Anthony Gregory: Still not worth it.
"The U.S. has finally killed Osama bin Laden, the press and the administration report. Many will say this vindicates the war on terrorism, but it doesn’t."
Read his entire piece at the Independent Institute.
Darien Sumner: Now Libya makes more sense
"Ah, now the Libyan war is beginning to make a lot more sense from a political standpoint. The government needed a new bogeyman to chase."
Read the rest at LewRockwell.com.
Radley Balko: Osama Won
"In The Looming Tower, the Pulitzer-winning history of al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11, author Lawrence Wright lays out how Osama bin Laden’s motivation for the attacks that he planned in the 1990s, and then the September 11 attacks, was to draw the U.S. and the West into a prolonged war—an actual war in Afghanistan, and a broader global war with Islam.
Osama got both. And we gave him a prolonged war in Iraq to boot. By the end of Obama’s first term, we’ll probably top 6,000 dead U.S. troops in those two wars, along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans. The cost for both wars is also now well over $1 trillion.
We have also fundamentally altered who we are. A partial, off-the-top-of-my-head list of how we’ve changed since September 11 . . ."
Read the list at Reason.com.
Christopher Preble: Precision, not overwhelming force finally killed bin Laden
"It is now clear that unrelenting pressure has severely weakened al Qaeda. Its capacity to harm Americans has been degraded for years, and yet we continue to dedicate tens of billions of dollars to combating terrorism in all forms. Here’s hoping that this evening’s welcome news contributes to an evolution of U.S. counterterrorism strategy that avoids costly and counterproductive policies, and that, going forward, we will always balance our efforts to advance American security with the need to preserve our essential rights and liberties."
Read his entire piece at the Cato Institute.
Jeffrey Tucker: Don't give government the glory.
"I have some vague sense that many people are opposed to capital punishment, and for good reason, and especially when there is no trial and conviction, and yet we are expected uncritically to celebrate the death of Bin Laden at the hands of the U.S. state. The government needs glory and we are supposed to provide it, regardless of the cost...
Regardless, so intense is the pressure not to question any aspect of this that the Cato Institute took the trouble to issue a note of congratulations and inform us all of what a 'huge debt' we all owe to the government for its magnificence. The killing also permits simple minded people to imagine that all U.S. foreign policy struggles with Islam are due to one bearded guy with a grudge and have nothing to do with, for example, the American penchant for invading other people’s countries and stationing troops in the lands that Islam considers holy."
From the Mises Institute blog.
Bonnie Kristian: Bring the troops home now.
So will the War in Afghanistan -- launched "to find Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members to be put on trial, to destroy the organization of Al-Qaeda, and to remove the Taliban regime which supported and gave safe harbor to it" -- now draw to a close?
Read the rest at Young Americans for Liberty.
Malou Innocent: Pakistan is not our friend.
"Despite all the feel-good talk about partnership and cooperation, the reality is that America and Pakistan are not 'allies,' but 'frenemies,' enemies disguised as friends. Whether or not Washington received clearance from Islamabad for the operation against bin Laden, America and Pakistan have clearly been pursuing very different and fundamentally antagonistic definitions of 'joint cooperation.'"
Check out Malou's work at the Cato Institute.
Senator Rand Paul: A grievous enemy killed
"I commend our troops, the intelligence community, and the military leaders involved in both the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for their perseverance and courage in pursuit of this most grievous enemy of the United States of America."
Source: Lexington 18.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI): Pray for a peaceful future
"Justice has been done. Let's remember those who lost their lives. And let's pray for a more peaceful future."
From Detroit News.
Jeff Frazee: Just more government incompetence
"Only government can fail for 10 years and spend trillions of dollars over budget and still be cheered and celebrated after it finally accomplishes what it originally set out to do."
Via: Young Americans for Liberty.
Matt Collins: OBL death will help Ron Paul
"I think it will allow him to have more validity on the message of 'bring the troops home.'"
Read the ensuing comment thread at Liberty Forest.
