UBL has been a person of interest since before 9/11, before Bush and way before Obama. That his termination occurred on the watch of the current sitting President is more of a reflection of the tireless efforts of thousands of highly trained professionals ... most of whose jobs and benefits and have been threatened under the current sitting President ... whose combined efforts ... most of which have been repeatedly condemned and ridiculed by the current sitting President ... crescendoed in the efforts of yesterday. Let's be clear; Obama's role in this was to approve a broad strategy to target UBL. He did not sit in on the patrol brief, he did not issue the specific order, he authorized a broad spectrum of activities, and it was left to the highly trained professionals to plan and execute this mission. This was also not the first such mission, nor was it the first such plan under the first such strategy approved by Obama or Bush before him. There have been countless missions under similar authorizations that have not produced the desired result - this one did. That's the way its done - you fail alot until you win one. Lets have some perspective here.
So good job Obama for perpetuating the strategy you inherited, listening to the advice of people who know what they are doing and have been doing it since before you came into the public eye, and standing behind your military in an uncharacteristic manner. I hope this marks just the first of such opportunities for Obama to support our military, particularly in conversations about budget draw downs, increasing medical premiums, freezing pay, rifting personnel, shutting down base support services, and taxing our cigarettes, all of which are dialogues in which he has previously not been a friend of the military.
And while I am glad that UBL has been removed from his key position of influence, he was a symbol. Like all symbols, he will be replaced, and his replacement(s) will all be looking to make a name for themselves, which is why DOD is now at threat condition Bravo worldwide. It is also why his body was buried at sea, so there will be no 3rd pilgrimage for the Islamic terrorists to make, to visit the grave of their martyred leader. Clearly, this was a major battle, but the "war" ain't over.
Finally, a life was taken, justifiably and under moral and ethical restraint as accepted by the standards of the world and our nation ... but a life was still taken, and while the shooter should be proud of his success, I would be very concerned if it did not affect him at some deep level, as it ought to. The thing that separates us from our enemy is that we don't parade the bodies of our enemies in the streets, deface them, burn them or hang them off bridges. We keep our honor clean, which gives us the moral high ground to do the right thing when it needs doing.
