THE US wanted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden dead or alive and they got him, dead.
Reaction to the news has been mixed, with the most disturbing response coming from Hamas, the Islamist organisation that controls Israel's Gaza Strip.
Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh condemned the killing as the assassination of an "Arab holy warrior" and a continuation of the "American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs".
Such words are unlikely to lead to a sudden outbreak of peace.
Then again, what of the other key words emerging in response to the killing of bin Laden: words such as vindication, retribution, justice and celebration?
Soon after the news of his death broke, crowds flooded to the White House in Washington, Times Square in New York City and to Ground Zero, the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, demolished in a terrorist attack 10 years ago this September.
Music struck up, a piano accordionist played The Star Spangled Banner and thousands sang along in scenes that can only be described as jubilant.
Youngsters lit candles and there was much flag-waving, cheering and chanting of "USA, USA" and "O-sa-ma, hey-hey-hey, good-bye".
Doug Gomez was a member of the 9/11 search and rescue operation and joined the party because "Coming here is a celebration that he's (Osama's) no longer on this earth".
Dan Choi simply turned up "Because I'm American, and that's about as good a reason as anybody needs".
Usually, it's wonderful to witness innocent people expressing their joy, but it's one thing to watch public celebrations for say, a royal wedding, quite another to see them triggered by a bullet to a man's head.
As the San Francisco Chronicle put it, this should be a time for sober reflection, not for beach balls bouncing in sight of the White House. "For the moment, the United States has reason to celebrate, though we urge all Americans to do so tastefully."
It's easy to understand why some are taking comfort from the killing of bin Laden, particularly those who lost loved ones in terrorist attacks orchestrated by al-Qaida. Queenslander Bill Hardy lost his son Bill Jr in the 2002 Bali bombing and said he's glad the "murdering bloody bastard" is dead.
Fair enough, not a day goes by that Bill doesn't mourn his son.
The response of Sydney's Simon Kennedy, however, is less straightforward. Kennedy's mother Yvonne was killed when her hijacked flight crashed into the Pentagon.
Kennedy is against the death penalty and claims he's never been out for blood - if he had his druthers he'd like to have seen bin Laden face trial for crimes against humanity. So Kennedy's relief at the news of the terrorist leader's death took him by surprise.
He confessed to feeling guilty about his feelings on Sky News, while on Seven's Sunrise, he tried to explain away his relief as a normal human reaction. There is something incredibly compelling about watching a good man wrestle with his soul.
SIMON Kennedy's nuanced response to bin Laden's death provides us with a dignified, intelligent demonstration of how to behave when an enemy dies. You note the news and reflect on it - but resist engaging in any triumphant, chest-thumping celebration.
I'm not at all religious but understand the moral value in the Vatican's stance, which is to recognise the wrongs done by bin Laden, but resist finding pleasure in his death.
"Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event be an opportunity for further growth of hatred, but for peace."
Pressing the mute button at times such as these makes good political and moral sense.
We know that US President Barack Obama said "We got him" upon confirmation that bin Laden was dead, but he certainly toned down his language for the public, and declared that we should welcome bin Laden's demise -- without saying we should celebrate his death.
It was a smart move, far smarter than former US president George W. Bush's self-congratulatory display when Saddam Hussein was ousted from control of Iraq.
Who can forget Bush's boastful and foolish performance in 2003 when he donned a fighter pilot's suit and stood on a US warship beneath a banner claiming "Mission Accomplished"?
More than 4000 US soldiers and untold Iraqi civilians have died since that infamous display of hubris.
But while Obama is being careful not to express himself with such overblown and premature rhetoric, there are many rushing to do the job
Reaction to the news has been mixed, with the most disturbing response coming from Hamas, the Islamist organisation that controls Israel's Gaza Strip.
Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh condemned the killing as the assassination of an "Arab holy warrior" and a continuation of the "American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs".
Such words are unlikely to lead to a sudden outbreak of peace.
Then again, what of the other key words emerging in response to the killing of bin Laden: words such as vindication, retribution, justice and celebration?
Soon after the news of his death broke, crowds flooded to the White House in Washington, Times Square in New York City and to Ground Zero, the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, demolished in a terrorist attack 10 years ago this September.
Music struck up, a piano accordionist played The Star Spangled Banner and thousands sang along in scenes that can only be described as jubilant.
Youngsters lit candles and there was much flag-waving, cheering and chanting of "USA, USA" and "O-sa-ma, hey-hey-hey, good-bye".
Doug Gomez was a member of the 9/11 search and rescue operation and joined the party because "Coming here is a celebration that he's (Osama's) no longer on this earth".
Dan Choi simply turned up "Because I'm American, and that's about as good a reason as anybody needs".
Usually, it's wonderful to witness innocent people expressing their joy, but it's one thing to watch public celebrations for say, a royal wedding, quite another to see them triggered by a bullet to a man's head.
As the San Francisco Chronicle put it, this should be a time for sober reflection, not for beach balls bouncing in sight of the White House. "For the moment, the United States has reason to celebrate, though we urge all Americans to do so tastefully."
It's easy to understand why some are taking comfort from the killing of bin Laden, particularly those who lost loved ones in terrorist attacks orchestrated by al-Qaida. Queenslander Bill Hardy lost his son Bill Jr in the 2002 Bali bombing and said he's glad the "murdering bloody bastard" is dead.
Fair enough, not a day goes by that Bill doesn't mourn his son.
The response of Sydney's Simon Kennedy, however, is less straightforward. Kennedy's mother Yvonne was killed when her hijacked flight crashed into the Pentagon.
Kennedy is against the death penalty and claims he's never been out for blood - if he had his druthers he'd like to have seen bin Laden face trial for crimes against humanity. So Kennedy's relief at the news of the terrorist leader's death took him by surprise.
He confessed to feeling guilty about his feelings on Sky News, while on Seven's Sunrise, he tried to explain away his relief as a normal human reaction. There is something incredibly compelling about watching a good man wrestle with his soul.
SIMON Kennedy's nuanced response to bin Laden's death provides us with a dignified, intelligent demonstration of how to behave when an enemy dies. You note the news and reflect on it - but resist engaging in any triumphant, chest-thumping celebration.
I'm not at all religious but understand the moral value in the Vatican's stance, which is to recognise the wrongs done by bin Laden, but resist finding pleasure in his death.
"Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event be an opportunity for further growth of hatred, but for peace."
Pressing the mute button at times such as these makes good political and moral sense.
We know that US President Barack Obama said "We got him" upon confirmation that bin Laden was dead, but he certainly toned down his language for the public, and declared that we should welcome bin Laden's demise -- without saying we should celebrate his death.
It was a smart move, far smarter than former US president George W. Bush's self-congratulatory display when Saddam Hussein was ousted from control of Iraq.
Who can forget Bush's boastful and foolish performance in 2003 when he donned a fighter pilot's suit and stood on a US warship beneath a banner claiming "Mission Accomplished"?
More than 4000 US soldiers and untold Iraqi civilians have died since that infamous display of hubris.
But while Obama is being careful not to express himself with such overblown and premature rhetoric, there are many rushing to do the job