"Ding-dong, the witch is dead!"

Sorry... it was the first thing I thought of when I heard the news from Liz early this morning.

Like the Wicked Witch of the East, bin Laden has been a spectre in the American psyche since 2001. For nearly a decade, the man's name has been in the news almost constantly... mainly because he was still at large for so long after masterminding the most devestating attack on the US since the War of 1812.

I do hope that enough physical evidence of his death exists... this isn't simply about "closure" for a still greaving America. This is about ending the ability of one man to forment hatred and violence against the West by his every appearence and word uttered. The man was the focus and end of every terrorists dream of taking on the "great satan" that is (in the eyes of most radical Islamists) America. Finally dead, with no grave to visit and no relics to procure... a vital piece of terrorist ability has been removed, once and for all.

I am not surprised by the (already) increasing comments on the web about the "murder" of bin Laden, rather than his capture and trial... and I won't dignify the posts and articles with links. Regardless of the fact that a forty-minute firefight is a damn dangerous place to be (more so when you are up against 25 Navy SEALs)... let's assume for just a few minutes that there was, actually, an opportunity to take bin Laden alive.

The helicopter that the SEALs arrived in malfunctioned, and had to be destroyed by the SEALs before leaving the compound, which means they did it on foot. Taking a dead OBL out of the compound might not sound a lot easier than taking a live one out... but I am 100% sure it was. Add to that the fact that, once back in US Navy hands, OBL would have needed to be taken somewhere. The only possible choice for that destination is GITMO... and no matter how far away from US home soil that place is (being in Cuba), it is still US custody, meaning it is still a reason for every crackpot terrorist with a gun or grenade to try and "terrorize" the US into releasing him.

The only other terrorist known to have particpated in the 9/11 attacks that we have in custody has caused enough trouble without every going to trial. Two States have tried to organize trials (NY and NJ), but neither seems to have the means (or, frankly... the will) to do so safely. Now, after promising a swift and fair trial, even Obama has had to revert back to the option of military tribunals to do the job, because the fallout from a civilian trial is simply too big to ponder.

In short, what would we do with him? He has admitted to planning and financing the attacks (all of them, from '96 to '03) in no less than 4 separate countries, and the "doctrine" of terrorist actions says that admitting to the crime is better than denying it, even in a courtroom. Knowing this, all a trial would do is wrack up tens of millions of dollars (conservatively, mind you) in court costs and fees, with the inevitable end being that he is found guilty and sentenced to death (life imprisonment not being an option for someone this dangerous, I'm sure).

As I said on this very blog years ago... there was no way we were going to bring OBL back alive, even given the chance. The only success that could stem from his capture was his eventual death, anyway... so why circumvent the process at all? It was always our goal... nationally, I feel... to eliminate that threat completely. Even in a jail cell in the most secure prison on earth, the man was a threat we could not afford to suffer.

So, to quote Baum's "Mayor of Munchkin City, in the County of the Land of Oz":

"Yes, let the joyous news be spread... the wicked Old Witch at last is DEAD!"