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Osama Bin Laden is dead

THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID. He said we didn't take out Bin Laden cause it would have been premature and would have inspired feelings of martyrdom. Killing Bin Laden immediately after millions of Muslims celebrated 9/11 would have made him look like a martyr in a culture that relishes them. Do you think that in the 21st century any man is good enough to hide for nearly 10 years? No. We didn't kill him because we didn't need to. He probably escaped a few times but do you honestly doubt we didn't know his whereabouts until now? Get serious. I could find somebody halfway across the world just sitting in my computer.
It's exactly what he said, with these words: "he was a strategically placed pawn."

It's incredibly easy to deceive yourself into thinking the rest of the world is just like the States. I'm sorry, but it's not. There are thousands of American fugitives hiding in the US right now, speaking english and carrying out relationships with their family members and our government still cannot find them. Now if it's that easy for our own citizens to hide, it's far easier for a guerilla leader to hide in populations that support his cause. And my whole point is that if Osama was a strategically placed enemy figurehead, he was strategically placed so that he could be triumphantly removed.

I never said that al-Qaeda would crumble with his defeat. I said he was not a pawn o puppet of the US. He was a genuine enemy, a true figurehead of the opposition, and every moment he was alive he stood as a symbol to our enemies of American weakness. It doesn't matter whether or not he was the general of a carefully organized hierarchy, or practically useless celebrity. A war is both physical and psychological and his execution was a major psychological victory for the US.
 
But in terms of the actual conflicts revolving around Islamic Radicalism, I don't see how this frankly changes much besides making him a matyr and not putting him through the justice system. I'd prefer to have him rot in prison after a length trial dictating just how evil that man really is.

You get it, why is this so difficult for some to understand.
 
You get it, why is this so difficult for some to understand.

I'd be concerned about keeping him captured. Of course, it'd be great, and I wish we could have like paraded him as a POW through the streets of NYC, let some citizens at him...and then put him in the most patriotic jail in the country.

But him dead is good too. Like Lucky said, he knew America f**ked him over before he died, thats good enough for me.
 
The legal and moral concept.

Here's the legal concept.

We elected a President. He gave orders to go after a mass-murderer on the FBI's most wanted list.

Here's a moral concept. The Seal Team rehearsed the mission for weeks to do it without unnecessary casualties.

Here's a legal/moral concept. Bin Ladin resisted. He was shot. JUSTICE. Period.

A mass murderer was shot while resisting capture.


You know trial by jury, that whole thing.

That's not the only form of justice. In fact, it can be prone to failure, especially when money was involved.

If you think all those Bin Ladin videos were doctored feel free to start the new truther movement.

But like I said, that doesn't necessarily make this bad.

If Obama saved a child by donating a kidney, you'd wonder why he only saved one child when he clearly has two kidneys. It's so phony Harry, and really sad given the outpouring of emotion at ground zero tonight.
 
I don't want to get into a full blown argument, so let me put it this way: Bush started the war in Afghanistan, and this is part of that war. Ergo, he deserves credit for starting the war, if nothing else.

We went into Afghanistan to get Bin Laden, then de-emphasized Afghanistan to attack Iraq. The reason we got Bin Laden has little to do with Afghanistan and more do to with our forays into Pakistan, which Bush did not do and McCain ("I'll chase Bin Laden to the gates of hell".... "but I won't go into Pakistan") argued against. Sorry, Bush did not seriously pursue Bin Laden, or we would have had him years ago. Our military and intelligence community is far too sophisticated to not be able to find the guy for almost 10 years. We did not find him, because it was not a priority as the previously posted You Tube video well documents in Bush's own words. Sorry, Bush failed to get the job done. He gets zero credit...
 
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The Ink Spots...........wow, haven't heard that name in years, many years.

I felt "I don't want to set the world on fire" was appropriate for the situation.

I would've gone with Billie Holiday, but her best songs are also her saddest.
 
Harry, a key point I'd like to make, is that this was a military operation, and Bin Laden was viewed as an enemy combatant. Following Hazl's description, he was viewed as a threat to the lives of our men, and was dealt as such, end of story. Military justice is different from civilian justice.
 
