The all-American hero always gets his man

The reaction to the news of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of US navy seals has been overwhelming positive from world leaders. But there is a different feeling amongst many run of the mill Australians. Don't get me wrong – I think there would be very few Australians who particularly mind that he's dead. But the way Americans reacted to the news has made a lot of us feel a bit uneasy.

As Barack Obama delivered the news of bin Laden's killing, Americans were already revelling and flag-waving all over Washington. Dare I say it, it looked like a scene from the Middle East. But a lot of us Australians felt that, whatever his crimes – and they were truly hideous – jubilation was not the most appropriate response to a man being killed.

Then there is the conjecture that Osama was terminated when he could have been captured and trialled. While this is a better deal than he gave the victims on September 11, 2001, some Australian law experts have suggested that it would have been better to trial him. Perhaps the rule of law is what separates us from the law of Terror.

But if it's true that, while most Australians aren't upset about the fact that he's dead, many of us have reservations about the partying and the manner of his killing, this leads us to a simple question: why?

There are two major factors. The first is the memory of 911. It is cut deep into the hearts and minds of Americans, far moreso than it is ours. Many New Yorkers still feel a genuine trauma for an attack that was, after all, as senseless as it was cowardly and pathetic. Since that time, Osama has become a figure of hate and, with regular media interviews for survivors and relatives of the deceased, you can understand why. There is a belief shared by the US President that justice has finally been done.

The other factor is this – Americans make heroes out of people who take out the enemy. Most US war or cop shows have a hero who is ready to kill the bad guy. The regularity with which the killer in Blue Heelers meets his demise cannot hold a candle to CSI. What does this say about Americans – that their networks executives, after so much research, keep pumping out this kind of violence? Certainly not that Americans can't tell fact from fiction. But it does show that while Australians think of heroes as cool heads who only use force if absolutely necessary (think of Tom Croydon in Blue Heelers), Americans will be unsatisfied with anything but the killing of someone truly evil. Maybe this explains the celebrations on the streets of Washington on Sunday night. How different this is from the important Australian and New Zealander tradition of solemn grief and respect on ANZAC day.  It's the difference between making heroes out of soldier-assassins and Simpson and his donkey.

I think the Aussies have it about right. After all, what material thing has Osama's death (rather than trial) achieved, except for a poll boost to President Obama? Osama probably died just the way he wanted to – his fanatical followers will now think of him as a martyred warrior. The war in Afghanistan continues on as if nothing has happened.

Which leads to one final question – if NATO successfully removed Gadaffi, would it really bring democracy or even stop the violence in Libya?