Friday, May 27, 2011

Reader Question: Bin Laden

So, this is totally off-topic, but since you're the only person I currently "know" living outside the U.S., I thought I'd ask -- what is the mood like in Turkey with Osama bin Laden gone? With your husband in the military, has the mood been relieved, happy, peaceful? Or has there not been a notable difference, emotion-wise? -- Blog reader

I talked to my husband about this and asked him what he thought as well. In general, I think that people were happy about finding Bin Laden. It is a success for the military, and we are proud of our military for finding this target.

However, overall, I think it doesn't really "matter" to those in the military. Their job is whatever their job is at the time, and they will continue to move forward. Overall, the military are not huge supporters of Obama and how he has handled things. However, it really doesn't matter. You just do your job no matter how you feel about your leader. I think this will continue whether we have a Republican or Democratic president. Whether we are fighting in the Middle East or not.

There is also a hope that this will ease tensions in the Middle East. Everyone wants there to be less of a need for our men and women to fight over here. We want families reunited. We want people to spend holidays at home. We don't want people dying. We don't want people injured. Anytime something like this happens, there is a hope that this will help in the bigger objective.

There were no huge celebrations over Bin Laden's death. There was talk. People were happy. They were hopeful that this will change the tide.

What about it military members and family members who read this blog? What have you felt the "pulse" was of this hot topic?

1 comment:

Jenny said...

Just business as usual in Germany. Supposedly, there was increased base security, but I didn't notice anything more than normal. I think people were very happy.