The manhunt is over — This post, published on May 2, 2011, is about the end of Osama bin Laden: an end that actually never meant the end of a tragedy. In less than twenty years, the self-destructive policies of the West, fuelled by the false beliefs of a large mass of utopians, have turned Afghanistan into a medieval hell once again.
The message we received appears to be unambiguous.
"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama announced on May 1, 2011.
"America has sent an unmistakable message. No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," echoed former President George W. Bush.
In the wake of these statements, I would like to make some comments about that word, justice, which also recurs frequently in
Remark by Wrath25 on 5/3/2011 at 11:04:16 AM
Subject: Cheers and tears
Content: Here is my reply to Rashid's remark.
Definitely, anyone can always find a pretext to justify his own behavior and can even earn a large following of enthusiastic fans. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and bin Laden himself clearly show what mankind can do. I admit that I am certainly biased in my comments, but I firmly believe that it is possible and reasonable to judge similar actions in a different way, depending on the circumstances. For instance, I think that military operations, too, may serve an ethical purpose. In my opinion, this is what happened in the case of the massive destructions in Germany, Italy and Japan during the Second World War, or in the case of the air raids on Egypt at the beginning of the Six Day War, or in the case of the deployment of US troops in Afghanistan after the September 11 attack, or even in the case of the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946 (which, after all, was an action against a military target and took place after sending warnings that were completely ignored). In those circumstances, freedom or independence or both were at stake. Instead, there were no tyrants to be overthrown, there were no people to be saved from death camps, when the Twin Towers were destroyed. As for recent events, it can hardly be claimed that the Taliban attacks in Afghanistan aim at building a better country. They rather aim at the systematic oppression, abuse and slavery of women. More in general, 'terrorism' is the word to be used when we refer to indiscriminate killings of civilians (intentional killings of civilians of any nationality, not attacks on military or strategic targets with the obvious risk of collateral damage). It is also worth noting that the (terrorist) attacks organized by al Qaeda or similar groups often cause the death of many Muslims (as innocent as Western victims). Remarkably, however, the perpetrators are often celebrated by some Muslim brothers (e.g., in Quetta, Pakistan, as happens in these days), probably because these Muslim brothers have not experienced, yet, the emotion of being involved by accident in an explosion triggered by a suicide bomber (or self-proclaimed warrior or alleged hero or would-be martyr).
Remark by Rashid on 5/3/2011 at 3:18:23 AM
Subject: Cheers and tears
Content: It is sheer nonsense to believe that the people killed by al Qaeda or similar organizations are victims of terrorists, while the people killed by the US war machine or its allies (e.g., Israel) deserve their fate. So, there is nothing wrong in claiming that bin Laden was a warrior who used to fight for his ideals, which are not necessarily worse than the ideals of George W. Bush or Barack Obama.
Remark by Wrath25 on 5/2/2011 at 11:33:13 AM
Subject: Cheers and tears
Content: Not everyone is happy that bin Laden was killed. Raising his voice from Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh regrets that "a Muslim and Arabic warrior" is gone forever. I wonder if this Palestinian warrior has ever put a simple question to himself: "Do true Muslims feel honored that people like Mr. Haniyeh and Mr. bin Laden claim (or claimed) to be Muslims?"
Last updated on October 30, 2024