Time should not fade memory of Bin Laden

Has anyone seen Osama bin Laden? Does anyone remember Osama bin Laden? Well, he seems to have vanished not only from Afghanistan and all points beyond but surprisingly from our collective consciousness.

What makes it ever more odd is that, about a year ago, his visage all but consumed the electronic and print media. And now, thin, sporadic coverage is little more than a blip.

Even a reward of $25 million, no questions asked, hasn’t turned up reliable location fix on this fugitive. Unless he has gone to Oz, in a blink of an eye, he has seemingly given the world the slip and seems to be off everybody’s radar.

Is it possible, with other priorities on the table, we’ve lost our staying power from the initial fevered drumbeat search? Without advancing any pre-opening argument, long-sought redress cannot be served until he has been given his due.

In the interim, wasn’t it Franklin who remarked, "Hope of gain lessens the pain?" In this case, with time, pain does subside. At the moment, hope of gain — as in, the bar of justice — fades and remains an open-ended wound.

Jim Sclafani

Manchester