NEW YORK — Returning to New York Sunday night, the sweeping view of Manhattan from the bridge was unusually clear; the skyline, the shimmering lights, and the still sadly gaping void where the World Trade Center once stood. I still can never view lower Manhattan without remembering the searing events of September 11th 2001 and saying a silent prayer for friends and acquaintances among the more than 3,000 people murdered that day by Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaida terrorist network.

Hours later, and totally unexpectedly, there was a form of closure and nervous jubilation when news bulletins and a mass media cascade went wall to wall with the stunning news that American military forces had killed Osama Bin Laden in what was presumed to be his longtime mountain hideout.