The three widows of Osama bin Laden are turning on each other in custody, with two older Saudi women blaming a much younger Yemeni wife for leading American intelligence to their hideout.
Putting morality aside, there are some very compelling practical reasons for our culture’s disdain of polygamy. For one, inter-spousal rivalries can be deadly.
The Australian has the spousal specifics:
THE three widows of Osama bin Laden are turning on each other in custody, with two older Saudi women blaming a much younger Yemeni wife for leading American intelligence to their hideout.
What was Bin Laden thinking? It's tough enough trying to keep one wife happy.
“It’s vicious,” said a Pakistani official briefed on the interrogation of the widows. “The older wives think the younger one tipped off the Americans or was tracked when she came to join him.”
Our sense of sportswomanship is distressed by the idea of two against one. We surmise envy is the root cause. To paraphrase the old ad’s plea, “Don’t hate me because my burqa is beautiful.”
Although the compound where bin Laden hid for five years was large, the three wives were all cooped up in the same house. The older two lived on the second floor and the youngest one on the top. Their husband alternated between them. Pakistani officials who have been debriefing the women portray life in the compound as an Islamic version of Desperate Housewives.
Discriminatory housing practices are certainly problematic. Still, we marvel at Osama’s energy level, climbing 3 stories to service 3 desperate housewives at his age. Considering his porn addiction, where did he even find the time?
Having Navy Seals gunnin’ for him was bad, but intramural warfare in his own hideout must have cinched matters.
Might be enough to make a guy rethink that whole 72 virgins thing.
