It is three and a half years since US Navy Seals stormed into a compound in Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden. The death of the Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan has reappeared in the news of late with an unseemly row over precisely which Seal fired the fatal shot.
Quite apart from the fact that the mission was obviously the result of months of work by large teams of intelligence operatives, the Seals’ noisy claims are troubling, for two reasons.
Firstly, whatever happened to the dignity of quiet heroism? Have we finally witnessed the death of that understated virtue? Time was when those involved in such action did not talk publicly, let alone write, about it.
The reward was in knowing that they had served their countries at the highest level. To boast about or attempt to profit from such exploits was considered to be unspeakably vulgar, and there were codes against doing so, from which no one was exempt.
When a flurry of books about Britain’s traditionally secretive SAS appeared in the late 1990s, even General Sir Peter de la Billiere, a former commander of the special force – and an author whose books had been cleared by the defence ministry – was included in the subsequent ban on entering any of the regiment’s bases or participating in any of its ceremonies.
An exemplary contrast to the latest showboating is provided by Sir Nicholas Winton, recently honoured by the Czech government for his role in enabling the kindertransport, which helped Jewish children flee the Nazi advance in the Second World War.
Nobody even knew of his role as “the British Schindler” for decades, until his late wife handed a scrapbook to a historian who happened to be married to the press baron Robert Maxwell. At 105, Winton remains admirably modest.
“I wasn’t heroic because I was never in danger,” he said this week in an interview, in which he also showed a complete lack of desire to stoke the fame he had never sought. “It gets a bit boring talking about the same thing for a hundred years.”
Secondly, it reminds us that Osama bin Laden was shot with no attempt to capture him. The Seals make that clear, with one of them saying: “Osama bin Laden ... died afraid. And he knew we were there to kill him.”
Only a misguided few are likely to have shed a tear at his passing. But if he had been taken alive he would surely have had useful information to give up if he could have been persuaded to do so – and just how “persuasive” the US military is prepared to be is well-known by now.
And he did deserve to be tried. The fact that he was not taken into custody and brought to face the full fury of the law is the more important point. It is incumbent on those who talk about the need to uphold the rule of law to do so themselves.
The US does not have the right to go around the world killing people as it sees fit. The “good” rogue cop who handles the bad guys his way, without regard to the niceties of the law, exists only in the movies. In non-fiction reality he would find himself behind bars.
The “world’s policeman” should set a better example. Not just for the sake of consistency, but also for that rest of the globe, which is expected to follow America’s lead: and particularly for its “closest ally”.
Israel too has long had no compunction about attempting, often successfully, to bump off those it deems as acting contrary to its interests.
Most notably they have included Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, whom Mossad agents poisoned in Amman in 1997.
The antidote was only provided after the would-be assassins were detained by the Jordanian authorities. Hamas may be widely designated a terrorist organisation, but both the late King Hussein and then US president Bill Clinton were furious at Israel’s action, and the country was forced into a humiliating climbdown.
The White House has also put pressure on Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists, at least five of whom were murdered between 2010-12.
The country’s nuclear programme has been in existence since the 1950s, long before the proclamation of the Islamic Republic.
The outside world may worry about its potential military use, but as a peaceful domestic industry it is a source of pride to the Iranian people and its scientists should not have to go around in fear of their lives.
Such extralegal executions may have had a whiff of the Cold War – one thinks of the 1978 murder of the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov, stabbed in the leg while waiting at a London bus stop with an umbrella tip which concealed a ricin pellet, a scenario which could have been scripted for a James Bond movie – but there was nothing glamorous or heroic in shooting an unarmed man to death.
As the leading international jurist Geoffrey Robertson wrote at the time of the bin Laden killing: “In the dock he would have been reduced in stature – never more to be remembered as the tall, soulful figure on the mountain, but as a hateful and hate-filled old man, screaming from the dock or lying from the witness box.”
Lurid bestsellers may line the pockets of soldiers-turned-authors, but Robertson summed up the truth that should not be forgotten: the “benefits that flow from real justice have forever been forgone”.
Sholto Byrnes is a commentator and consultant based in Doha and Kuala Lumpur
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The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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65
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20profile
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Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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