Bin Laden dead!

[fester30]

What do you all think?  Is it okay to celebrate such a death, even if, like me, you are against the death penalty?  I'm jumping up and down here.  I'm very against the death penalty yet I feel like celebrating.  Is there something horribly wrong with me?

[KDbeads]

Nope, nothing wrong with you at all.....
I just jumped up and hollered 'hot damn' a couple minutes ago.

[hismikeness]

I want to see a death certificate...

/sarcasm

[The Black Jester]

People are gathering en masse here in NYC, at the World Trade Center site, celebrating despite the hour.

[Sophus]

I don't see any need to celebrate until we're out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In my opinion, we've spent way too much time and too many other lives trying to find Osama. Nothing's really going to change as a result of his death other than that maybe now we can start to exit the Middle East. Not permanently, of course. 

[Tank]

Bin Laden was not a common or garden murderer. He considered himself at war. He got what he deserved as a combatant. His death is basically a good thing, as would be the death of any senior general in an opposing army. The fact that his tactics were those of terror is really neither here-nor-there. It's wrong that he became the way he did because of the indoctrination of his upbringing, but I feel the world is generally better off that he is dead.

Personally I think it is much better that he was killed rather than captured (assuming he is actually dead). If he had been captured then he would have been a rallying point and propaganda focus.

When the SAS stormed the Iranian embassy they were under orders to make sure none of the terrorists were to get out alive. As it was one survived and is still in prison in the UK. There was a TV programme a while ago when the SAS troops involved told the story of what happened. In one case a terrorist was escaping be walking out with the hostages. He was recognised and shot, while still in the hostages. There were 27 bullets in his body and no injury to the hostages around him. Impressive work.

[McQ]

Bin Laden was not a common or garden murderer. He considered himself at war. He got what he deserved as a combatant. His death is basically a good thing, as would be the death of any senior general in an opposing army. The fact that his tactics were those of terror is really neither here-nor-there. It's wrong that he became the way he did because of the indoctrination of his upbringing, but I feel the world is generally better off that he is dead.

Personally I think it is much better that he was killed rather than captured (assuming he is actually dead). If he had been captured then he would have been a rallying point and propaganda focus.

When the SAS stormed the Iranian embassy they were under orders to make sure none of the terrorists were to get out alive. As it was one survived and is still in prison in the UK. There was a TV programme a while ago when the SAS troops involved told the story of what happened. In one case a terrorist was escaping be walking out with the hostages. He was recognised and shot, while still in the hostages. There were 27 bullets in his body and no injury to the hostages around him. Impressive work.

Ditto and well writ!

[Ihateyoumike]

Pics or it didn't happen.

[AnimatedDirt]

Only a a true Muslim would grant the body of Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths/murders of U.S. Citizens and otherwise...a proper Muslim burial.  I have my doubts whether it was really OBL...even if it was, this was quite convenient timing for the present individual occupying the office of President.

[The Black Jester]

Only a a true Muslim would grant the body of Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths/murders of U.S. Citizens and otherwise...a proper Muslim burial.  I have my doubts whether it was really OBL...even if it was, this was quite convenient timing for the present individual occupying the office of President.

....aaaaand, the conspiracy theories begin....

[Davin]

@Hismikeness & Ihateyoumike: I think we need the long form death certificate.

@The Black Jester: I think Obama kidnapped Bin Laden back in 2002, held him in the basement of a secret house in near the eastern shores in like North Carolina to be held until after Bush was out of office, the plan was to make Bush look inadequate to get him voted out, but was foiled in 2004 when he got re-elected. So they held onto Bin Laden so ensure that the Republicans would still look bad (even though they weren't even invading the right country), to make sure a Democrate got elected. Then Obama held onto Bin Laden for just such a time when his approval ratings are falling (just as they do for every president at least as long as they've been recording approval ratings), in order to help Obama get re-elected. So they picked Bin Ladens brain through the eye socket, put him into a GPS navigated torpedo and launched him in the ocean to be collected by a secret group and planted somewhere to be captured and/or killed.

