That was the status update that woke me up from idle procrastination on Tuesday 2 May. I was shocked and quickly opened more tabs to find out the story. Information overload. So many sources, so much information, and so many missing links?. OK so there was a shoot out. His body was what? Dumped into the water so that his burial site could not be worshiped as a shrine. And so the conspiracies begin. In Obama's speech he noted that is was great day for America, that is was a great day for justice, and that the world was now a safer place. American youths rejoiced and celebrated this fact.
After the devastation of 9/11 one can only imagine how they wanted to see some resolvent to there horrific attack. But the way it was announced and celebrated with all the excitement and spectacle i couldn't help but feel a little nauseous from all the hype. Its not that Osama isn't a terrible person for the attacks, that they were not both horrific and appalling. I just don't understand how the soldiers can go in there and kill him, choose to do with the body, and then celebrate it. I just seems a bit barbaric to me and the sort of behavior that sets a bad example for the other nations and people. Shouldn't 1st world countries, with all out resources and "intellect" be able to resolve things in a more reserved manner. If even the richest and most powerful countries are executing people at free-will what hope is there for other countries to adhere to some sort of judicial system?
I read
Peter Bergens article, which bought to my attention that Al-Qaeda was actually Bin-Ladens creation. I hope that this does shut down future Al-Qaeda operation, but unfortunately I don't think it is quite that simple, and seeing lately that there have been revenge attacks in Pakistan, I fear that things maybe getting worse.
Albert Mohler raises the point that Americans should be celebrating that fact that, the leader of Al-Qaeda is gone, they should technically be in a safer place, but society should not be celebrating the actual death. Although I can only imagine that if Bin Laden
was planning more attacks, he would have had people underneath him in Al Qaeda also capable of planning attacks on America. Mohler states "
The death of bin Laden was fully justified as an act of war, but not as an act of justice"
I see that many Americans who lost people in 9/11 may feel that this death has bought them closer to justice. But does taking one mans life provide justice? It seems like a never ending cycle of blood spilled and I don't think it will equate to justice whether he is dead or not. When looking at the celebrations in the streets of America, it is evident that they are celebrating a death. For a country that preaches christian values to the extent that they still has many anti- abortion activists, I find this whole situation quite hypocritical. I wonder how Jesus would feel about the war on terror?
I hope that Americans do feel some sort of closure out of this, after the emotional trauma that many families and friends would have feel after 9/11. I realise that I have used the term American quite broadly, and that it they would have had mixed reactions to it, just like we do here in New Zealand. After 9/11 America did need to do something, and a trial in New York maybe a little unrealistic. I just don't feel that the world is really a safer place, or that justice really has been served. I think that America media should not be labeling this execution as justice. An execution is an execution.
