The killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by our military in Pakistan is a remarkable vindication for our commander in chief. While many Republicans, Tea Partiers and wannabe presidential candidates, such as real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump, have been resurrecting debates surrounding our president’s birth certificate and school records, President Barack Obama was working closely with his military advisers to put the final touches on an audacious operation to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. I am quite heartened by the fact that our president showed the American people and the world at large that he is tough as nails when it comes to our security and reputation at home and abroad. The death of the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the United States, which led to the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York and resulted in the loss of more than 3,000 American lives, will be remembered as the highlight of the Obama Administration and a testament to the determination, the perseverance and the courage of our military and of our first African-American president.
We will probably start hearing about the Obama Administration’s so-called luck in matters of national security, a refrain brought up every time the administration succeeds in averting terrorist attacks. We have heard detractors of the administration shout “luck” following the arrest of Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also known as the Underwear Bomber. We again heard the same claim after the attempt by the Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad to ignite a car bomb in New York’s Times Square in 2010. Critics who continued to accuse the Obama administration of being soft on terrorism again muttered “just luck” when toner cartridges packed with explosives destined for American shores were intercepted en route.
Even though these same critics have so far gotten away with their claims of dumb luck, they won’t get away with calling this carefully planned and executed raid that led to the elimination of bin Laden after a 10-year manhunt just another stroke of luck. According to the White House, the administration had a lead on the whereabouts of bin Laden in August of last year. While President Obama outwardly remained cool, calm and collected when dealing with minor issues or “side shows,” as he described them, including his birth certificate, his religion and his Indonesian education, he, his national security team and military advisers were painstakingly piecing together intelligence to eventually zero in on the compound inside Pakistan where bin Laden and his close associates were hiding. If you still remember the wise words of our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt – “Speak softly and carry a big stick” – then it is relevant to conclude that our 44th President Barack Obama has done exactly that, with remarkable success. By the way, do you know the proverb that President Roosevelt used and was famous for is originally a West African proverb? Look it up.
– Fathi El-Shihibi is a 1990 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct lecturer in the Philosophy and Religion department.
