OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD

[nectarsis]

Honest question.  Do you think that if those things weren't done, that the terrorists would be more peaceful/not decapitate REPORTERS (non combatants), take hostages, bomb embassies, etc.?

Sounds like a rhetorical question to me - of course not.  

Antagonistic question:  Do you think we should throw out human rights and international conventions every time someone commits an atrocity?

EDIT:  Sorry about that "antagonistic question" bit.  Obviously, I think the answer is "no"; the end does not justify the means and if we don't raise the bar no one will.

In that case everyone needs to get rid of the dead or alive warrants.  I don't see  that ever happeneing. IMO there was  PROBABLY no way he was going to get "taken alive" anyways (which in many cases is WHY they are listed dead or alive).  The danger to the troops going into "Outer Heaven" (as BT stated) was extremely high.  IF the plan was to simply take him out I would have opted for a HEAVILY armed Predator...the worst that could happen would be carpal tunnel for the "pilot."

OMG!!!!!!!!!!

BRUCE LEE IS DEAD!
AND SO IS HIS SON!

1111323123!~2@(*U!@EQHADOQ@I!

 

[nodtveidt]

The plan wasn't simply to take out ObL, they also had to account for his death after the fact. That's why it was required to recover the body... to send a message to the "enemy" that we wiped out their figurehead, and to assure the American people that "the enemy was defeated". If the objective was to simply eradicate his ass, they could have just dropped a bomb on his head like they did with Ghadafi's son. But this was more about "war trophies" than anything else.

[Joe Redifer]

I understand what you are saying about human rights, Vestcoat.  But keeping everyone prisoner costs money.  There would have been a huge security detail guarding Osama for the rest of his life if we kept him alive in a maximum security prison.  That's money we don't really have to spend.  And before you say something like "human life is more important than money", stop.  Money is far more important than any human life.  Just look at how the world is.  Money talks much louder.  I'm not saying it's right, of course, but I'm saying that's the way it is.

[vestcoat]

Staying off the issue of money, the other problem with playing judge, jury, and executioner is that there's never any way to be 100% certain we have the right guy.  In 2002 the FBI wasn't certain of anything.  After that some really crappy video footage of a confession conveniently appeared.  It would have been a logistical nightmare, but he should have had a trial.

[Arkhan]

if we kept him prisoner, HELLO ATTEMPTED RESCUE MISSIONS.

more suicide bombers and idiots being idiots to save Captain Osamabamalama.