Having watched Samir Khan - aka The Pest - since the beginning of his career in 2006, I'm sorry to see him go, but not because I cared about him. He and his online buddies pestered me and other (more) decent bloggers for years. In the process, they took what was a tiny, sleepy little corner of the English-language jihadi internet, and turned it into an industry of inane commentary and pointless domestic policy.
No, I can't gloat over his demise. The Pest was an American kid who abused the privilege of his citizenship and the gift of his free will. He died as a consequence.
My thoughts are with his parents, who had to watch their child die a violent, ugly death, as the entire world celebrated.
I don't wish that agony on anyone.
