May 1 2011 America Kills Bin Ladin

President Obama just announced the killing of Osama Bin Ladin by US forces earlier today. I find it particularly ironic, as I just started reading Peter Bergen’s book "The Longest War" this evening. Of course, to some extent, the very fact that Osama was killed, minimally brings an end to a very important chapter in that war. One of the additional ironies is that one of the main arguments Bergen makes is how violently anti-semitic Ben Laden was. The fact that his death has been announced on Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Memorial day, has a special significance. One of the CNN commentators, David Gergen, made the comment that not since Adolph Hitler has anyone been hated as widely by Americans.

The world is changing rapidly. The symbol of the most extreme Islam is now dead. Killed by an American force, at the very time when people were beginning to, once again, question American capabilities. For this operation to be announced today, just months before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and on this historic date, provide a mammoth intelligence achievement for the United States. The attack was done without help from any other country. The US did not share its intelligence with any one, including the Pakistanis, who were notified only after US helicopters had cleared Pakistani airspace.

Despite the fears Israeli have of all the events that have been taking place around the Middle East in the past few months, these events are also a great opportunity. Only when people throughout the Middle East share the same western values shared by Israel and other western countries can a long-term peace truly be reached. Today, extreme Islam is in retreat. It has been a good day for the west. It has also been a good day for the Jews, since one of the greatest Jew haters in the 21st century is now dead.