Where bin Laden’s headed, it never gets chilly
To the editor:
That sound heard around the world Sunday was the city of New York cheering and the gates of hell opening up.
It has taken nearly a decade, but with each tick of the clock, with each passing moment, every hour of every day, 24/7, Osama bin Laden was looking over his shoulder, a prisoner of his own making awaiting a death sentence.
I regret that his was likely a quick and painless death, but regardless, he has finally been executed.
Steve Wojciechowski
Las Vegas
Trump that!
To the editor:
In response to the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, it is refreshing to note that we now have an effective commander in chief. The detractors who are constantly bad-mouthing President Obama should be quiet now.
I propose a question for "The Donald": Try and Trump that!
Mike Mattingly
Las Vegas
Taking credit
To the editor:
President Obama claiming credit for killing Osama bin Laden, just as he claimed credit for killing Somali pirates, is ludicrous. All he did was give the order from the comfort of his office while SEAL Team Six did the dirty work.
President Obama is fortunate he kept in place the Bush administration's Mideast and Guantanamo Bay policies, despite his campaign rhetoric.
President Obama should be applauded only for not abandoning our military mission and the quest to kill the world's most-wanted terrorist.
Mike Niederberger
Las Vegas
Too high a price
To the editor:
On Sunday the United States extracted our full measure of revenge from Osama bin Laden for his heinous act of 9/11.
President Obama and the U.S. Navy SEALs deserve our congratulations and gratitude for a commitment fulfilled and a job well done.
But the terrible cost of this battle -- 10 years, $960 billion and 4,000-plus dead American soldiers -- was an unnecessarily high price to pay.
Had the diabolical triad of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld not exploited the pain and outrage of U.S. citizens and used 9/11 as a false battle cry against the petty despot Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden would have been destroyed in Afghanistan at Tora Bora when he was cornered by the same courageous U.S. troops who have fought these two worthless "wars of opportunity."
U.S. lives would have been spared, our budget would not be in the toilet and justice would have been served.
Stacy Standley
Las Vegas
Paid vacation
To the editor:
So, if I'm a Las Vegas police officer and I want to take a couple of months of paid vacation, all I need to do is beat the tar out of the first citizen I find who gives me the slightest excuse, then I'm off to Disneyland with the family on the taxpayers' dime ("Las Vegas police unhappy with arrest video," Sunday edition).
In the real world (the private sector), employees caught misbehaving are fired on the spot. They're not given months of paid vacation while management tries to justify their actions.
Mitchell Crooks deserves credit for being brave enough to stand up to an individual who has the ultimate power over life and death. Officer Derek Colling knew he would never have to worry about justifying his actions. It's amazing that Mr. Crooks didn't get shot for making a "furtive movement." Mr. Colling must have been in a good mood that night.
The Derek Colling incident is yet another example of why the pubic is fed-up and frightened by the abuses of the police.
Bill Edwards
Las Vegas
