No Relief for Me Today…

News of Osama bin Laden’s death came as no relief to me. First off, I would have been much happier if he was captured and brought to true justice through a public trial here in the United States. I would have loved to see him stand trial for the murder of thousands of American citizens, and be held accountable based on the values and principles we have chosen to live by and that which are ideals that we and others should aspire to. Granted, we don’t always live up to these ideals ourselves, and I’m also a realist in that I know a trial would have probably not come to pass given the enormous controversy that was generated around a public trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. Nevertheless, I would have preferred to have seen him captured. However, given the reports that have been released today with regard to the operation itself, there was little chance bin Laden would have been able to be captured, and so when in the middle of a firefight, there is not much flexibility. I understand that and cannot fault the military at all for doing what they had to do.

Osama bin Laden’s death did not bring about relief to me for another reason. I do not believe that cutting off the “head of the snake” will irrevocably harm Al-Qaeda. I believe far too many people are buying into the false idea that terrorist networks such as Al-Qaeda operate in the same fashion as countries and monarchs of centuries past, whereby if you cut off the head, the body would die; the army would be leaderless and would simply dissipate without their orders. A network, especially a terrorist network, is a wholly different animal. Cells are stationed across the globe and they work independent of one another. Strategy may come from the top, but from what I have read, the leadership of Al-Qaeda has spread beyond Osama bin Laden. In fact, bin Laden was seen as more of an inspirational figurehead in recent years rather than an operational strategist. And don’t forget, he was in constant hiding for nearly 10 years and required dialysis treatments consistently. I think it is more than fair to say that Al-Qaeda had already prepared for the eventuality that bin Laden would die (either of natural causes, or by force). Therefore, bin Laden’s death, although symbolic, is in my view nothing more than that. And I see people rejoicing and celebrating this as some sort of great achievement that will help make America safer, which leads me to my third and last reason as to why his death brings me no relief.

The “celebrations” in the streets of DC, NYC and others across the country frankly disappoint me. And the discourse on Facebook and Twitter is no better. People exclaiming with joy that they are glad Osama bin Laden is dead is frankly no better than those abroad who exclaimed with joy the attacks of September 11th, because they felt that America finally got what was coming to them. It represents an exuberance for violence and death, simple as that. Justifications and rationalizations will run rampant about how he deserved to die for what he did, and that he is a mortal enemy of the US and deserves no sympathy or empathy. However, the same was said by those people who “celebrated” the attacks of 9/11. To put it another way, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” It is about perception, and it is an argument that cannot be won, ever, as long as the sword is the primary weapon of choice. Celebrating the use of violence as a means to an end, versus recognizing that it is an unavoidable consequence in a difficult context that should be used only as a last resort, only further perpetuates the vicious cycle of violence that is seemingly never-ending.

If we truly want to be better than those whom we are fighting against, than you actually have to BE better. Rhetoric with no action is just that, rhetoric. Frankly, its a lie. It’s a supposed principle that gets dropped at the first sign of inconvenience, and as I’ve said before, principles only mean something when you stick by them when they’re inconvenient.

If we are truly interested in defeating terrorism and waging peace, then I think we must stop the “celebrations” now and heed the call of a man who faced incredible adversity (or shall we say, inconveniences) and yet remained steadfast because he knew that doing so, although hard, was ultimately how you achieve human progress:

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” —Martin Luther King, Jr