I didn't dare to open a newspaper today. Not a single one drew my interest. I already knew the gist, and I don't care for the finer details. No two papers had the same headline, but they all screamed the same nauseating exuberance of a false victory. Some were a bit more explicit, as with the New York Post's "Got Him! Vengeance at Last! US Finally Nails the Bastard!", or the New York Times' hilariously objective "Bin Laden Killed By US Forces In Pakistan, Obama Says, Declaring Justice Has Been Done." I didn't read any article today. I simply didn't want to. I didn't want to read about the minutiae of planning the operation while coordinating with all the relative intelligence agencies, or reactions from Congress, or anything diverting attention away from the reaction of the American people. How are we to feel?
If I were anyone else reading this post, I would snort haughtily and say "I'm to feel incredible! A blow for justice in the world has been dealt, and we are now vindicated!", but I'm not anyone else. I can't celebrate death, even in the taking of someone described as "enemy number 1." I can't, and I won't. A man was killed who, believe it or not, was fighting for his convictions and his way of life, however strange that way of life would seem when juxtaposed with ours. Here was a man who witnessed American and Israeli forces killing Lebanese civilians without so much as a second thought, and so to him, his actions were justified. Above all, he was a man, not a monster.
To him, the United States was the monster. It was a monster constituted of avarice and disregard for human life, one composed of demons and only a modicum of respectable people. He was not evil, he was not, as a rather ignorant classmate of mine so eagerly spouted today, a "dirtbag," and he was not so different from every American in the wake of 9/11. His unfortunate experiences colored his perspective on life, just like our experience did for us. If you cannot understand that, I express my condolences.
Turning someone into an object is easy; all it takes is a certain disregard for their past and their personality. It requires a lack of empathy and understanding that is so easy to elicit when in times of duress, as we are so eager to ease the pain of any inflicted wound.
To celebrate the killing of an enemy is to condone death to those we deem as "enemies." Could this lead to a belief that the world is monochromatic, that everything is simply good and evil and that we are always on the side of righteousness? I don't know. Somehow, I'd rather not find out.
That's all.
Showing posts with label september 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label september 11. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Death of Bin Laden
I decided to interrupt my intense (/hyperbole) studying to talk about this most recent and surprising development: Osama bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world for the last 10 years, has been killed by United States operatives in Pakistan. I'd just like to say that it doesn't matter. (Read on before you decide to vilify me.)
Osama Bin Laden, contrary to popular belief, was a reasonable man. No, I do not condone terrorist attacks, but I understood Bin Laden's reasoning behind his malice towards the United States. For a bit of historical context (very brief), Bin Laden hated the United States (and, of course Israel) because of their involvement in supporting Israel in the first Lebanon War (in 1982). Nearly 18,000 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli forces, and the United States never chastised Israel for the massacre. Thus, during this war, in Bin Laden's eyes, the United States and Israel declared war on Islam.
Some may choose to bring up the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and how the CIA financed the Mujahideen as to the US' "friendly relations" with Bin Laden; this is an example of Sun Tzu's "enemy of my enemy is my friend" axiom. The Soviet Union was the immediate threat, and in Bin Laden's view of Sharia Law, defense of the Islamic state (in this case, Afghanistan) was of the utmost priority. Bin Laden was by no means stupid.
Of course, nearly all those in the US who have barely paid attention to news and past history will trumpet the name of the United States, brandishing flags and nationalistic pride unto every orifice of the country. I choose not to celebrate the death of anyone, even an enemy, especially an enemy made out of the policies of my own home country. It is hubris at its worst, a kind of arrogance that will ultimately be the downfall of any person, as many will feel indestructible, believing that vengeance has been enacted against a man who plotted what he believed was justified retaliation. In this hubris, we doom ourselves to a self-fulfilling prophecy: we ignore history, we ignore contexts, and instead we only choose to see ourselves as inviolable and blindingly moral. Yes, an "enemy" of the US was killed, yes, this invokes a sense of victory, but do not be so ignorant as to believe that this is the end.
Because of Bin Laden's retaliation, George Bush launched his own sort of retaliation into not one but two Islamic countries; he reinforced US support of Israel and their oppression of Palestine, furthering the image of the US as anti-Islam; he doomed thousands upon thousands of people to death, blaming all of it on terrorism rather than accepting the consequences of past actions. What would have been a just retaliation against Bin Laden after 9/11? I don't know, but certainly invading 2 countries would not be it.
