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May 18, 2011
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Celebrating bin Laden’s Killing and Death Felt Wrong
Violence never
represents
greatness
I
B rian J. T r a it m a n
M y reaction to new s
o f the successful targeted
assassination o f al-Q aida
founder and m ost w anted
terrorist O sam a bin Laden w as u n ­
like m any A m erican s’. C elebrating
killing and death felt w rong, and to
w itness m y fellow citizens cheering
ju b ila n tly and chanting nationalist
slogans w ith jo y and pride was d is­
heartening.
Instead o f reveling in m ore milita-
rism a n d m u rd e r, o u r e n e rg ie s
should be devoted to bringing hom e
the roughly 150,000 A m erican sol­
diers still deployed in A fghanistan
and Iraq and in h a rm ’s w ay every
m inute o f every day.
N ational unity sh o u ld n ’t be bom
o f and driven by acts o f aggression;
it should be shaped and inspired by
individual and co llectiv e co m p as­
sion and an altruistic d esire to ad v o ­
cate fo r and alleviate the suffering
o f the tens o f m illions o f civilians
around the w orld, esp ecially the
by
children, w ho live in conflict zones “to d a y ’s ach iev em en t is a testa­
and engage in a daily struggle to m ent to the greatness o f o u r co u n ­
avoid the inhum anity and try .”
indiscrim inate brutality o f
By w hat m easure, Mr. President,
oppression and war.
does violence and killing serve to
T he ju b ila tio n that has m ake any nation great? T hese a c ­
b e e n e x h ib ite d b y o u r tions represent not ‘g re a tn ess’ but
c o u n try ’s m ainstream m e­ shallow ness and desperation.
dia, politicians and public in
W hen will o u r leaders learn that
the w ake o f bin L aden’s slay­ the answ er to violence is not m ore
ing is clear and disturbing violence? W hen will they learn that
When will our leaders learn that the
answer to violence is not more violence?
When will they learn that the would-be bin
Ladens o f the world are best neutralized
through mechanisms that promote democracy,
freedom and human rights.
Ì
viable m eans by w hich to achieve
ju stic e and restore and m aintain
o rd er and harm ony? W hen will the
aggressive and vengeful thinking
and behavior end?
H undreds o f thousands o f lives
w ere lost and m ore than a trillion
dollars spent in pursuit o f bin Laden
and his relatively sm all contingent
o f follow ers under the guise o f the
so-called “w ar on terro r.”
W ill it end now ? A las, I doubt it
very m uch.
I don ’ t mourn the dem ise o f Osam a
bin Laden; I ’m relieved he can no
longer hurt people and engender
m ass su fferin g . I am , h o w ev er,
troubled by the m essage that c el­
e b r a tin g b lo o d s h e d s e n d s o u r
young people and future g en era­
tions; I am saddened by the m issed
opportunity that this incident o f­
fered o ur nation to engage in a seri­
evidence o f a revenge-m inded c u l­ the w ould-be bin L a d e n ’s o f the
ture, one that unfortunately c o n tin ­ w orld are best neutralized through
ues to resort to failed retributive m echanism s that prom ote d em oc­ o u s and lo n g o v e rd u e d ialo g u e
m easures to solve problem s.
racy, freedom and hum an rights, i.e., about the m any costs o f violence
In doing so o ur society ignores international law enforcem ent, h u ­ and the ethical and strategic utility
the underlying causes o f violence, m anitarian aid and assistance, uni­ o f restorative and transitional ju s ­
such as poverty, thus inhibiting ju st versal prim ary education (p articu ­ tice and nonviolent intervention as
and sustainable solutions from be­ larly fo r w om en and girls), social m ethods to prevent future violence
ing considered and im plem ented.
services, and nonviolence training. and atrocities, including terrorism .
In his rem arks to the nation on the
W hen w ill state-sponsored re ­
Brian J. Trautman isaU.S.Army
M ay 1 announcem ent o f bin L ad en ’s prisals and w ar no lo n g er appeal to veteran and peace educator and
d e a th , P r e s id e n t O b a m a s a id , o ur leaders as m orally right o r as activist.