I feel somewhat isolated in my disapproval of the recent reaction to the claim of the killing of Osama bin Laden. I was reminded of the jubilant crowds we were shown in the Middle East after "9/11" by seeing the eerily similar jubilant crowds in America upon the announcement of bin Laden's death. Two wrongs don't make a right, and both displays disgusted me to the core. In this never-ending feud between the 21st century's Hatfields and McCoys, each deadly attack gives justification for the next.
Governments lie. You can take that to the bank. Even knowing this, when the official story changes so much and so rapidly, as in this case, it smells even more fishy than normal. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that bin Laden died almost a decade ago. There is a lot of evidence that the "bin Laden" in the videos released these past few years has actually been a few different people (who, other than the clothes and the beard, bear little resemblance to the original bin Laden). Ignoring all that, and pretending for a moment that we accept the current incarnation of the official story as true, I still don't celebrate the killing or the way it was carried out.
Americans don't do things that way; that's how terrorists operate. America is about justice for the accused, which includes facing your accusers and presenting all the evidence in front of a jury of your peers. It doesn't mean cutting corners just because it is pragmatic to do so. Even so, I accept that this was a pragmatic killing. Some folks just need killin'. There's a right way and a wrong way. This killing just smells wrong. A trial would have been expensive. It would have been a target for politico-religious extremists on both sides. Pragmatic, but still wrong. It is probably less barbaric to invade a person's home and kill him in a struggle than it is to carry out a clinical execution. But only barely.
Knowing that governments lie, and considering that everything I "know" about bin Laden and "9/11" I got through government information that was filtered through the mass media, I would not have shot bin Laden had I been given the chance, unless I saw him attacking an innocent person with my own eyes. He probably was a really bad guy, but in this case vengeance, not justice, was served. Whether Osama bin Laden is dead or not makes little difference. The terrorists won unless we get the real America back. Soon. If it's not already too late.
Governments lie. You can take that to the bank. Even knowing this, when the official story changes so much and so rapidly, as in this case, it smells even more fishy than normal. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that bin Laden died almost a decade ago. There is a lot of evidence that the "bin Laden" in the videos released these past few years has actually been a few different people (who, other than the clothes and the beard, bear little resemblance to the original bin Laden). Ignoring all that, and pretending for a moment that we accept the current incarnation of the official story as true, I still don't celebrate the killing or the way it was carried out.
Americans don't do things that way; that's how terrorists operate. America is about justice for the accused, which includes facing your accusers and presenting all the evidence in front of a jury of your peers. It doesn't mean cutting corners just because it is pragmatic to do so. Even so, I accept that this was a pragmatic killing. Some folks just need killin'. There's a right way and a wrong way. This killing just smells wrong. A trial would have been expensive. It would have been a target for politico-religious extremists on both sides. Pragmatic, but still wrong. It is probably less barbaric to invade a person's home and kill him in a struggle than it is to carry out a clinical execution. But only barely.
Knowing that governments lie, and considering that everything I "know" about bin Laden and "9/11" I got through government information that was filtered through the mass media, I would not have shot bin Laden had I been given the chance, unless I saw him attacking an innocent person with my own eyes. He probably was a really bad guy, but in this case vengeance, not justice, was served. Whether Osama bin Laden is dead or not makes little difference. The terrorists won unless we get the real America back. Soon. If it's not already too late.
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