Today America is celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of an elite team of Navy Seals. For ten years we've been hunting the terrorist mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on America, and finally we've found and killed him. While it's good to see American justice prevail, my celebratory mood is severely tempered by the realization of all of what we've lost - all of the things we'll never ever get back, not even by killing Osama bin Laden.
Nearly 3000 lives were lost in the initial attacks on 9/11. Many more continue to die from the after effects, such as cancer from the hazardous materials that many were exposed to both during the attack, subsequent clean-up operations and those killed in so many military operations in the war on terrorism. The countless spouses, parents, children, siblings, relatives, friends and co-workers whose lives have been changed forever, these people will carry the burden of their losses as long as they live. For them, the killing of bin Laden may bring some sense of justice, but will never bring back their loved ones or truly heal the pain.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, there are the changes to our American way of life. We shall never again feel truly secure. As a victim of a violent crime, America will always be looking over it's shoulder, always wondering if and when the next attack will happen. The freedom to truly enjoy safety in our homeland and abroad has been taken from us. Our losses include our privacy, our ability to travel through an airport without molestation, our ability to live our lives without wondering what type of surveillance we're under in the name of "protecting our freedom." The impact that bin Laden has had on our American way of life is profound, disturbing, and, most likely, permanent. The damage to our American way of life affects all Americans, current and future, forever. That's an incredible toll.
Justice is good. I'm all for administering death (fast or slow) to animals like bin Laden - he personified evil and he had it coming for a long time. I'm happy that America kept up the hunt until we succeeded in bringing him to justice. It's a momentous achievement for our fine military and civilian intelligence forces. But on the whole, as I reflect about the real damages bin Laden has done, and the fact that his death undoes none of it, I'm just not happy.