History

Osama bin Laden is dead. I'd be hard pressed to think of a more remarkable piece of news to come upon me unawares in the middle of the night. Is this an historical turning point? Do we start using this as a marker now, in the way that we'd used 9/11 before? Does it mark a substantial victory for the United States, or do we brace ourselves against attempts at retaliation? Or is it just inconsequential? That is, did bin Laden even play a serious role anymore at the end?

And on another note, I wonder how the media will handle this. I wonder if it will be given over to politics and discussed more in terms of its effect on public attitudes than its effect on the world at large?

I need some time to process this.