Honestly, I wasn’t going to write about Osama bin Ladin. I already got into one Facebook discussion about it. And by “discussion,” I mean people using words like CRONIES and PHOTOSHOP to get their point across.

But I can’t seem to leave well enough alone. Mostly because I am mystified by the versions of this status (and tweet and comment) that I’ve seen over and over again: “Obama did nothing. The Seals deserve all the credit.”

Now, I’m not saying that the Seals don’t deserve credit, but this was FOUR YEARS of intel. If we are going to get technical about who deserves cheers, what about the people who found out where Osama bin Ladin lived? Or who followed his courier without getting caught? Or do people think this Seal team was just sitting around and thought: Let’s hit that house today! Whoa! Osama bin Ladin’s in there!

Those IN DEFENSE OF THE NAVY SEALS comments look a lot like sound bites to me. Especially when most of those people are also attacking those who are thanking the president.  It then seems to be more about disagreeing with President Obama’s domestic policies than being so worried that the Seal aren’t getting enough credit.

Why can’t I thank one of the many people who participated in operation bin Ladin? Why is one gratitude better than the other?  Is credit and admiration a pie? There’s only so many pieces, and, if we acknowledge too many people, it doesn’t count? OH NO! I ran out of proud pie! We have ignore-you carrots and crow, will that do? Is putting our life on the line more heroic than using our brains to plan it?  Do they cancel each other out?

I cannot even fathom how many people worked hard on this operation. Including our president. President Obama is the one who green-lighted the operation even though they were only 80% sure bin Ladin was in the compound that night. He took the chance. A big chance because what if things had gone wrong? What if the Seals been hurt? Or caught? Or Pakistan retaliated?

But President Obama can’t get credit for making the right call?

And yes, the men in that unit put their lives on the line for our country and our peace of mind. And I am grateful.

But I am also grateful to a president who had the patience to wait until we were sure but had the foresight to know that we’d never be 100% sure.

I’m proud of ALL of the people involved.

Aren’t you?

Hoo-yah.

PS. I’ll try to keep a tally on how many Facebook friends I lose over this post. My husband says it’ll be fun. Probably because he refuses to repost this piece on his own wall.

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