A campus safety director sent me a text last night to make sure I had heard that our troops and intelligence personnel had finally tracked down and neutralized Osama Bin Laden. I could not help but think that America was to at least some significant degree a bit safer. While we know that the most impressive and clearly well planned action will not stop the group that Bin Laden founded, there have been a number of instances over the years where the killing and capture of a number of key leaders in terrorist groups have been relatively successful in neutralizing or at least severely curtailing their activities.
The symbolic value of this effective projection of U.S. power is immense, and the tactical impact will likely also be quite noticeable. While we are still not out of the woods and will see continued attacks by Bin Laden’s followers, I feel we are safer today than we were just a week ago. This correlates to implications for all types of targets, including our K-20 schools and hospitals. While we should follow the cautions of our government agencies to be on heightened alert, it does seem that a milestone in this long and difficult struggle that began 10 years ago has been reached.
Last night was one of those occasions where I was once again awe inspired by the world’s finest combat soldiers. The fact that on this occasion, our troops worked with the painstaking support of our intelligence agencies and solid executive level authorization also bodes well. While there are those in many regions who love to hate America, the type of strike that was carried out does convey that we will not sit idly by when attacked in this manner. Like the day to day prevention measures that are in place one our nation’s campuses, this much needed message adds one more tool to the protection of our nation’s students and those who work so tirelessly to educate them.
With many thanks to those dedicated Americans who gave us all so much: job well done.
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