The New Road

Beheading Bin Laden

Not a lot of press has come out about this one.

"Capture Bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box on dry ice," he quoted Cofer Black as saying.

As for other leaders of Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan, Mr Black reportedly said: "I want their heads up on pikes."

So I guess Bush is big in favor of beheading. Nice. Turns out the Freepers are as well:

"Yeah, and what the hell is wrong with that? If he had been able to aquire the head, it should be taken to a taxidermist, preserved, and shipped to every corner of the US so everyone can see the face of evil. Once everyone has seen it we send it down here to Arizona for Cinco de Mayo to be used as a pinata!!"

"and then the pikes should be placed at the borders and ports of entry to the USA."

"Actually, I'd like to see it on display, sitting in or in some way physically connected with lard (or any pork product), in a special shrine in the center of whatever we build where the WTC used to stand."

"Sick? Not at all compared to people killed at the WTC on 911 and some flying off the building. I share the same feelings with CIA, so does many other people. I want to see his head chopped off too."

"I can just imagine Dubya hoisting the skull of OBL at the podium in the house O' Congress. Or at a press conference at the White House, then toss it to some waiting (very hungry) dogs as their mid day snack. "

"I'd drop it from the top of the Empire State building (smothered in bacon bits, of course.)"

Of course, with the benefit of Republican moral relativism they can have it both ways and be shocked and horrified about Nick Berg and the beheadings in Iraq:

"Hazing and old military initiation stunts are not to be compared with beheading an innocent american civilian! As much as I hated seeing the "abuses" of our MP's, it was nothing compared to this senseless barbaric act!"

"Clearly we don't behead the bad guys, who were actively TRYING TO KILL OUR TROOPS each day"

"Moslems are partil ro beheading folks. Every war involving them produces pictures of happy moslems carrying around boxes of heads. Bosnia and Indonesia come imediately to mind."

"Al Qaeda just beheaded an innocent American civilian and we must kill them all."

So it's ok for us to behead someone, even to parade it in the streets, have it sent around the country, put on display in front of the new WTC, or at the borders? But when Iraqi insurgents behead, that's a different story? Seriously?

Man, this morality stuff sure is confusing. I'm just going to stick with basic civility, common sense and my own morality and say that any beheading is bad. And, thus, question when it became acceptable that the President would ask for someone's head on a stick.

Oh, here is one from Scott McClellan, "[The beheading of Nick Berg] shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom." I suppose it shows the true nature of the President as well.

Another thought on this matter, the guys who talk about displaying the head are interesting to me since the whole display idea reminds me of what was done to the contractors in Fallujah. And in response to that display of body parts the Freepers had this to say: "There was a recommendation from a caller to Rush yesterday that made a lot of sense. He says the US should inform mullah's and clerics that they have days to deliver the murders and in the meantime, no more water, no more food, no more travel, electricity, fuel, etc. until ALL responsible killers are delivered. In the meantime, I'd park about 100 of CAT D-10s at the city gates and move them forward a foot each day for five days at which time all would crank up their engines, lower their blades and start dozing until they run out of fuel."

I really find it amazing when people who talk all day long about moral absolutism can be so contradictory in their own morality. Let me make it simple; torture is wrong, beheading is wrong, display dead bodies in part or in whole in celebration is wrong. It doesn't matter who is doing what to whom. The acts themselves are immoral and wrong.