By: Elias Bejjani*
Isaiah 33/1: "Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed; and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have made an end of betrayal, you will be betrayed."
Faithful people who strongly believe in the Day Of Judgment and in God's sole authority of revenge do not hail, rejoice, encourage, or commit the act of killing humans under any given circumstances, no matter what are the justifications or reasons. The two pillars of Faith are love and forgiveness, and not hatred or revenge as per the Bible teaching. (Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans 12/18-20: "If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”)
Murderers at the intellectual, academic, and leadership level, like the late terrorist Bin Laden, choose their evil lifestyle of hostility, corruption and crime. They distance themselves from God and faith, cowardly disregard all human rights' covenants, disrespect and breaks laws, lack the spirit of accountability and responsibility, and openly despise all values and morals. By walking this awkward and dangerous life path of rebellion against all society and faith norms they put themselves in a very vulnerable position where others, be individuals or authorities, are forced to deal with them in the same manner of force, deterrence and elimination.
In this context Osama bin Laden's acts of massive murder, terrorism and crime has brought on him the fatal end that he asked for and ultimately received. USA military forces haunted and killed him for the horrible massacre that he committed against the American people on the11th of September/2001, in which more than 3000 innocent individuals were murdered, mostly Americans, including 24 Canadians. He planned, financed and ordered this terrorist unprecedented bloody massacre, the biggest against the American people since the surprising air raid carried out by the Japanese Imperial Navy on December 07/1941 on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.
It is an incontestable fact that killing bin Laden is a superb success in the global war against terrorism for military, legal and psychological reasons. Meanwhile his physical liquidation does not mean by any way that the evil education of terrorism, suicide and homicide, fundamentalist zealotry, and the culture of hatred that he has cultivated and spread were buried in the Arabian Sea along with his body. No, the death of the Saudi-born, wealthy fundamentalist and terrorist has not made the world terrorism-free. The impact of Osama Bin Laden as a symbol will most likely keep inspiring affiliated groups and individuals for some time, a fact that calls for an on going global vigilance and a need to continue all joint international efforts to contain, prevent and fight terrorism.
For achieving ultimate success and triumph in the global fight against terrorism, the main focus in this very costly and highly sophisticated war must be on the regimes that harbor, breed, and export it, and not only on organizations and individuals. There is no doubt that global fundamentalism and terrorism will continue to be a dire threat to world peace and stability after the physical absence of bin Laden as long as there are rogue regimes left alone without any kind of deterrence to use terrorism in their expansionism, sectarianism, hostility and destructive schemes. At the forefront of regimes that sponsor terrorism are the countries of Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Gaza Strip, Egypt, Iraq and the mini-state of Hezbollah, the Palestinian refugee camps and the Syrian military bases in Lebanon.
Bin Laden could not have escaped his deadly fate since 2001, if Pakistan and other countries were not providing him and his top notch terrorist aids with a safe haven. In this realm the American military and intelligence sources disclosed that Abbottabad, where Bin Laden was shot dead Sunday night on May 2, is a Pakistani garrison town where a large military base is located. His mansion was just 100 meters away from Pakistan's military academy and 120 kilometers from the capital of Islamabad and Pakistani intelligence headquarters. These sobering facts indicate that the Pakistani military and its intelligence must have known who was living in the exceptionally large, heavily guarded mansion in their midst and in plain sight and kept this knowledge from the Americans. The mansion was encircled by 12-15 meter high walls topped by 7 foot privacy wall and barbed wire accessed through two steel, electrically-operated security gates. The Pakistani authorities could not have missed it when it was built in 2005 and more buildings were added later.
Bin Laden's hypocrisy was unveiled and plainly exposed in the kind of life style that he was enjoying in the midst of a semi-urban Pakistani area. While he was sending men and women to their deaths, he was not hiding in a hole, in a jungle, or in a remote mountainous cave. No, he was residing comfortably in a million-dollar three-storey mansion with his wives, children, close family members and aids, while getting the best of the latest telecommunication and leisure technology.
It is so frustrating, and extremely sad that since the mid-fifties our peace-loving Lebanese people have been and still are victims for all forms of terrorism. Syria is fully behind all the terrorists that have been inflicting all sorts of terrorism on the Lebanese. Syria has instigated in Lebanon endless futile wars, chaos, instability, exodus, corruption, crime and the confiscation of the country's independence, freedom and sovereignty. Syria, jointly with its Iranian mullah allies, completely embraces both Hezbollah and Hamas as well as a score of radical and Islamic fundamentalist organizations. Syria and Iran breed, cultivate, recruit, train, finance and use the majority of terrorism organizations
Autocratic and oppressive regimes in both Syria and Iran are the sole godfathers for most of the terrorist groups and individuals all over the world. They are creating chaos and instability in Arab and Middle Eastern countries under camouflaged and deceptive religious slogans. Meanwhile, the free world up till now not only doing nothing but is, instead, cajoling and appeasing both rogue regimes.
To globally eliminate and eradicate all forms of terrorism, regimes that harbor terrorists must be contained militarily or toppled. The Syrian and Iranian regimes should be at the top of the list for this effort. Meanwhile, all politicians, academics and clergy who advocate or sponsor terrorism must be arrested and put on trial through international tribunals
In conclusion, the majority of the terrorist organizations all over the world including Hezbollah, and Hamas are mere military tools and proxies that are found, financed, and sponsored by the two rogue regimes of Iran and Syria. Therefore, an effective global war against terrorism can not by any means be successful if the regimes that breed terrorism are not dealt with first. Fighting only fundamentalist and terrorist organizations will not put an end to global terrorism. What is required foremost is the eradication of the regimes that foster, produce, protect and export terrorism.
Click Here to the Arabic version of the above editorial
http://www.10452lccc.com/elias.arabic09/elias.benladen%206.5.11.htm
Click Here to listen to the above editorial/Lebanese dialogue
http://www.eliasbejjani.com/elias%20audio11/elias6.5.11.wma
*Elias Bejjani
*Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
*Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
*Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
*Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/.
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