Just in time for the 11:00 news (but a bit early for the 2012 election), the President announced that Osama bin Laden has been killed. Navy SEALs stormed a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan early Sunday morning and bin Laden fell in the ensuing firefight.
It only took 10 years and two wars costing over $2 trillion. While I’m glad he’s out of the picture, I have few illusions that this is much more than a symbolic victory.
Abbottabad isn’t some remote cave in the mountains. It’s a wealthy, metropolitan city with football stadiums situated near the Silk Road. Bin Laden was living well there, and he had people protecting him. Those people have money, power, and access to government resources. Even more were willing to turn a blind eye and keep their mouths shut. They will carry on without him. Expect violence in the coming weeks as his lieutenants fight with one another to fill the vacuum. Continued...