Guest blog at my invitation from Rick D. Bailey

The capture or killing of Bin Laden was a necessary and rational military response to 9/11 and the many other atrocities that he and al Qaeda have committed. But we let the chance slip in 2001 and it has taken 10 long years to finish that job.

In the meantime, Bin Laden achieved his objective of sowing the seeds of hatred, mass psychosis and endless war.

Pinpoint military action to break up the terrorist network was the rational response.

Instead, we invaded and occupied Iraq and thousands of innocents died in the process.

Quiet, persistent intelligence, interrogation, police work and prosecution was the rational response.

Instead, we resorted to torture and the suspension of civil liberties.

Our children, who are now young adults, watched their illusions of safety disintegrate with the towers of the World Trade Center. Then they watched their country go crazy with "shock and awe". They have watched a radical right-wing arise that is foaming at the mouth to persecute all Muslims for the evil fomented by this man and his jihadist friends.

Can we blame Americans for celebrating that the United States at long last prevented Bin Laden from doing more harm? Can we blame Americans for celebrating that finally we gave a rational mission to our intelligence and military professionals, a mission that was possible for them to fulfill with honor? Can we blame Americans for taking pride in the spectacular professionalism, diligence and bravery shown by those who found Bin Laden and carried out the mission and the strong leadership provided by President Obama?

We took the long overdue pinpoint military action, with no innocent casualties, rather than carpet-bombing Abbottabad. I say hurrah -- and I hope this is the beginning of the end of our mass-psychosis.

Like Bonhoeffer could not live in a world with Hitler, we could not live in a world with Bin Laden.God forgive me.

Rick D. Bailey
Radio Open Source on Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Martin Marty
www.brown.edu
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(This was a comment Rick posted after my blog from the other evening. I found it to be a compelling perspective and worthy of wider consideration. Given that we often don't see the comments, I asked his permission to reprint it here as a "guest blog." Thanks, very much, Rick. And for the Bonhoeffer link (assuming I get it to link).