It’s sad to see he got a “heros welcome”, that there is such ignorance in Libya, but my question is do you think it’s ok to release a terrorist such as Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds despite the levity of his crime? Hillary Clinton poked her nose into the affair a few days ago and asked the Scottish judiciary not release him. I have a feeling this may have triggered a “fuck you, I wont do what you tell me” attitude.
While it’s tempting to consider this from a wholly ethical and compassionate viewpoint, it’s sort of ironic that the majority of the people who take that stance are objective observers. It’s very easy for people to adopt that set of values when they have no personal interest in the situation.
Personally, I believe freedom is too good for this man, but insofar as if he were to be incarcerated, all care should’ve been taken to ensure a wholly humane and ethical incarceration period… to incarcerate him without contact with his family would be breaching that. But, I believe the notion of him being able to end his life as a free man is an insult to each one of the victims.
We could go on for a three page discourse as to whether or not terrorists are justified, whether or not it’s a legitimate form of warfare, etc etc… but the bottom line is, terrorists are defined by their complete disregard for the ‘rules of war’, which have essentially revolved around the notions of combat instilled by the Roman Empire (however, even THAT wasn’t without its abberations). In disregarding this ‘code’, they willingly attack civilians and off duty soldiers.
Defenseless people, essentially. In a calculated and uncompromising manner.
Indeed, it could very well be argued that Scotland has made a noble attempt at diplomatic discourse with such a recalcitrant nation. Indeed, Gaddafi has made recent inroads toward dealing with the west, but you can never be certain with these nations. For now, they are to be dealt with at arms length. Such an act by Scotland, as far as I can see it, has only served to compromise their sovereignty.
But,
Toot…
We in Scotland think it’s a good thing.
Islam owes us one now.
If the general consensus in Scotland is that, so be it. You make a good point about justice being about rehabilitation, not retribution. But, the reality is, this man deserves as good as he got. He denied other people life, yet has the opportunity to die on his own terms.
Can’t really reconcile that.
And besides, ‘Islam owes us now’…
There’s a shitload of problems with that statement. I don’t even know if yer being tongue in cheek or not. Even if you were, it goes to show the massive problem with the Western approach to terrorist acts. We instantly associate these terrorist groups with the tenets of Islam, when the reality is nearly all of them are self interested to the extent of often contradicting the very ideals for which they claim to be founded upon. By blatantly and universally associating these groups with Islam, the West has made this mistake for decades and it’s hurt them. So it’s been refreshing to see Obama make inroads towards turning this tide.
Ugggh, I’m done for now, gotta go billy kartin…