Digesting the News

From Royal Wedding Detox....to THIS?

Osama bin Laden has been killed and the US has his body.

Let me reiterate...OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS BEEN KILLED!!!

This is...this is huge.

I was tuned into CNN, MSNBC and Fox News (for once, they all agreed!) mostly because John hates hearing reporters say the same things over and over again whilst burning time waiting for the President to make his statement.  So we channel surfed.

At first, disbelief.  Then amazement!  Then joy for justice!  Now...I'm a little torn.

The reactions from people on facebook and twitter (love social networks) are mixed and so am I.  People are celebrating a death.  How does that seem right?  And yet, it can be argued that it was the death of someone murderous and evil.  Someone who organized attacks on our country and other western countries and killed thousands of people.  Not just thousands of Americans.  Thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis.

It's hard to be diplomatic with an organization so convinced they are "right" that they strap bombs to their own people in order to try to blow *you* up.

And there is the kicker.  The US is responsible for the death of the "ring leader" of the organization so to speak.  We could hope that now Al-Qaida will just crumble from within.  That will most likely not happen.  And now I realize that we need to be extra alert for repercussions.

(anyone remember that SNL Weekend Update with Tina Fey when quoting the statement that we need to be on high alert after 9/11 and her replying "Bitch, I can't be any more alert!"  Hilarious.  I love Tina Fey.)

Yet...I can't help but feel some sort of satisfaction.  I can almost feel the sense of relief from the people who were directly affected by 9/11.  A sense of closure.  Of..."finally."

I am aware that if were not for those attacks, that my husband would not have had to serve 3 tours in the Middle East over the past 8 years, risking his life and being responsible for hundreds of others in his command.  I would not have had to endure 15 of the longest months of my life worrying about the possibility of his injury, capture, or being killed.  I am aware that our deployed soldiers are probably in greater danger at this moment.

To conclude this muddled post, I'm not quite sure what I feel.  Overall, I think an important step has been achieved.

What I'm most certain of is this:  war sucks.  Conflict will continue.

And I'm equally certain that I am grateful to our Armed Forces.  For our protection.  For their sacrifice.  For volunteering for the hardest job there is.  And I'm proud of my husband for his contributions, however indirect they may be.

EDIT:  (the following morning.)  I finally figured out how to express my thoughts.  I am overjoyed that he was captured.  I am satisfied (but otherwise ambivalent) that he was killed.  I'm uncomfortable with people dancing in the streets in celebration much as extremists danced in the street after 9/11.