Bin Laden Confusion

Obviously the big news of the last 24 hours is that US forces in Pakistan ended Osama Bin Laden's reign at the top of the terror network constantly aimed at the US. I am in awe at the skill of the troops who carried out that mission, achieving the top goal of US military and intelligence for the last decade with a surgical strike resulting in no American injuries and almost no collateral damage. They are heroes and should be recognized as such.

At the same time, I am conflicted in my own emotions. While watching the coverage on TV last night, at first I considered heading into Washington to join the crowd in front of the White House just to be a part of it. The feeling of losing oneself in the excitement of a crowd is Awesome! (The capital A was an accidental typo, but I decided that it was appropriate and left it.) I have experienced that feeling several times. The first was in Muenster, Germany in 1990 when Germany won the soccer world cup. Definitely the best party I have ever been a part of! I have also had that feeling while storming the court after a big victory over the Tarheels while I was a student at Wake Forest. We beat Duke 5 times while I was there, but UNC only once. The most recent time I felt carried away by the crowd was at Barack Obama's Inauguration, a feeling of joy and hope that will carry me for years. The crowd in front of the White House was obviously in the grips of that amazing group feeling. What kept me from going in to join the crowd and being part of this historic event was the nagging thought in the back of my mind that all these people were rejoicing and celebrating that a man was shot in the eye and killed violently. Was that something I really wanted to be a part of?

This question is at the heart of the difference between justice and grace. There can be no question that Justice was served last night. Osama Bin Laden deserved nothing less than a violent and painful death. Where does grace fit into the picture, though? Isn't the entire point that we are right and he is wrong because we don't believe in causing the violent and painful death of other human beings? My initial reaction to the "burial at sea" of the body within 24 hours was disbelief at the stupidity of the move, leaving the door open for doubters to claim that it was not really Bin Laden. However, after learning that Islam requires the disposal of the body within 24 hours (I assume there is much more to it than that, but have not had a chance to learn what), I understand that this was actually Barack Obama and the US military showing us that they are just as adept at grace as they are at justice. Even with an undeniably evil terrorist who was the number one enemy of our nation, we showed the grace to treat the body as it should have been treated under the religion Bin Laden so terribly misinterpreted. Yes, this was a calculated move to maintain the allegiance and good will of Muslim nations, but it was also an example of grace that was unnecessary but good.

This post was entitled "Confusion" because that is exactly what I feel - not judgement, not satisfaction, not elation, not relief. I fully understand and sympathize with the feelings of those who were celebrating in front of the White House last night. I fortunately cannot in any way imagine how those who lost loved ones on 9/11 feel about yesterday's events, but I am ready to support them, however they feel. I just cannot, myself, rejoice in the death of another person, no matter how evil he is. In my eyes all killing is evil, but sometimes it is a necessary evil. If forced to take a stand, I will say that this one was a necessary evil, but a part of me cannot help being sad that we have created a world where that can possibly be true.