Predictable Aftermath

As one might have reliably predicted, the initial euphoria over the death of Osama bin Laden has given way to recriminations, might-have-beens, hand-wringing doubt, and loopy conspiracy theories.

Yes, the birthers, who refuse to accept the fact that President Obama was really born in Hawaii and is a US citizen, are being joined by the deathers, who refuse to believe that Osama is now well-ventilated fish food at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.

There is also an outbreak of second-guessing in which legal scholars and pundits with nothing better to do stroke their chins and wonder whether it was actually legal to kill bin Laden.

There are those for whom President Obama will never, ever be able to do anything right, who are castigating him for "taking credit" for the finding and elimination of bin Laden.

Indians are upset about the use of the term "Geronimo" as a code name for the operation to kill bin Laden and are demanding an apology for the negative imagery.

Oh, for Pete's sake you ass clowns ... get over it.

1. Osama's as dead as a doornail. Dead as a Tea Party Patriot's cerebral cortex. D.E.A.D. You want pictures? It wouldn't matter if the administration posted six terabytes of photos of bin Laden's body, along with CAT scans, MRI imagery, fingerprints, complete DNA matching results, a note from his mother, and a signed affadavit from St Peter confirming that he was turned away at the Pearly Gates. Some morons will never, ever believe anything if it reflects anything good about someone they'll passionately hate no matter what.

2. Was it legal to kill bin Laden? Only we would worry about it. The Russians, the Chinese, or just about anyone else would have killed him with no more thought than stepping on a cockroach, and thought nothing more about it. I think it's a safe bet that Osama bin Laden didn’t spend much time consulting with his lawyers before deciding it was okay to murder 3000 people in cold blood on 9/11, and I seriously doubt he spent much time wringing his hands over the death of any innocents as "collateral damage." Only in a liberal democracy would we worry about such legal niceties. Yes, it's what sets us apart from earthly paradises like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and China. But it's what makes much of the rest of the world wonder what the hell is wrong with us.

3. Of course the President takes credit for the successful operation. Just like he'd have taken the blame had things gone south ... which they might well have. According to the Constitution (which Republicans and Tea Party wingnuts are always citing, although they don't quite understand it), the president is the Commander-in-Chief. The buck stops with him. President Obama didn't interpret the imagery, evaluate the intelligence, fly the helicopters or pull the trigger, but he gave the orders that had to be given to make it all happen and accepted the responsibility that comes with the power of life and death. Ask Jimmy Carter about the consequences when things don't work out as one hopes. Mr Obama has the ultimate responsibility, and has the right to take some of the credit, even though he's just the figurehead for the thousands of people who worked hard for ten years to make it all happen. Get over it.

4. As for the use of "Geronimo" as a code word ... so what? If the code word had been cow, PETA would have been shouting about negative images of animals; if it had been Tiger Lily, botanists everywhere would have decried the negative images attached to a beautiful flower. If it had been xrfplxpnhg, there would have been crowds of partisans for the rights of consonants waving torches and pitchforks in front of the White House. Sit down, shut up, and get over it.

Here's the bottom line: Osama bin Laden was a hideously evil man who murdered innocent people without the least remorse and believed he was doing the will of an angry and vengeful god. He was tracked down as a result of ten years of work by intelligence professionals and no small measure of luck. He was brought to justice by a group of brave soldiers who took mind-numbing risks and faced the possibility of death far from home. He's dead. Get over it. Stop the bickering and the second-guessing and move on.

But, of course, you won't. Because you're stupid.

Quit carping at the President and start thinking about turning Ayman al Zawahiri and Anwar al Alawki into fish food, too.

Have a good day. Tomorrow is Cartoon Saturday ... not like we need it or anything.

More thoughts then.

Bilbo