What is your reaction to the news of Osama bin Laden’s death?

Osama bin Laden Dead

Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was slain in his luxury hideout in Pakistan early Monday in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Monday, May 2nd, 2011 at 7:20 amand is filed under Streets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  • Anonymous

    Since this resulted from actions taken by G Bush, we should all say, “THANKS GEORGE”! Thanks, George.

  • Anonymous

    I could never celebrate the death of anyone . . . although he was a terrorist and was responsible for thousands of deaths. What I do know is that it is disgusting that our current president is taking the credit . . . . and I also wonder if the news releases are true or are we just getting more garbage.

  • Anonymous

    I just know that my son is stationed on the Carl Vinson and he happened to be working at the time the body was dropped into the sea. It will be very interesting if he will be able to discuss any of the details once he comes home from his deployment. No matter what I am very proud of all the service people and just think they weren’t going to be paid a couple of weeks agon

  • Anonymous

    Do you not think Osama bin Laden didn’t celebrate, or even had second thoughts after he killed over 3,000 innocent Americans? I’m not saying we should stoop to his level, but I am saying we should celebrate that a major killer and a very likely killer of many in the future, has been killed and we should be relieved he’s finally gone. Even in his final minutes he used a woman as a protective shield. He had no respect for human life or the sorrow it brought to others. Not just Americans suffered from his senseless killings, but many others from other countries did as well. He’s a terrorrist who kills innocent people without any regard for others in an effort to force his religion on others. What isn’t there to celebrate?

  • http://profiles.google.com/aconpester Kevin Rummel-2

    I for one think that long deserved justice has finally been served. And as for celebrating I do believe that Bin Ladin and his leaders did celebrate when the Twin Towers were destroyed. Will this stop terrorism doubtful but it is guaranteed that Bin Ladin will not be personnelly involved any longer.

  • Anonymous

    You got me on the bible point. As an atheist, I only know what I learned when I was indoctrinated at a young age. It was pretty clear what Jesus thought on the subject, though:nProverbs 24:17: “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice.”nEzekiel 18:32: “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord.”nnMy sentiment above is that of many people who are shocked the way some people are celebrating, even rejoicing in this man’s death. Had it been a heart attack or some natural cause, I doubt many Americans would be celebrating. The simple fact that we killed him made a significant difference; that makes it worship of violence and death, not justice. Disagree with me if you wish, but I will not react to your contemptible rhetoric, calling me a sissified American. I am consistent on this fact: no human deserves to have the authority to kill another under any circumstance. But the thing that shocked and disgusted me the most is the reaction of Americans taking great pleasure and joy in death and violence. It’s repugnant.

    • Anonymous

      Well as an Atheist, who are you to project your moral code on anyone else? Who defines what is right and wrong to an atheist? Do you just arbitrarily get to create your own morality as you see fit? That is the paradox of atheism – they insist there is no deity, and therefore no absolute definition of what is right and wrong. Therefore they leave the definition of right and wrong to humanity. And somehow you decide that YOUR definitions of morality are somehow more valid than anyone elses. If there is no God, there is no absolute moral code. It is left up to us to decide. So you can decide that rejoicing in Bin Laden’s death is “repugnant” and I can decide that it is joyous. Who are you to say I am wrong? What gives you that right? Yourself?

      • Anonymous

        Ugh. Let’s not get off in the weeds of atheism here. Religions do not have a monopoly on morality; I would go so far as to say religion is irrelevant to morality. Societal norms are the real source of morality, since non-religious societies have absolutely no trouble engineering a moral code without a deity. Morality is innate; if we evolved as an immoral people without some kind of moral compass, would we have created societies (before deities were invented) that depended on cooperation and good will? Not to mention religions have constantly changed what they believe is moral over the years: Would you consider how religions used to treat women as property moral today? What about slavery, which was supported by Christianity? What about Christian antisemitism? How can you believe your religion is the sole provenance of morality when what’s defined as moral keeps changing?nnIf you decide to celebrate and rejoice in Osama bin Laden’s death, you are swimming in the opposite direction of your own holy book and your savior’s own teachings.

        • Anonymous

          Well if “societal norms” are the source of morality, as you just suggested, than it is YOU who suggests that slavery, lack of women’s rights, racism, etc etc must be moral, since they were “societal norms” in the past. Is cannibalism moral in the societies that still practice it. nnFace it, without a supreme being, there is no right and wrong. No man can ever tell another man that his view of right and wrong is the correct one, but the other man’s view is incorrect, without looking like a fool.

