Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor have I played one on TV. The conclusions presented herein are quoted from other sources or my understanding of the law after reading a variety of public sources.
Still a hot topic in the mainstream media and the blogosphere, the death of Osama bin Laden is a great day for America. Of course, I have thoughts on those who call it murder.
1) Clear and present danger.
Dr. Lawrence Van Cott Niven, a grand master among science fiction authors, once said "I don’t shoot a man for being incompetent in the Devil’s work. I shoot him for being competent in the Devil’s work. Admiration for his technique is part of the process."
In a series of Supreme Court decisions following prosecutions under the Espionage Act of 1917, the 1st Article of Amendment's protection of free speech were curtailed under the Court-created doctrine of "clear and present danger" – the Supreme Court's phrasing. You can look up the details of the cases if you're so inclined: Schenck v. United States (1919); Debs v. United States (1919); Abrams v. United States (1919) and Gitlow v. People of New York (1925), plus a later case, Dennis v. United States (1951). The essentials are these:
In Schenck, the American Socialist Party distributed an anti-draft leaflet entitled "Assert your rights–Do not submit to intimidation." Writing for the Court, Mr. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes asked: Do "the words create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils Congress has a right to prevent?" Did it matter that few, if any were persuaded to dodge the raft by this leaflet? The Court said yes and no – the leaflet was a clear and present danger, even if no one paid any attention. The act of distribution was criminal because its goal was criminal. The other cases followed that doctrine and the decisions were the same – guilty.
The question was revived during the Cold War, when the High Court upheld the convictions of American Communist Party leaders. Despite the fact that the Party was getting less than 1% of the vote, the Court defined the Communist movement as "a permanently organized, well-financed, semi-secret organization," and that made their threat "imminent." The Party's success (or lack thereof) and their probability of future success were not issues in the proceedings. Because success was possible, the actions were criminal.
Now, here is the reality of these Court decisions:
Was Osama bin Laden a clear and present danger? That is, was he successful? Actually, his success, or lack thereof, was never an issue, as far as the law is concerned. What matters is the intent – bin Laden was certainly, absolutely, unquestionably trying to be a clear and present danger, therefore, he made himself a legitimate target.
2) Justifiable homicide.
The taking of any human life is a heinous act – all of us are God's children, the masterwork of His creation. That we should take it on ourselves to end the mortal probation of one of God's children is no small matter, as God Himself clearly stated:
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. [Deuteronomy 7:1-2, emphasis added]
However, God Himself made exceptions:
When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: [Genesis 9:5-6, emphasis added]
In modern times, the law and the courts recognize several reasons for the "use of deadly force" in what has become known as "justifiable homicide":
Self-defense is use of any force, up to and including deadly force, to prevent your death or serious injury by another person whom you believe is a clear and present danger.
Use of deadly force against a perpetrator who is committing a serious crime is usually, but not always, the act of a police officer.
Protection of another person from clear and present danger of death or serious injury, and in some states, protecting property, may involve deadly force.
If a police or court officer is serving a lawful warrant and the individual resists arrest, deadly force might be justified to complete the arrest or prevent flight.
Police may carry out a lawfully-issued death warrant, just as soldiers carry out lawful orders of their superiors in military action.
The action against Osama bin Laden falls under every definition of justifiable homicide.
The Bottom Line:
I have often said, and I repeat here: Raise your hand against my friends; I will cut it off at the wrist. Raise your hand against my family; I will cut it off at the neck. When deadly force is used or threatened, self-defense is not a game, it's not a joke, it's not a party platform plank. There are a lot of people in this world who want Americans dead (and by "Americans," I mean all of us). Ignore the politics, whether we should be in Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else; those are just excuses, they want us dead. You cannot negotiate with fanatics, anymore than you can tame a rabid dog.
Some people are wondering why we went after bin Laden at all. That's just silly – that pig in man's clothing clearly, publically and repeatedly admitted to conspiring to murder thousands of American citizens and citizens of allied nations. He admitted to planning & financing said act, to ordering those who carried out that act, to conspire to said act with malice of forethought, and of hoping, praying and planning for similar, future acts.
Osama bin Laden was a clear and present danger, and his death was justifiable homicide, under the laws of this nation or any nation. If the Obama administration takes seriously its oath, bin Laden will be seeing a lot of familiar faces at the gates of hell.
Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.
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