TheBig3

Dear 9/11 Families,

We're sorry for your loss. We'd love to find their killer but we've thrown some figures in to an excel spreadsheet and its looking like its really not worth it. Rest assured that if it were a nation who did this, we'd have definitly thrown some bombs at them. In this case though, not only is the country he's in mostly mountains and deserts, but he's kind of a bitch to track down. We hope you enjoy the cookies we've sent with this letter and it would be our advice to stay out of tall buildings for awhile.

All the Best,
The Budget Hawks

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midnight rain

Priceless.

If it makes anyone feel better Bin Laden wasn't armed, however he was within arm's reach of an AK-47 apparently. In case anyone is still hung up on the "shooting an unarmed man" stigma.

MoonlitSunshine

Given the training a crack team of Navy Seals would get, one would assume they'd be capable of shooting to incapacitate if they wanted to. If you kneecapped him and hit him in the shoulder a bit he'd be incapable of moving, let alone shooting anyone, and he might well have survived till a trial.

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"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

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midnight rain

Gunfights aren't as smooth and choreographed as they are in the movies. For all we know, it's possible he was hit by a stray bullet. Do you know how much pressure the SEALs were probably under, with the scale of the mission they were undertaking? They probaby had no idea who was armed and who wasn't and to them it's easily a kill or be killed situation. I just think people expect perfection, maybe they ought to accompany the SEALs on a raid firsthand to see that it's not so smooth and easy to pull off as it may seem. I would shoot to kill too if the man was heading for a gun. I'm fairly confident he was unwilling to surrender. I think the SEALs deserve more credit then that.

MoonlitSunshine

I'm just saying... they planned this "for months" apparently. They knew exactly what they were going into, they knew exactly what they had to do. Given that they shot him before he even had a chance to pick up the gun (implication: he was unarmed - if he were anywhere near picking up a gun, there would be no reason to state he wasn't armed). Yes, you can say "but he was going for a gun" but seriously, how long does it take an old man to dive for a gun, pick it up, turn and shoot at a crack squad of SEALs, relative to their ability to shoot him multiple times before he can leave his seat? I'm pretty sure that given the sheer importance of the mission, the soldiers involved would have the skill to pull off an incapacitation with ease. Arguing that they didn't know who was armed or unarmed is a pretty weak point seeing as you can assume that if someone is diving for a machine gun they don't already have one...

I realise that war is very, messy, and that even the best laid plans rarely last beyond engagement, but even so: you are assuming more than I am in saying that it was made impossible for them to take him alive. I am merely assuming that everything went to plan, which is fairly certain seeing as there were no casualties. You are assuming that a) things didn't go to plan, b) there were unforseen problems within the building, c) there was no way they could not shoot to kill. The fact that he was unwilling to surrender is inconsequential if he cannot resist. I think it much more likely that they had orders to kill on sight. Which is fair enough considering who he was, but it does make it an execution without trial.

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"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

- Arthur Dent

TheBig3

I think the caution was "if you **** this mission up, theres going to be hell to pay. So whatever happens, don't let it get too messy, and don't let him get away." He's a slipepry bastard, I don't think they were taking any chances.

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Buzzov*en

considering ibhad family friend die that day who were like family I can say it was not worth it and not even a victory.

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TheBig3

Good for you. I do consider it a victory.

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midnight rain

x2

MoonlitSunshine

White House counterterrorism advisor John O. Brennan stated after the raid that "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that." However, another US national security official, who was not named, told Reuters that "'This was a kill operation,' making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan." Another source referencing a kill (rather than capture order) states, "Officials described the reaction of the special operators when they were told a number of weeks ago that they had been chosen to train for the mission. 'They were told, "We think we found Osama bin Laden, and your job is to kill him,"' an official recalled. The SEALs started to cheer."

Thoughts? Most evidence seems to be suggesting that there was no real intention to ever capture him alive.

__________________
"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

- Arthur Dent