The Decapitated Hydra

Times are strange and paradoxical, rapid and contradictory. The United States and President Barack Obama have once again been propelled back to a time of ultimate vindication of its prestige and power — right in the midst of the worst months lacking global leadership and weakness of Washington. He who opposed the Iraq War reached the climax of the global war on terror, decapitating the head of the hydra, the defiant leader of megaterrorism. What Bush neither knew nor could accomplish, this Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who had been called so prematurely, did. Barely hours after Gadhafi was at the point of being destroyed by an aerial hit by NATO, it was Washington who went ahead in an action of the utmost boldness and effectiveness in military intelligence as well as ability of action.

Just learning the news has set off an explosion of American pride, which is perfectly understandable because the removal of the Saudi mega-murderer represents Washington finally removing the 9/11 thorn — the first date of vulnerability of the United States, expressed in a colossal attack on its political and economic capitals. During the night, people gathered before the gates of the White House, just before Obama was to explain to the country how he personally gave the order to end the life of the terrorist and how it was executed by a small team of American agents inside Pakistani territory.

The domestic consequences of this news are obvious. Everything has changed in the 2012 presidential race, which has yet to begin. The presidential image will remain secure thanks to an act that affects national security, a cornerstone to any policy with hegemonic aims. Do not forget that it was within his own Democratic ranks that doubt was first cast on Obama’s capacity to establish himself as a president with the instincts and preparation necessary to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens. The fact is: Obama’s credit is now immense. And this is without counting the vindication of victims and their families, duly retraced in the presidential speech.

This elimination of the greatest criminal of the 21st century will also have an extraordinary international impact. The defeat of jihadism is sound, after the tremendous setback it has been suffering in the entire Arab world, where rather than by its crimes and its death cult, regime change has instead been brought about by the action taken by more Westernized and liberal young people. Obama’s decision has doubled its value by not only decapitating the first international terrorist organization but also by performing an act of justice before all of his followers — one that exemplifies what sort of destiny awaits those who want to follow this path.