On Sunday, May 1, 2011, the American people were interrupted in their television watching programs. The major television networks, around 10:30 p.m. received "Breaking News" coming from the Office of the President. No one knew exactly what this "Breaking News" could have been. Those of us on Twitter, along with news reporters (on the major television networks), speculated as to what this news could have been. Twitter was first to break the news that Usama Bin Laden had been killed (or rather a reporter on Twitter provided the news via Twitter). Usama Bin Laden had been killed by the United States military, in the country of Pakistan. Then, taking the podium (about 30 minutes after the news broke on Twitter), sometime after 11:30 p.m., the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack H. Obama, made his announcement to the world. For this President, this was a campaign vow. A vow, that he was able to make good on during this his second year of his presidency.
We are now in a moment. A moment, that is linear. Linear, in that we are nine years removed from that dark Tuesday, September 11, 2001 day. But, our landscape has changed much since then and is far more complex. In the name of 9/11 the United States military is in conflict in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. As a result of 9/11 we have declared war against Terrorism and Terrorist. Yet for many, we still do not know who they (these Terrorist) are. Who have been identified them thus far and incorrectly as Muslims. We as Americans, have been made to feel less secure, as a result of 9/11. We want our leaders to be ever bolder. We are even more suspicious about our government and governmental officials and their actions, particularly in international matters.
There are those who wish this to be a war of West versus East. There are those who wish this to be a war of Christianity versus Islam. Even some, who wish this to be a war of First World versus Third World. It is however, a war of ideology. An idea about how we as global citizens ought to live and interact with each other and as nations of a global citizenry. All nations of the world must and should take a position against terrorism. Terrorism knows no boundaries and will turn on the very population it grew out of. The challenge is; how to do find common ground for all these nations. What will the United States of America do in this Moment? What will be the reaction of various groups around the world in this Moment? There are many more questions, with answers that will be revealed over time.
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President Barack H. Obama's Bin Laden Announcement