Many will cheer. FOX will tout the policies of the Bush-era as the main factor contributing towards Bin Laden's death, while others will likely discuss the CIA's missions and their logistics, expeditions, etc.; none of that really matters. Bin Laden was a symbolic figure, largely given the entirety of the blame for an attack that killed 3,000 US citizens. He was a scapegoat, and I do concede the symbolic victory for the United States in this action, but a victory it is not; a death does not a victory make.
We must accept that there will always be those who do not agree with government policies towards the Middle East (largely in its affirmation of Israel's statehood), and we must accept the consequences of the actions that those policies create. It is difficult not to desire vengeance, not to desire to have a declared enemy's body hanging from a town square, not to desire to kill every single supporter of those who support our declared enemy; however, we must always realize that we may actually create our own enemy without the common knowledge of citizens, and perhaps it would be best to reflect on that possibility before engaging in bloodthirsty retribution.
I suppose that's my position on all this brouhaha. It's not popular and it's not the same chest-thumping nationalistic attitude that many will brandish in the wake of this event. I don't celebrate death. I don't celebrate vengeance. I don't celebrate hubris.
That's all for now,
Das Flüg
Osama Bin Laden, contrary to popular belief, was a reasonable man. No, I do not condone terrorist attacks, but I understood Bin Laden's reasoning behind his malice towards the United States. For a bit of historical context (very brief), Bin Laden hated the United States (and, of course Israel) because of their involvement in supporting Israel in the first Lebanon War (in 1982). Nearly 18,000 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli forces, and the United States never chastised Israel for the massacre. Thus, during this war, in Bin Laden's eyes, the United States and Israel declared war on Islam.
Some may choose to bring up the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and how the CIA financed the Mujahideen as to the US' "friendly relations" with Bin Laden; this is an example of Sun Tzu's "enemy of my enemy is my friend" axiom. The Soviet Union was the immediate threat, and in Bin Laden's view of Sharia Law, defense of the Islamic state (in this case, Afghanistan) was of the utmost priority. Bin Laden was by no means stupid.
Of course, nearly all those in the US who have barely paid attention to news and past history will trumpet the name of the United States, brandishing flags and nationalistic pride unto every orifice of the country. I choose not to celebrate the death of anyone, even an enemy, especially an enemy made out of the policies of my own home country. It is hubris at its worst, a kind of arrogance that will ultimately be the downfall of any person, as many will feel indestructible, believing that vengeance has been enacted against a man who plotted what he believed was justified retaliation. In this hubris, we doom ourselves to a self-fulfilling prophecy: we ignore history, we ignore contexts, and instead we only choose to see ourselves as inviolable and blindingly moral. Yes, an "enemy" of the US was killed, yes, this invokes a sense of victory, but do not be so ignorant as to believe that this is the end.
Because of Bin Laden's retaliation, George Bush launched his own sort of retaliation into not one but two Islamic countries; he reinforced US support of Israel and their oppression of Palestine, furthering the image of the US as anti-Islam; he doomed thousands upon thousands of people to death, blaming all of it on terrorism rather than accepting the consequences of past actions. What would have been a just retaliation against Bin Laden after 9/11? I don't know, but certainly invading 2 countries would not be it.
Many will cheer. FOX will tout the policies of the Bush-era as the main factor contributing towards Bin Laden's death, while others will likely discuss the CIA's missions and their logistics, expeditions, etc.; none of that really matters. Bin Laden was a symbolic figure, largely given the entirety of the blame for an attack that killed 3,000 US citizens. He was a scapegoat, and I do concede the symbolic victory for the United States in this action, but a victory it is not; a death does not a victory make.
We must accept that there will always be those who do not agree with government policies towards the Middle East (largely in its affirmation of Israel's statehood), and we must accept the consequences of the actions that those policies create. It is difficult not to desire vengeance, not to desire to have a declared enemy's body hanging from a town square, not to desire to kill every single supporter of those who support our declared enemy; however, we must always realize that we may actually create our own enemy without the common knowledge of citizens, and perhaps it would be best to reflect on that possibility before engaging in bloodthirsty retribution.
I suppose that's my position on all this brouhaha. It's not popular and it's not the same chest-thumping nationalistic attitude that many will brandish in the wake of this event. I don't celebrate death. I don't celebrate vengeance. I don't celebrate hubris.
That's all for now,
Das Flüg
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