What of the retaliation?

[level_head]

It is possible that the US will be attacked in retaliation for taking out Usama bin Ladin. We have been attacked many times in the intervening years; none have been successful. There's a fair amount of luck in this, and it remains possible

Comments

[level_head]

No. His name is Usama bin Ladin in one Western transliteration of the Arabic that is often considered most official and accepted. Americans, and eventually British and others, began transliterating the name as "Osama," just as the Qur'an became the "Koran" in Americanized Romanized Arabic.

I'm old fashioned, and have been aware of UbL's doings since long before 2001 -- so I tend to write his name in the older spelling. My intent is to be respectful of people and (in this case) religions and cultures. The "Osama" effect is, I understand, a bit like spelling your moniker See Eegul. It works, phonetically, but is a bit crude-looking.

Of course, the original Arabic is not written in a way that directly translates to Roman vowels and consonants, so all of it is an approximation.

But I'm not alone in my usage. The US Government, while not consistent, refers to him this way:

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/usama-bin-laden

You know me; I'm both old-fashioned and tend to be respectful. My treatment of transliterated Arabic is a bit of both aspects.

Besides, it makes it less likely that I'd accidentally type "Obama" when I meant the Muslim.

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