by Craig L.Parshall
Being Right in a Rough World
When the news first broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan, television
captured images of college students celebrating in Washington, DC, and National
Public Radio gave unenlightened coverage of the opinions of American youth—
all of whom were mere children when the
September 11, 2001, terror attacks he
masterminded occurred.
Politicians rushed to the cameras;
CNBC asked, “Should bin Laden Have Been
Taken Alive?”; and congressmen offered
their reflections.
However, Christendom’s reaction was
the most interesting. On more than one
Christian radio program, hosts grappled
with how to respond to the shooting
death of a heartless terrorist. Some were
particularly concerned about avoiding
any appearance of satisfaction or glee,
although I note that the Israelites
danced in the streets when David killed
Goliath (1 Sam. 18: 6). Since it appears
that bin Laden was unarmed, Rowan
Williams, archbishop of Canterbury,
declared he was “uncomfortable” with
the circumstances surrounding the terrorist’s death.
I don’t think the ethics of war require
that your enemy always be fully able to
defend himself before he can be dispatched. Resourceful Jael killed an enemy
general by luring him into her tent to rest
and then drove a tent peg through his
head while he slept (Jud. 4: 17–22).
Two questions are implicit in the
U.S. military operation in Pakistan: (1)
Was it legal to kill bin Laden? ( 2) Can
Christians ethically support the U.S.
government’s deliberate targeting of
individuals for death?
Although several U.S. presidents
issued executive orders prohibiting
political assassinations, the orders did
not define assassination. Furthermore,
those orders certainly did not apply to
war-related activities pursued for
national defense. Law Professor Robert
F. Turner, cofounder of the University
of Virginia’s Center for National
Security Law, has opined that the shoot-
ing was clearly legal, comparing it to
the intentional downing in 1943 during
World War II of a transport aircraft
carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku
Yamamoto, the mastermind of the
attack on Pearl Harbor.
Craig L. Parshall is senior vice
president and general counsel
for the National Religious
Broadcasters. His newest
novel, Thunder of Heaven,
coauthored with Tim LaHaye,
is now available online and in bookstores.
ISRAEL MY GLORY
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