Where do I start?
“Patriotism is not a short frenzied burst of emotion, but the long and steady dedication of a lifetime.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
I originally was going to wait a few days for the patriotic fervor to die down before I wrote another blog. It’s difficult to think rationally amidst all the emotions and all of the patriotism that has energized a country today. Maybe I should use the word "Nationalism" instead of “Patriotism." There is a huge difference between the two. I found myself holding my head a little higher as I watched the celebration in front of the White House. This is 9 years of stress being released. I imagine some people in the crowd were 18 years old. Most of their memorable life has taken place from September 11th 2001 to the present date. They probably do not have very many memories before that terrible day. I am glad to have many great memories before September 11th. I am proud, as I imagine all Americans are, that we finally took down the head of Al Qaeda. I also am glad to see the families that lost a loved one on 9/11 and families that lost loved ones during the "War on Terrorism" finally get some kind of closure although it will never be enough to fully close those wounds.
With all of that being said it is important to not get entirely wrapped up in blind nationalism. When you get emotionally invested in something to the point of zeal it clouds your reasoning. To me it’s important to remain rational because I believe it is the responsibility of the American Citizen to question. I have so many questions. I would rather ask them sooner than later. So here are some of my thoughts and questions from the last 12 hours. It is not my intention to try to give you answers to my questions but to make you ponder the same questions I have pondered.....some may be answered...some may never be answered.
Why do we give Pakistan billions of dollars (I just heard 20.7 Billion since 9/11) when they obviously are not cooperating with the United States? Why do we give ANY countries your tax dollars? From what I have heard on the news the house/compound where Bin Laden was killed was six times bigger than any house within 90 miles. The house was located a few blocks from the Pakistan Military Academy and within an hour of the capital of Pakistan. Am I to believe that they didn't know he was there?
Is this a prelude to pulling out of Afghanistan? I hope so. I do not think we should be in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen or Libya. It would be nice for my representatives in congress to actually discuss and then declare a war before sending my states troops and resources to another country. I believe our Founding Fathers had the proper view on Foreign Policy: A humble foreign policy. No entangling alliances and free trade with all nations. In regards to Afghanistan here ia a statment from the President of Afghanistan regarding the death of Osama Bin laden.
Sounds like he wants the U.S and NATO out of Afghanistan and I think we should oblige.
Why did we throw Osama Bin Laden's body over board into the ocean? I know our government has been planning for this day for 9 years. They had a plan for what we would do with Bin Laden if he was captured or killed. This is the best plan they could come up with? Kill Bin Laden and throw him overboard. I woke up in the morning in disbelief. When I first heard of Bin Laden death my first thought was "I'll believe it when I see the body." To my surprise they announced that we had his body. Then I wake up and hear we threw his body overboard to give him a "proper Muslim burial". Why did he deserve a proper burial? He didn't! I understand they didn't want to give him a grave site so his followers had a "Holy Place" to visit their extremist leader. The American people needed to and deserved to see him dead. Remember when we caught Saddam Hussein? We had video of US troops going into a hole and pulling him out. We had pictures. I am curious to see what comes out in the form of pictures and videos.
Initial reports say that Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head. If there were twelve Navy Seals and they had Bin Laden cornered upstairs in the house could they not restrain him? There is no way the Seals were intimidated or endangered by him at this point. He is a scrawny and scared looking person. He resisted and they shot him in the head. This doesn't make sense at all. Seals would have aimed center mass of the chest and they wouldn't have missed. Did they shoot him in the face so it wasn't recognizable? How did we have his DNA before this raid? They keep mentioning DNA but have never said they have done a test. All information says they judged his height and facial features and his wife ID'd him. I would be ok if they came out and just said the mission was to kill Bin Laden and we did just that. I really hate to say it but I do not believe the initial report given regarding the Seals had to shoot him in the face to stop his resisting. I am sure we will hear a lot more about it in the next few days. So maybe the real story will come out.
So what happens now? Undoubtedly there will be retaliation of some sort in the near future. There are many groups that hate our foreign policy. There are many groups that would like to harm us. Here is a quote by the leader of Hamas. It’s important to understand the mentality and reasoning of people that want to do us harm.
"We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior," Ismail Haniyeh told reporters, according to Reuters. "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood." ~Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh
The important part of that quote is "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood." That is the reason why extremists hate us. It is not because we are free...or that they are jealous of our lifestyle. It is our foreign policy. It’s because we have a military presence in 135 of the 195 countries of the world. (Those are just the ones that are known about)
I know a little about a lot of things. I also know a lot about a few things. I do know this. The message of Freedom and Liberty is not best spread by bombs or bloodshed.
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