Remember Valley troops' sacrifice in hunt for bin Laden

This editorial appears in the May 4, 2011, Yakima Herald-Republic.

What timing: On the day that our nation processed the news ofOsama bin Laden's death, the body of White Swan Marine Joe Jacksonarrived in Yakima. Bin Laden was tracked down in Pakistan, LanceCpl. Jackson was killed in action in neighboring Afghanistan; it wasthe deadly 2001 action of the former that eventually led to the 2011death of the latter.

Bin Laden, we all know, masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks on theWorld Trade Center and the Pentagon from his then-haven inAfghanistan. That brought the U.S.-led overthrow of the Talibanregime in Afghanistan and controversial elections that put PresidentHamid Karzai into power. But with a shaky Afghan leadership andwhat critics deemed a distractive American military campaign inIraq, Afghanistan remained in flux and bin Laden remained at large.

We're still learning about bin Laden's "hiding in plain sight"existence in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, how the al-Qaidaleader hadn't reverted to caveman austerity but instead lived in agated compound. And, of course, many questions remain about what thePakistani government knew and what it may have enabled.

By all accounts, America's decade-long pressure has disrupted al-Qaida's operations. Some observers say with bin Laden's cellphoneand Internet communications limited, his effectiveness as al-Qaidaleader was vastly compromised. Our military and intelligenceofficials no doubt will find value in the hard drives and documentsfound in the Abbottabad compound.

Bin Laden's bloody conspiracy rendered this Afghanistan campaignnecessary, but this is a perpetual war that may never be over.Declaring victory with his death risks another premature "MissionAccomplished," a la Iraq in 2003. America already has blundered onceon the end game in Afghanistan after it aided the mujahadeen'ssuccessful resistance to the 1979 Soviet invasion, only to abandonthat country and allow the emergence of the Taliban.

From here, it's up to President Barack Obama to develop andarticulate a vision for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the era afterbin Laden. And even a stable Afghanistan and Pakistan won't assuresecurity, as al-Qaida has scattered to other nooks and crannies inthe Muslim world.

Reactions to bin Laden's death range from relief to revelry to asense of closure. Some temper their emotions by noting America'saction took a human life. But bin Laden over the years initiatedattacks that callously rendered the deaths of thousands ofcivilians, including many Muslims. He had declared war on the UnitedStates of America. Given the circumstances of bin Laden's murderousrampages, it's difficult to see how America's campaign against himcould have culminated differently.

Don't forget that bin Laden's death toll includes American troopswho have sacrificed all in Afghanistan, a collateral war from theSept. 11 attacks. Lance Cpl. Jackson is the latest Yakima Valleycasualty in Afghanistan, joining three Army soldiers who died in2010: Pfc. James Miller of Yakima, Master Sgt. Mark Coleman ofGoldendale and Pfc. Robert Near of Granger.

Our country and our Valley can best honor their memories bymaintaining our vigilance and ensuring our enemies, wherever theyhide, can never endanger American lives again.

Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are SharonJ. Prill, Bob Crider, Frank Purdy and Karen Troianello.