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Osama bin Laden reported dead, body in US hands More

Osama bin Laden reported dead, body in US hands

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  • I'm having a hard time seeing why it matters. Al-qaeda will continue on without him. The biggest piece of news to come out of this is that the previous reports of his death - which generally came up 2-3 times annually every year since 2003 - were wrong.

    If this is supposed to be some kind of "moral victory", it is immoral and of questionable victory.

    • The guy didn't just admit to killing thousands, he boasted of it. The 1993 WTC bombing, the Cole bombing, the 9/11 attack ... it's not like there was any question of his guilt, or that there were any "mitigating circumstances".

      Wrap his body in pigskin and burn it, then feed his ashes to pigs.

      One thing I noticed in the speech was that Obama stated that bin Laden was killed after the firefight - not during.

      • The guy didn't just admit to killing thousands, he boasted of it. The 1993 WTC bombing, the Cole bombing, the 9/11 attack ... it's not like there was any question of his guilt, or that there were any "mitigating circumstances".

        I guess some people will believe anything

      • It is immoral because we allowed him to lower us to his standard. We ran around the world hunting for him, and then killed him in cold blood. Sure, he boasted over the deaths of thousands but he was not the killer himself; he just ordered the operation that killed them. By the same logic couldn't Iraqis come and murder GWB in cold blood for killing thousands of Iraqis?

        • That's one way of looking at it, but in this case, I think it's a bit simplistic (the "allowed him to lower us to his standard" part).

          Please consider - if a poisonous snake kills people near you, then goes after you, and you chop its' head off, has the snake lowered you to its' standard? No.

          Sometimes, you simply can't avoid killing the other side. Letting them live is not a rational option, since it's not possible to "de-fang" them.

          In the case of ObL, taking him alive and giving him a trial would ha

          • Bin Laden is not a snake. Bin Laden is a human being, and we crapped on his human rights. Even a criminal who proclaims to the media that they have committed the crimes they are accused of is entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers in our country, a trial which Bin Laden will never receive.

            In the case of ObL, taking him alive and giving him a trial would have been the equivalent of "snakes on a plane." How many of his followers would have tried to kill anyone connected?

            How is that a different response from the situation resulting from murdering him? His followers will want to avenge what happened either way - we already have open threats from the Afghan Taliban (amongst others)

            • First, he wasn't in the US, so he wasn't entitled to a trial in a US court.

              Second, are you willing to give a self-confessed mass killer a trial at the risk of many other people being targeted during any such trial?

              The purpose of a trial is two-fold: (1) determine guilt or innocence (2) if guilty, determine what to do with the person.

              WRT #1 - there is no reasonable doubt about his guilt - not even an unreasonable doubt.

              WRT #2 - you say that his rights were "crapped on". bin Laden "crapped on" a lot

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by gmhowell ( 26755 )

                I know it's different up north of the border, but in the US, we've got a sort of mission statement for the country. We don't always adhere to it. It carries no weight of law. But there are some good guiding principles.

                "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

                Nowhere does it specify that the rights of man are peculiar to peacetime, American soil, or previous actions. They are part of the makeup of every human being.

                Now, do I shed a tear that bin Laden was shot? No. But I also won't deny that he was deprived certain human rights.

                I just don't fuckin

                • Just for fun (it *is* Tuesday, and we just went through one of our stranger elections up here), but also with an undertone of seriousness ...

                  You have also overlooked a third reason for a trial: we are a nation of laws, not a nation of the whims of an executive, be he a king or be he elected.

                  Yes, a nation of laws, but those laws do not extend beyond your borders to 3rd party nationals in another country. The world as a whole has laws and protocols to deal with that - war.

                  I hate the whole "war on terro

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by gmhowell ( 26755 )

                    I see, you are a strict constructionist. I don't really have much to say to you, unless you are also saying that the second amendment to the US constitution grants a right to private citizens to own weapons of mass destruction.

                    And in the first part, you are arguing that it is more moral to shoot someone in the face than to have a trial because our laws mean nothing over there?

                    Wow.

                    • I guess you missed the last bit - where I suggested an alternative wording (because I don't really buy into the "all men are created equal", and I also don't buy into our ability to create laws that are perfect "forever and ever, world without end, amen hallelujah pass the mashed potatoes"). In other words, I believe that when a country's laws defy common sense, we should go with common sense. Just be equally aware that what is perceived as common sense changes with time, and be prepared to be judged on it

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by gmhowell ( 26755 )

                      Yer still not getting it. I didn't mention constitutional rights. I mentioned human rights.

    • Here's one sense in which it matters: It's the two of a recent one-two punch in the politics game:

      1) The Leftist mainstream news media made the birther issue a central, core issue of Republicans in the average American dimwit's mind, so upon BHO's alleged [I haven't been following it except for watching the orchestrated setup for the slam] producing of a birth cert, the people are inclined to think that Republicans have been bitch-slapped and have lost credibility.

      2) During GW's tenure we were repeatedly to

      • Now Dems can say that their Commander-in-Chief did what GW couldn't.

        A message that might reduce campaign costs significantly. Every ad can show a picture the dead bin laden. He can finally say he 'accomplished' something... Matters not that it's pure BS

        • Well in BHO's defense, at least he opted to act on knowledge of OBL's whereabouts, unlike BC. And at least what he'll run on this time, an improved economy and having gotten OBL, will be more substantial than the two things he famously ran on last time.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gmhowell ( 26755 )

        You know, every now and then you post some interesting stuff. Then you go and include crap like your first paragraph.

  • How long were people pushing this story to go up on slashdot? I gave up after 25 minutes. I suppose I could look at the submission queue, but I don't exactly care enough.

    • Sorry - I must have beaten you to it. I submitted it at 10:59 PM ... slashdot posted it on the front page [slashdot.org] at 11:33 PM.

      Reader Tom Hudson, and now several others, have submitted the news that Osama Bin Laden is reportedly dead, and that his body is in the hands of the US military

      That's not too bad for a Sunday night ... after all, they had to turn on the tube, get confirmation, then write it up. It's not like I gave many details :-)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gmhowell ( 26755 )

        Oh, I wasn't trying to submit anything. I might play the moderation and M2 game, but submissions? I think not. No, I was just refreshing the page while watching Al Jazeera, wondering when /. would get on the ball.

  • You really think this means anything more than Obama's win in the next election? It sure will simplify the campaign to a single message

  • Did you hear, Donald Trump is requesting OBL's death certificate....

  • For those who can get on a plane, look at the passengers, think "boxcutter" and imagine: "Yeah. I could take the cockpit."

    Fairytale.

    • Yep - 9/11 was an inside job.

      Also, OBL isn't dead, I got in his taxi yesterday! I even gave him a tip for tweaking George Bush's nose so much whilst still in his previous job.

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