What Path Are We On?

Any American that watched the Twin Towers fall, the Pentagon ignite and flight 93 crash had every right to rejoice Sunday night when the news came that Seal Team 6 had gotten Osama Bin Laden. How many have thought about how much our lives have changed because of the man? What would America look like today if September 11, 2001 was just another uneventful day in a long string of uneventful days? After answering these questions one should ask whether or not we were right in getting Osama Bin Laden the way we did and how should we feel about it now?

If 9-11 had never happened would we have gone over to Afghanistan and fought a 10 plus year war against a foe that just can not be beaten? Would President Bush have had the opening to go into Iraq to remove Saddam? How many millions, billions, even trillions of dollars would America have saved? Would we have Homeland Security interfering in nearly every aspect of ours lives? Would TSA have set up shop in our airports violating the very laws that put people on the sexual predators watch list? The “War on Terror” has cost more to Americans then just the loss of a few thousand soldiers.

America has changed forever. Shortly after 9-11 the Patriot Act was passed. Americans that were deeply affected and patriotic were more then willing to let this pass, let the Government do what was necessary to keep America safe. That was just the first step. Next thing we know we have the Department of Homeland Security, more troops going overseas and more of our taxpayer dollars going up in smoke. How many Americans realize that in September of 2009 our lawmakers agreed to triple the foreign aid to Pakistan? This was all done while we were watching our own country sink deeper and deeper into a recession. Besides the foreign aid being doled out has anyone thought about how much money has been spent in keeping our troops overseas? Has anyone added up the amount of money that has been spent in pacifying countries that we are trying to operate from? What about the money that has been spent to implement all the security measures put into place since that tragic day? I haven’t even brought up the changes in attitudes of Americans. I haven’t brought up the opportunities the Government has taken to interfere with our lives and to take more and more power. I haven’t brought up how the lives of the now young adults changed. Would any of these things have happened? Where would we be now if they had not happened? America has changed more then any of us want to believe because of this one man.

The above reasons should be more then enough to justify some celebration by every person that was affected by attacks on 9-11. The above reasons are enough for us to thank all the members of our Military that have fought to find Bin Laden over the past 10 years, and the team that went in and found him. But there are other issues that must be considered, issues that may have ramifications that no one ever imagined.

In our patriotic lust to see justice done it’s possible we have stepped on International Laws, Constitutional Laws and moral laws. The moral laws we will just have to live with, it’s done, accept it, and go on. The International Laws could cause more of a problem, at least for our President and the team that planned, authorized and executed the mission. A team from our Military under the orders of our CIA and the President invaded a sovereign Nation and shot an unarmed man. By rights our President could now be labeled as a war criminal, possibly the entire team could be. Will they? I have no idea. I do believe it could be a possibility given the current decline in our foreign affairs. Next thing that needs to be considered is that there is now a precedence set for the President of the United States to be able to use the Military as, for lack of a better term, a hit squad. President Reagan signed Executive Order 12333 on December 4, 1981, Section 2.11 specifically states “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination”. Has President Obama violated this Executive Order? Has President Obama just set the precedence for not only himself, but all future Presidents to be able to assassinate enemies, political or otherwise, at will; all in the name of “National Security”? Sure the political legal eagles are touting that in a time of war, or for the self defense of the Nation he is well within his rights. But; there are problems with both of those arguments. We are not in a formally declared state of war; war was never declared by Congress on Afghanistan, Pakistan, or even Osama Bin Laden. Secondly self defense means you have a right to protect yourself in an attack, not a 10 year old attack. This defense would not stand up in a court of law for any member of the general public, in the courts eyes that would not be self defense; the roles of victim and aggressor would be reversed.

I feel just as vindicated as the next person with Osama Bin Laden gone, at the same time I am fearful of the path the leaders of our country are taking.

Steve Avery
5/5/11