What's Wrong Wih Chanting 'USA' After Bin Laden's Death?

What's wrong with people chanting USA, USA, USA?" This was the general response to my editorial criticizing some of the celebrants, and the celebrations, following Sunday's reports that U.S. special forces had uncovered and killed ubaterrorist Osama bin Laden.

The reason it would be good not to chant "USA, USA, USA," and not to wildly celebrate, is that we just might be saving the future lives of some young soldiers from our USA, USA, USA.

How's that?

The most proactive way to thwart terrorism and to keep soldiers out of danger is portray an image that discourages young people from the Middle East from feeling any desire to become anti-American terrorists in the first place.

It may seem difficult to imagine that somebody as despicable as Osama bin Laden may have been a hero to an unemployed 18-year-old from Saudi Arabia or Syria or Iraq or Pakistan, or that his slaying may steer them toward terrorism. At the same time, we should keep in mind the feelings that these young men encounter through the societies in which they live.

President Obama, in particular in a 2009 Cairo speech addressed to Muslims, addressed these themes. In response, critics blasted him for "apologizing for America" and seeking appeasement. Those same critics now seem stunned that Obama showed his hawkish side in justifiably slaying bin Laden via direct attack, rather than simply dropping a drone on the compound.

Think about it: We probably would be seeing more backlash among Muslim people had not Obama previously extended the olive branch.

The vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists or even terrorist sympathizers, but polls and studies show that many of them view the United States as arrogant, acting with imperialistic "swagger" and self-interest. In the extreme, this assists the terrorist recruiters of young Muslims.

We shouldn't chant "USA, USA, USA" for the same reason that Obama justifiably is not releasing a photo of bin Laden's corpse with his eyeball shot out. Why provide recruiting fodder for terrorists?

Even if we feel this perception is unfair, it is in our best peaceful interests to forestall this perception because we want to reduce terrorism and save lives, both the lives of Muslims (who comprise the majority of terrorism victims) and the lives of our soldiers and special operators.

In short, we want to project a desire for a more peaceful world. We want to show that we would rather seek to resolve issues of poverty and hardship in the MIddle East than to engage in combat. We don't want to fight. Of course, we will fight if we must, but we don't want to fight.

To jump up and down and chant "USA, USA, USA" and to post signs and headlines declaring that "the bastard" is dead, thwarts the image that we need to project. We can celebrate and show pride in better, more constructive ways.

Why should we care what people in the Middle East think of us? Because we are weary of seeing our soldiers maimed and killed in the War on Terror. Rather than celebrating victories over terrorism, we want to one day celebrate the end of terrorism.

SOURCES

Telecasts of celebrations on CNN, Fox News, msnbc