The death of Bin Laden, will go down as a victory for all lovers of peace and justice. However, the act of dying and of killing another human being has reached the level, whereby a life for a life, an ear for an ear and a tooth for a tooth, seems to be reoccuring. There seems to be an unwillingness to resolve disputes, especially those involving so called international terroist or dictators (Sadam Hussein for example) in a manner in which justice may be seen to be done. Of course Bin Laden has his enemies and he also has his friends. Personally, we do not condone in any way what occured on 9/11 or 7/7 or any other attrocities in which innocent lives are terminated in an insignificant manner. Simultaneously, we do not condone murder without the rights to a trial and it appears that what America has done is to set a new precedent, whereby it determines who should be granted due process (the right to a fair trial, etc) and who should not. It seem to be determining who should live and who should die and this is traditionally seen as the remit of God, at least for those who believe in him. For those who do not believe in God, they at least believe in justice and justice should be ‘seen to be done’. Justice should leave an enduring mark and justice should serve as a lesson for humanity and a breath of fresh-air that humanity can rely on. In the case of Bin Laden, some people may think that justice was done, ‘We got Em’ as the Americans may say, but for others it simply signifies the inhumanity of mankind and questions will undoubtably be asked. For example, was it necessary to kill so many other occupants of Bin Laden’s compound, including his son and wife? Why weren’t the Pakistani authorities told about the events? Why was Bin Laden, not captured alive?.. So there are questions that need to be asked and deserves to be answered. However, the world is in a situation in which an ‘evil man’ has met his downfall, therefore the world ought to be celebrating, but while the Americans revel with joy, glee and much delight, the attitude in the UK and other parts of the world is more subdued.
If you kill us, we will kill you, if you attack us, we will attack you. If you use force, we will use force, tik for tak and in the end, where is the justice in all this? What is the purpose of the law, if we decide not to apply or use it? Should we all simply decide that the law should not apply in certain cases? Or to use Obama’s words, should we simply, rewrite the ‘rules of engagement?’. Bin Laden murdered many and so America murdered Bin Laden. End of Story…. Or is it?
In our oppinion, a can of worms have been opened and what should have been done was not done. No one would disagree that Bin Laden needed to be brought to account for what he did, but this was not done. He should have been captured, tried and sentenced for his crimes. This would have restored trust and confidence in the justice system and it would also show that America acts with integrity at all times and upholds the values of Justice at all times and not just when it suits them. It would also show a stronger symbol, which is that America will not steep to the level of the terroist.
But that is only our humble oppinions and there will no doubt be several other oppnions on this topic. In the end, there will be far reaching consequence either for better or for worse and we can only hope and pray that the death of Bin Laden will result in a change for the better and not the worse. It should show that those involved in terroism, whether an individual or state, will not find any safe place to hide and will not escape the long arms of Justice. In either case, we will all have to live and find ways to deal with the consequences of America’s decision, has the world been made a safer place without Bin Laden? Again, we hope so, but only time will tell.
Filed under: Review4Students Views & Updates
