Monday, May 2, 2011

Osama bin Laden Killed by US, Part II - The President's Speech

Osama bin Laden was a murderous thug who had no respect for the rights of individuals and openly opposed, in the bloodiest manner, those who wished to uphold those same rights. Bin Laden followed Islam's lengthy tradition of turning to violence almost immediately to gain power and influence.

Tonight, President Obama made a point of reminding people that many of the people bin Laden murdered were his fellow Muslims and that "his demise should be welcomed by all". The President is correct in this regard.

This was probably the best speech ever given by President Obama, and whoever wrote this speech is underpaid. Obama hit many of the right notes in his speech tonight, though it would have been a better speech if he had mentioned former President George Bush's efforts to bring bin Laden to justice.

President Obama was more subdued in his claims for credit than I had anticipated using "I" statements only five times by my count. He was generous in his praise for the US armed forces.  I did not note a lot of praise for Pakistan in tonight's speech, even though they were mentioned. There is probably a reason for that and I believe that it is because Pakistan likely knew of bin Laden's location for months and failed to disclose it.

I will stick with my predictions about the fall-out from the event announced tonight, given in my previous blog. I will add another: There will be riots and anti-American actions because bin Laden was killed.

I'm watching live TV shots of Americans celebrating bin Laden's death. There seems to be a lot of joy and patriotism in force. This is so different from Middle East demonstrations where the usual display of emotions starts with anger and ends with disgust and possible self-loathing.

This does not mean the end of anti-Western Muslim actions, including violent attacks, but it is a victory for the United States and its allies. If we do not see a new "face" for al-Quaida within the next 90 days, then it will mean that the terrorist organization is more splintered than we realize at this time.

Our many problems, mostly self-inflicted, still remain but that does not mean we should not enjoy this. Listen to some Kool and the Gang and have a "Celebration". May God bless America.

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