Tim Gillis
Journal Staff

This world can be very cruel sometimes. I do believe in being a good person and having a positive outlook on life, but there are plenty of others out there who don’t share the same view. There is a lot of hatred and violence in this world, and unfortunately sometimes the innocent are dragged into these individuals’ miseries. One innocent woman in particular was robbed of her life due to the violence between two nations.

Linda Norgrove was a Scottish aid worker who traveled to Afghanistan to help the helpless with three co-workers. Sadly, Norgrove and her colleagues were captured by the Taliban on Sept. 26 in eastern Afghanistan. The other three were released on Oct. 3, but Norgrove was held. The two men who led the kidnapping, Mullah Basir and Mullah Keftan, said that Norgrove would only be released if she was traded for Aafia Siddiqui.

Siddiqui’s nickname was “Lady Al-qaeda” and she was arrested on Sept. 23 after trying to murder U.S. agents and soldiers in Afghanistan. The offer to trade the women was declined, and Siddiqui will spend the next 86 years in federal prison.

Following the attempt to negotiate, U.S. officials claim that they intercepted a message between members of the Taliban stating that Norgrove was to be moved to an undisclosed location outside the border of Pakistan, where the U.S. has virtually no control. Upon hearing this, a rescue mission was set up in order to ambush the kidnappers and save Norgrove. The result of what happened next is left a mystery.

On Oct. 8, 20 Navy Seals and 20 Army Rangers landed near the stronghold where Norgrove was being kept. Along with air support, the soldiers began picking off Taliban opposition one by one. However, a grenade went off right next to Norgrove, who was curled up in a fetal position. This grenade killed her.

The Oct. 10 report was given by an American intelligence officer who remained anonymous. He claimed that the grenade was thrown by one of the Taliban members and the death of Norgrove lay at the hands of the terrorists.

The next day, however, a video showed the grenade being thrown by a Navy Seal officer, which poses the question: Why would a highly trained Navy Seal throw a grenade into a small building that he knew Norgrove was in, especially when the opposition was nearly wiped out already?

There have been many allegations of war crimes committed by the U.S. – the capturing, torturing, and deaths of more than 600 civilians. There have also been countless deaths which have been covered up, or marked as “accidental friendly fire” such as the cases of Sgt. Patrick R. McCaffrey and Lt. Andre Tyson. Their deaths were covered up as “killed in action” by enemy forces for nine months. However, when the truth came out that these deaths could have easily been prevented, no questions were answered and no autopsy report was allowed to the families.

As civilization advances, with that growth comes a lot of unwanted knowledge. Because of technological advances, we are constantly being warned of possible situations, such as global warming occurring or nuclear bombs being dropped.

This leads to my point: How are average citizens supposed to think for themselves if “science” tells them what to believe? Scientists very well could be pouring some stupid liquids into beakers, crunching some bogus numbers, and throwing all of their “data” onto a graph. After this, all they have to do is submit their new apocalyptic finding to a news station so that at 6 p.m., the whole world can see it – and of course believe it, since it’s on the news. It must be true; it came out of Brian Williams’ mouth!

So if scientists in high places can do this to us, can’t people in other high places? High places like the government, religious organizations, and even the military can easily hide or create any information they want to because they have the power to do so. When it comes to Linda Norgrove, it will probably remain a mystery whether she was killed by enemies or “friendlies.”

This horrific situation doesn’t need to die off just because no one gave a real answer to what happened. We as a nation must learn from events like this and realize that we do have the power to question everything. Just because a prime-time newscaster claims science or government officials say things are true, doesn’t necessarily mean they are. The world needs independent thinkers, so start to question everything, and start to get angry when someone is supposedly “better” than you just because he or she is in a higher seat. We are human beings, and if money and power were taken out of the equation, they would be the same as us. So we as a nation must not let Linda Norgrove’s death go in vain;  rather we must  learn from it.

Learn to question, and always question.