A New Era

For some strange reason, when I heard the news that Osama bin Laden had died, the first thing that went through my head was strains of the song sung in the Wizard of Oz when the wicked old witch died. Some people may be dancing in the streets, but others may be plotting revenge. CNN reported that the “U.S. Department of Homeland Security expects "threats of retaliation" from al Qaeda in the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death”. So the continual threat of war and more violence will not stop simply because the head of the snake has been cut off.

While his death means closure to the hundreds of men and women who lost loved ones on 9/11, it is doubtful that closure will actually occur. One cannot expect that we can now close up shop in the Middle East and bring all of our soldiers home. More dollars and more lives will be spent in trying to create peaceful relations and gaining the rights to the valuable oil that lies beneath the surface of the ground in that part of the world. Make no mistake about it. The conflicts that are going on now will not suddenly go away. They will be very much a part of our lives for a long time.

Many thanks go to the military and our relentless pursuit of this evil person. Now is the time to be cautiously optimistic about our future.