If I can be so bold.
Michael Moore has a keen sense of 'propriety' in the way democracy seeks death of a human being. I applaud him. His outrage is in regard to more than the killing of Osama bin Laden. His statements are about much more than the current activity of Navy Seal Six.
The 'loss of civilized discourse in the USA' has been playing out since "W" went looking for 'the smoking gun' and we ended up in an illegal war in Iraq. Then the defense of the Bush administration to justify themselves launched an aggressive campaign to justify the unjustifible.
Everything became politics. All the 'sensibilities' of 'being American' in a system of justice able to protect Americans from 'evil,' if you will, is being trashed with substitutions of permanent incarceration without a trial. That is simply unacceptable. Michael mentions that in his statements, but, it is glossed over to provide a platform for denouncing the actions of President Obama. Michael never once criticized the President for his decisions, he simply stated, 'let's just say we did what we did.'
I never heard Michael Moore say the actions of the Navy Seals were a problem. I didn't hear that at all.
He made the analogy of World War II. The Nuremberg Trials. I don't blame him for seeking the 'higher values' of justice at a time in our country when justice of any kind is least valued. The only justice that seems to be valued in the USA is the justice at the end of the barrel of a gun. There is something lost in this country. There is a hole in the heart of American justice since the eight years of Bush/Cheney. We have lost our way. Michael Moore was simply stating that same thing in a different context.
I believe the American Navy Seal Six Team that trained and trained and trained and carried out a flawless mission for the people of the USA are heroes. They did what they had to do. Nuremberg Trials are not really possible in a situation such as this. The scenario is a bit different. I think Michael Moore knows that, but, it was his way to state his point of view.
The difficulty for the USA in 'believing' in their justice system in regard to trying terrorists as they were tried after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing is their shattered sense of 'self' as an American. This was nearly ten years in coming after a detour into Iraq. People needed to vent their feelings over such a horrible set of values we have all lived through from the trauma of September 11, 2001 through the nightmare of eight years of dead and maimed Americans in a war of lies. There was a lot that occurred when bin Laden was killed. I sincerely don't have a problem with any of it.
Trials of these characters are different from that of Nazi Germany because al Qaeda is not a sovereign nation. We didn't roll into a country with allies at our side. Russia didn't break the first front on the enemy in a way that would allow eventual capture of sincere 'officers' of an organized and extremely dangerous military. It is different. So, while the Nuremberg Trials illustrates the 'better of ourselves' it does not have complete application to the 'times we live in.'.
Not to say the World Courts are defunct. I don't believe they are and the current leader of the Ivory Coast should come to appreciate that fact. But, where do nations hold terrorists for trial? In the country where it occurred or on a global stage with standards established following WWII. Perhaps that is still a question for the World Courts and the United Nations to ask.
In the specific case of Osama bin Laden. There is something very wrong here. He evaded capture by living in Pakistan. He was somewhat comfortable and while he didn't live up to his Hollywood image, I am confident impoverished young Islamic men that saw the released video will still find it charasmatic and an example of themselves. These men don't have the clout in the world as they are assigned by citizens. Bin Laden and Gadaffi are not 'entities' that waged war against the West. They weaseled others into acting as suicide bombers or martyrs as they might be known. They managed to pervert a religion and turn the cultural understanding of Muslims on its ear. They are not invading armies. They don't have that capacity. They never had that capacity and while they are criminals of heinous crimes against CIVILIZATION they are mostly 'punks' when compared to Nazi Germany.
For those that argue bin Laden caused all the fiscal problems of the West, think again. The only 'effect' al Qaeda had was immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field. The rest of the mess proudly belongs to capitalistic horseplay by Bush and Cheney that took their eye off the ball and raised the debt ceiling every year they were in office. So, get real. Bin Laden was never 'all that.'
If Michael Moore wants to mourn for the America of Pre-"W," than I applaud him and seek the comfort of his passion and insight.
Good night.
