When did it become okay?

When did it become alright to kill someone we don't like? I will gladly stand up and agree that I think Al-Zarqawi was a maniac and a killer. Does that make it right to drop two 500 pound bombs on top of his "un-safe" house (as Fox so cleverly called it)? I can't believe I haven't heard more of an outcry against this. Am I missing something?

I do not believe that life is sacred. But I also don't believe that we have the right to rub out anyone who does something we don't agree with. Yes, I understand that this man has done horrible and unspeakable things. He was the leader of a terrorist organization. But why isn't it alright to kill Kim Jong-il? Hell, serial killers get a (ostensibly) fair trial before we put them to death. I disagree completely with the death penalty, but at least there is a process, an attempt to make the killing "humane." We dropped two 500 pound BOMBS on a house, killing insurgents and 19 people. Wounding 40 more. What gives us the right to KILL this man? These people?

Another part of my astonishment is that Americans are willing to stand by and look at exactly the extent of the damage we did in this one case. Do we really need CLOSE-UPS of a dead man (in what looks like a gilded frame)? Descriptions of his autopsy? Does anyone care that we're reveling in the death of a man? A person? Nevermind that he was a horrible person.

All anyone can talk about (other than pure rejoicing) is the "mystery." How did he stay alive so long? Why isn't he more pulverized? What the hell is wrong with everyone?

If anyone can shed any light, make any argument for our joyous celebration of this death and/or a justification for the bombs, I'd love to hear it. Maybe I'm just not informed enough. I just can't believe I haven't heard anyone else speaking up about this. Where do we draw the line? I hate the slippery slope argument, but when the shoe fits... When is it okay to kill someone? To target someone? When do we become the terrorists?

Just some quick thoughts. I have no computer right now, which explains the lack of updates. Well, that and the addition of a full-time job to my life. Keep your eye out, though. When I have something to I need to say, I'll find the time to kick my partner off of his computer.