Navy SEALS

Bin Laden Award Money: Who Deserves It Now That Bin Laden Is Gone?

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The US government offered $25 million after September 11 for the capture or death of Osama Bin Laden, and now that Bin Laden has been assassinated, the question is what should happen to the money.

Since no individual directly brought about the end of the Bin Laden hegemony, and since people in the military cannot be awarded the money ethically, since they were doing their duty as Navy SEALS, it seems appropriate that the money go to the September 11 responders, those firefighters and police officers and others who helped rescue survivors at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and who, in so many cases, suffered grievous injuries or illnesses.

It does not seem appropriate for the relatives of those who died to receive payments, as they have already been awarded financial damages.

It is proper that those who gambled their lives and health to help retrieve live victims and clean up the struck sites in New York City and Arlington, Virginia, over a period of months be thanked by financial payments that honor what they did, in the name of patriotism and nationalism!

World War I Goes Into History: The Link To Today And Terrorism

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In February, America’s last surviving veteran of the First World War, Frank Buckles, died.

Now we have news that the last combat veteran of the war, a British national, who later settled in Australia, named Claude Choules, has died, also at the same age of 110.

After the death of Frank Buckles, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri held a service and commemoration of the passing of the last American soldier of that war.

It was noted that Americans had changed their view of the world totally when they abandoned isolationism and joined the war effort in Europe, and how so many sacrificed their lives and their heatlh to serve in a just cause.

Now that the last “doughboy” and last European combat veteran have both died, it is fitting that we recognize 97 years after that Great War commenced, and with the death of Osama Bin Laden by courageous Navy SEALS doing their duty to protect America, that the war against terrrorism has had a victory, but that the battle for freedom and security must go on in a world fraught with dangers not that different than a century ago!

The Multi Tasking President In His Prime: One Week In Barack Obama’s Presidency

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Everyone knows that the American Presidency is a tremendous burden, with the occupant of the Oval Office having to deal with so many issues and problems at the same time, that he MUST be able to multi task with great skill.

So is the case of Barack Obama, who in one week, did the following:

1. Had Hawaii issue his official Certificate of Live Birth to silence his critics, which now have dropped dramatically, according to public opinion polls.

2. Toured Alabama and other states that were victims of the worst tornado destruction in decades, and was praised for the quick federal response to the natural disaster, as compared to Hurricane Katrina uncer President George W. Bush

3. Traveled to Florida to witness the Space Shuttle launch, which was unfortunately delayed, but also to visit Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, wounded in an assassination attempt in January, who was there to witness her husband, Mark Kelly, the captain of the shuttle crew, begin the space mission.

4. Performed great standup comedy at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, including teasing of Donald Trump, who has been bad mouthing Obama for the past month, including on the “birther” controversy.

5. All of that week, and even earlier, Obama was planning the raid on the compound in Pakistan to eliminate the Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, the most daring action by a President in many decades!

And in the past week since, Obama has also visited the site of Ground Zero and commiserated with the families of victims of the World Trade Center, and also visited the Navy SEALS who were engaged in the most delicate operation possible, the attack on the Bin Laden compound and retrieval of the body of Bin Laden after he was killed.

This period of the last week of April and first week of May, a two week period, will go down in history as one of the most momentous periods in the history of the nation!

Second Thoughts On Osama Bin Laden Assassination!

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In the flush of excitement over the demise of Al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, some second thoughts are developing in many people’s minds.

We have learned that a lot of the early news reports were fabricated, or distorted. For instance, it was said that Bin Laden was armed, that he had a woman as a human shield, and that he resisted, and that there was a major battle of our Navy SEALS against others in the compound.

None of that is true, and Michael Moore, the film director, and John Yoo, the Bush aide who justified the use of torture, including waterboarding in the infamous memo that has caused such controversy, both–despite their different sides of the political spectrum–question why Bin Laden could not have been taken alive and put on trial in an international court as the Nazi and Japanese war criminals were subjected to after World War II. Those trials led to executions of most of the war criminals under international law.

There are some observers who claim that what the Obama Administration did was unlawful under international law, and that setting the goal of political assassination, which has been supposedly banned in America since the 1970s, is a dangerous and troubling trend.

Even the publication of the bloody scenes of the three men killed with Bin Laden, one being his son and looking very much like him, is deeply disturbing to many, as the author himself has never seen such horrific photos, and agreed with the Obama Administration decision NOT to publish the photos of the dead Bin Laden. But then, why was not the same care given to sensitivities toward the public for the other three male victims?

While certainly no one mourns the death of Bin Laden, it is much harder in the light of day to be as gleeful and excited about his death, once one considers all of the details we now know, that we did not know on Sunday night!

A Thrilling Moment Of Patriotism And Pride!

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It was absolutely thrilling to witness on television last night and today a rare moment of patriotism and pride, as Americans spontaneously celebrated the successful military mission to kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan!

Seeing college students celebrating on campuses all over the nation; witnessing a large crowd outside the White House gates; sharing the joy at Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center was obliterated on that horrible September 11, nearly ten years ago; and just generally realizing that the young, who were children affected by that terrible tragedy a decade ago, were joining with Americans of all ages singing the National Anthem and shouting “USA, USA”, made one extremely proud to be an American! And the pride at the flawless performance of our Navy SEALS was boundless!

It is so rare to have the American people rejoice in unison about any event, so this is a moment to savor, and to hope somehow that a sense of national purpose can be accomplished to solve our many domestic problems in a spirit of unity and sacrifice similar to those brave young men who promoted justice for the three thousand people who died on that fateful day, September 11, 2001!