By Kevin W. Smith

On Sunday night (USA time), Osama Bin Laden was killed by Seal Team 6 in Pakistan.  Celebrations have broken out across America in the wake of this news.

Bin Laden's was a face known to every American.  His photographs were often seen on newscasts and in published articles.  It was the face that most represented hate, death, destruction, evil, and war.  No face ever equaled it in collective disdain in America, with Hitler coming in at a close second place.

 For years, we have wondered how one man could do such incredibly horrible things, have the world's greatest military and intelligence services after him, and still remain free.  Those questions certainly still need answering, but at long last the dealer of death has died.

Osama's blaze across the stage of history was one that did great injustice to everyone it touched.  It poisoned the minds and hearts of impressionable young people, and led them into a path of hatred and death.  It killed innocent men, women, and children throughout the world.  It killed fellow Muslims who did not buy into his brand of hatred in the name of Allah.  It perverted the course of freedom in the land of the free.  In every way imaginable, this man was malignant.

But, did Bin Laden win?  It is true that he died in a hail of bullets, but did he win after all?
When Osama Bin Laden's fanatical lackeys targeted thousands of Americans on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush had the courage to declare war on the Bin Laden gang.  Some think he is to blame for the events of 9-11, and some think he is to be praised for his actions in going after Bin Laden.  There is no doubt he went after Bin Laden.

He did so in a huge way.  But, in the process, and in the frenzy just following the 9-11 attacks on America, this president also led Congress to trounce, shred, and dispense with the Constitution of the United States of America.  The "War on Terror" quickly became spying on U.S. citizens, and a complete and total disregard for the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution complete with unconstitutional searches and seizures by agents of the government if one wants to get on an airplane.   Phones are tapped without warrants, dossiers are compiled on lawful citizens, and the Department of Homeland Security (a creation of Bush) encourages citizens to spy on each other and report anything they think is suspicious.   Did Bin Laden win?

President Obama, promising to end many of the anti-constitutional actions taken by the Bush Administration, has repeatedly affirmed them and even strengthened them.  The promised closing of Guantanamo Bay prison camp was one of his promises.  Of course, that was not practical and could not be done.  But it was always only a symbolic tipping of the hat toward the notion of change.  Real change would have been to return freedom of the American citizens.  Real change would mean to stop tapping everyone's phones, dismantle the Naziesque Department of Homeland Security, stop the unreasonable and unconstitutional  searches and gropes of airline passengers--now that would be change worth talking about.

As it is, our freedoms have been further shredded by this Administration.  Did Bin Laden win?

Bin Laden and the wars he spawned are no joking matter at all.  To the men and women who have served in this quest to kill the bastard, our hats are off and our hearts are humbled by your service.  To those who have lost family and friends in this endeavor, please know that our deepest sympathies are with you, and our deepest gratitude goes to those who died in behalf of our country.  THAT is not a joke.

The joke here--and it is a bad one--is what the politicians have done to us in the name of protecting us, and that cowering Americans have let them do it.  If they really want to protect us, why not secure our borders?  That is something that every administration since Reagan has fought against.  Oh yes, they promise to do it, but then they fight against every move to do it.  Why not secure the borders and leave the rest of us alone?  Taking away our freedom in order to protect us?  Now that is a bad joke indeed.  Did Bin Laden win?

Bin Laden is dead.  Ok.  Joke's over.  Can we have our Constitution back now?  Or, did Bin Laden win after all?