What Will the Killing of Bin Laden Bring Forth?

Published in Okinawa Times
(Japan) on 4 May 2011
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Lynn Allmon. Edited by Hoishan Chan.
The suspect Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special military forces. He was a leader in the international terrorist organization al-Qaida, which plotted the 9/11 attacks on the backbone of America. Contrary to the majority viewpoint, he had been hiding in the suburbs of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

America continued to chase him for 10 years. There’s no mistaking that this incident is a turning point, but it goes without saying that the killing of the ringleader does not mean the end of terrorism. Although al-Qaida itself is considered to be in decline and bin Laden's direct influence has been deteriorating, the al-Qaida terrorist organization system exists worldwide, and terrorism today is virtually a never-ending occurrence.

The terrorist attacks on the heart of America shook the world. Approximately 3,000 people were victims and among them as many as 24 Japanese citizens. A passenger plane was hijacked and crashed into the two New York World Trade Center towers, causing them to collapse. Through the television, the whole world shared a destructive fear caused by the events.

Will Anything Change Because of the Death of Bin Laden?

America, using 9/11 as an opportunity, then rushed into Afghanistan and the Iraq war, and the large war expenditures have caused great impoverishment. Its former presence as the only superpower in the world is no longer. The Obama administration continued American military action in Iraq, and began troop withdrawals from Afghanistan in July. It seems like there may be progress made in dialogue with the Afghani government and moderate Taliban anti-government armed insurgents.

In the advancing wave of democratic protests in the Middle East and Afghanistan, it is ironic that the terrorist bin Laden had no influence there, and that the overthrow of dictators was not done through terrorism.

In response to the news of the killing of bin Laden, in America the cheers of those who gathered were heard, in front of the White House in the capital of Washington and at ground zero at the World Trade Center site in New York, but a sense of discomfort remained irrepressible.

American President Obama said in his speech, “justice has been served.” 71-year-old Mary Sumiyama, from the Tokyo metropolitan area, whose 34-year-old son, a bank employee, died in the World Trade Center attacks, said, “Because of this, we can't understand the truth.” This is because they were unable to put bin Laden on trial to clarify the truth. “He killed 3,000 human beings; what did he want to do?” She had been thinking about this for 10 years, but the answer will not be found.

In the war on terror, the more security measures are strengthened for the sake of national security, the more freedom is lost, and society inevitably faces the paradox of intolerance. The confrontation between the West and Islamic societies is increasingly deepened, and the difference between both sides is a great distance from the mutual acceptance of differences that exists within a democracy.

Terrorism cannot be ended through military attacks. Revenge begets revenge, and can only sow the seeds of terrorism. The death of the suspect bin Laden will lead to an increase in the likelihood of anti-American sentiment. The International Criminal Police Organization is calling for vigilance regarding terrorist activity in retaliation.

Discrimination and prejudice towards poverty and Islamic societies is the soil that nourishes terrorism. Even though within America, freedom, human rights and democracy are respected, this same America also supports administrations that oppress people. This hatred is aimed towards America. Unless this challenge is faced truthfully, the war on terror will not end.


[ビンラディン容疑者]殺害は何を生み出すか
全国

2011年5月4日 09時30分 このエントリーを含むはてなブックマークLivedoorクリップに投稿deliciousに投稿Yahoo!ブックマークに登録
(16時間9分前に更新)

 ウサマ・ビンラディン容疑者が米軍特殊部隊によって殺害された。2001年9月11日に起きた米中枢同時テロを首謀したとされる国際テロ組織アルカイダの指導者である。大方の見方に反し、パキスタンの首都イスラマバード近郊の隠れ家に住んでいた。

 米国が追い続けて10年目。節目の出来事には違いないが、首謀者の殺害がテロの終わりを意味しないのはいうまでもない。アルカイダそのものは衰退し、ビンラディン容疑者の直接的な影響力は低下しているとされるものの、アルカイダ系テロ組織は世界中に存在し、実際にいまもテロは後を絶たないからである。

 米中枢同時テロは世界を震撼(しんかん)させた。約3千人が犠牲となり、その中には日本人24人も含まれている。

 旅客機が乗っ取られ、ニューヨークの世界貿易センタービル2棟に激突、崩壊させた。全世界がテレビで同時進行的に引き起こされる破滅的な恐怖を共有させられた。

 ビンラディン容疑者の殺害で何が変わるのか。

 米国は「9・11」を契機にアフガニスタン、イラク戦争に突入し、巨額の戦費が国力を大きく疲弊させた。唯一のスーパーパワーにかつての存在感はない。オバマ政権はイラクに続き、7月にアフガンから部隊撤退を開始する。アフガン政府と反政府武装勢力タリバン穏健派との対話に進展が見られるかもしれない。

 中東・北アフリカで進む民主化は、皮肉なことにビンラディン容疑者の影響はなく独裁者打倒はテロでではない。

 ビンラディン容疑者殺害の報に米国では首都ワシントンのホワイトハウス前で、ニューヨークでは世界貿易センター跡地の「グラウンド・ゼロ」周辺で群衆の歓声が上がったが、違和感を禁じ得ない。

 オバマ米大統領は演説で「正義が行われた」と語った。銀行員の34歳の息子を同センターで亡くした住山マリさん(71)=東京都=は「これで真実が分からなくなった」と語る。ビンラディン容疑者を裁判にかけ真相を明らかにすることができなくなったからだ。「3千人もの人間を殺して何をしたかったのか」。10年間考え続けてきたが、答えは見つからないという。

 「テロとの戦い」は、安全のためセキュリティー態勢を強化すればするほど自由が失われ、不寛容な社会にならざるを得ない逆説を抱える。米欧とイスラム社会との対立を深くさせ、互いの存在を認め合う民主主義から遠くなる。

 テロは軍事攻撃で終息させることができない。報復が報復を呼び、逆にテロの芽を育てることにしかならない。

 ビンラディン容疑者の殺害で反米感情が高まる可能性が出ている。国際刑事警察機構(ICPO)は報復テロへの警戒を呼び掛けている。

 貧困やイスラム社会への差別・偏見がテロを生む土壌となる。米国内では自由、人権、民主主義が尊重されているのに、その米国が人々を抑圧する政権を支持する。その怒りが米国に向かっていったのではなかったか。これらの課題と本気で向き合わない限り、対テロ戦争は終わらない。
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