I’m a big fan of the show 24, which follows the activities of Jack Bauer, an American anti-terrorism agent in the fictional Counter Terrorism Unit.
I’m a big fan of the show 24, which follows the activities of Jack Bauer, an American anti-terrorism agent in the fictional Counter Terrorism Unit. Bauer has something of a fan-base in real life (I count myself among them) despite having almost zero regard for the law. He gets the job done by any means necessary – and since his job is fighting terrorists, he fights them any way he can. Most controversially of all, he tortures them. And boy, is he good at it or what!
Speaking of torture, US defence secretary Leon Panetta has admitted that torture and ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ were used to “put together the puzzle” that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan – also the subject matter of the Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty. But is it justified?
For many people, the answer is obviously no. Yet it was curious to note that when news broke of Shannon Airport being used as a refuelling base for CIA aircraft carrying out renditions of terrorist suspects, no doubt to be subjected to ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’, I expected some backlash to hit then Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern. However, not much has been made of it till now.
When I ask myself, is it okay to go after terrorists with everything possible, whether the rule book should be thrown out when going after these vile creatures, my answer is always ‘yes’. The catch for me is what happens when an innocent person gets caught in the crosshairs, but that’s the only catch.
I get frustrated when I see human rights groups going on about how these people deserve humane treatment. Seriously? A guy willing to strap a bomb to himself to blow up innocent women and children deserves human rights? A guy that is willing to slaughter another man in front of a camera to inflict maximum psychological damage on his wife and children deserves to be fairly treated?
Sometimes I think these human rights lawyers and activists throw away common sense and human dignity when they have to do their jobs. I’ve even heard that Osama bin Laden himself should have been arrested rather than killed! I would have no issues with that if it were for the purpose of weakening the al-Qaeda infrastructure or to make him face the shame and humiliation, but when people say it’s because he didn’t deserve to be shot, I bluntly disagree.
My religious beliefs mean I believe everyone should be forgiven. But when a person has killed unrepentantly and is willing to continue to do so, that guy, simply put, should be taken out of this world. I don’t care how, he just shouldn’t be allowed to roam free among the rest of us.
Oh, and as far as innocent people getting caught up in it all? Jack Bauer never gets it wrong, the legend!
Olajide Jatto is a software engineer and writer based in Dublin.
