2011 will stand out as the year the big 3 were vanquished from the face of the earth. First came the U.S. capture and killing of Osama bin Laden on May 1 in a daring raid across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan.
Based on U.S. intelligence developed the previous month, President Obama ordered a covert military operation to capture or kill and U.S. Navy SEALs carried it out to perfection, killing him outside a private compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden's death brought some peace to the loved ones killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Next to be taken out was Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator responsible for aiding terrorists in the 1988 explosion of Pam Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, was captured by rebel forces in his country and killed Oct. 20. The 69-yerar-old Gaddafi reportedly begged for his life before he was shot to death; his body draped on the hood of a car so the world could see he was, in fact, dead.
And finally, Kin Jong Il, the North Korean strongman, did the world a favor and dropped dead on Dec. 17. His death was announced on North Korean state-run television two days later, a fitting way to end the year with three strike outs for the bad guys.
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