Osama Bin Laden Is Dead: Good Or Bad?

Now that Osama Bin Laden is dead, I hope the tens of thousands of Muslims who died at his hands and the families of the 3,000 people lost in the Twin Towers find closure. After 10 long years of searching, we finally got the bastard who was hiding just 90 miles away from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Bye-bye Osama Bin Laden

It is now a certainty that President Obama will be re-elected to his second term in 2012 after taking credit for the killing. We will have more big government spending and higher taxes. That's not so bad given the economy continues to recover and people are finding jobs again.

The main question you should think about is whether the killing of Osama Bin Laden by US special forces is a good thing, or a bad thing in the long run? Osama Bin Laden has been the leader of the Al-Qaeda Terrorist Network for over two decades.

But, how much power has he had over the past 10 years given his need for secrecy? Undoubtedly hundreds of new Osamas are looking to take a higher leadership role and avenge is death. Expect retaliation.

Here's To Peace

Unfortunately, the killing of Osama Bin Laden brings about a new wave of terror. We've closed one chapter, but many more chapters of terror are about to be written. Let's be vigilant and aware. Here's to peace, one less evil on Earth, and a thank you to our armed forces.

Readers, what are your thoughts on the killing of Bin Laden? Do you feel safer as an American traveling the world now? Will there be retaliation and a never ending cycle of hatred and suffering? How do we know if Osama is really dead?

Further Reading

Regards,

Sam

34 thoughts on “Osama Bin Laden Is Dead: Good Or Bad?”

  1. Fredda Blomgren

    Had Bin Laden been killed ten years ago this may well have signalled the death blow for Al-Quaida but the past decade has allowed it to grow independently of its founder so I think this death and the reported death of one of Gaddafi’s sons, will only provoke further terrorist attacks on the West.

    1. We are going to be attacked or somethin like that. On 9/11/11 because bin laden was alot of things but not dum if u look at his last tape he looked like he was stressed Android in most things he taklks about 9/11/11 i can just feel it

      Im 10

  2. Sandy @ yesiamcheap

    I’m a New York. My cousin died in the towers and my mother spent terrifying hours wondering if my brother was alive. I work in a high terror target building on the 49th of 59 floors. I take a subway to work for 1 hour every single day.

    I didn’t celebrate, but I did make sure to bring in and leave a pair of good, broken in sneakers under my desk at work. How’s that for happy?

  3. I’m a little worried about the backlash from the Muslim world and Al-Qaeda supporters. They buried him in the sea, but I understand that Muslims believe they should be buried underground facing Mecca? Would this burial in sea show a sense of disrespect to the Muslim community?

    I guess we just have to wait and see what happens…

    Hopefully nothing negative comes out of this!

  4. SLibertarian

    Oh please.. As a percentage of GDP, which is much more indicative of spending
    power, since that chart does not include the various state budgets.. The USA
    is at 4.5% of GDP spent on military budgets, whereas Chad,
    Jordan are around 6% of GDP, and Saudi Arabia is at nearly 12% of GDP.
    The US Federal Government -should- be spending half it’s income on the military,
    it’s one of the few things it does that its ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO DO.

  5. Obama will most definitely be re-elected, not only because he was in office when Bin Laden was taken down, but also for a lack of Republican candidates. Does anyone really want to see Trump in office? Especially after his “birther” debate, it made him look like a fool.

    Quite honestly, I would like to say I am above revenge, but in this case I am glad Osama is dead. He should not live his life in comfort, if at all. Al-Qaeda is never going to stop attempting attacks on us regardless, and i don’t think the rest of the Muslim population will be up in arms about his death. Muslim extremists in Al-Qaeda are far different than the rest of the Muslim population

  6. Hey Sam,
    Well it definitely goes both ways. The good news is that it comforts most Americans and gives a sense of unity and accomplishment. On the other hand, many public and political figures are getting this attitude that we’re not afraid of anything. For example, Hilary Clinton goes off and sends a message to the Taliban saying “You cannot defeat us!” Personally, I’d take that as, “Come on, give us your best shot!” Hopefully they don’t take it that way, but I can’t imagine they’re going to take the death of their leader lightly. So I guess I would say Osama’s death is conditional bad news.
    Thanks,
    Timothy

  7. Mike - Saving Money Today

    I’m not sure how much good it will do to end the cycle since there are plenty more ready to take his place. Can’t say I’m sad to see him gone though.

  8. While Osama was a terrible man, I do not think that killing him automatically solves all of our problems. In fact, I think they could create even more problems than we had before!

