I fail to understand the logic. I thought we gave even the biggest criminals a trial? This man however, was willingly assassinated and the world's leading economic nation is celebrating it. Though it then goes on democratic crusades around the globe. In no way is this consistent in moral or ethics.
We have made laws in our nations to stop this kind of barbarism and seems like we need to release our frustrations on the land of others, like children behind the backs of their parents. Add a political and media spin, no one really pays attention to the implications this has on our perception of foreign extremism, and how they will perceive us in return.
No example, but equal low-grade, childish vengeance that will only help exacerbate existing tensions.
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ReplyDeleteI think that there existed enough evidence of his orchestrating 9/11, such as him claiming credit for it, that I have no qualms with him being killed resisting arrest. This was not intentional premeditated murder, although I am sure that the commandos involved were more concerned in preserving their own lives rather than Osama bin Laden's.
ReplyDeleteHe was a powerful symbol for Al-qaeda, an organization that many foreigners, Muslim or not, also resent. I don't think that this kind of operation is bad for the US or the world and I think Obama made the right decision on this one.
I too was disturbed both by the operations leading to his murder/killing, and by the following reactions in the western world, and more particularly in the US. To me, the person had gained such an all-encompassing aura of terror and of psychological harassment that we were in fact not seeking to defeat the man, nor even al qaida, but in a way something more intense, more deep rooted and less visible threatening our societies as a whole and us individuals in our daily lives. Because of such a heavy epitome, "secular" laws were probably not seen as providing enough justice (can we fantasize that the guy will be punished more toughly by God?).
ReplyDeleteThe following reactions are probably illusionous: have we beaten up our cancer, or more reasonably just taken off a metastasis?
I'm afraid only time will tell if we indeed were responsible for the creation of such a monster, via the medias and the fears taken care of on a quasi daily basis in our societies, or if he was indeed such a devil that his death freed western democracy of its terrible ennemy.
Last thought: for anyone who have read Surveiller et Punir by Foucault, it appeared by then that punishment by emprisonment was more painful than mere public executions. Have they tried to be kind to him?
Posted a response on my blog www.boomsandbooms.posterous.com mate.
ReplyDeleteFull text here:
I haven't posted much lately and I don't usually post about politics but I wanted to take a minute to respond to a post by my childhood friend Georges on Osama's death, or "premeditated murder" as he puts it.
Having lived in the US for close to four years now, I have continuously been surprised at how vivid the memory of September 2001 is in the American conscience. Ten years after the fact, Americans from all backgrounds and political conviction still grow very emotional and passionate when talking about 9/11, even if they did not live in NYC or know anyone who passed away that day. The reality is that for many people here––and much more than you'd ever realize when living in Europe––9/11 truly was the national trauma that it was painted to be by the domestic media.
Because of this, Bin Laden's death came as a long expected liberation from grief. As Rachel Maddow highlighted on The Today Show, "we are all having an emotionally cathartic reaction to it", even those who aren't celebrating in the streets.
On the morality. As Georges highlights, the raid does not stand up to the higher moral and ethical standards that Western nations claim to follow. But I don't think it was really immoral either. To start with, information gathering was made largely through correct means. As a recent NYT article explained, very few immoral interrogation methods, such as waterboarding, were used to gather the necessary information to kill Bin Laden. Others might ask, why kill him if he wasn't carrying a weapon? In such a covert operation, one during which the SEALs came under heavy fire on the first floor of the house, it is understandable that hard decisions are made without much thought given to them. As many before me have highlighted, here was Bin Laden, a fanatically dangerous man who did not hesitate to use his wife as a human shield and had repeatedly said that he was never going to surrender. When he refuses to surrender immediately, the SEALs had to guess, in the dark wearing their night vision goggles whether or not he could become a threat. Their first call was yes; I think most of us probably would have made the same call. As for the operation itself, it is fair to say that while it wasn't necessarily moral, the moral repair that this news will offer the thousands of American people far outweighs the immorality of the act.
I think a realistic approach in this case primes an idealistic one. Yes, the action is morally, ethically and legally questionable, but the geo-political situation in the world sometimes––not often, but sometimes––forces countries and secret service organizations to act quickly and swiftly. After escaping the CIA for nearly ten years, it was time for them to catch Bin Laden and waiting or coordinating with the Pakistani government would have meant yet another chance for him to escape. What good could have come out of a trial? Bin Laden would have been brought to America, send to Guantanamo and never tried in a fair civilian court so arguing for a trial makes little sense in my mind. To top this, a trial would have given fanatics around the world yet another opportunity to turn him into a martyr. With this operation, Bin Laden didn't just die, he disappeared, giving little for his followers to hang unto.
I think this is a huge victory for the US, and when Obama made the televised announcement, I couldn't help but sing, "USA! USA! USA" along the people around me who were much more emotionally involved than I was. Without going to extremes, I think it's fair to let people who suffered from unresolved grief express their relief and joy that they can finally imagine a new beginning. This will hopefully enable Americans to move beyond 9/11 and start thinking about a future where terrorism isn't the main topic of conversation.
And a recent NYT article to follow up on this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/health/06revenge.html?_r=1&hp