An historic day

My mom called me late last night with the news: "Osama Bin Laden is dead." Ten years after he masterminded the attack that killed thousands of innocent Americans, our hunt for him has ended. I remembered exactly where I was on 9/11/01, and I'm sure all of us who were alive then can. I hope for closure and for peace and for a sense of justice for those who lost loved ones.

I do not feel joy. I do not feel happiness. I do not feel like celebrating.

In the war started with the goal of finding Bin Laden, to date, 2441 Coalition forces have died in Operation Enduring Freedom. And though an exact number has not been recorded, it is estimated that up to 10,000 Afghani civilians have died as a result of this war.

It is not a joyous occassion.

A senator interviewed on the news this morning said that, while an important day, he is not sure that Bin Laden was still the threat he once was. The senator said that Bin Laden had remain so deeply hidden that he was unlikely to mastermind another attack.

I am reminded of a saying attributed to Ghandi, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." I look into my daughter's eyes, and imagine, if she were older, the questions she would ask if she saw on TV people celebrating the death of an enemy. And I'm not sure I would have the answers. In an oversimplified way, it seems that the message is this: hunt down, regardless of cost, those who wrong you. I just don't think that's right. Nor, something to celebrate.