Is it vengeance or justice to want to capture, try and execute Osama Bin Ladin? Explain your assertion.?

Question

Please, no pointless emotional venting! This is about the concept( or end value) of what is justice!

I ask this as an ethics Q in philosophy. If you can't A the Q as a philosopher would pls pass up the Q.

"When you try to get vengeance for people who’ve been wronged, you want to avenge them. You can also avenge a wrong itself: “He avenged the murder by taking vengeance on the killer.” Substituting “revenge” for “avenge” in such contexts is very common, but frowned on by some people. They feel that if you seek revenge in the pursuit of justice you want to avenge wrongs; not revenge them."

quote source: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/avenge.html

Answer 1

There is a close relationship and a difference between vengance and justice. And perhaps there is a bit of both in our actions to capture him.

No doubt in most of us there is a measure of vengance in seeking him out. We were hurt and we want to strike back at him. He hurt us, so we'll hurt him.

That's why there is the rule of international law, which presumes that all people have the right to a fair trial. This is in turn based on a presumption that all people have a degree of dignity by virtue of being human - yes, even Bin Ladin.

By the same token, he is a dangerous man and needs to be taken out of operation. This is also an act of justice because it balances his right for a fair trial with the right of the rest of us to live safely and without terror. So for issues of safety and justice, often colored by vengance, we want to capture him and take him out of circulation. But we'll ultimately do it in a way that is just.

The system of justice cuts through actions that are motivated solely by vengance that would make execute inevitable. (When you added "execute" to your question, you presumed that we're motivated by vengance. A person of justice would have stopped at "stopped and try Osama Bin Ladin" and let the courts decide what is a fair consequence.)

An international trial might either execute him or give him a life sentence. If he was executed, justice and vengance are for many aligned and both served at once.

If on the other hand, he got a life sentence and you were functioning predominantly from vengance, you would be outraged and grossly disappointed. But if on second thought, you believe that he got a fair trial and that the penalty flowed from the court's conclusion, whether you agree with it or not, then your sense of justice exceeded your sense of vengance. You are ultimately a just person. But then of course, many would then question the appropriateness of the trial proceedings and final decision.

Answer 2

NOPE! Actually, you can point your finger at Bill Clinton. Back when he was president, he was handed Bin Laden on a silver platter, only Bill was too busy playing golf to stop and sign the order. Needless to say, Bin Laden got away and hid in the hills of Afghanistan. That was our ONE and ONLY chance at a clear shot on Bin Laden. As Bill left office, he whispered into George's ear that Bin Laden was a threat. Now since 911 Bush has spent a fortune bribing informants to catch Bin Laden. Although Bush has managed to take out some of Bin Laden's right hand men, we have never gotten Bin Laden himself. There was one other time that we almost had him, but the operation had to be aborted at the last minute, because of insufficient men. Hey! It isn't exactly like a map quest adventure going after Bin Laden. The man is constantly moving from one cave to another to avoid capture. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack that was being tossed around. In this case, we are looking for one man in the mountains of Afghanistan, sort of impossible. So, my friend, it is not Bush that is a failure, but rather Clinton, who failed to seize the moment, when he was the president. We know what Bush would do and we know what Clinton did not do. My question to you is what would Obama do with Bin Laden, if he had the chance? NOT MUCH!

Answer 3

To say that you want to capture and try Osama Bin Ladin is probably justice as it implies a willingness to put him through justice system for the wrongs he may have commited.

The word execute changes it a little. It would probably vary person to person as to whether this is vengeance or justice. Do they want him executed because they fully understand the justice system, the claims against him and believe that given this the appropriate response is execution?

Or....do they associate him as a symbol of the 9/11 attacks and simply want him dead because of this. I would dare say for the majority of cases it would be the second case...which in my opinion is vengeance.

Answer 4

We all know that Osama has a lot of influence on a group of people. By executing Osama, it is a sure way he will no longer be there to influence and lead those people. I think it is a way of preventing more trouble. Not vengeance. Justice...i don't think either. Justice come once you pass on. He would get his justice on the other side. Not from human beings.

Answer 5

People are so... simple.
This has nothing to do with the actual person.
Its all about keeping the war effort going because this is what drives the American and many other nations economy.

If they ever catch him wont make any difference as its not one person its a people, a cause and a way of life.

A structure in all society.

This won't ever change, as you only have to look back through history.
It’s always been this way and its part of our DNA personality structure.
Justice has no meaning because it’s about striving to keep economies going. This is a definite controlled marketing force and strategy.

Answer 6

It's vengeance because you are avenging the death of all of the people he has killed. If you beleive it's the right thing to do, then it's justice. And I think most people would agree with that.

Answer 7

Bin Laden is a figure-head people associate with the pain of 9/11. People want him captured, tried, and executed because this, as we did not invade Afghanistan, nor put so much effort into hunting him down previous to that fateful day. Therefore, it is vengance.

Answer 8

Your hand is pointing in the wrong direction. Who has been personal friends with Asamid bin Laden for seventeen years?
Why was he allowed to leave the airport in New Jersey after the 9/11 attack? If you wish to try someone for treason then start off with George Bush Senior. Another frickin Lyndon B Johnson.......The whereabouts of Bin Laden is no secret. Our satellites have proved that a fact already. Pakistan will not allow any American troop movement within there Country where Bin Laden lies hidden away in the mountains. Smart bomb his ***in my opinion.

Answer 9

In the common usage using the word justice is little more than a nice way to pretend that we are doing something other than seeking vengeance.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 10

I'll tell you right now. If Bin Laden could be found, he would be killed in an instant.

No fanfare, no huge trial, no publicity. Just dead. People that are dead can't hurt people any longer.

Only the ignorant and misguided believe in all this martyr BS. Those people will always be ignorant.