Years ago I interviewed Bill Mauldin, the famous World War II cartoonist whose soldiers, Willie and Joe, were part of the American force invading Europe. I remember Mauldin saying he didn't think the war had made the world a kinder or better place, or anything like that, but then he added, "Of course we had to kill Hitler." And of course he was right; we did.
I feel that same way about Osama bin Laden. Of course we had to kill him. I'm glad we did, though "glad" is an odd word to use about someone's death. Will that make the world a kinder, better place? I very much doubt it.
Terrorism will continue. Al Qaeda and various other groups will continue to hate America, continue to look for ways to damage or destroy us. Their hatred is longstanding and not dependent on any one man. So the long struggle, the long war, will continue. We're used to that. Did we have real peace between the two world wars? How long did the Cold War last?
We've won a victory. A wicked man is dead. Are peace and happiness just around the corner? Oh, no.
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