Ghoulish victory

In "The Wizard of Oz," the munchkins dance around to their celebratory song "Ding, Dong, the Witch is dead!" after Dorothy's house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East. Even though I sang along with this happy tune of death, I remember finding it odd to celebrate such a thing. Why are we happy that someone's been murdered? And why is anyone surprised that her sister from the west is a little upset about the death?\nBack to the real world: Last week, a major U.S. airstrike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- the mastermind of Iraqi insurgency efforts, and the man believed responsible for abductions, beheadings and bombings. A military twister dropped a house of two 500-pound bombs on his hideout, killing Zarqawi and five others -- including a woman and child. Unfortunate "collateral damage," I suppose.\nCertainly, this man's actions were deplorable, reprehensible, abominable. Nevertheless, I have a hard time stomaching the celebratory attitude that followed his death. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lauded the death as "enormously important" and a "significant victory." Senator Charles Schumer of New York said, "Sooner or later evil people meet their just desserts. The entire world of people who believe in freedom and peace can take solace in what happened." Senator Joe Biden took it a step further: "There's a special place in hell reserved for him."\nThe man is evil because he kills other people -- so the logical and just thing to do is to kill him and anyone who gets in the way? He's a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths, but the United States is the "glorious and pristine liberator" (responsible for an estimated 40,000 Iraqi deaths)? And if we had such remarkable intelligence about where al-Zarqawi was hiding, why couldn't we organize a raid and capture him instead of blasting him out of the desert?\nIt was refreshing to hear Michael Berg, father of one of Zarqawi's beheading victims, offer his critique of this death party: "I will not take joy in the death of a fellow human, even the human being who killed my son." He criticized the "perpetual cycle of revenge that goes on and on, forever" and insisted that it stop. Now that is true compassion and forgiveness; that is an attitude that brings peace, not perpetual war and violence.\nPresident George Bush has spoken of supporting and embracing a "culture of life" (frequently when speaking out against abortion or stem-cell research). Sadly we are a long way from this culture of life when death is celebrated and glorified.\nIt may be a victory that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is no longer calling the shots in Iraq. But it is no moral victory that another life is lost. Until more people object to the celebration of murder -- in any form -- we can expect many more callous and unfortunate deaths. Like Mr. Berg, I refuse to join the celebratory song and dance that devalues another human life.