          • Anonymous

            A God or a religion isn’t necissary to determine what is moral or not. If people want to survive togather thay must act within certain guidelines which are obvious to all if we are to survival. Who said that God wrote out for us what is moral or not? Other earlier societies separated from the rest of the world survived without having to use a Bible for a guide, and those for the most part were societies that were conquered or killed by Bible toting conquers who believed they were superior. Look back at the Popes from around the middle ages who the rulers of counties feared because the Pope’s were the ones who actually ruled their countries and were known to kill those who didn’t follow their religious rule. History is full of stories of where religions and their religous followers didn’t follow morals as we know them. Athist know what is moral or not, not by what they were taught by others, but by what they believe is right and wrong. To say that a God taught us what is right and wrong is a belief and not a fact.

      • Anonymous

        You do not have to believe in god to have morals.

  • Anonymous

    Yes, and I believe in Big Foot too.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000133727074 Phil Beeman

    This whole thing smells! And it’s not because of Osama Bin Laden. Too many questions and not enough answers. Why was this body disposed of so quickly? And why was this body buried at sea? Obama said in his late night speech that Bin Laden wasn’t Muslim, yet out of respect he was buried because of Muslim tradition. You know here in Mount Vernon DNA played the part in a man that was blamed for the death of a Go-Go girl years back. It was easy to lay the blame on a dead man. Who to say the DNA was matched. The government? Wow I really trust them! Who’s to say this wasn’t a double of Osama’s? Guess we’ll really never know since this body they dumped is most likely shark bait now. How convenient.

  • Anonymous

    The photos released are fakes.

  • Anonymous

    Why now??? Polittical reason for the next election. And how do we really know if it was bin Laden? They buried him so fast. They should have brought the body back to America,,

    • Anonymous

      If thats the case, why didn’t Bush get bin Laden before the 2004 election when the race was known tthat it would be very close, or before the 2008 election where it would have benefitted McCain? The only people who would believe that statement are those who have a hard time accepting Obama as our President, no matter how good his qualifications are. Some people will look for any excuse to satisfy their mind that he’s not qualified to be President, and this is just one of them.

      • Anonymous

        Given all the different stories coming out now about how this all went down, his qualifications for the job should be in doubt. I read that the whole operation was put in place and started and then he was told about it while on the golf course when it was too late to stop and that the operation was handled by Panetta, Hillary and Bill Daley. I also hear that Osama was unarmed and that his wife rushed the seals and was wounded. I also hear that Obama was in charge the whole time. I also hear that Valerie Jarrett was so against this plan that she talked him out of it multiple times even after the plans were all made. There are just so many stories coming out of the woodwork. nnThe thing is that he has proven so many times that he is not qualified to be president that I am surprised you are still trying to play that card. Next we will hear from you that it is racist!! Actually if he did make this decision then for a change he did do something right and should be applauded. At the same time Bush and Cheney and Rumsfield should be praised for bringing together the groups who got the initial intel and then the current team should be praised for finishing the job. The end result is the important thing and that looks about right. The way it all went down is what is up for grabs. If you see the picture from the Situation Room the setup looks as if Obama is not the one in charge. He seems to be sitting in the corner with his head in his hands wondering how he got there and Hillary and Gates and the other seem to be in charge.nnBTW what things that Obama has done are you actually in favor of. What he did if he did make this decision is totally against all the things he campaigned against and he has not done most of what his supporters claimed they wanted so just how is he qualified?

        • Anonymous

          More accurate memories of events with high tension and high adrenalin usually come out later during interrigations days and even weeks afterwards. You’ll usually never get the same statement from a soldier or a serious traffic accident victums right after the event. This was an extremely stressfull event for the soldiers involved and it’s easy to understand why they had to modify what happened. After it was announced bin laden was killed the public wanted to know what happened and they told them what they knew at the time.nnThe President is very qualified and the only people making statements to the contrary are Republicans and FOX “News”. Can you tell me that if Sarah Palin had to take over the Presidency if McCain died, she would be qualified? That women has no clue of the issues that concern us, and never answered a follow up question on how she would handle the issues beyond talking points. But the Republicans gave their full support to her. You will never hear me use the racist card except to say during some of the Tea Party rallies their were certainly racist signs being held by what I believed were racists. As far as anyone calling someone racists simply because they disagree with the President is not reasonable. As far as Bush and Chaney getting any credit for killing bin Ladine, I give them very little. Bush stated during a news conference on March 18?, 2002 that he no longer cared where bin Laden was any longer. Look it up and you can see his whole statement. Bush was more concerned with invading Iraq than he was with going after bin Ladin and in doing so pulled most of our troops out of Afganistan. Those two plus Rumsfield did very little in providing intel. If they had any significant intel they would have gone after bin Laden and either captured or killed him in the 7 years they had in office after 9-11.nnI haven’t agreed with everything Obama has done to date, but he’s a far better in what the Republicans have accomplished or proposed. The Paul Ryan Budget that the Republicans in the House Republicans voted for is a rediculous budget proposal that now after they found out the public is against it are saying it’s only a starting point. He has made generally good decisions, unless your a Republican. He negotiated with the Republicans on the 2011 budget which the Republicans were obviosly less willing to do so. The statement the Republicans are “The party of No” I feel is an accurate desription of them and they have not come up with alternative programs when asked to by the Democrates. For instance, do you recall their answer to Obama’s Health Care Plan? They claimed the had one but they really never came up with one to negotiate.nnMy computer or the web site is acting very slow so I’m not going to proof read this or correct any spelling errors. For that I applogize.