You get it, why is this so difficult for some to understand.

I'm probably going to get warned for this, but frankly lots of people here are idiots. That is why it is so difficult for them to understand. They are idiots.

Imagine putting Bin Laden in the International Court and have some Muslim lawyers take part in the prosecution. Having basically the world try and condemn him with an entirely open system with MUSLIMS doing the prosecution would do far more for ending this long conflict then anything else we've done. That kind of propaganda would be a crushing impact upon Islamic Terrorism. All of his dirty secrets and crimes put forth by the world community in an open forum.

Tomorrow will be the same as today. Make no mistake. This is nothing more than a symbolic victory. It changes nothing on the ground.
 
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But in terms of the actual conflicts revolving around Islamic Radicalism, I don't see how this frankly changes much besides making him a matyr and not putting him through the justice system. I'd prefer to have him rot in prison after a length trial dictating just how evil that man really is.

I would agree that it would be best that he were rotting in an American prison... but it was very, very important that we got the guy.
 
Harry, a key point I'd like to make, is that this was a military operation, and Bin Laden was viewed as an enemy combatant. Following Hazl's description, he was viewed as a threat to the lives of our men, and was dealt as such, end of story. Military justice is different from civilian justice.

As much as I may understand what you're saying, I disagree for moral reasons.
Not because I dislike the military or like Bin Laden, anything like that, but because I'm kind of an idealist when it comes to law.
 
But in terms of the actual conflicts revolving around Islamic Radicalism, I don't see how this frankly changes much besides making him a matyr and not putting him through the justice system. I'd prefer to have him rot in prison after a length trial dictating just how evil that man really is.

The way the far-righties have criticized Obama for capturing and attempt to try terrorists, I'm glad bin Laden was shot.

Dead is dead.

The terrorist networks are in disarray -- he's martyr to anyone who matters.

Turn on YOUR TV for christ sakes. Look at what this means to people in NYC and DC.
 
It's exactly what he said, with these words: "he was a strategically placed pawn."

Again where does that say that he was a pawn of the US? Saddam was a strategically placed pawn but not of the US. In it's most basic meaning the word pawn means somebody used by others. It doesn't mean that they're controlled by others, just used. In that sense, Bin Laden was a pawn. Just not one we could control. Keeping him alive immidiately after 9/11 would have served no purpose so he was used as a figurehead to fuel various wars. The mental acrobatics you have to do in order to read that sentence and gather that Osama was a pawn of the US are amazing. The rest of your post is just gibberish.

It's incredibly easy to deceive yourself into thinking the rest of the world is just like the States. I'm sorry, but it's not. There are thousands of American fugitives hiding in the US right now, speaking english and carrying out relationships with their family members and our government still cannot find them. Now if it's that easy for our own citizens to hide, it's far easier for a guerilla leader to hide in populations that support his cause. And my whole point is that if Osama was a strategically placed enemy figurehead, he was strategically placed so that he could be triumphantly removed.

I never said that al-Qaeda would crumble with his defeat. I said he was not a pawn o puppet of the US. He was a genuine enemy, a true figurehead of the opposition, and every moment he was alive he stood as a symbol to our enemies of American weakness. It doesn't matter whether or not he was the general of a carefully organized hierarchy, or practically useless celebrity. A war is both physical and psychological and his execution was a major psychological victory for the US.
 
I'm probably going to get warned for this, but frankly lots of people here are idiots. That is why it is so difficult for them to understand. They are idiots.

Do you not own a TV?


Tomorrow will be the same as today. Make no mistake. This is nothing more than a symbolic victory. It changes nothing on the ground.

Really? Turn on your TV and tell me tomorrow will be the same... Tell anyone who lost someone on 9/11 or tell a first responder that this is symbolic...
 
I'm not sure what to make of this mansion stuff. Other reports use the word compound. Not that it matters. He's just as dead. And all his stuff is broke.

Said masion was located here Abbottabad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Intrestingly a major center of the Pakistani military, they where just interviewing a Pakistani journalist about this on Al Jazeera who said that he wouldnt have been able to get in or out without passing multiple checkpoints.
 
I would agree that it would be best that he were rotting in an American prison... but it was very, very important that we got the guy.

