Irish Examiner view: Justice delivered on al-Zawahiri

Drone attack ends two-decade wait to eliminate man who helped orchestrate 9/11 attacks

Ayman al-Zawahiri replaces Osama bin Laden as leader of al-Qaeda.

There may be those who deplore the drone attack by the US which killed the al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the main architects of the September 11 attacks and the successor to Osama bin Laden. The raid was carried out on a
so-called “safe house” in Kabul, Afghanistan, a country from which Western forces withdrew last August.

It has taken 20 years for retribution to be meted out to someone who cared nothing for civilian casualties, and it has taken place outside any recognised judicial system.

We may take a moment to consider how those who are responsible for war crimes in the Ukraine — 25,000 have been listed so far — will be dealt with in the future. Horrifying evidence is mounting day by day. At the very best, there may be a couple of symbolic cases come before the Hague, although Russia has never ratified the treaty which recognises the
International Criminal Court. We should not be surprised if rougher justice takes the place of legal process.