It's so simple it just might work...

[xSilverPhinx]

Bin Laden was not a common or garden murderer. He considered himself at war. He got what he deserved as a combatant. His death is basically a good thing, as would be the death of any senior general in an opposing army. The fact that his tactics were those of terror is really neither here-nor-there. It's wrong that he became the way he did because of the indoctrination of his upbringing, but I feel the world is generally better off that he is dead.

Personally I think it is much better that he was killed rather than captured (assuming he is actually dead). If he had been captured then he would have been a rallying point and propaganda focus.

Agreed.

[The Black Jester]

@The Black Jester: I think Obama kidnapped Bin Laden back in 2002, held him in the basement of a secret house in near the eastern shores in like North Carolina to be held until after Bush was out of office, the plan was to make Bush look inadequate to get him voted out, but was foiled in 2004 when he got re-elected. So they held onto Bin Laden so ensure that the Republicans would still look bad (even though they weren't even invading the right country), to make sure a Democrate got elected. Then Obama held onto Bin Laden for just such a time when his approval ratings are falling (just as they do for every president at least as long as they've been recording approval ratings), in order to help Obama get re-elected. So they picked Bin Ladens brain through the eye socket, put him into a GPS navigated torpedo and launched him in the ocean to be collected by a secret group and planted somewhere to be captured and/or killed.

It's so simple it just might work...

Are you sure??  'Cause I'M pretty sure Obama....IS...BIN LADEN!!!!!

Think about it...they're never seen together.  America is the perfect place to hide from our forces, while they're trudging around Afghanistan and even...don't you love the irony...IRAQ.    America itself is the last place you'd look.  Just some quick plastic surgery and a fake long-form birth certificate - presto.  President of the United States!  Just need to conveniently fake your own death, which is easy to do when you've got the entire US Treasury behind you.  Sure, it's crazy.  Crazy like a FOX!!!

[hismikeness]

Only a a true Muslim would grant the body of Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths/murders of U.S. Citizens and otherwise...a proper Muslim burial.  I have my doubts whether it was really OBL...even if it was, this was quite convenient timing for the present individual occupying the office of President.

I can only hope that this is laced with facetiousness.

I debated with myself all day about what I thought of the water burial. In fact, I did a quick Google of it, because I didn't know that was a Muslim tradition. I found a lot of interesting stuff about water and burials, (this and this), stating that it is permissible to bury a Muslim at sea if he dies on a ship, but nothing stating that Islamic tradition is to bury in the water. Perhaps I didn't query Google correctly. Either way, I think it was the right move. Bringing his body back to the States, or even worse turning it over to another country could lead to further fanaticism. Ol' W might have smeared his corpse with pig's blood or something, just to, you know, show em who the good guys are.

I have no doubts that it was OBL. If the Pakistani government or another middle eastern government had claimed they had killed him, I would be much more skeptical. But just imagine the shit storm that would be brewed up if in a week or two, after a certain claim of death and a national briefing and all this hoopla, if OBL turned up alive... I don't think that would be worth the inevitable and no doubt short lived bump in approval rating for BHO. I am confident they got the right terrorist.

I can't really argue with the convenient timing. I am sensing, AnimatedDirt that by calling this announcement on the 1st of May, 2011, convenient that you believe it could have been done or possibly was done at some other time and now was the most beneficial time to enact the raid or at least release the news? Wouldn't a little later, closer to reelection time be better? Or maybe it's convenient because it was the same day that Hitler's death was verified? Or maybe... actually I can't think of any reason at all why it would be convenient, and based on your other comments, can't put myself inside your head enough to figure out why it is you think it is convenient timing either.

Anyway, I'm hoping you were being sarcastic.

[Davin]

@The Black Jester: ZOMG, you're totally onto something!

That's why there was a break in Osama videos until Obama started becoming a public figure!