When asked about the alleged strike on Mohammed Emwazi, the ISIL agent responsible for beheading at least 4 Britons and Americans, as well as many others from different descents, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "It would have been far better for us all if he had been held to account in a court of law".
Otherwise known as "Jihadi John", as nicknamed by some of the hostages he kept because of his British accent, Emwazi was the first real face of the terrorist group ISIL that the public were exposed to.
The interview was publicised is such a way to demonise Mr Corbyn. The human rights activist's comments were met with some disdain, and his unwillingness to condone what he viewed as an illicit strike seemed to leave a sour taste in many people's mouths.
"Surely if somebody is doing something wrong you act legally against them." He said. How absolutely disgusting, said everybody else.
Of course in a society encompassed by mass media and opinion polls, the attack on “Jihadi John” was very much seen as imperative in order to allay growing public fears over the scope of ISIL. With no significant action taken to retaliate to the beheadings, the government saw it as important to show the terrorists, and indeed the world, that such acts of terrorism would not be tolerated. A strike aimed at the perpetrator of some gruesome beheadings may serve as vengeance momentarily, but the move lacked foresight; Just because you get the guy in front of the camera, it doesn’t mean that the directors have stopped working.
That is not to say that such retaliations vindicate terrorist actions – far from it – but when something goes up in flames and you want to put it out, the last thing you should do is pour petrol on it.
It’s a question of morality can be summated as a battle of the cliché’s: two wrongs don’t make a right, an eye for an eye - neither seem to resonate when talking about something as devastating as the loss of human life. We live in a world where leaders simply cannot show weakness; cannot show humanity. Airstrikes from Russia and France alike may well kill a few ISIL affiliates, but what about the innocent people it will affect. Do we show them no mercy, just like the gunman did so at the Bataclan?
ISIL are a group that were born out of a cesspool of hate. They believe in their cause and they are the epitome of a group who fight using violence as their weapon, who combat hate with more hate. Now more than ever human beings need to show solidarity and strength. If an act of strength continues to be defined by dropping bombs and destroying the world, then I worry for the future of humanity.
A week and a half later and the horrific events in Beirut, Paris and Mali make Mr Corbyn’s words seem all the more poignant.
