Would it have been more prudent to capture an unarmed Bin Laden rather than kill him?

[Cali_Democrat]

If the ultimate goal of the US is to stop terrorism, maybe it would have been better if we captured Bin Laden alive and then obtained intelligence and information about possible impending terrorist attacks and current worldwide terror cells.

Bin Laden was the world's most wanted terrorist and the leader of Al-Qaeda. He obviously had a lot of knowledge about worldwide Al-Qaeda terror cells.

I guess it doesn't matter now because the guy is dead, but who knows what that information could have reveal about impending terrorist attacks on US soil. Perhaps we were a little too quick to pull the trigger?

Just a thought. Please don't flame me.

[virgogal]

1. Yes.

[onehandle]

2. He would have never talked. nt

[bigwillq]

3. Maybe he would've after we tortured him.

:shrug:
:sarcasm:

[originalpckelly]

36. "Now you will tell us the location of the hidden rebel base..."

[bigwillq]

39. ha ha

:rofl:

[NYC_SKP]

4. I've thought about that and am glad it didn't go that way.

We've suffered through far too many hearings and trials, Iran-Contra (ending with Ollie getting his own show) and a stupid ass Impeachment proceeding, (embarrasing in it's stupidity).

I am SOOOOO glad this is over and without any talk of how we should interrogate him, all kinds of criticism from both sides.

No thank you.

Glad it ended this way.

:patriot:

[appleannie1]

5. And just how much do you think he would have told us? More than nothing or just plain lies?

[Cali_Democrat]

11. We could have trained interrogators attempt to extract information

If they're unable to get the info, then put him on trial.

[pnwmom]

17. We have trained computer experts extracting plenty of information right now.

The back of Al Queda has been broken.

[uppityperson]

6. How do you know they didn't? What makes you think he'd have shared information?

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. No.

He lived far too long as it is.

[seabeyond]

8. no. he is done. nt

[kestrel91316]

9. No.

[DevonRex]

10. No. The prudent thing was for the SEALs to stay alive.

The prudent thing was for bin laden to never be a US prisoner

[RZM]

12. Here's my take:

This decision was no doubt a result of a complex weighing of pros and cons as well as the circumstances on the ground during the raid. What complicates our ability to analyze it is that we weren't privy to the intelligence/discussions and we weren't there when the raid happened.

I imagine the powers that be determined that Bin Laden hasd ceased to have an active role in planning specific future attacks, so apprehending him would not necessarily yield the kind of information they are most interested in (though I'm sure it would have yielded some interesting stuff). I also imagine that they worried about the constant headlines/blowback/circus that would result from taking him alive and deciding what to do with him. Apparently they determined that simply removing him from this world suited US national security interests more than taking him alive.

Was it the right call? Who knows. But they certainly had access to a lot more information than I do.

[uppityperson]

18. Seriously. None of us were there. Those who were had access to alot more info than we do

[bigwillq]

13. I'm content with the way things went (nt)

[TTUBatfan2008]

14. Hell no...

Al Qaeda would then start kidnapping Americans and threatening to kill them if we didn't release Bin Laden. Fuck him and his organization.

[Ohio Joe]

15. He would have revealed nothing

No way he would have given up anything or anyone. If he had been captured and put on trial, I would have been fine with it. I am also fine with him getting dead.

[pnwmom]

16. Would it have been more prudent to subject our troops to more risk

than the extremely risky situation they were already in?

OBL was a threat to them -- he was resisting arrest. They were right to respond as they did. Their own lives were in danger every second they were in that compound.

As it is, we got far more information from the computers and hard drives than we'd ever have gotten from him.

[gratuitous]

19. Yes, but we're much more into cleanliness and efficiency these days

Due process is a messy business, and the prospect that the evidence might not be sufficient to obtain a conviction, much less validate every official statement of the last 10 years, is far too messy to contemplate. It was far cleaner for the American wehrmacht to eliminate an opponent than to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Besides, we were almost certainly correct that bin Laden was a very bad man. And what if he knew or said some really embarrassing stuff about us and our leaders? Or even some criminal, actionable stuff? The U.S. is really good at telling other countries that they have to face up to the sordid details of their past. Us? Not so much. Because we're very exceptional.

[cliffordu]

20. NO - His computers will provide what we need.

Prudence did not figure into his attacks on the Cole and 9/11 and his bragging about it, and his declaring that all americans should die.

I'm glad he was killed. The only better outcome for him involves a blowtorch and a pair of pliers as far as I'm concerned.

People keep assuming that their pampered lives and the rules that govern those lives run the rest of the world.

I find it disgusting, but that's just me.

[RC]

29. With that attitude, you are no better than bin Laden was.

No wonder they hate us for our freedoms. :sarcasm:

[cliffordu]

34. Jesus loves you.

[RC]

41. That explains it then.

[cliffordu]

43. Not really.

I was lying.

