It does no good to imagine how I might feel differently if my parent or sibling had died in the 9/11 attacks on the towers. Such theoretical thinking is wishful thinking. Instead, I can say that no death will bring back the loved ones lost in the attack on the twin towers.
People will say, "Justice is done." Retributive justice is about proportional response. It is hard to see how the death of one, even if the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is proportional to the loss of over 3000.
The killing of Bin Laden was a military action. The United States is engaged in military and political actions around the war. What I hate is that I believe if you "live by the sword you will die by the sword." Each drone missile that kills simultaneously makes more enemies who swear vengeance upon us. At some point someone has to model some form of "turn the other cheek" if the cycle of violence is to stop.
I agree with you that I do not find any joy in the death of Osama Bin Laden at the hands of American operatives; I feel it will lead to an escalation of terrorism and there are so many ways that they can reach large numbers of Americans. Further, as opposed to the checks and balances of the Cold War when we were able to keep the few nations who had nuclear arms from using them to wage war, this enemy is so entirely different and faceless and fearless. There is no one with whom to negotiate.
ReplyDelete