If only things had been different. There are a kazillion ‘if onlys’ that could be wished… from the 1999 election, to the August before 9-11 at Bush’s ranch, to 9-11, to our economy (tax cuts, two wars), to torture and Gitmo, to dead people everywhere — both civilian and military. And on and on and on…

“One last note: the Rude Pundit finds it sadly funny that, after a trillion plus dollars spent on the wars, after thousands of soldiers killed, that what it took to get Osama bin Laden was a criminal investigation and an intelligence operation followed by a quick strike. As we ponder our dead, all our dead, as we remember and make silly statements about “closure,” let us wonder what might have been for the United States had that been our approach all along.” — Rude Pundit