Bin Laden

Photo my Mark W. Laughlin

The news is breaking at this moment…

Sunday evening, May 1, 2011: All television channels have switched to Breaking News coverage. We are told that the President of the United States will address the nation and the world in just a few minutes.

We are told that he will announce the confirmed death of Osama Bin Laden, at the hands of U.S. forces.

No details yet, we sit, and wait, and wonder.

Is it the end of terrorism ? No, no way. At most, it sends a clear message to those that would attack us, that it isn’t possible to evade the long arm of justice forever. Hopefully, it will further disrupt the operations, funding and organization of Al-Qaida. At worst, it will further encourage others to dedicate themselves to our destruction.

I am reminded of the words of then British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, speaking of the great victory of the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain in 1939, where Fighter Squadrons of the RAF held back the German Luftwaffe and helped turn the tide of World War II:

          “Now this is not the end.
          It is not even the beginning of the end.
          But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

And though it has taken almost 10 years, I am also reminded of the words of President George W. Bush in his first address to the nation after the attacks on September 11, 2001, referring to the resolve of the United States to bring those guilty of those attacks to justice:

          “We will not tire,
          we will not falter,
          and we will not fail.”

Gloating? Not me, and hopefully not my countrymen. It’s time to watch for a counter-attack. It’s time to further search for the roots of the anger and desperation that push people to resort to such violence, for only in its understanding, can we find a cure.

Once again, I hope.

- Mark W. Laughlin

01-May-2011