Some Thoughts on Bin Laden

Thought #1

If the US government and the world ran the way I would like then he would have been taken alive and tried for his crimes, a practice offered to US citizens on a daily basis and something we should extend to the world, it would only improve our image. Now if I could have my way in the fullest I would like to see it all go down in the way that Lawrence Wright lays out in his recent appearance on Fresh Air, an Osama bin Laden that sees himself tried for each crime in each of the respective countries that his followers carried out his attacks, which culminates in his being tried under Sharia law in his home country of Saudi Arabia (with the possibility of being beheaded in a public setting). But alas the world is not my oyster.

With all that said and knowing the world in which we live in the actual outcome was probably the best that could have happened. If he were taken alive he would have been taken to Guantanamo Bay and the whole thing would have been mishandled from there for years with him being executed with the Muslim street thinking he was murdered by Americans and not brought to justice. His being shot in the head was the best option and kudos to the Navy Seal team for knowing that that's what their bosses really wanted even though they probably didn't voice it.

Thought #2

This will change very little in the scheme of things. Yes its great that we removed an iconic figure of radical Islam and yes this will set back Al Qaeda quite a bit but the positives end there. The problem is is that this "War on Terror" is a lot like the "War on Drugs", there is only one concrete and state oriented side in this fight where as the opposing faction in this "War" is loosely connected via ideology. And even that bond isn't that strong.

As long as there are people buying the crazy that the Islamists are selling then there will always be Islamists. Offer the Muslim street a better alternative (true democracy perhaps?) and then and only then will you see the Islamists fall by the wayside.

Thought #3

Hey America! How about next time we kill someone we don't like we don't act like we collectively won every major sporting event all at once? K? Thanx!

Yes I know he was a horrible human being and yes I think the world is better off without him but celebrating death never helped any situation in the long term. My point is, as outlined by the previous thought, we don't actually "win" until the rest of the world thinks we are decent people and that we are not out to destroy their way of life. How does dancing on the grave of a man some of them may be sympathetic too achieve that?

And as a fellow "Millennial" I don't buy this closure thing being propagated by my peers yes Osama bin Laden may be dead but that does not mean everything will go back to normal (not in the sense that you knew someone who died on September 11th in that respect I completely understand that this may mean closure and that is not what I am speaking to, I'm speaking to what was discussed in this weeks This American Life).

September 11th altered the fabric of America for good (Lexington speaks well to this) and the worst thing that could happen is if we go back to thinking terrorism is only something that happens "over there" and not to us. The party atmosphere was naive, if not just perfectly American in the sense that we are always looking for an excuse to throw a party.

Further Reading:

Steve Coll on OBL's death

The Economist briefing on OBL's death

NYT Obituary on OBL