That Osama dude.

On Sunday evening over dinner and an exhilarating game of scrabble (which I won, just had to put that out there), the boy, our/his friend A, and I had a discussion on when Osama Bin Ladin would be captured.
I voiced one of my own personal conspiracy theories (although I’m sure other people have had similar thoughts): First of all, I said that I found it likely that Bin Ladin was either already dead or captured. Second, I said that they (Obama, American government, military, you pick) would wait to make the death/capture public until a time that would make strategic sense. Basically, I believed that the death of Bin Ladin would be timed in order to promote Obama in the upcoming election. I think I even said that a fall (2011) capture would probably make most sense (if they had the opportunity to time it). *

Little did I know, I was at least partially correct. When we were sitting in Denmark on Sunday evening, Bin Ladin was already dead, although this was not yet public knowledge. And there are many details about the action that have me thinking “something smells fishy.”

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to military, war strategy, etc. I am a bit ignorant. Without knowing all the details, all the considerations, all the intelligence, and so on, it is impossible to make a sound call on what exactly went down in Paktistan this weekend and over the past 8 months. But I urge you all to go read some news articles and make your own call.

Either way, I think this a positive development in the war on terror, at least on a symbolic level. I am nervous to see the aftermath and hope that it will not be too dramatic and take too many (or any) lives.




*(Don’t get me wrong, Obama is my homeboy. But there is something inside of me that likes to think of/believe in conspiracy theories. I know most probably aren’t true, but it can still be fun to think of. A bit of skepticism against the government is just a good sign that democracy is alive and well, right?)

** Now that I think about, the timing may actually be perfect in relation to the election in fall 2012. The immediate effect of this will probably give Obama a boost in ratings, and if the aftermath is bad, he will have a chance to show how he can positively handle attacks on Americans. If there is not significant aftermath to speak of, he will now be able to focus more on some of his other issues, without worrying too much on his war on terror.