An open letter to Osama bin Laden

Remember Sept. 10, 2001, Osama? The "thing" was about to happen.

You'd already made it clear that it was America you hated, not freedom as so many politicians try to tell us.

You wanted America out of Saudi Arabia and out of the entire Mideast.

You hated America's support of Israel and you wouldn't mind acquiring an atom bomb either. After all, Pakistan's A. Q. Kahn was offering them for sale.

But it was your hatred of America's involvement in the Mideast that prompted you to plan the next day's events.

Then, 24 hours later, it happened.

You knew America would come after you and you were prepared to accept the consequences. You might die, and it might be the end of al Qaeda and the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but you didn't care.

But it didn't happen that way did it? Your life was spared, and yes, America got kicked out of Saudi Arabia, and your al Qaeda grew in numbers and became stronger than ever.

And later the Taliban started to make a comeback too. It was beyond your wildest dreams.

You never did like Saddam Hussein and the Iraqis very much anyway, and now old Saddam was gone and your al Qaeda began moving into Iraq.

You had hoped to kill a few Americans and damage the towers a bit, but that wasn't the end of it. Four thousand American Soldiers died too and thousands of Iraqis died and millions were uprooted and Baghdad was destroyed.

America started to dig a $3 trillion hole fighting windmills and ghosts and began to sell its future and the deeper the hole, the more likely China would become the next world power without firing a shot.

Well, Osama, the story hasn't ended.

History goes on forever and a new day is coming and it all starts on Nov. 4. Stay tuned!

Joseph Russell Vannier

Hoffman Estates