Obama and Bin Laden in the Media

There's always lots going on in the world, and thus also lots of things being reported about in the media. The President of the US, Barack Obama, announcing that Osama bin Laden had been killed, well, that was definitely a biggie. I'm still not sure I believe it, to be honest.

I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next Doctor Who - vampire - alien - werewolf - fringe science fan, however the timing of this uber-secret mission and the fact that there are basically no details of what happened apart from America saying it's so; that leaves me wondering. As with other is he or isn't he dead theories (Tupac, Elvis, John Lennon etcetera) there will no doubt be speculation for years to come, and as with those theories - I am content to sit on the fence.

As for 9/11 -- I do not now nor have I ever agreed with the killing of innocent people. No matter what country they live in, their religion, skin colour or political affiliation - killing innocents is wrong no matter what motivation is given for it. Simple as that.

What happened on 9/11 was wrong. Very wrong. People simply wanting to go home or on a vacation, travelling from one place to another. People going to work, not fighting or attacking people, but simply going about their lives - they were non-combatants, and they were all killed.

I condemn what happened on 9/11, and no matter how horrified I was then and still am now at the loss and destruction in New York, I was also sickened by images of American people dancing in the street and rejoicing about the death of Osama bin Laden. Yes, he was the master-mind behind Al Qaeda, the group who claimed responsibility for 9/11. Yes, I even understand that people are pleased that he is now dead and that they may gain some sort of satisfaction from it.

However, Osama bin Laden was just one man. An organisation capable of hijacking not just a single but several air-planes, bombing embassies and inciting terror in millions consists of many more people than just one man. The current public face of Al Qaeda has now been eliminated. America has it's victory, President Obama has his victory, and with it the excuse needed to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, probably re-election in his pocket, and a big fat tick in the "we got him" check-box.

Killing one man, executing him actually (because seriously, what else can one call a bullet to the head of an unarmed man and denying him a fair trial, no matter who he is or what he did or what we all know the outcome of that trial would be?), does not end terror. It does not end terrorism. It does not end war. It does not end fighting. It does not end suffering. It does not end hatred, fear and anger. It does not stop people from being afraid. It does not stop innocents from being killed the world over on a daily basis.

Only peace will achieve those goals. And only God should have the power to decide who lives and who dies. Not Osama bin Laden or Barack Obama. Not Al Qaeda and not the United States of America. Not humans, because that decision simply shouldn't be ours to make.