One of the most memorable headlines of the year will certainly be the death of Bin Laden in the hands of Navy SEALS who swooped down from the sky like arrows to deal him long awaited justice. I purposefully withheld commenting on the blog because the facts and stories that were being disseminated posed more questions in my mind than it answered.
The first reports were not very encouraging as I parsed through the information being made available by the media. A number of outlets reported that the body was buried at sea, which struck me as odd considering the individual was the world’s #1 terrorist. By contrast, the bodies of Saddam Hussein’s sons were paraded to the world. The hanging of Saddam Hussein was even filmed and published on YouTube and other outlets.
Amateur reporting by members of the public is no longer unusual in this day and age where blogs and social networks are a part of daily life, even in that part of the world. However, for some reason there were reports of live blogging on Twitter as the operation was actually under way. I read through the posts and did not find anything unusual that would tip off a deception. But there were many questions that were not satisfied by the press release from the White House press office subsequent to his death. It was reported that SEAL TEAM 6 was responsible for the raid. Members of the special operations family will find this entertaining because there is no such thing as SEAL TEAM 6. It was disbanded in 1987.
Moreover, the Facebook page of the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier where the body of Bin Laden was reportedly flown after the operation, made no mention of the “World’s Most Wanted Terrorist” coming on board - at least his reputedly defaced carcass. I would think a burial at sea of Bin Laden would be one of the highlights of the deployment. One should expect pictures of Bin Laden’s internment in the hands of the Davy Jones Locker, a ceremony respecting the sensibilities of Muslims around the world, would be published on their Facebook page.
After almost 10 years, the memories of 911 still linger. My mother and brother were actually in NY City that day, a few blocks from WTC, as fragrance exhibitors at a trade show. The hours and days following the attacks were filled with foreboding and worry not knowing whether they were going to be able to return to California safely. Immediately after, the planes were grounded and cell phone communications were at best “spotty”. From that day on the thought of plans being drawn up by Bin Laden and all his henchmen in some mountainous region of Pakistan or Afghanistan was never far from my mind. The worrying noise would buzz every now and again, waiting for a signal - a reaction, much like a bug meeting a precision clap of both hands to produce a loud sounding splat. And then there is quiet. That’s precisely what we got from Pakistan, in a city called Abbottabad, just a few days ago.
So, I place myself among the many people who’ve been wanting to see Bin Laden brought to justice, those who would like to believe that “he will never walk on this earth again”, that he, for the past eight days, has already been dead.
The first reports were not very encouraging as I parsed through the information being made available by the media. A number of outlets reported that the body was buried at sea, which struck me as odd considering the individual was the world’s #1 terrorist. By contrast, the bodies of Saddam Hussein’s sons were paraded to the world. The hanging of Saddam Hussein was even filmed and published on YouTube and other outlets.
Amateur reporting by members of the public is no longer unusual in this day and age where blogs and social networks are a part of daily life, even in that part of the world. However, for some reason there were reports of live blogging on Twitter as the operation was actually under way. I read through the posts and did not find anything unusual that would tip off a deception. But there were many questions that were not satisfied by the press release from the White House press office subsequent to his death. It was reported that SEAL TEAM 6 was responsible for the raid. Members of the special operations family will find this entertaining because there is no such thing as SEAL TEAM 6. It was disbanded in 1987.
Moreover, the Facebook page of the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier where the body of Bin Laden was reportedly flown after the operation, made no mention of the “World’s Most Wanted Terrorist” coming on board - at least his reputedly defaced carcass. I would think a burial at sea of Bin Laden would be one of the highlights of the deployment. One should expect pictures of Bin Laden’s internment in the hands of the Davy Jones Locker, a ceremony respecting the sensibilities of Muslims around the world, would be published on their Facebook page.
After almost 10 years, the memories of 911 still linger. My mother and brother were actually in NY City that day, a few blocks from WTC, as fragrance exhibitors at a trade show. The hours and days following the attacks were filled with foreboding and worry not knowing whether they were going to be able to return to California safely. Immediately after, the planes were grounded and cell phone communications were at best “spotty”. From that day on the thought of plans being drawn up by Bin Laden and all his henchmen in some mountainous region of Pakistan or Afghanistan was never far from my mind. The worrying noise would buzz every now and again, waiting for a signal - a reaction, much like a bug meeting a precision clap of both hands to produce a loud sounding splat. And then there is quiet. That’s precisely what we got from Pakistan, in a city called Abbottabad, just a few days ago.
So, I place myself among the many people who’ve been wanting to see Bin Laden brought to justice, those who would like to believe that “he will never walk on this earth again”, that he, for the past eight days, has already been dead.
