I don't know that is the truth- it is an opinion held by some in the military and the intelligence community at least reading what they are saying, it is just a post- But I think it is better for the US govt. for him to be alive. At least right now it serves our agenda in the war on Terror
In his lair, with his guards around, yes. If he could reasonably be subdued and brought back alive, no. I don't believe in the death penalty, even for someone as ****ty as OBL, but not everyone can be captured alive, and it isn't worth putting good people at risk to try to save the lives of evil ones.
Can you imagine what you would get for killing Bin Laden? -You'd be permently immortalized in history -20 million bucks -satisfaction -a massive ego boost -hero status -celebrity status -presidential credentials -death threats -a lot of vagina let's see....hmmmm......tough decision?
Not as a private citizen: that kind of sounds like a definition of a terrorist, given that Bin Laden probably feels his killings are done for the same reason. Non-combat assassinations seem like a tricky precedent to set; even though that ship has sailed, I figure we're not getting the same treatment because the host governments presumably faciliate/permit our operations, and we protect our VIPs better - at least since the '60s, when an angry dude in a kitchen or book depository could change the course of our nation overnight. *PS - Is it possible to have an aversion to killing, in any form, without being a pacifist?
Sure, I don't think I could ever kill a person but I certainly support military action when the situation demands it. That's why we should respect our troops so much. It's not only that they fight for our country but they are forced to do things that I could never bring myself to doing.
In a sense yes because he considers them the same as other Americans, so it's the least of his concerns. He isn't dismissing it as collateral damage. It's more of a cleansing to fanatics like him. Much like ultra radical groups who want to murder OBL for being too moderate.... It proves that he's willing to take credit for Zarqawi's terror attacks upon Iraqi civilians. He didn't have much control over Zarqawi, but OBL and Al Qaeda wanted to double dip upon Zarqawi's successes. Politically, it shows that OBL will willingly engage/claim victory for murder upon Muslims if it furthered his goals. There's plenty of blood for everyone... It's harder to prove that Bush has deliberately engaged murder upon his own people or those whom he claims as his own.
I guess that makes sense if u look at it from a soldier's perspective cuz they've been willin to sacrifice their lives for our freedom.... But cud this lead us to "seeking matyrdom" territory, which, in the changed world that we live in is no longer a good thing. Even tho there is a difference, thats what the terroists seem to believe....They're willin to lose their own lives to kill others...
Stumbled across this thread doing a search for something else. Interesting to read through it now that OBL is dead. Also interesting to read the Buddhist Mr Meowgi's posts.
Though I would like to do it out of frustration, I wouldn't kill him out of personal volition. Not sure that ANYONE should be killed, and I don't think I'm capable of making that decision fairly. But if a democratically-elected government from the country which I belong to follows due process and requests that I do it, I would do it without blinking.
Pretty weird reading stuff from 5 years ago. Looks like some people had some very strong stances about murderers in general, not just OBL. Bet they wouldn't say the same about American soldiers who were found guilty of murdering civilians (on purpose) in war zones
