I have to give my thoughts on an event of this magnitude.
My first reaction is to the news already painting Al Qaeda as more dangerous without Osama. This rebranding is an effort to manufacture consent for the continued occupation(we all know the deadline is bullshit and will continue to be pushed forward). Although there is a new martyr for maximalist violence, this should be the complete destruction of Al Qaeda. This is because Al Qaeda was simply the merging of Zawahiri and Bin Laden's respective groups. This group in its original announcements called themselves the "united front for jihad against zionists and crusaders" calling for withdrawal of US forces from Saudi Arabia. Later including us support for Israel in Palestine as part of their grievance.A loss of one of their two top leaders(the one responsible for fundraising) will be devastating.
The second impression i get is the fact that this is being painted as justice. This is a strong precedent for murdering criminals rather than giving them trials. It is not justice to kill criminals. This is the longest war in us history and we can't capture the criminal?
I hope that this leads to a quick withdrawal of our troops and I think that Obama's speech made some appealing arguments that the war on terror is not a war against Islam. But is this just an effort to modulate distress while the occupation of sovereign countries which are predominately Muslim continues?
Now finally I am curious about the operation. Was this a small arms assassination or a drone strike? How was the kill confirmed? DNA photos?
Hopefully more information will come out about exactly how we know it was Bin Laden: do you remember when the Saddam sons were killed? Will there be front page spreads of OBL's body tomorrow?
I won't celebrate murder no matter how evil the victim, this is the same way I feel about the death penalty. Even more so in this situation though: I will not celebrate the execution of a suspect without a fucking trial.
We learned nothing from 9/11.
My first reaction is to the news already painting Al Qaeda as more dangerous without Osama. This rebranding is an effort to manufacture consent for the continued occupation(we all know the deadline is bullshit and will continue to be pushed forward). Although there is a new martyr for maximalist violence, this should be the complete destruction of Al Qaeda. This is because Al Qaeda was simply the merging of Zawahiri and Bin Laden's respective groups. This group in its original announcements called themselves the "united front for jihad against zionists and crusaders" calling for withdrawal of US forces from Saudi Arabia. Later including us support for Israel in Palestine as part of their grievance.A loss of one of their two top leaders(the one responsible for fundraising) will be devastating.
The second impression i get is the fact that this is being painted as justice. This is a strong precedent for murdering criminals rather than giving them trials. It is not justice to kill criminals. This is the longest war in us history and we can't capture the criminal?
I hope that this leads to a quick withdrawal of our troops and I think that Obama's speech made some appealing arguments that the war on terror is not a war against Islam. But is this just an effort to modulate distress while the occupation of sovereign countries which are predominately Muslim continues?
Now finally I am curious about the operation. Was this a small arms assassination or a drone strike? How was the kill confirmed? DNA photos?
Hopefully more information will come out about exactly how we know it was Bin Laden: do you remember when the Saddam sons were killed? Will there be front page spreads of OBL's body tomorrow?
I won't celebrate murder no matter how evil the victim, this is the same way I feel about the death penalty. Even more so in this situation though: I will not celebrate the execution of a suspect without a fucking trial.
We learned nothing from 9/11.
2 comments:
The killing of Osama echoed that of Che Guevara who was also denied a trial. The CIA does not play by the rules. Yes the public is by and large treating the murder of Osama as a sporting event. The "go America" mentality is one that the government uses to change popular sentiment. I for one will not ascribe to such mentality. It is a perverse stupid society that will look upon this event in history and applaud the illegal actions of the United States. The United States has no business executing a criminal without a trial. Despite the fact that this is illegal behavior, I will nonetheless make the humble claim that holding Osama prisoner and giving him a trial would in fact bring about retaliation from extremists. I do see the mechanism for these actions. Playing by the rules would create a more volatile situation especially in Muslim countries that are currently at their most reactive state. The CIA lies, as they did in the murder of Che Guevara. Osama may be alive. He may have been captured and interrogated prior to his murder. We can't know for certain the true events as they occurred. I am not advocating the illegal behavior of the US or the behavior of Osama. I do see the reason why the government planned things the way they did.
The mechanism is as follows in my opinion. I see a Maximizing and Minimizing Scheme.
Maximizing:
First, by killing Osama they manipulate the american public through blinding Nationalism. This leads to an increase in military support.
How:
We should see a rise in subscription to the various military branches.
A change in popular sentiment over efficacy of military spending. This event also is a way for the US to “flex its muscles” a presence that shows that the United States remains superior over China and other rising developing nations. Most importantly, the United States ensures corporate interest by protecting corporate investments in Muslim countries. Increased foreign economic investment in the US
Minimizing:
The Volatility of current Middle East countries is minimized.
How:
The reactive state of Middle Eastern countries is dampened by not holding Osama to trial. They also create uncertainty by leaving everything covered. Creating speculation but nothing concrete. Muslim countries might even turn Osama into a CHE GUEVARA!
I may be wrong lets hope i am and im overthinking it!
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135963026/the-challenge-of-getting-an-id-on-bin-laden
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-binladen-pakistan-army-idUSTRE7432SA20110504?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
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