I had a somewhat more reserved reaction to the death of the number one terrorist in the entire world. At least compared to my co workers and most of my family. I think it was mostly because I tend to follow matters such as these closer than most of the people mentioned above. I would agree with a lot of the talking heads that his death was mostly symbolic, all be it a very strong statement that will anger and upset a lot extremist around the world. Some will no doubt get to work wanting to avenge the death of their dear figure head.
My attention was more focused on the reaction not at home in the states, but more importantly in the near and middle east. I turned to my middle eastern friends and contacts to carefully dissect what was being said. As it turns out, the thoughts and opinions did not take any careful thought or consideration. They were extremely well stated and very clear. There was a very marked difference in the tone ans overall message of the response. I will generalize the two.
The private citizen response went like this: We are glad Bin Laden is dead. He was a horrible person that murdered 3000 innocent people. The US has been obsessed with finding him, sending thousands of service men to our country as well as launching drone attacks at will that sometimes resulted in our our own innocent people dying. We are tired of living in fear in our own homes for something none of us did. So the real question is, now that he is gone...does this mean the US military will be on their way out? We all hope so. We are tired and war weary.
The talking heads in the middle east went more like this: Congratulations to the US government for finally getting Bin Laden. He was a horrible person that murdered 3000 innocent people. We understand your obsession and even the decision to send thousands of your servicemen to our country(s) in search of him. Although we are sad to see and condemn more innocent people dying in the name of your search, we will tolerate your presence. Especially if it means the flow of millions of dollars in aid to our country. Please do not think the killing of one man means you are done here, if you leave we are fearful that our country will fall into civil war. Plus we are pretty sure the money will stop.
Of course these statements are extremely general. So if you find yourself in one of these categories and do not agree, no harm intended. They are simply my unscientific observations from the many responses I read. I believe these general statements are the sort of thing causing general frustration here in the US. I believe this is especially true in the largest demographic here in the US. The die hard FOX news watcher and the die hard CNN/MSNBC news watcher.
The ardent CNN/MSNBC fan reads or hears the middle eastern talking head and takes offense. This mostly because these viewers have been calling for a withdraw and end to the wars for years now.
The steadfast FOX news viewer reads or hears the average citizen response and is highly offended that anyone would hold anything less than undying gratitude to the country (USA) that came to their aid in such a time of need.
This rather large gap in opinion puts the US government in a very tough spot. It is so split and the feelings run so high on this issue, it really cannot make the right choice. This is where we stand. I believe the US needs to make take a stand one way or another. Either go all in or all out. I am convinced that straddling the fence will not solve the problem but make this horrible chapter in our history stretch beyond what any of us can imagine.
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