Why? Islamic terrorists don't work in an unified system taking orders and feeding intelligence to each other. Bin Laden was nothing more than a figurehead. And killing figureheads in Islam makes them martyrs. Sure it was good to get him, but killing him may actually make this worse. IMO, if Bin Laden has to die, let him die of a slow death from his various ailments on the run like a coward rather than in a firefight and being killed by Americans.

IMO we have basically lost the largest propaganda opportunity we'll ever going to have.
 
As much as I may understand what you're saying, I disagree for moral reasons.
Not because I dislike the military or like Bin Laden, anything like that, but because I'm kind of an idealist when it comes to law.

As am I.

The law was followed.

But justice doesn't have to always happen in a courtroom. In fact, when money is involved, justice is often hindered.
 
Dead is dead.

And goes our chance to deliver a crushing propaganda blow to Islamic Terrorism.

The terrorist networks are in disarray -- he's martyr to anyone who matters.

Disarray? What makes you think that?

Turn on YOUR TV for christ sakes. Look at what this means to people in NYC and DC.

Which entirely ignores my point: How does this change a damn thing in the actual conflicts? Hint: It doesn't.
You should know better. Unlike other users, I remember what I wrote. And I explicitly was discussing the ground conflict. You entirely failed to address this.

This is entirely symbolic.
 
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The American soldiers who killed this bastard should be the ones get the credit. Not Bush and Not Obama. I already talked to my mom who said she hopes Obama does not take all the credit as Bush was the one who started this:roll:

Of course Obama is going to take all the credit. He's also going to spin out some BS yarn about why action couldn't be taken in August, when the report of bin Laden's location allegedly came in. Boy, this will take the public's attention off their permanent unemployment, their soaring fuel prices and Donald Trump, won't it?

Thing is, all those problems will still be there, two days from now, when people stop talking about bin Laden and Obama's incredible heroism.

The Mayor's biggest fear on this matter, however, is that the names of the special ops unit that pulled the trigger on that terrorist will be published or otherwise become available to the muslims.

Those men have families, wive's, children, parents, brothers, and each and every one of them could become targets for these animals.

BTW, Obama's beard should be shaved and copies of it made to hang as trophies on Humvees in the war zones. The original should be bronzed and made into a desk ornament for the Oval Office. Maybe the next time Obama isn't invited to a wedding he can not send that as a gift.
 
Why? Islamic terrorists don't work in an unified system taking orders and feeding intelligence to each other. Bin Laden was nothing more than a figurehead. And killing figureheads in Islam makes them martyrs. Sure it was good to get him, but killing him may actually make this worse. IMO, if Bin Laden has to die, let him die of a slow death from his various ailments on the run like a coward rather than in a firefight and being killed by Americans.

IMO we have basically lost the largest propaganda opportunity we'll ever going to have.

Ideally you capture him and bring him to justice, but failing that, Americans tracking him down and killing him is pretty important and a much, much better outcome than allowing him to live well in a large Pakistani mansion. I think you are splitting hairs here and calling the difference the Grand Canyon. It is not. This is a very important milestone, just as cornering Hitler was an important milestone. Surely this does not end terrorism nor Al Qadea, but do not underestimate the importance of symbolism, particularly with the Arab world. For 10 years he got away with 9/11..... now justice has at least caught up with the figurehead and command and control of Al Qaeda.

...and of course, since you are such a proponent of public trials for Islamic terrorists, I should have no problems finding your posts arguing the other 9/11 conspirators should be put on public trial in the US, ideally in New York rather than tried by discreet military tribunals. Is that correct?
 
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Why? Islamic terrorists don't work in an unified system taking orders and feeding intelligence to each other. Bin Laden was nothing more than a figurehead. And killing figureheads in Islam makes them martyrs. Sure it was good to get him, but killing him may actually make this worse. IMO, if Bin Laden has to die, let him die of a slow death from his various ailments on the run like a coward rather than in a firefight and being killed by Americans.

IMO we have basically lost the largest propaganda opportunity we'll ever going to have.


Yes, clearly there's no propaganda value in having bin Laden shot dead with a bullet fired from an American's rifle under orders from a muslim president....
 
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