Top Got Topped

In July, two luxury hotels were blown up by suicide bombers in Jakarta, Malaysia. This dastardly act of terrorism came just in time for the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks last year. At the time, no group had come forward to claim responsibility for the bombings, but Indonesia authorities had linked it to a Jemaah Islamiyah splinter group lead by a notorious terrorist known as Noordin M. Top.

Today, Top got topped when Indonesian authorities engaged Top and his entourage in a gunfight and ensuing siege. The Indonesian authorities gave him an opportunity to surrender, to which Top and his men answered with more gunfire; so the authorities responded by blowing up the building where Top and his men were hold up.

The gut check here is simple. Top's group was responsible for a dastardly act of terrorism that ended the lives of many civilians. If he had been caught alive, he would have been executed anyway. At least this way they don't have to waste the time and money on conducting a trial. Now, if only we were as effective at hunting down singular terrorist leaders as the Indonesians, bin Laden wouldn't stand a chance. The Indonesians found Top two months after the Jakarta bombings. That's some serious motivation.