Why I Am Celebrating...

I am celebrating Osama's death because it is justice, and justice should be celebrated.

There is a quote circulating around Facebook originally credited to Dr. Martin Luther King. It basically says: I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

The first sentence was apparently written by a Facebooker, and only the last was actually said by MLK.

I'd like to share another quote from MLK with you:

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

And for nearly 15 years (because you will remember that the first attacks on the World Trade Center were also the work of bin Laden), all of his victims, his THOUSANDS of victims, have been denied justice. And his victims weren't just those who died, but the families and friends they left behind. And the people who could no longer feel safe, even if they didn't know a single person who died. These people deserved justice.

And now they, and we, have it.

Think about it another way.

Imagine that you have a stalker.

A real stalker, one who means you real harm.

One who you never know when or where he will pop up. One who has already killed members of your family. And you know he wants you to be next.

You would know you were never safe. You would wish him dead, because with some people, you know that even having them in jail won't make you safe. They will find a way to get to you, whether in person or by sending a proxy. Because there are just some people who will not stop as long as they live.

Now imagine that stalker leads hundreds or thousands of people who will do his bidding, and you have Osama bin Laden.

He was my stalker, and the stalker of every diplomat, every soldier, every American. He was the stalker of every person in the world who didn't buy into his perverted version of Islam, even his fellow muslims.

He murdered members of our family...people in embassies, soldiers at war, innocents in the World Trade Center, in London, in Madrid...

No, killing him won't end all terrorism. But the lack of a smart, charismatic leader will likely fracture al Qaeda in a way that will make planning acts of terror, especially on a large scale, harder for the world's main terrorist organization.

And killing him will make his followers feel a little like the stalked rather than the stalkers.

And maybe if they are busy looking over their shoulders, they will be spending a little less time trying to kill my family.

And I think that is worth celebrating.