A Thimble-Full of Blood

Last night as my house settled down after a busy Sunday of yard work, I turned on my television at 8 o'clock, and I saw breaking news coverage with the headline, 'Osama bin Laden killed by US forces'. I called my wife and children into the room to watch the reporting of this historic news. As we watched the exhilerated crowds celebrate in front of the White House, my 12-year-old son Brodie asked if we could get out the noise-makers we use on New Year's Eve and go out in our neighborhood and celebrate, too.

I understand the need to celebrate a victory over my enemy, and I do celebrate the fact that bin Laden's death came at the hands of American forces. But what does his death really mean?

As the face of al-Qaeda, bin Laden's death is noteworthy, but long overdue. Shortly after 9/11 President Bush set a $25 million bounty on his head, ordering bin Laden to be taken dead or alive. Even with this death sentence hanging over his head bin Laden evaded US forces for almost 10 years. And like the families of victims of a convicted murderer, those who lost loved ones on 9/11 waited too many years for the justice and closure brought, too late, by the death of the one responsible for their loss. It has been said that revenge is a dish best served cold, but I think that the families of those killed by bin Laden's plans would rather have enjoyed this moment if it had happened in the days immediately after the attacks, when their losses ached most and when America's passions were at their hottest.

The death of this one man does bring some element of closure to the terrible events of that day, but for the 3,000 killed that day in 2001, bin Laden's death offers only a thimble-full of blood to each victim. Add to the number of those killed on 9/11 the other victims of al-Qaeda's acts, the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi in August 1998, the attack of the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, and all those others killed by terrorist attacks inspired by bin Laden's leadership, and that thimble-full of blood is halved for each victim. Add the lives of US servicemen killed in pursuit of bin Laden and his organization and there are only a scant few drops of blood for each victim to treasure as a trophy of this 'justice'.

Osama bin Laden was but one man. It would be nice to imagine that, as the putative leader of al-Qaeda, killing this one man would be like decapitating his terrorist organization and with one stroke we would have attained victory. But the truth is that al-Qaeda is a many-headed Hydra, and chopping off this one head will only result in two more heads growing to replace it.

The war on terrorism is important, and bin Laden's death at our hands is definitely a noteworthy landmark in this war. This is not a war of our choosing, we are forced to extend this war to protect ourselves from those who have already attacked us and done us harm. I honor all the brave American soldiers who have put themselves in harm's way to fight this war and protect our country. Osama bin Laden's death won't end the threat and resolve of those who fight against us. His death may be just as symbolic to our enemy as it is to us. Let this day do more to bring us together as Americans than it does to unite our enemies against us.