Monday, April 13, 2009

Quick Justice and Escalation

It's been interesting to follow the recent headlines regarding the rescue of a sailor who had been kidnapped by a small group of Somali thugs.  The Somali thieves had apparently taken Capt. Richard Phillips hostage in an attempt to extort a large sum of money from his employer.  At the time of his capture, Captain Phillips was piloting a ship carrying, at least in part, food and aid to Rwanda.

This past weekend, Navy Seals shot and killed three of the four kidnappers while capturing the fourth.  While the overwhelming response of the U.S. supports this action, I found it iteresting that so many people are circulating the warning that "icould escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it" as U.S. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney is reported to have said.  Seems to me that it is far more likely that it will reduce violence in this part of the world.  The scriptures say, for example, that "when justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers" (Proverbs 21:15)  and that "when the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong" (Ecclesiates 8:11).  

The quick execution of justice in this case will indeed terrorize the remaining Somali pirates and will certainly lead to a reduction in their criminal violence.  I, for one, am glad that the U.S. still has the good sense to confront and destroy evil (at times) rather than tolerate the criminal conduct of evil men.  Of course there are many venues where the U.S. has opted out of executing quick justice - but that is another subject for another time...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A more Christian view - as quoted from
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-you-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates-1225817.html
Quote:
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence".

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Anonymous said...

I support the action from a practical/military necessity perspective, but I do not consider the act to be a arbitration of Justice. The justice issues forth from the State through the judicial system, not executive authorized executions (which this was not).

Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.Gandalf

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