I am sure that you are as pleased as I am by the news that Osama bin Laden was killed early Monday in Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEAL special operations personnel led by the CIA. From what I understand, there was an intense firefight that unfolded over a 40-minute period. Osama was given the opportunity to surrender, but he did not choose that course of action.
The fact that our intelligence agencies and military were able to track down bin Laden in spite of all the cautions that he and his close supporters took to avoid detection speaks very highly of our nation’s capabilities and our willingness to persevere until justice was done. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, I am heartened that the families of those people killed in al-Qaeda’s cowardly attacks on our nation will finally be able to find some sense of closure, knowing that Osama bin Laden will now be judged by his God.
We cannot, however, allow our vigilance to fade, nor can we let our guard down. Al-Qaeda still exists without bin Laden, and their members may now seek revenge for the killing of their leader. Regardless, I believe we can all rest a little easier now, secure in the knowledge that our nation will never give in to the demands of terrorists and that we will not rest until our enemies are defeated.
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I was very sorry to see on the cable television news the devastation and deaths and injuries in the South and Midwest brought about by hundreds of killer tornadoes this past week. When I was at SAIC, we had a large group located at Huntsville, Alabama.
While I don’t believe Huntsville was in the direct path of this latest swarm of storms, it certainly wasn’t far away from them. I hope that the remainder of the tornado season will be much less active and that no further injuries or deaths occur from these storms.
— Bob