CHANGE OF PACE

No Plainfield Council posting, no Plainfield BOE posting, indeed nothing controversial in today's post. Well "sort of" without controversy. in my opinion although I am sure that there are a substantial number of citizens that will find fault.

I am writing about this week's big news; the finding and  killing of Osama bin Laden. Even in  this country there will be a substantial number who will claim that this country is guilty of murder because a SEAL shot and killed an unarmed defenceless man in his home.

Instead, we should have read him his Miranda rights  and brought him here for a trial to establish guilt. And if we found him guilty there are those who oppose the death penalty.

What nonsense, were the 3000 innocent victims of 9/11 going about their normal daily activities when the planes hit the Twin Towers or the Pentagon g or crashed in the field in Pennsylvania given the opportunity to protect their lives? Did not that man brag about having initiated the plans that led t o the tragic  results? His Guilty was established by himself without any interrogation.

Some will point to the Nuremberg Trials where the surviving Nazi Leadership was given the opportunity to defend themselves against charges of "Crimes against Humanity". That was different in that there had been no precedent against punishing the leadership of a sovereign state for the indiscriminate  killing of millions of innocent people. And since then there have been trials and convictions of other government leaders who have made a policy of Genocide. Unfortunately there have been many the Western World  ignored because the victims skin was not white.

Osama bin Laden had convicted himself and there  was no alternate penalty other than death. Aside from the extreme cost of  even a show trial, plus  protecting him from some who would take justice in their own hands, and in addition protecting places and people from  attempts to free him, could we justify prolonging the life of this murderer? The answer  is NO.

There are those who will disregard the amazing episode that led to his death and the recovery of material that may prevent further terrorist attacks worldwide. Instead, they will criticise our government for its intrusion into the territory of a sovereign state. Forget that it is virtually impossible for that man to be hiding in a country without the knowledge or assistance of individuals in  import high government posts.

There are others who have condemned  American Leadership for what is termed inhuman methods of interrogation.They may be right when in comes to electric shock ti the testicles, pulling off fingernails or amputation of body parts or whipping etc. But without the use of psychological methods that leave no visible physical harm we would never have found the leads that led to his hideout. No plain verbal interrogation who have exposed the leads that we needed.

We concur that psychological methods are inhumane and may lead to permanent mental damage, but they are not as damaging as the physical methods designed to produce unbearable pain and get a  confession from even the innocent.

We maintain that when the safety of our citizens is at stake the  end can justify the means.What we must guard against is their use for political purposes and to destroy the rights  of citizens whose sole crime may be opposition of those who would destroy our democracy,  flawed as it may be.

There are those who question  President Obama's  decision not to publish photos of Obama's head to prove it was he. Those individuals would have lived happily  in ages from the beginning of time  through at least the 18th Century when it was a custom  to cut of the "criminal's" head and display it on a pike. They are sadists.