Bin Laden lost. And nobody won

Let me see if I got this thing straight. 
The world is celebrating the death of a barbarian assassin terrorist who was assassinated in Pakistan by a special elite force of the United States of America.

Hidden in a compound where there was no telephone or internet, unarmed - as the White House admitted - the master brain of the 9/11 attack that killed over 2600 people was no longer the commander in chief of his organization.  He made use of a trustworthy courier to transmit his messages. The identity of this courier was obtained by torturing the prisoners who are kept under severe vigilance in an American military facility in Guantanamo, Cuba. 
In addition, it was by monitoring this courier the American intelligence was able to disclose the secluded location of Bin Laden's hideout.

The elite force that broke into his hiding shelter had received order to kill him and then dispose of his body in the ocean. The Pakistanian government was not consulted about the invasion of its territory by another country and only learned about it afterwards.

In a nutshell: people celebrate torture - a crime; they celebrate the killing of an idle terrorist - a crime; and the well succeeded military operation that implied violating the sovereignty of a country - a crime likewise.

This is the same as saying, in some cases - and there'll be many of them not just a few -  “torturing can be justified. Assassinating can be justified. Invading another country can be justified”. We repel violence when it affects us. We accept it when it is against those we hate.

Shall we dance on the streets? 

To hell with scruples, the western model of democracy and the basic consensual values of all religions. 

A former CIA member, the American spying agency, told The New York Times that the manifestation of jubilation of his fellow compatriots over Bin Laden's death reassures the methods used by the CIA in defense of its country's interests. A retired Brazilian Army Official, who during the 19664 dictatorship tolerated and stimulated torture and even death of those who opposed the regimen, would be capable of doing such a thing.

The world will not be safer or less safe with Bin Laden's death. At this point, his importance was merely symbolic. "With his death justice was done", proclaimed President Barack Obama.

George W Bush at least captured, tried and only then hanged the former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein. In what we call civilized societies justice is done differently. It is consecrated the Israeli doctrine that justifies selective assassination for the Enemy of the State. This was an act of vengeance that served Bin Laden well.

Nevertheless, we do not deserve that because of him international agreements that treat as crime torturing, assassinating and the violation of a country's territory by foreign troops be torn apart.

Bin Laden lost. And nobody won.



Follow the blog on twitter @BlogdoNoblat (in Portuguese)

More information on this blog http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/noblat/ (in Portuguese)

English translation by:
César Melo
@caninz
+55(61)82507715      
caninz@gmail.com