The Surest Path to Hollywood

“Mission accomplished!” President George Bush triumphantly proclaimed when American troops took Baghdad. But it turned out that the war in Iraq was only beginning. Moreover, it was still unclear what mission Washington was pursuing, or whether it even had one. President Barack Obama, announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden, did not say those words, which in the American political lexicon have acquired a negative connotation, giving a sense of irony and mockery.

The hunt for bin Laden continued for 10 years and cost America a trillion dollars and two wars, while the killing took 40 minutes using 24 Navy SEALs. According to what commentators are writing, it appears that the fight did not need to be with Afghanistan and Iraq but with Pakistan. After all, bin Laden was living in clover on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital, in a military town inundated with soldiers.

Conversations about a war with Pakistan are a cruel joke, of course, but that emphasizes the danger of a figurative understanding of a “war on terror.” It is no coincidence that in the process of preparing for the elimination of bin Laden, there was some reshuffling between the Pentagon and the CIA. The Director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, became the Defense Secretary, and General Petraeus, who commanded American forces in Afghanistan, became the CIA Director. Support will be given to the CIA by special operations forces and unmanned aircraft drones for target operations.

The killing of bin Laden is fair payback. On his conscience, if he had one, are a host of terrorist acts, the largest of which is Sept. 11, 2001. Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Brennan, appearing at a press conference at the White House, announced that the authorities are “99.9 percent” confident in the death of bin Laden. His DNA was verified; it was a complete match. Al-Qaida’s leader was buried “according to Islamic custom,” underscores Washington, within 24 hours, washed and dressed in white clothes. But, fearing that a burial site would become a magnet for pilgrim terrorists, his body was dropped into the watery depths from the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

President Obama justly noted that the world is a better place without bin Laden. But heaven forbid he say, “Mission accomplished!” In order to eradicate international terrorism, it is essential to pull up the roots that are feeding it.

Obama and his team observed the operation of bin Laden’s destruction in the Situation Room of the White House “in real time.” But in that same real time America has a debt in the amount of $14 trillion. Unemployment is holding at 10 percent. The gap between rich and poor has reached Dickensian proportions. The country is conducting two and a half wars — in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Seventy percent of Americans believe that the U.S. is “going the wrong way.” The president, Congress, political parties and big business are not trusted or respected by even half of the citizens. These realities did not sink to the bottom of the Arabian Sea along with the body of the number one terrorist, and they will play an essential role in the 2012 presidential elections. It is not in vain that it is said in America, “It’s the economy, stupid!” That is, only a stupid person could fail to understand the economy’s priority.

But, of course, the death of bin Laden is a winning card in Obama’s political game. It is not by accident that, when speaking of the special forces raid by the Navy SEALs, he always uses the pronoun “I.” He is stepping into the role of director of the operation, and at this stage even his most bitter enemies and competitors are forced (publicly) to praise and congratulate him.

Now people are wondering where Osama bin Laden was sent: to paradise with beautiful virgins or to Dante’s hell? Neither place. According to the laws of the American way of life, he was sent from Abbottabad directly to Hollywood. Film director Kathryn Bigelow, who received an Oscar for the war film “The Hurt Locker,” has already done a proposal for a movie on the killing of bin Laden. Already a different American slogan has prevailed: “It’s entertainment, stupid!”