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The Death of Osama bin Laden
May. 2nd, 2011 08:19 amOne of bin Laden’s most famous quotations (there were not many in his oeuvre) compared the United States and Al Qaeda to racing horses. “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse,” he told his acolytes over table talk, “by nature, they will like the strong horse.”
In his cracked vision, America was the weak nag, and Al Qaeda the strong destrier.
But the last 10 years have taught us differently: In life as well as death, Osama bin Laden was always the weak horse.
-- Ross Douthat for The New York Times
I know, this has been blogged a kazillion times, but I should have something. When I saw notices last night that the president was going to give a special announcement late in the night and hearing all the murmurs of an historic event, I naturally tuned in, but, man, an hour after the scheduled time. I guess it was worth the wait to hear the offical word from the president that Osama was captured and liquidated, showing that our intelligence community is not really feckless and incapable.
As for Douthat's point, well, Osama bin Laden did manage to force history into a sudden, nastry right turn, and we are still going in that direction. Oh, I still think he's a loser, but he makes us all lose, Muslims and Westerners.
In his cracked vision, America was the weak nag, and Al Qaeda the strong destrier.
But the last 10 years have taught us differently: In life as well as death, Osama bin Laden was always the weak horse.
-- Ross Douthat for The New York Times
I know, this has been blogged a kazillion times, but I should have something. When I saw notices last night that the president was going to give a special announcement late in the night and hearing all the murmurs of an historic event, I naturally tuned in, but, man, an hour after the scheduled time. I guess it was worth the wait to hear the offical word from the president that Osama was captured and liquidated, showing that our intelligence community is not really feckless and incapable.
As for Douthat's point, well, Osama bin Laden did manage to force history into a sudden, nastry right turn, and we are still going in that direction. Oh, I still think he's a loser, but he makes us all lose, Muslims and Westerners.
