Of course I have an opinion or two about the killing of Osama bin Laden. And my opinion is just that and nothing more. I wasn't in the Situation Room with Obama (after a nail biting 9 holes of golf) on May Day while he watched video shot by Seal Team 6 as they swept through that so called 'mansion' in a grotty suburb near Islamabad. I don't have friends in the Intelligence community who may have been tweeting their Hollywood buddies in advance of the raid. I'm just one of the millions whose jaws dropped open as I casually flicked through the channels on Sunday May 1st, the day we used to (when we cared) celebrate the working people of this planet on International Workers Day. The raid had taken place and we were waiting for the President to make his statement, and it was gripping television. Better than anything else that might have been on. There were photos of the recently built three story building in Abbottobad surrounded by high fortified walls (and bin Laden's wives really should have sued the contractor or the builder for some pretty shoddy exterior paint and plaster work), there was the video of dumb amerikans shouting 'We're Number 1' as if they hadn't recently looked at the jobless figures or the state of the US debt. The news anchors recyled the same grainy photos of Mr bin Laden in a cave, Mr bin Laden carrying an AK 47, Mr bin Laden making one of his many threats against the infidel and smiling, always smiling. Strange that.
Obama's statement was necessary. But it was grandstanding and provided the rationale for the USA to be conducting what can only be described as a 'black op', a political asassination, a covert plot, an outrageous negation of another country's sovereignty, a classic example of what most poor people across the world already know - that if Amerika wants to reach out and grab you in your own home, there is no-one or nothing that can stop it. That, along with the thousands of innocent people including non-combatant children, women and innocent men caught up in Obama's favorite sport (aside from golf) of the use of unmanned drones splattering flesh and blood across the Arab world, this most powerful of nations (that cannot feed its hungry or educate its young or protect its children and women from the most heinous crimes) can drop a few well trained men and a dog into a compound across the world and storm in, shooting all in their way.
And then they expect us to believe that Osama bin laden, hearing all the commotion during this 20 or 40 minute firefight didn't grab a weapon and go on the attack, or make a run for it. Instead, we are expected to believe that his beloved weapon was just leaning up against the wall while he waited patiently for his executioner to enter his spartan living quarters? Who the fuck does he think he is? Jesus of Nazareth? But this scenario of bin Ladens final moments is just one of over 40 competing and conflicting stories that have emanated from the White House and the administration's spokespeople.
What do I really think? I think Obama told us exactly what he was going to do during the campaign. In October 2008, to out-muscle decorated veteran John McCain, Obama said "And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act, and we will take them out. "We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida . That has to be our biggest national security priority.” At the time, Obama's rhetoric unsettled me. Not nearly as much as his actions on May 1st 2011 unsettled me.
There's no question in my mind that Osama bin Laden was a murderous, ruthless planner of deadly terrorist acts. The debates about the jihad against the west, against all Americans, the calls for the merciless destructon of Israel are based in the complex historical torment or the region and are not the subject of this post. This is about what civilized human beings do when faced with decisions of life and death, when faced with decisions about the need for justice to be seen to be administered with humanity and conscience, with what separates us from the enemies we face every day of our existence.
I believe that giving Osama the code name Geronimo was indeed an insult to native people but when has that ever been a concern to American Presidents? Unlike Osama, Geronimo in fact surrendered to US forces when he was tracked down after carrying out revenge raids against Americans in reaction to the slaughter of many of his tribe. Unlike Geronimo, I don't think bin Laden was given the option of being taken alive. He certainly wasn't read his Miranda Rights. I believe that in order to placate his liberal fans Obama has consistently maintained that the words 'war on terror' have no place in our lexicon, so what were we doing carrying out a covert operation on another country's soil? I believe that Obama's Peace Prize should be returned (shouldn't have been given in the first place), and that his speech in Cairo soon after taking office is a sham of the highest order. I believe that we are no safer and in fact are less safe since May 1st, that Osama bin laden was already discredited across the Arab world and that the democratizing efforts of millions across the region now risk being hijacked by a renewed common hatred of the United States. And that Osama's negligent burial at sea shows that a rush to act facilitated a dreadful vengeful murder followed by a cover up which will have repercussions across the world for decades to come.
Having watched Osama for months from a CIA 'safe house', was it really necessary to act on International Workers day and displace the Royal Wedding as the top story? Just kidding on that last one, in case some of you don't know me well enough....
What do I really think? I think the President of the USA authorised the revenge murder of at least 4 men in cold blood and then revelled in the opportunities to campaign for reelection. Thank goodness we have a real tough guy in the WH. Right?
Comments