When Our "Allies" Condemn The Killing Of Bin Laden

From an email from DG:

The mourners of #Binladen: Hamas and the Taliban. What does that do to peace talks in Afghanistan and WB-Gaza? http://wpo.st/sd53
Tweet from Jackson Diehl

Jackson Diehl on the reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden:

These may seem like predictable reactions by known terrorist organizations. But they ought to be deeply troubling for a host of Western diplomats who lately have been promoting the idea that both the Taliban and Hamas are suitable partners for peace negotiations.

Diehl concludes:

Haniyeh’s comments will be even more concerning, as they come days before a planned meeting in Cairo at which Hamas and the secular Fatah movement are to agree on a reconciliation. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas long ago renounced violence against Israel, and his West Bank security forces are funded and trained by the United States. 

Now Abbas will find himself agreeing to form a joint Palestinian government with a man who has just condemned the U.S. killing of “Arab holy warrior” bin Laden. The broker of the deal, Egypt, has been pressing the Obama administration to accept the accord and to put forward a plan for Palestinian statehood in response. 

Should the mourner of bin Laden be recognized as a worthy partner for peace with Israel, or a potential leader of a new Arab state? Haniyeh’s comments won’t leave the White House -- which has been weighing how to respond to the Palestinian unity deal -- with much of a choice.

I like the first paragraph here from Joel Achenbach:

In his final moments, Osama bin Laden had a choice — something his victims weren’t given. On the airliners, in the towers, at the Pentagon, innocent people suddenly had no way out. But bin Laden had an option. He could have surrendered. He refused, and the Navy Seals did what they were trained to do. The first head shot surely ended it, but they gave him a “double tap” — a term I hadn’t heard until this morning — to make sure. 

In Israel, the "double tap" is called "confirming the kill."

The rest of the essay, I can't recommend. It's not Roger Cohen awful, but I don't agree with it.

Technorati Tag: Bin Laden.