pose a threat to the entire operation in the fog of war.

This action seems to have been executed perfectly and the withholding of the pic perhaps the correct thing to do. I still do wonder how on earth a middle aged man with kidney disease who needed dialysis could have lived six years in that milieu. That building although bigger than others looked squalid. How US helicopters which I have read allegedly perused the skies above the area years ago did not question what a house with barbed wire was doing there, I cannot know.

There will always be questions. I now believe we did, in fact, kill bin laden on May 1, 2011, and I now believe the president's rationales for not releasing the pics were correct. Until proven otherwise I commend the action but I do not like to act as a high school cheerleader of a football game and revel in the deaths of many during the entire theater of war.

These are serious actions for serious times. Careful scrutiny of national policy and US foreign policy should be our country's modus operandi. Because I am not in the decision-making theater of war it is very hard for me to judge the moral, the ethical and the legal conduct of the operations in which we engage. I simply HOPE and, indeed think, this president is better than the last. Maybe time will tell -- or maybe it won't!

NOT ANYMORE

  I wrote this last week and for the most part sat on it because I did not want my writing to imply anything against Israel. As stated agai...