Earlier this evening, my wife and I were relaxing and discussing the events of yesterday and we were both struggling to put our thoughts into words. Gone is a man whose actions and the results of those actions have accompanied Nandita and I throughout our entire relationship. 3 days after 9/11, Nandita and I went on our first date and 10 years later we now live in Bin Laden's favorite target city, New York, and I work right next door to Ground Zero. Even stranger yet, is the path that our nation has travelled since this man put his disgusting plan into motion. At first we were drawn together as a nation only to be torn apart by fear, anger, and bloodlust. Our leaders and politicians failed us (both parties) and we lost focus on the primary goal of bringing this man to justice. We lost soldiers, and not just to death, but to debilitating and maiming injuries both physical and psychological. As a result, families have been torn apart, children have become fatherless and motherless, parents have lost children, and brothers/sisters have lost siblings. The resulting actions post-9/11 have bankrupted our country to the cost of over $3 trillion dollars. And so, it was with mixed emotions that I witnessed the jubilation breaking out downtown here and in front of the White House. Perhaps it is my tendency to be more measured and too much of a realist, but I failed to see the reason for unbridled enthusiasm. Yes, we rid the world of this man thanks to the actions of our brave soldiers (hat-tip to my step dad who was a Navy SEAL), and yes, I am happy for it. But as I walked by the World Trade Center today stopping to reflect and watch the people pay their respects, a scene from the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" came to mind. In this scene, the war is over and the men of Easy Company are loaded onto troop trucks heading down an German highway as the defeated German Army marches the other direction and Webster starts shouting at the German troops:
Webster: [at a passing column of German prisoners] Hey, you! That's right, you stupid Kraut bastards! That's right. Say hello to Ford, and General fuckin' Motors! You stupid fascist pigs. Look at you! You have horses! What were you thinking?
Garcia: That's enough, Webster, give it a rest.
Webster: Dragging our asses half way around the world, interrupting our lives... For what?! You ignorant, servile scum! What the fuck are we doing here?! Huh?!
Webster best describes my feelings today; dragging our asses half way around the world, interrupting our lives, and for what, what did Bin Laden really accomplish? So, I leave you with this - Fuck you Bin Laden; fuck you for putting our people through this for nothing. Fuck you for ruining people's lives - victims, soldiers, citizens. FUCK YOU! I hope as you looked down the barrel leveled at you by the best trained elite fighting force on this planet, you crapped your pants like the coward you are. Fuck you....
Thank you to all of our soldiers. If you or a loved one are serving this country, both my wife and I are eternally grateful. Thank you for my freedom.
P.S. Pardon my language. This is my first diary and I normally would not speak this way, but I had to get that off my chest.