News Hooray! Osama Bin Laden Is Dead!!!!

[atl22]

For me, this is a huge event. Just really emotional - two classmates killed in 9/11, two cousins in Iraq and Afghanistan, over a dozen friends in the military since 2001. I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the Towers. I also will always remember where I was when I found out that Bin Laden was killed.

I just wanted to say thanks to the brave soldiers that slid down those ropes in the dark of night and risked their lives to kill Bin Laden. Thanks to all those brave men and women in the forces that support them and made sure they had what they needed to complete their mission. Without them, this mission would not have been possible. Thanks to their families for supporting them in these efforts. I come from a family with many veterans and I know that it is not easy to help your family pack and go to war. The family left behind must hold together and take care of each other. It is a sacrifice every day.

The war is not over but this is a good day.

 

[Mr. Smith]

I think any loss of life is sad, you know "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Yeah thats my thought.

 

[jokuzzi]

Today was a good day.
Being from a very military family (1 ex husband, 3 brother, 2 brothers in law, 1 sister in law, 8 nephews, and 1 son in law) I know the sacrifices the families of these brave men and women endure. I cannot say I personnally served, but I was there to serve (and honor)them. No matter what the opinion on the war one may have, never forget you were given that right because of them.
I am grateful to all who are currently serving and have served in the past. Thank you.

 

[ronin47]

Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but Osama bin Laden was just one man. There is no guarantee getting rid of him changed anything. It certainly hasn't brought back the people who were killed on 9-11. And I guarantee you it has not gotten rid of those who despise America for social, political, and/or religious reasons. Honestly I can't think of anything that might have been gained from this. My brother was a Marine and fought in Iraq, but my brother is also a very big jerk often times. He's part of the reason why I don't hero worship the military like most people in this country. We killed Bin Laden, but what does that have to do with rebuilding Iraq? Does this mean that all the sectarianism in Afghanistan and Iraq has suddenly disappeared and everyone's going to hold hands around a fireplace and sing Kumbaya? Of course not. The only thing that has come of this is petty revenge, and to be totally straightforward I wouldn't have a problem saying that to anyone, be they a Iraq/Afghan military vetran or a person who lost family in the 9-11 attacks. And I'd be willing to bet if you asked anyone of those people who lost friends or family that day to the attacks, they would tell you that revenge has not taken away the pain of losing that person.

 

[freakofnurture]

I think any loss of life is sad, you know "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Yeah thats my thought.

The title of this thread makes me feel uncomfortable, too.
I strongly oppose the death penalty, no matter how many innocent people the perp has hurt, killed etc. and no matter how unapologetic they are. You cannot defend ethics by taking someone's life - or in general you can't show that something is wrong by doing it yourself.
Also, there is no evil, only illness! We have have already integrated 'evil' into the human nature (before that, bad deeds were seen as signs of demonic possession or blamed on other evil supernatural creatures like werewolves); now it's time to dissolve the concept entirely and stop the blaming to make room for therapy and safe, humane containment of dangerous individuals.
It's hard to overcome the urge to blame and take revenge, but if behaving ethically was easy world peace wouldn't be an issue.

 

[KP the nut]

I was appalled by the images of Americans singing and dancing in the streets. For a country whose president and people follow a God and the bible, it just seem incongruous.

I think he was truely evil, but he was just a man.

 

[livergirl70]

Don't want to p*** on your bonfire, but just because he's dead don't mean it's over. Look how long the IRA had us gripped with fear, doesn't matter how many leaders you take out the followers still keep the war going.

 

[freakofnurture]

For a country whose president and people follow a God and the bible, it just seem incongruous.

Have you read that book? God drowns babies because they're evil. That's hardly a humane moral standard.
Same thing on the Islamic side: Kill the infidels wherever you find them.
A little less reliance on religious 'morality' would do humanity good. The Bill of Human Rights is a completely unsupernatural document and blows most holy texts out of the water in matters of morality and ethics.

 

[catjudo]

For a country whose president and people follow a God and the bible

Wrong country. In this country there is SUPPOSED to be a separation of church and state.

 

[ktmarie71]

Wow! I am stunned at some of comments here. Perhaps my problem is that I sincerely believe there are people in this world that are entirely evil and have no sense of shame or guilt and derive pleasure from the pain of others.

In some ways, I guess, it might be nice to believe that everyone who hurts others are struggling with their own pain. I guess I see it as idealism that I wish I still had.

I find it really revealing and kind of heart breaking that there is this hostility toward the military. I dont think I have ever seen any hero worship in my 20 years as a military spouse. In fact, I find that the support the military gets from the public is sparatic and short lived. Let's face it most people in this country do not even think about the military until something big happens or they want to cut the military budget, because us military families get so much "free stuff" and housing is so awesome and weapons so expensive.

If everyone is so supportive and there is "hero worship" then you tell me why military families have to live in crap housing that would be condemned in the civilian world. Why is that Military and retired veterans have to fight for appropriate treatment for PTSD? Why is that most veterans hospitals and nursing homes are neglected and run down...forgotten. Why is pay so low. 20 years of enlisted service and we were always hovering around the poverty line even with promotions.

I can't tell you how bitter and angry I feel when people put down our military and try to knock down their achievements. Maybe P***ing on our bondfire is not necessary. Do you really think that anyone in the military doesn't know it is not over.

It is amazing how thoughtless and cruel people can be. Seriously, no one here would be happy if another person said "Hey don't count on having any progress with your PTSD, because you know, it never gets better; so, you might as well just accept the crap and give up any hope." A statement like that would anger people here. It is mean and not well thought out and certainly lacks truth. I realize that all of us struggle with negativity and in some cases, paranoid thoughts, but stop for a moment and think about what you are saying and how it effects others.

There are military people here who are working on things too. If this becomes a crap on everything military forum and not a supporting forum then count me out. I realize no one has to agree with me, but it does feel like some of these comments are meant to p*ss off others.

 

[Adrienne12]

KT,

I don't think the intent is to piss anyone off. This is one of those taboo topics. I feel very strongly about this topic and it seems a lot of others do too. I could go on for hours about our government but out of respect for others on this forum...I did not. If reading these things are upsetting...maybe it is time to stop reading. It will only continue to anger you. Some people's opinions on this particular thread p-ssed me off too but I let it go. Maybe you have to do the same instead of getting so angry.

 

[ktmarie71]

Yes. I should not read anymore of this. I also should not express my opinion about how thoughtless and painful these comments are if you are vet or family member dealing with PTSD.
It is completely ok for people to not consider how someone else, whose life has been completely changed by this war, might feel when criticised in that way.
Please continue to bash away. No need to be worried about it; its just important for everyone to express everthing they ever thought and damn any consequences.
If this were a journal of emotions for someone struggling with this, I would be far less offended, but this was someone else's post who I gather was rather supportive of this military action and other people seem bent on "correcting" their views on this issue.
I was actually very impressed with this forum and the kindness and support I seen shown to each other. However, I got the message...sit down and shut up.