Republican Brain Trust
Maru liked the headline, Manatee reacts to al-Zarqawi death, but I saw it as another example of rudeness, when local Republicans literally toasted the man’s death at a meeting.
I’m reminded of the essay, “Of Cannibals”, by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. Living at a time of religious wars and plague, de Montaigne would immediately understand 21st century America.
The article also highlights a problem of entrusting the military to mortgage brokers:
NANCY DETERT, U.S. congressional candidate: “I was delighted to hear the news. I can think of no better punishment than a 500-pound bomb falling on his head. Hopefully, it will help cutting off the head of the snake. Still, it’s hard fighting a guerrilla war when the enemy is not wearing a uniform.”
Excuse me, Ms. Detert, but the lack of uniforms is a defining element of guerrilla wars and capturing him and trying him for his crimes would have reduced his status in the Muslim world.
While it is definitely a “good thing” that he has been “neutralized”, that doesn’t always mean killing someone. From an intelligence standpoint, he would have been more useful alive. Even if he never talked, his network couldn’t be sure, and that uncertainty would have been more disruptive than his death. It would have been nice, but local conditions may have made it impossible.
2 comments
And so we create yet another martyr; another rallying point for every disaffected, disgruntled soul in the Muslim world.
A high school drop-out with a very odd view of religion – that would describe a number of people who hide under sheets to espouse their violence.
Another hater becomes a saint. Surviving the bomb blast will used to prove his “chosen” status.