Last night, we all were kept awake by the announcement from President Obama that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces. It comes a mere three months before the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It’s culmination of a years of effort, but it’s finally something for the entire country to rally around. One of the most dangerously evil men on the planet is dead. Yes, you’re allowed to be relieved (although the Bible asks you not to be happy).
Allow us to catch you up. We’ll start with the President’s speech.
“Hot Damn”
The news of bin Laden’s death was broken by a tweet. Around 10:30, the White House announced that the President would be giving an announcement, but left out any details. Then, Keith Urban, the chief of staff for former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, tweeted this:
So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama bin Laden. Hot damn.
No Americans harmed
Bin Laden was killed at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where he’d been hiding since last summer. Bin Laden’s son and two of his couriers were also killed by U.S. forces during the raid. One of the two helicopters used in the assault suffered a mechanical failure and had to be destroyed, but no American soldiers or civilians were harmed.
Swallowed in the sea
American forces took bin Laden’s body, which was verified by facial recognition (no, not this). According to The Washington Post, he was buried at sea:
U.S. officials said they would ensure bin Laden’s body would be handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition.
Shortly after 3 a.m. Monday, the Associated Press and CNN, each citing a senior administration official, reported that bin Laden’s body had been buried at sea. The administration wanted to prevent the creation of a shrine to him, a senior U.S. official said. “We don’t want a bunch of people going to the shrine forever,” the official said.
Not knowing you’re making news
Sohaib Athar, a 33-year-old computer programmer from Abbottabad, covered the raid without even knowing it. Again, it all comes down to the magic of Twitter. Here’s his timeline:
Later, he tweeted, “Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it.” Yes, yes you are.
This is creepy
As the news broke, celebrations erupted all across the country. College campuses went crazy. Celebration broke out in front of the White House and at Ground Zero, too. But what happened during the ninth inning of the Mets-Phillies game will give you chills:
Also, President Bush gave his “Mission Accomplished” speech on May 1, 2003 (8 years to the day), and Hitler was killed on May 1, 1945 (66 years to the day). I am officially freaked out.
A famous day in front pages
With once-in-a-generation news, there’s an opportunity for once-in-a-generation newspaper front pages. Here are two of the best. Poynter has a great roundup with more.
The house where bin Laden died
ABC News scored some amazing footage inside the house where bin Laden was killed. It’s extraordinary stuff, but you might want to turn away if you’re grossed out by too much blood.
Someone was bound to do it
Obama and Osama just sound too much alike …
What next?
Al-Qaeda might try to do something to avenge their leader’s death, so terror-threat levels across the country will be high.
Ayman al-Zawahri is most likely to take over for bin Laden. However, Lawrence Wright, author of the definitive 9/11 book, The Looming Tower, says al-Zawari, “has few of the qualities that would make for a successful leader. He’s anti-charismatic. He ran his own Egyptian terror organization, al-Jihad, into the ground.”
Bin Laden’s death could be a huge blow for terrorism, Al-Qaeda, and Islamic extremism, Wright writes:
Democracy and civil society are the cure for the chronic misery of Muslim countries that has fed the rise of Islamic extremism. The death of the most notorious terrorist the world has ever seen, whose mission was to create a clash of civilizations, will allow the door to open more widely to the tolerance, modernism, and pragmatism that is so badly needed and so long awaited in a part of the world where despair, corruption, brutality, and fanaticism have laid waste to so many generations.
And about that birth certificate …
—Photo Michael Appleton/New York Times
—Gallery Photo NYPD/EPA
So , my question is why is “Obama” not leasing any of the pictures of Osama’s dealth ? Sounds Fishy . 0.o
As the story develops: I don’t need to see the death photo of Bin Laden. I didn’t need to see Saddam’s two sons dead, nor did I need to see the hanging of Saddam Hussein. I didn’t need to see the three associates who died in the Seal assault. I believe the President when he says we got him. I would describe these images as gratuitous. Then again, while 9/11 left me profoundly shaken, thankfully I did not lose anyone close to me in the attack, nor have I in the ensuing wars. I cannot speak for what someone who… Read more »
very interesting perspectives as usual from my fav columnist-I am also disturbed by the exuberant celebrations and the insistance of the media to get every last detail(no we don’t need to know everything)Say a prayer for all those lost on 9-11 and for all the military who risk their lives so we can ponder all these issues in a free country with a free press!
Oh, and for President Obama, whose domestic policies I have roundly criticized, a big thank you to you too.
As a mature American, it is enough for me that this creep is dead. I don’t need to go dancing in the streets. If you look closely, most of the revelers are young people. I say, let them get it out of their system. It reminds me of the spontaneous gatherings which occur outside death row when a particularly heinous serial killer gets sparked or injected. It is not exemplary example of human nature, but let it go. Was it worth it? Hitler rose to power in 1932, and invaded Poland in 1939. What if someone could have taken him… Read more »
Great questions, Tom. Some where asked rhetorically, but here’s how I would respond to each: 1) I don’t know that we “all agree” that bin Laden’s death is “wicked cool”. We certainly don’t agree that it was a “state-sponsored execution”. Reports suggest he was shot when he resisted capture. We may never know what really happened, but the message to the world is, among other things: “When you do bad things, bad things are likely to happen to you.” I’m ok with that. 2) I share your discomfort over the exuberance of the celebration. I am satisfied that bin Laden… Read more »
Ryan another awesome post. Great stuff. Just a few questions here: * When did we all agree that state-sponsored executions are just wicked cool? * Does dancing in the streets over the execution of an enemy leader remind you of any other nation in recent history? * We went to war just after 9/11 and have to date spent $1.2 trillion. Was that money better spent on tracking down this guy or could it have been better used fixing our education system? * 3k people died in 9/11. How many US citizens have died in Iraq and Afganistan? 2.2 million… Read more »