You Say Usama, I Say Osama, Let's Call the Old Man Dead

FBI's Most Wanted Murderer

Initially, I wanted to reflect on how much my life changed in the past ten years.  When the planes flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the fields of Pennsylvania, the world around me changed.  I witnessed the anguish of friends who lost loved ones, I heard the fearful voices of my parents pleading with me to leave college and return home, I saw armed guards and patrol dogs on the streets of DC where the week before I walked without fear. 

But today is not the time or place to reflect with sorrow of the world that once was.  Today is a day for rejoicing and of thankfulness, for a worm of a man is no longer alive to actively seek the deaths of those who pursue freedom.  And I know that Osama's death does not signal an end to the death and destruction that has been a constant part of life.  However, we can rejoice that the figurehead of a terrible culture has been destroyed. 

I would like to take a moment to thank all the men and women and children who have sacrificed so much these past ten years to get where we are today. 

• To the men and women who patrolled the streets of desert town in hundred degree heat while wearing 20lbs of clothing and gear
• To the computer operators who guided drones or pinpointed airstrikes
• To the seamen who ferried supplied and created floating hospitals
• To the military chaplains who sought to provide comfort in life and in death for the men and women that have put their lives on the line
• To the families that sacrificed having their mother, father, daughter, brother, son, aunt, sister, uncle, grandson, cousin, or granddaughter away, serving for a country with people who would hurl insults at you for doing your job.
• To President Bush, whose name will go down in history with much mud for engaging us in a difficult, maybe unclear war, for taking on this head of this evil.  If it weren't for your first strike, we may still be living under the fear of constant terrorist attacks that leads to no resolution.  RIP USS Cole.

Like you, I don't know what's going to happen next.  I would love see our troops get the hell out of the middle east, Egypt, the mountains of  Afghanistan and Pakistan.  I don't give a damn if we create a vacuum by leaving.  We are dealing with a people who will never embrace democracy or freedom. 

Tonight, as I tuck the Kiddo in bed and say prayers, I will offer up my gratitude for your continued service. 

PS- Several years ago while I was working in DC as a civilian contractor for the US Coast Guard, I caught the metro into work at the Pentagon stop with two Coasties.  As we descended underground at the top of the stairwell stood an angry, disheveled woman screaming obscenities and shouts of murderers at the men and women in uniform.  I was infuriated that this lunatic was screaming at the people who fought for her to express her opinion in that obnoxious manner.  Did she even realize that if she were dropped off in a desert town ruled by the Mujaheddin or Shiite Muslims that her life would be nothing more than a face under a vast, constricting blanket?  As I charged back up the stairs to confront this raving BITCH (in my honest opinion, which you don't have to like), my co-workers grabbed me by the arms and physically carried me back down the elevator.
When I demanded they let me go as I wanted to knock this woman upside the head, both men shook their head.  "Caroline, that's what we do.  Our job is to protect and defend peoples right to express their opinions and live their lives as they see fit.  We aren't going to get thanked by everyone."
Well, Officers Sonny Schump and David Knapp, here's my digital thank you!

PS2-If I come across any protestors today that yell about the oppression American soldiers are capable of, I will be throwing down.