Here come the conspiracy nut-jobs...

I am an author/historian so I appreciate a good moment in history.  And boy did we have one this week with the death of Bin Laden. 

First off, let me say that I have known Navy SEALS and they are some tough hombres.  These guys went into a situation with some good intel and opened a can of whoop-ass.  I offer a salute to them.  Give them the reward money that is due for the head of this bastard. 

But don’t tell me who they are…

We live in a world were terrorists would go after these guys, their families, their children etc..  I know there will be a flood of Freedom of Information Act requests to get their names and faces.  What I can tell the media is…”let it go!”  These guys did a dirty and dangerous job.  If they want their names out there, they’ll say something. 

It’s probably wrong of me to want this guy dead – but he had confessed to the murders of over 3000 Americans.  To me, a trial just seemed like a chance for him to expound his position.  I like how the SEAL’s dealt with the issue – with a bullet in the head. 

Having said that the only thing that makes me cringe is the fact that conspiracy theories are bound to start.  Even now there are calls to see the photographs of his body to make sure it was him.  Like photos can’t be faked?  Hello?  If you release the photographs, we will be labeled as gloating over his death.  If we don’t release them – the conspiracy theorists will gravitate to this as proof that the government is covering something up. 

For the most part I don’t buy into conspiracies.  Most don’t hold water when confronted with facts.  That and I believe most people are not smart enough to create a really cool conspiracy that can stand the test of time.  But Americans, we love to believe there is more happening than what we see.  We like plots and subplots.  People use conspiracies to fill in the blanks in stories that they often have a hard time believing.  How many people buy into the concept that Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t act alone? 

So the conspiracies have already started to surface and there will be more of them.  Even now as the after action reports are being filed, the Administration is changing its story and people already sense there is a hidden agenda at play here.  Sorry folks, sometimes a good cigar is just that – a good cigar. 

I can’t wait to see the books that are already being penned that drive at the conspiracy that doesn’t exist.  In the meantime, let’s be thankful this didn’t go the Pancho Villa route (with no resolution).  The biggest terrorist on the planet is dead.  The world has to be a safer place.  For now…