When I was at school one of our reading books was To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harpers Lee. Since it was first published in 1960 it has never been out of print. One of the key scenes in the book is of Lynching – This is a term described as an extrajudicial execution carried out by a group in order to punish an alleged transgressor…

At a recent public discussion shown on TV it was suggested that maybe Bin Laden had lost his human rights as he (Bin Laden) had denied others the right to life. Its an interesting perspective as should we do onto others what others do to us? Should we show a higher degree of morality? One of the main problems with what Bin Laden eventually lead others to do is that it resulted in such devistation, shock and horror. Human emotion will move towards revenge. The other issue is the aftermath, what can be done to prevent him from becoming idolised. If he had been captured and put on trial, that too would have taken years. However, a trial could have been useful to expose the extent of penetration of his network or influence.

As a society we need to be careful about how we communicate what took place, explore the reasons why his supporters continue to be driven to terrorise. Dialogue with murderers is hard but when they see the light of sense to stop with our help, maybe that is a better long-term solution.
How close are we to getting to the root cause of all the issues. Or, are we too late and some people will never change?
We can only hope that staying one step ahead will avoid the loss of innocent lives.

Categories: 2011, Anti-Terrorism, Political comment