There's much ado right now about No Easy Day, a memoir of the mission to kill Osama bin Laden that's said to be written by a member of SEAL Team 6 under the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book will no doubt fly off shelves when it's released in September because of what it represents: a seminal moment in our nation's history.
But it seems the importance of the event has already been lost in the hullabaloo over the difference in the events related in the book from those provided by the Obama administration. They both agree that Osama bin Laden is dead (thank heavens). But the devil, as they say, seems to be in the details.
The question is whether that's enough to make this Osama bin Laden mission memoir "important" or just another historical tome that will sell for awhile before being relegated to the bargain bin. Does America really care how bin Laden died? Or are we simply content in knowing that he's gone?
I know I remember where I was when I heard that Osama bin Laden was dead, killed by a team of US Navy SEALs in Pakistan. Don't you? OK, now, do you remember any of the details of how the most wanted terrorist in our nation's history was killed? Do you feel you have to know, want to know?
I don't. I don't care how Osama bin Laden died. Whether he was reaching for a weapon in his bedroom -- as administration officials have related -- or if the man responsible for thousands of deaths on 9/11 was simply sitting in his room, as this new book would have us believe.
Even being satisfied -- I can't quite say happy -- over a man's death is something that tests my moral fiber. Like most Americans, I've been raised to see death as something tragic. And yet, Osama bin Laden was a monster. His death allowed our nation to move on, to heal, to find closure.
The fact is, Osama bin Laden is dead. That's satisfying enough for me; I don't need the grisly details to drive it home. I'm not actually sure I could stomach them. Because the details make this thing, this death that has made us feel better, too real.
I don't need to go back there. Do you?
Will you read No Easy Day? Do you care to know the details of how Osama bin Laden died?
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Comments 14
This was a weird blog. Of course it matters how he died, and of course it matters that there are conflicting stories. I will always remember the day Osama Bin Laden died as the only day in my life I was embarrassed of my country. I was confused since he died as Obama talked about how important it was to bring the people from Gitmo to America for trial because they were innocent until proven guilty. I thought the only reason they shot to kill Bin Laden was because he had a weapon ready to fire not because their mission was to kill him. The people celebrating on the street and cheering was embarrassing to me. Yes, he was an evil awful man, but it doesn't mean we needed to be so classless.
wamom -- As weird as this blog is, your opinion is weirder. People dancing in the streets and cheering were very appropriate in doing so. This is not about class. You don't think Al Qaeda officials were thrilled and cheereed when they captured and murdered American soldiers? Osama Bin Laden's death was one of the best things that could have happened for this country and for the world. Why would you now choosing to exercise legal decorum and proper protocol? I usually agree with you on your other posts, but you could not be farther off base right now.