I thought I had pretty much made up my mind on bin Laden being taken out in the way which he was.  An evildoer and the poster boy for terrorism had been killed by American SEALs in a clean and efficient operation in which none of the good guys were harmed. How perfect is that?

I think there is little doubt that the order was given to take out bin Laden on the spot as opposed to capturing him alive. There is no compelling evidence that the powers that be wanted a prolonged trial, one which would have given the al Qaeda leader a platform from which to spout his twisted and demonic justification for the killing of thousands of innocent people. I agreed with that decision to take him out and be done with it. Best to get rid of the vermin on the spot, I thought, than give them a second longer of precious life they did not deserve.

And then I received an email from a regular contributor to these pages, Tommy, who directed me to a post by Michael Moore over at HuffPo – Some Final Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden – and it got me to rethink my position. I was aware of Moore’s position that bin Laden was executed. He pleaded for the President to come clean and admit as much. I simply dismissed Moore’s take as a well-intentioned example of liberal extremism – sweet but not practical in a real world setting. And then I read this from Moore:

In a perfect world [...], I would like the evildoers to be forced to stand trial in front of that world. I know a lot of people see no need for a trial for these bad guys (just hang ‘em from the nearest tree!), and think trials are for sissies. “They’re guilty, off with their heads!” Well, you see, that is the exact description of the Taliban/al Qaeda/Nazi justice system. I don’t like their system. I like ours. And I don’t want to be like them. In fact, the reason I like a good trial is that I like to show these bastards this is how it’s done in a free country that believes in civilized justice. It’s good for the rest of the world to see that, too. Sets a good example.

The other thing a trial does is, it establishes a very public and permanent historic record of the crimes against humanity. This is why we put the Nazis on trial in Nuremberg. We didn’t do it for them. We did it for ourselves and for our grandchildren so that they would never forget these horrors and how they were committed. And we did it for the German people so they could see the evidence of what their elected leaders had done. Very helpful. Very necessary. Very powerful.

And for those who wanted blood back then – well, the majority of the Nazis all hanged in the end. So, it doesn’t mean the bad guys get away – they still swing from the highest tree.

Can anyone see the flaw in Moore’s logic?  I can’t. Yes there is great satisfaction in knowing that justice was served and bin Laden is dead. And it was done, as Bill Maher described it, in Moe Greene fashion – a bullet in the eye. But how does one intelligently counter Moore’s argument about civilized justice and a public and permanent record that a trial would have given? I’d like to hear one.

Revenge is a dangerous game. It suspends reason for the instant gratification it affords us. I recall watching the Charles Bronson Death Wish vigilante movies and feeling somewhat good at watching the bad guys being taken out in the fashion that they were. A thorough beating and assassination, sans trial, of the murderous scum took away any possibility that they’d find a legal loophole they could use to prevent justice being served. Again, instant gratification, vigilante style, took away years of waiting and trials and lawyers doing their thing.  A bullet to the head, instant closure and everyone could move on with their lives. Wonderful…except that in the end what did it all say about ourselves that we would adopt the tactics of the very people we were out to avenge?

I get it and I’m not about to condemn President Obama and the people who made that difficult decision to execute the terrorist leader. Osama bin Laden is dead and anyway you choose to view it, that’s a positive. Moore’s point is that within the bigger framework of justice and the American way, there is a strong argument to be made that the same ending would have been achieved by taking him alive and subjecting him to an open trial for the entire world to see. Yes it would have dragged on for years and bin Laden would have had ample opportunity to defend his actions. But, so what? There is a price to pay for not rendering justice (yes, in the twisted minds of terrorists, killing innocent people is their version of justice) in the way that the Taliban, Nazis and al Qaeda do. As Moore puts it:

Assuming it was possible to take him alive, I think his victims, the future, and the restoration of the American Way deserved better. That’s all I’m saying.

Good riddance Osama.

Come back to your ways, my good ol’ USA.

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