All right, ten years later we finally got Osama bin Laden. The US intelligent assets who pinpointed him and the valiant troops who surgically removed him the deserve heartfelt thanks of peace loving people around the world. Osama bin Laden hijacked a radicalized Islamic theology to further his political and social agenda, even while killing lots of Muslims who stood in the way of his self-righteous rampage. Did he deserve a proper trial before a jury before suffering the ultimate penalty? Probably so. But this was contact with the enemy in war, not a police raid. Although kicking down the door at a meth lab is potentially as dangerous as warfare, the safety tolerances allowable in actual combat are far narrower than possible in law enforcement situations. In the midst of a firefight with the bodyguard forces of the number one terrorist in the world, the Navy Seals can be forgiven for failing to properly Mirandize him.
I recall the surprising words of don Miguel Ruiz, Toltec master and bestselling author, who back in 2001 spoke to a group of Unity ministers in California soon after the attacks of 9-11. He asked what we thought of the tragedy. Many ministers' opinions were filled with words of forgiveness and peace. After listening to our views on the situation, don Miguel Ruiz startled the room when he said in his thickly accented voice, "If a mad dog comes at you, you have to do what you have to do. It isn't personal."
So, I say--just for myself, not for any institution or religious perspective--this was a good thing our soldiers did.
However, I was disappointed in the jubilant reaction from some of my countrymen. Cheering and chanting, "USA! USA!" trivializes the tragic necessity of deadly force and makes wartime killing a gold medal event in the fantasy Olympics. I have been shot at in war, and it is definitely not a sporting event. Soldiers need to pump themselves up sometimes, but that's before combat. Afterward, there is gratitude for survival, grief for losses and injuries, and usually a reflective, weary silence. I never heard soldiers fresh from battle cheering the events of the day. More likely, it was a quiet, "Thank God that's over and I'm alive..."
Killing a "bad guy" in war is not like Dorothy dropping a house on the green lady with the ruby slippers. Yet, I felt like the immediate reaction of too many Americans was something like the Munchkins singing, "Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead." As Dorothy finds out, there are other witches out there. Some of them equally wicked, some positively angelic. The death of any person detracts from humanity. And the Unity minister in me has to constantly remind the ex-soldier in me that even someone who so richly deserved a bullet in the head as Osama bin Laden--yes, even that murderous perverter of the great faith of Islam--had within him the image and likeness of God.
The only way you'll ever eliminate all the bad guys in this world is for everyone to agree that killing and violence is not the answer. Transform an enemy into a friend, and you "kill" an enemy and gain a friend. However, as I look out at the world in which we live, it is clear that realization is later in the program. I will affirm peace on earth and the long-term goal of a world without violence, even while giving thanks for the brave ones who stormed that compound and ended the violent life of Osama bin Laden.
