"Justice has been served"
BARAK OBAMA
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"
Mahatma Gandhi
Theres an old Tao story, A thief was brought in front of a judge for trial.The judge was,lets just say a little more wise than the job required.The thief had been accused of stealing from a very rich person`s home.The thief argued that he had to steal in order to eat and survive whereas the rich man hadn`t lost any substantial amount as a result of this theft as he had,well,plenty.
The Judge sentenced both the thief and the Rich man to prison.The judge argued that it was immoral to amass so much wealth,in a society which had people having so little,that it encouraged the have-nots to steal in order to live.On the other hand to pardon stealing on this ground was also not prudent as it would discourage people to toil in order to earn their bread.
Now THIS is what justice is all about.Its about letting sense prevail over nonsense and looking at the larger picture,larger than the incident at hand.
Compared to this,the self-satisfaction and aplomb with which Barak Obama almost gloatingly announced to the world,that Osama had been killed,and the euphoria with which the American people greeted this news,makes their sense of justice look very puny indeed.
To think of the billions of dollars that have been spent on this man`s hunt,the countless innocents who have lost their lives as a result of this macho Rambo-esque pursuit of a fiend...the whole justice bit looks more like retribution,and a foolishly costly one at that.
One of the basic principles of jurisprudence is for the adjudicator of good and bad to hold himself to stricter standards of justice than the supposed convicts or wrong-doers.
Again..America fails miserably here.And on many counts.
FIrst of all,Bin Laden is not a product of the worldwide islamic terror factory (if there IS such a thing) or a hired help of the Pakistani ISI,as the Americans would have us believe.
In fact Osama is a creation of the CIA itself,which it had given birth to fight the soviets in Afghanistan.Alongwith Zia ul Haq, CIA had created a world wide recruitment drive for mujahiddins , to be sent to fight the COMMIES in the supposed HOLY LAND of Islam, its these people who later turned into Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Ms Clinton so gallantly declared that the loved ones of the victims of 9/11 can now take solace because the perpetrator of the henious crime is now dead..only it seems that the REAL perpetrator..being guilty by association, is not Osama,but,er..the American administration itself.
Secondly,if the loss of american innocents` lives in a terrorist areal attack an admissible excuse for the targeted killing of Osama,what rationale is there against the same treatment for Mr Bush Jr,whose global misadventures have resulted in the loss of more live than 10 9/11's taken together?
Are American lives more precious than say of those living in tribal waziristan..? who are callously being bombarded day and night by drone attacks.?
If osama had been in Abbotabad all this while,what about the countless killed in Tora Bora and NWFP of Pakistan??
And lastly,if justice is meant to solve the problem instead of mere fretting over the symptoms,
isn`t it time for America to pause and think?to Think Long and Hard,over why every enemy they have except for the Soviets perhaps,turns out to be someone they themselves had been funding a while ago?
Saddam Hussain had been financed and propped up against a hostile Iran.And then relentlessly bombed at.Finally fished out of a rat hole,hauled like a pig,poked at like a dog and killed like a wild beast in front of the whole world.If this is justice...then what is vengeance?
not even vengeance,its good old tribal eye-for-an-eye brutality which does not befit a country calling itself civilized(nor does death penalty for juveniles,but lets save that for another day,shall we?)
CIVILISATION.
Its a big word.Much talked about too.In an article which criticizes so heavily the american vendetta against Bin Laden,it can be asked,whether Bin Laden was Civilized.
Was he not barbaric?one might ask,and the fact that he cold-bloodedly orchestrated the deaths of thousands of innocent men,women and children..was it not reason enough to treat him like an animal??
Isnt he,Them, All, bringing it upon themselves for going against civilised societies?and what america has done has merely been collateral damage resulting, unavoidably from a war.
Well,according to Mr Obama Al Qaeda had infact waged war against USA and their killings fall under this logic`s purview too..but there`s no defending killings of innocents(read civilians)and hence there actions,however strong their logic in favour of violence be,can not be condoned.
But increasingly civilised societies are having to ask themselves tougher questions,on how far are they allowed to go while dealing with people who are against their version of civilisation.Is it OK to kill someone because he has killed?
by this logic the day isnt far when rapists will be sentenced to say, a week of rape themselves! and thieves would have to give up all their money and that would be it!
What good can be had by Hanging the 20 year old boy in Arthur Road Jail?
retribution? perhaps. Vengeance? certainly.But Justice? Not by a long Shot.
In the battle for civilisation,if we are allowed to let go of civilised priciples while fighting an uncivilised enemy, the battle is as good as lost.
we are defeated even before we start fighting.
So amidst the deafening roar of the street parties of jubilant americans,i would like a candle being lit,to pray for mercy for the soul of the dead man.
And let us all pray so that wisdom, mercy and humanity is imparted, introduced in a society,which sends unmanned vehicles to kill human beings with no guilt,whatsoever.
If Bin Laden can force Americans to take a hard look at all the murders they`ve committed in cold blood,in the name of JUSTICE.....I`d say His was a life, not completely wasted.
