THE DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

Osama bin Laden was a very bad man. He twisted a religion to try to justify killing people who did not agree with his interpretation of things. He was responsible, both directly or indirectly, for the murder of thousands of innocents, both Muslims and others. He admitted to these atrocities, indeed revelled in them. The world is undoubtedly a better place, now that he is dead. Why then do I feel a sense of unease more than anything else?

Two reasons, I think. The first is the manner of his death. We will never know the full details of what happened in a residential compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan. But it had all the hallmarks of a liquidation; the U.S. is back in the assassination business. Even if you accept that the "war on terror" is a real war, rather than just dealing with a series of criminal incidents, there are rules. One rule is that if your enemy surrenders, then you take him prisoner and keep him in accordance with international conventions. Was bin Laden given a chance to surrender? Probably not. Contrast that with what happened after the Second World War. The leaders of the Nazi industrial killing machine, which, let's be honest, makes al-Qaeda look like hapless neophytes, were arrested and tried in an internationally sanctioned court of law, which then sentenced them on the basis of evidence presented to that court. They were not simply taken out the back of the building and shot. Or with Saddam Hussein, who was handed over to the Iraqi authorities to be tried in a court of law.

Get real, I hear you say, President Obama had to do it to assuage domestic political opinion. I dislike these realpolitik, "the end justifies the means", arguments. Osama bin Laden was a bad man, but there are plenty of those around in the world. Who is next on the list? How bad do your actions have to be before you get on it? It seems from the crowds of people shouting "USA, USA" that the American people like what has been done on their behalf; but they also look remarkably similar on television to crowds of people in other countries shouting "down with USA, down with USA".

However, even more than the realpolitik arguments, I dislike the moral ones. President Obama chose, in his address to the nation telling them what had happened, to justify his actions in the following way:

"Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth and power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with justice and liberty for all."

My concept of justice obviously does not accord with his. Obviously, capture and trial would not have been risk-free, even though the evidence against bin Laden would have been overwhelming. But it would have shown to the world that the West really does practice what it preaches. Yes, the U.S. has gained a lot today; but I also believe that when the world looks back on this day in 100 years' time, it will feel that the U.S. lost a little bit as well.

The second reason for unease is that bin Laden was killed only 100km from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It has long been the view that elements of the Pakistani military and intelligence services are sympathetic to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and nothing in what happened last night suggests that this view was wrong. I personally find it difficult to believe that someone can live in such a large house in a poor country for so long without someone else knowing. Which suggests in turn that although al-Qaeda has lost its head, it may not be finished as an organisation.

Finally, does the death of Osama bin Laden make the world a safer place? On that, only time will tell.

Walter Blotscher