[Teaser]

44. shaddup

.

[midnight]

21. yes... And have a trial to see the real 9-11 connections and how all the dots connect...

[Cali_Democrat]

23. Indeed.

Let the information flow for all the world to see.

[Ohio Joe]

25. Non-sense

He had ten years to put out the "real 9-11 connections and how all the dots connect" and he did not... but by some miracle he would have at trial... ummm yeah.

[midnight]

22. P.S. I K&R this site... Sorry it is still at 0.

[guitar man]

24. No

Obama said he's kill him and that's what happened. And the next SOB stupid enough to step up and take his place, send that same bunch of hard hitting fuckers after him too and put a couple rounds through his head. Bring the troops home and explain that THIS is the way to deal with international terrorists, not blowing up entire countries, killing thousands and thousands of innocent people and wasting trillions of dollars ...

[trayfoot]

26. NO

He would have been a wonderful recruitment tool and rallying point if taken alive.

[dipsydoodle]

27. Yes

because photographing him alive would've helped remove the memory of current images, as he was always depicted, which now remain iconic.

[Motown_Johnny]

28. Where there is life, there is hope

with death, not so much

[Fool Count]

30. Maybe, maybe not, I am not really sure. What I do know

is that it would definitely have been more prudent to tell the truth about what happened right away rather than make up lies.
All that "fog of war" has another name - deception. Unlike when telling the truth, it is just impossible to keep all the lies
straight. The more elaborate the lie and the more people are involved - the more impossible it becomes. It's just not
feasible to work out all possible answers to all possible questions among all the participants. Did they really believe they
could pull it off? The negative effects of this dishonesty on the credibility of US authorities alone, in my opinion, will far
outweigh any potential benefits of getting rid of bin Laden. The only correct way of doing that would have been followed by
giving us a straight story and to resist the overwhelming urge to control all tiny details of the narrative. It would have
been impossible to predict the effect of every little piece of info on public opinion in the US and in the Muslim world anyway.
It is easy to predict the effect of being caught in lies and deception - damage to credibility.

[cherokeeprogressive]

31. Having him in US custody would surely have resulted in the loss of American lives.

Here or elsewhere. If he were handed over to another country, THEIR citizens would be in jeopardy as well.

So no, not more prudent.

[leftstreet]

32. "If the ultimate goal of the US is to stop terrorism"

Yes.

OTOH, if the ultimate goal is not to let the US look like the imperialist stormtrooping 700+ military global bases hated evil resource-grabbing empire most of the world perceives it to be, then it went the way it should. OBL sitting in prison wouldn't play so well.

[madinmaryland]

33. No. It would drag this out for another 10-20 years. Bad idea.

[ProSense]

35. Imagine

all the violent "free bin Laden" protests and all the conspiracy theorists who would need therapy.

Ugly!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

37. Imagine they captured him and turned him around enough for him to call it

all off. Imagine that if you will.

[mcar]

38. Where would he keep him?

Where would we try him? We'd have to keep Gitmo open for even longer. Who would represent him?

[sad sally]

40. Justice wasn't served...there was simply an execution.

”I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Teaser]

46. Martin Luther King never said that.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2011/0503/How-Osama-bin-Laden-s-death-sparked-a-fake-Martin-Luther-King-quote

[DeadEyeDyck]

42. probably yes

We either should have bomed the compound of captured him alive. Now, if he showed any form of life threatening action, he should have been killed. But if he was taken alive and then executed, that is a problem. Seals are not a judge, jury and executioner.

In this case, appearances matter.

[Canuckistanian]

45. A VERY unpopular opinion around here right now

Yet a VERY important question.

[Zax2me]

47. Obama,release Bin Laden or we behead another hostage

Obama knows what he is doing.
He isn't going to allow Americans to watch Internet videos of a 10 year old girl beheaded and the rest of her captured family staring at a video camera - after being abducted while vacationing in...pick a country.

Yes, President Obama, the brother of this girl we just beheaded, and her parents will suffer the same fate unless we, the Muslim Brotherhood Jihadists Of You Fucked Up And Didn't Kill Him, get confirmation that Bin Laden is safe and sound in a brother Muslim country.

Rinse and repeat this scene 100 times over. What you would get as long as we held Bin Laden alive.

Obama likely told the team hey, if you walk out of that building with a live Bin Laden, don't bother coming back.
Prudent thing to do.

[bhikkhu]

48. Very good point. n/t

[Puregonzo1188]

49. It would have been in compliance with international law.

[Capitalocracy]

50. It would've been only a million times better

if we captured him and had a trial. As long as it was safe and feasible to do so, which it appears it was. Someone thought a trial would be too inconvenient, which is frankly wretched.

[OhioChick]

51. There's no way the leader of Al-Qeada would've talked n/t