    Like you said, there are hundreds of other Osamas out there that are now planning to avenge his death. I think we’re in for a rude awakening here in America. It may not be today or tomorrow, but I think we’re certainly going to have another plague coming our way via the terrorist clan.

  9. @Everyday Tips
    I’m thrilled too. One less evil for sure. Unfortunately, the hate cycle will continue forever now…

    @krantcents
    I’d rather have him capture as well. I want to see him, and hear him, and then welll… you know, say goodbye.

    @Sustainable PF
    That would be the best if we could bring home our troops… I think that would seriously be the BIGGEST positive.

    @Mike Hunt
    Mike…. oh man, you are right. I remember the cheering of many groups filmed on camera when the Twin Towers fell. You are very right. The public cheering is not something that will help America.

  10. @Jeremy Johnson
    It’s quite awkward to feel joy for the death of someone and his family, but just remember the day 911 happened. Not sure if anything less that death is justice.

    @Kevin @ Thousandaire.com
    I think there will be more people stepping up to take his place and want to die a martyr than we can ever imagine. Don’t underestimate the strength of hate.

    @Forest
    Maybe it’s all a conspiracy and a political ploy. Honestly, nobody knows b/c the government controls information well. I just want the cycle of hate to stop and the economy to keep getting better.

    @Moneycone
    Who knew it and for how long….. the problem is, even if you knew where he lived, you’d fear death of you and your family for ratting him out.

  11. It’s hard to believe. Even if he wasn’t killed I’m sure the hatred that terrorists have towards our country wouldn’t be any less severe. It’s really sad how so many young boys are totally brain washed and forced to join terrorist groups.

  12. Obama: “Well it took nearly 10 years and $4 Trillion but we finally killed Osama Bin Laden”

    Bush: “That’s one heck of a job, Brownie!”

    -Mike

  13. It is good that Bin Laden was taken out, but seeing the people cheering in New York and Washington DC in the middle of the night made my hairs stand up. It was too reminiscent of the people cheering in the middle east after the 9/11 attacks.

    How about some quiet respect for the closure of the incident? Something about cheering the death of another doesn’t seem right to me, even of a hated enemy.

    -Mike

  14. Honestly, I don’t have the money to be a bookie, but I would put the odds at more like 3:1 or 4:1 given the field of underwhelming republican candidates.

    As far as the whole terror circle with Osama goes aren’t there really only two options? I can’t for the life of me seeing us stopping this, “He killed my brother so I will kill his” mentality that is so prevalent in both countries (great ending scene on this very topic in “The Kingdom”).

    Aren’t the only real options either to kill every last Islamic/Middle Eastern person (terribly gruesome and bone-chilling thought) or else help them build an infrastructure that will allow them to compete with our economy? It worked after WWII with the Japanese and Germans.

    As long as there are so many poor people in the Middle East with little-to-no prospect for improvement and no education, preaching jihad and killing Westerners will be a pretty easy sell in my opinion. I don’t want to lost anything off my standard of living, but I have tough time seeing any other way to fix the grassroots problems involved here.

  15. Greg McFarlane

    The provocative headline notwithstanding, this doesn’t guarantee Obama a 2nd term. Let me be the 2nd person to point out how George H.W. Bush went from 90% approval to losing an election. Obama’s obviously the favorite, but he’s not the guaranteed winner.

    I love how people say they’d prefer that he’d been captured, as if they had a choice in the matter. Armchair quarterbacking is bad enough when it doesn’t involve the most wanted man on the planet. I’d prefer he was slowly dismembered and his eyes gouged out before death, but I’ll take what the SEALs gave us.

    So what if this increases anger among Muslims who hated America anyway? Does anyone think that there are people who actually thought, “Well, I’m starting to come around on the USA. They’re not so bad. But if they kill bin Laden, then it’s over”?

    Still, visible proof of death would be nice. We have his body, but it’s at the bottom of the Persian Gulf? This is a time when a president should be as forthright as possible. I’m with Forest, at least partially – I always assumed he died years ago under conditions that left his body indistinguishable. We need photographic evidence.

    I wish I could understand people who can’t rejoice at this news. On a purely academic level, I’d love to know how their minds work.

      1. Greg McFarlane

        Well, I did say Obama was obviously the favorite.

        3/2 odds on what’s essentially a bet that the Republican will win? No thanks. Bodog is offering better odds.

