“… but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.”
As the president ends his announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden, there is a small group of people waiting for him. They gather in the situation room and the atmosphere is not as light and joyful as one might expect after such accomplishment. Someone hastily speaks:
– Mr. President, I continue to think this is a bad idea. We can bury this matter right now and put all this behind us. We can make the story true.
– We’ve been over this, the president knows the risks and the possible strategic advantage. There’s no point in wasting more time discussing the whole deal again.
– But this is not what we stand for! We must stop this madness!
The president finally intervenes:
– This is not my favorite option either, but after everything’s been weighed, this is what we must do. You have my authorization to proceed
No one has a happy face as they leave the room. Shortly after that, a phone call is made through a secure line. One end is in the White House; the other is in a military base inside American territory. The gist is “go ahead”. The soldier confirms his understanding and the call is finalized.
The soldier then moves through a corridor until he reaches a very isolated room. The door is heavy and has many levels of security, being virtually impenetrable. The soldier opens the door, goes inside and locks it up again. There is someone else inside. The American speaks.
– You know, my brother was a police officer. He died on 9-11. That’s why I’m here today. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. You see, we – America, I mean – we want information, and the kind of information you have, we wanna get it anyway we can. No rules, no restrictions. No human rights bullshit. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not even human.
There’s a pause. Both men just look at each other.
– You could start talking now. But, as far as I’m concerned, Mr. bin Laden, I’d much rather you didn’t.
Disclaimer: this is a mere work of fiction, and is in no way intended to fuel conspiracy theories.