"OSAMA IS DEAD."

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.