"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body." (Pres. Barack Obama, May 1, 2011)Mrs. KintlaLake and I had just settled in for the night when CNN reported that Pres. Obama would be addressing the American People at 10:30pm. We sat up, switched on the bedside light and traded theories until we learned that the subject of the President's remarks would be "national security."
"Bin Laden," I whispered, scarcely able to believe what I was saying. "Killed or captured, it's gotta be bin Laden."
CNN confirmed my speculation a few minutes later. We got out of bed and woke our 16-year-old, and the three of us gathered around the TV in the kitchen to await the President's remarks.
I pulled a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels from the cabinet, broke the seal and poured two shots. My wife and I raised our glasses to bin Laden's demise -- accompanied by the toast, "Vengeance is mine, dammit!" -- as Pres. Obama began to speak around 11:35pm.
The spawn returned to bed when it was over. Mrs. KintlaLake and I adjourned to the front porch, lit cigarettes and sat quietly, listening to the rain. A pair of whitetail deer grazed nearby.
This morning, of course, Americans are swelling with patriotic pride and celebrating the long-awaited assassination of an infamous Islamist butcher. Beyond that, for practical purposes, little has changed.
(Well, actually, I do need to find a new rifle target.)The so-called "War on Terror," at least as we've known it, may be over, but the threat of terrorist attacks remains. In fact, the threat is greater now than it was yesterday -- we can expect bin Laden's disciples to see him as a martyr and seek retribution.
Perhaps that danger will ease over time, but it'll never, ever go away. Terrorism is not a specter -- it real and it's here to stay.
We will be attacked again.
The American populace soon will resume its trademark complacency, retreating into the arrogant illusion of safety. Our nation again will become an easy target.
Some of us, on the other hand, will never forget. We know that vigilance is Liberty's guardian, and we will never forget.
