Cowboy Justice

OK, so I don't know much about war. I know it happens, and people die. I don't necessarily understand the strategies or choice of weapons, but how is bombing someone to death a fair trial? (See NYTimes article, Zarqawi was killed by blast, autopsy says) If the world could grant Nazi officials adjudication through the Nuremberg trials, why couldn't the same be granted to an Iraqi insurgent?

Some of you may think I'm simple-minded. When one thinks of Al-Zarqawi, one thinks of terrorism. Terrorism is now not only synonymous with the Twin Towers but also with the ongoing killing of American soldiers in Iraq. The U.S. government is only doing its duty in preserving the lives of its soldiers by killing the man responsible for planning their deaths. But that is not at all what the U.S. government thinks. The Bush administration, in fact, said that Al-Zarqawi's "death would not mean the end of the insurgency he had led." Killing one man does not equal killing an insurgency. Associated Press reported today that a new insurgent leader has already been elected.

The only tangible outcome of Al-Zarqawi's death is that he is dead--it doesn't mean that the insurgency is over. The heavy-handed U.S. has swatted one mosquito but the country knows that it will continue bleeding. And yet, the U.S. government can do what it wants, without any punitive action because the man who was killed did not have the support of an elected government. The people who supported him were just normal, everyday people.

My outrage doesn't mean I don't care about the many American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. It does not mean that I empathize with the methods taken by the insurgents or that I support their cause. It doesn't mean that the U.S. government does not have a right to stop the people who're killing its soldiers. I'm outraged because I don't think anyone, not even the most powerful country in the world, can impose its justice on others by blowing them up sky-high. If they could, what makes them any different from those who blew up the Twin Towers?

As the saying goes, "With great power comes great responsibility." The men who blew up the Twin Towers did not hold the keys to a large nuclear arsenal, as President Bush does. They used box-cutters and plane tickets to hatch their fatal plan. Yet, they were able to execute a plan that shook the United States to its core. It is frightening to think that the United States could be following in the footsteps of the very people they are trying to overcome. Because this time, the people doing the killing have more than box-cutters at their disposal. The United States has 60 years worth of nuclear weaponry and veto power in the U.N. Security Council, which of course, is made up of its friends who are the only countries in the world that do not have to answer to anyone else about what they are doing with their nuclear devices. Who is holding them accountable?