Would I sound paranoid if I said...

It has come to my attention, as of 11am this morning (02/05/2011) that the "mastermind of the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11 2001", Osama Bin Laden, has been killed during a fire fight in Abottabad, Pakistan, after which his body was "apprehended" by US troops and given a swift burial at sea. President Barak Obama has lauded this as a great achievement for the war, that it will be the beginning of the end for Al Qaeda and all the trouble experienced by the world since 2001.

I'm sorry, but so much of this seems so wrong... so incorrect...

I know I'm not going to be the first person to say this, but there are about a thousand little pock holes in this little piece of momentous news that I cannot help but draw vast amounts of fear and suspicion from. The whole 9/11 conspiracy thing aside, which I admit I totally agree with, we suddenly find ourselves, as a world community, confronted with a televised speech from President Obama declaring this news with all the sincerity and severity required, with all the pretty rhetoric designed to mould its listeners into whatever form his intentions require that he uses so brilliantly, but it all feels too neat, and yet at the same time far too unkempt.

First of all, I'm usually a man of fait when it comes to admission, if you want to tell me something and swear it's true, I'll believe you, so long as I don't have any knowledge or evidence to the contrary, but for news as ground-shaking as this I find myself asking the question "Where's the evidence?". The fact that such an event in the hands of American troops would go without SOME form of evidential material, be it a photograph of a cheering troop standing triumphantly over an inert body or video footage of such as meticulously planned and awe-inspiring assault, sets off alarms in my head so loud that I'm surprised Mr Obama himself cannot hear them across the gulf that stands between us.

Further, the so unmitigated handy resolution to the escapade, the highly provincial "burial at sea" is clearly an attempt at blockading any further investigation. News reports themselves state that this burial hasn't and can not be confirmed, but we're all just going to grin happily and pat each other on the back at the casual say-so of the man most capable of creating such a cover-up? In light of all the other things we find ourselves in the dark about concerning this never-ending saga of terrorism, death and subversion, I think it high-time we actually stand up and say:

"Hang on, prove it! You've been hunting this man, this man with only the VAGUEST of connections to the chaos of the last decade, and so far he has somehow eluded you every time, and suddenly, in the face of one morning's operation, you find yourself not only with the man you so want, the man you so hate, standing before you, but you have his CORPSE, his lifeless, unoffending body, and the first thing you're going to do with it, before letting the world SEE that the terror is over, or beginning to be over, the first thing you're going to do is to throw it in the ocean, without a single picture, or second of video footage, just the say-so of whoever you can find to say they were there, be that the case or not, to back you up?"

And, in light of this eloquent and long-winded rebuke of the claims presented to us, all he will say is "yes" and we, the clever sheep we are, will say "ok".

Then, to further this alright shining example of what it is to cover something up, he will proceed with the piece de resistance, the flower on the top of the cake, he will warn us that, with Bin Laden dead, Al Qaeda are likely to attempt further harm upon his people, upon us, the public, worldwide, not just America, but that it is ok, so long as we are vigilant, so long as we are careful here, in our homes and towns and cities, keeping a suspicious eye on anyone who looks shifty and mass-buying whatever they can supply us to aid us in the cause, while they go about clearing up the remaining mess that exists of there, once again putting this expense in the form of military action and the lives of the willing into the favourable eye of the common citizen.

You may not agree with me, and I admit I may just be a little paranoid, buying into the ideas of freedom and conspiracy, looking too deeply into a simple issue and asking questions, which is clearly what the bad people do, because no good person would DARE to ask questions of the beings that run their lives, but either way these questions have now been asked, possibly again, but still, reinforcement is just as good as agreement, the more of us who ASK, the more likely an ANSWER will appear.

My facts may not be straight, my evidence may not exist and I may be wrong, all these things I will keep in mind, but for the sake ASKING, for the sake of turning away from the IGNORANCE with which we are expected to live these days, I have written this all down and presented it to you. If I'm wrong I will apologise, I will smile happily and eat cake with you, I will even buy it and cut it myself, and admit my error, but if I'm wrong I want you to stand beside me, as willingly as I will, and turn with me to those who have alluded us and demand answers with me.

The tent is always open, and your are welcome to join me.