Mission Really Accomplished

US Forces Kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistani Luxury Hideout

President Barack Obama strode to a lectern in the East Room of the White House Sunday night and soberly told the world that Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader and 9/11 mastermind, was dead. US special forces had stormed a large, secured compound in a posh neighborhood in Abbottabad, Pakistan, near the residences of retired Pakistani officers and a Pakistani Army academy. Bin Laden and several others were killed in a firefight as they resisted.

The news came eight years to the day after George W. Bush donned his G.I. Joe Top Gun costume, flew out to an aircraft carrier, and, in a shameful display of narcissistic self-indulgence, boasted victory beneath the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner.

Now, that mission, at least, is finally accomplished.

The President revealed that American intelligence and special operations forces had worked for eight months developing information and plans culminating in the covert mission completed Sunday. The President had given final approval for the mission on Friday as he departed to tour storm devastation in Alabama. "No Americans were harmed," the President said.

President Obama reminded Americans how the nation had come together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "We were united as one American family," he said. "We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who commited this vicious attack to justice."

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had then proceeded to transfer billions of American taxpayer dollars to Cheney's Halliburton Corporation through a no-bid contract for an Iraq war fought under the guise of rooting out Bin Laden, or a dictator allied with Bin Laden, or someone who might have known Bin Laden, or at least read about him in the newspaper.

President Obama told survivors of the 9/11 attacks that they had not been forgotten, and reminded Americans that "we must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad."

Outside the White House and in New York City, crowds gathered to cheer and sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Americans still have many enemies who would dismantle Medicare and hand its money to wealthy insurance company cronies in exchange for worthless coupons. Americans still have many enemies who would plunder Social Security and hand its money to Wall Street cronies in exchange for nothing. Americans still have many enemies who would cripple oversight of business and industry, allowing wealthy plutocrats to run roughshod over every day liberties. Americans still have many enemies who would cripple environmental stewardship, disaster preparedness, and vanquish the very emergency responders who fought and died to save American lives on 9/11.

Americans still have many enemies who would hold hostage the nation's debt ceiling and imperil the world financial markets in a shameful display of narcissistic self-indulgence to promote their ridiculous ideological agenda.

Former Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said those who would hold the nation's debt ceiling hostage were no different from "Al Qaeda terrorists." Raising the debt ceiling is normally a pro forma vote, as not doing so would prevent the US government from funding operations and rolling over maturing obligations, plunging world bond markets into catastrophic cascade failure.

Americans still have many enemies, and not all of them are based on foreign shores.