  16. Readers, what are your thoughts on the killing of Osama Bin Laden?
    – relief. Cdn troops have been “hunting” for him in Afghanistan for 10 yrs – bring our men and women home.

    Do you feel safer as an American traveling the world now?
    – I think I would, if I were American

    Will there be retaliation and a never ending cycle of hatred and suffering?
    – this is the nature of terrorism. Terrorism did not end with his death.

    How do we know if Obama is really dead?
    – we don’t.

  17. The world is a better place now vs before the military operation. That’s the bottom line to me, making this event a good thing for the US in my view.

  18. It’s probably too early to tell. The timing of his death coming as it does with the revolts in the Middle East could mean that a new era is sweeping the area–that would be a good news outcome. But it’s equally likely that the system that produces terrorists is bigger than any one man.

    We always like to think that we’re stopping a movement by taking out a man, but that seldom holds up in reality. Also, as someone else wrote above, Bin Laden hasn’t been much of a force for a long time. Either way, my guess is that his death turns out to be more symbolic than actual.

    As a Christian, I can’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling over anyone’s death, but perhaps the next would-be terrorist prince will remember the words of Jesus Christ, “those who live by the sword, will die by the sword”. And so it was with Bin Laden…

  19. I probably would have felt better if he was captured! One person gone does not make me feel safer, however I won’t let it affect my travel or safety. Already there are a number of conspiracy theories reported that he was killed a month a go or he was already dead. Since he was buried at sea, is he really dead? I don’t know if it matters, since terrorism will continue. We should not let terrorism change our lives.

  20. I don’t feel safer. But at the same time I’m 100% against the idea of leaving him alive. Last thing we would need is a public trial and him to turn into a martyr.

    Bury him at sea and let the world see that we never give up. Something to think about next time someone tries to attack us.

  21. It’s a good thing Osama is gone. He was a very smart guy with crazy plans. Who knows what he could do next if he’s still around? I don’t think the retaliation is going to be any worse than Osama’s plan.

  22. I think the jump in approval ratings will be short-lived as soon as the reality of $4 gas and limited economic improvement sinks in. Bush 41 had a jump in popularity after taking Kuwait during Desert Storm but lost the election in 1992.

    Why?

    “It’s the economy, stupid.”

  23. I am thrilled he is dead. To know that such a poisonous being is gone is a great thing. Of course, others will step up to the plate, but I think it is huge that the perceived mastermind has been hunted down and killed.

    I think there will always be hatred toward the American way of life, so I assume there will always be a terrorist threat to us. I definitely don’t think that followers of Bin Laden will just say “our leader is dead, lets pack up our bags and be nice now”. There will be a lot of hate, and who knows if Bin Laden even planned some attack to be executed when and if he was killed.

  24. Brings closure. Definitely good. Now for some unfinished business. If Osama thought he was safe in Pakistan and not Saudi Arabia, that says a lot about that region. Any terrorist activity always leads there. We need to clean up that mess before we can claim victory.

  25. Do you feel safer as an American Travelling the world now?

    This has not and will not have any impact on me. I live in Boston were 2 9/11 flights departed from. The Monday after 9/11 I flew from Providence RI as Boston was closed a few days later, I flew home to Boston. The next week, I flew to Colorado on vacation. In mid october I went to Malaysia which is a Muslim country. I never felt threatened in Malaysia even 1 month after 9/11.

    Is the killing a good thing?

    I think yes, but not related to our security. I think its good as it might get people to realize that we have not become a third world nation. Due to the bad economy in the last few years many American citizens now believe we are being surpassed by China and are spiraling down to 3rd world status. Maybe hearing and reading about this operation will give people the feeling that our country is still a power – will help them individually and will help consumer confidence and will help the countries recovery.

  26. I watched Fox news for the coverage on the Osama Bin Laden breaking news alert and Fox said Usama Bin Laden was dead. When I went on the internet, I saw the same thing on foxnews website. I flipped over to CNN website and they reported Osama Bin Laden was dead. I wonder what the deal was over it?

  27. I think it’s a great start. Imagine you work at a company and you’ve seen the CEO be miserable for 10 years. He didn’t accomplish anything substantial and the job eventually killed him. Are you really going to want to take over for him? I don’t know that there will be a whole lot of people lining up to be the next Osama Bin Laden.

    There will probably be a short term retaliation on a very small scale that probably doesn’t touch US soil, but overall I think it’s good. I also don’t think this has anything to do with Obama getting re-elected. People care about big government and spending today much more than bin Laden

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