  • Anonymous

    I’m really ashamed of this country celebrating this man’s murder, even if he was terrible. Vengeance and violence are not how a civil society is to react. I’m really disturbed by this excessive nationalism resulting from Osama bin Laden’s murder. Wave the flag drenched in blood…nnAnd I thought those who are Christians found “Thou shalt not kill” to be one of the clearest things in their holy book… I don’t recall a passage in there that said, “except when he’s a terrorist.” Must have missed that in Sunday School.

    • Anonymous

      Do you think Osama bin Laden didn’t celebrate after he killed over 3,000 innocent Americans. I’m not saying we should stoop to his level, but we should be celebrating a mass killer and a likely killer of many others in the future is gone. He had absolutely no regard for human life or the suffering it brought to their families and friends. He was also a coward, and even used a women as a shield in his final minutes. People like that have no place on this earth and it makes it hard to believe there is a God who would allow such a person to exist and allow it to happen. His only purpose was to try to force his religion on others no matter how many innocent people he killed in trying to accomplish his goal. Muslums are not to be blaimed for the actions of this sinsiter person, and it is not part of their religion or beliefs, but some people like Beck and others mainly on the far right may want you to believe.

      • Anonymous

        Celebrating death and violence? Rejoicing in death? I’m sorry, but that’s the wrong reaction. It’s barbaric to gloat and celebrate an enemy’s death. Celebration of his death and relief that he’s gone are two entirely different reactions, the latter being more justified.

        • Anonymous

          This man wasn’t the enemy, he was a mass murderer of innocent civilians. An enemy is someone who fights for his country and against the country your fighting for. After the war is over, he’s the man who might be sitting across from you in a bar, in some other country. He’s the man after the war you might run into on business and do business with, but he’s not a mass murderer who kills innocent people who are not at war with you. This man was a criminal who killed for no other reason but to shove his religious beliefs on others. He was a coward and not one of the ones who was willing to put his life at stake for his own mission, but instead used others to do his fighting. This man was evil and would haved killed thousands more if he was not killed. Yes, a life is a very precious thing, but when that person takes away the precious lives of thousands of others, he doesn’t deserve to share the same planet with us. Yes a celebration is proper if not for the thousands he has already killed, but more importantly for the thousands of lives that were saved by his death. He was a disease on our planet and his death was the much needed cure.

          • Anonymous

            I emphatically, but respectfully, disagree. Celebration of death is barbaric no matter the consequences. A natural reaction is to feel relief he’s gone (which seems closer to what you describe above). Rejoicing in death, though? Running into the streets, waving flags, feeling great pride and a sense of nationalism in an act of such violence is nothing but barbaric. Photoshopping Osama bin Laden’s bloody head hanging from the Statue of Liberty is morally repugnant. It’s a worship of death and violence.nnI agree he was an evil man. And I don’t disagree his war crimes are widely believed to warrant his capture or death to prevent him from continuing his awful actions. And I am relieved he is gone. But I refuse to celebrate anyone’s death, even if he was an awful man who orchestrated many terrorist attacks. America used to be better than this. We used to worship justice. Now we worship violence and death.

          • Anonymous

            Those acts of “celebration” you mentioned are also not appropriate in my opinion. Maybe our differences involve the definition of “celebration”. I’m not suggesting of a party of wild drinking and partying in the streets, but I don’t see it as wrong of a group of people getting togather in a bar and raising toasts for his passing. Perhaps the people who could best answer this questions are the friends and family of those who lost their lives on 9-11. In fact, I would like to hear what some of them did on learning the news of his death, and what they did afterwards. They have waited almost 10 years for this day to come and I’m sure they were very happy and relieved to hear the news. I also have to admit I don’t feel any confortable now hearing in he was shoot unarmed and probably without a struggle. But, I can also see the security advantages for our country of not capturing him and making him a prisoner. By doing so we probably avoided many Americans overseas of being kidnapped and held for ransom. It’s obvious this mission didn’t have any real intentions of taking him prisoner from the very begining.

      • Anonymous

        I’m sorry but the reply above was intended for lionelhuntz1, not DuncanK.