Osama Bin Laden: Dead

[Mahlerei]

I am disappointed that Obama has chosen to voice the same old platitudes, such as 'the world is a safer place without Bin Laden'. That's patently untrue, and the franchise will contine to grow if we don't address the fundamental issues that help these people thrive.

I am also less than comfortable with the US claiming to have taken this action on our behalf. i wonder how much the allies knew about all this before it went ahead? Apparently Obama watched it live on a videocam. Over nibbles and drink, perhaps?

No cause for celebration, I'm afraid.

[amateur51]

I am disappointed that Obama has chosen to voice the same old platitudes, such as 'the world is a safer place without Bin Laden'. That's patently untrue, and the franchise will contine to grow if we don't address the fundamental issues that help these people thrive.

I am also less than comfortable with the US claiming to have taken this action on our behalf. i wonder how much the allies knew about all this before it went ahead? Apparently Obama watched it live on a videocam. Over nibbles and drink, perhaps?

No cause for celebration, I'm afraid.

Spot on the money there, Mahlerei!

But then Obama doesn't have to travel on the London underground in the rush hour, does he?!

No cause for celebration at all.

[Lateralthinking1]

I see that it has just been announced that terrorist suspects have been arrested at Sellafield.

[Mr Pee]

I am disappointed that Obama has chosen to voice the same old platitudes, such as 'the world is a safer place without Bin Laden'. That's patently untrue, and the franchise will contine to grow if we don't address the fundamental issues that help these people thrive.

I am also less than comfortable with the US claiming to have taken this action on our behalf. i wonder how much the allies knew about all this before it went ahead? Apparently Obama watched it live on a videocam. Over nibbles and drink, perhaps?

No cause for celebration, I'm afraid.

Hardly nibbles and drinks:-

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/05/see-obama-watch-the-attack-on-osama-bin-laden.html

What would you expect? Here's a crucial and highly dangerous operation, which could make or break Obama, and you expect him to pop off to bed and watch The Late Show?

As for telling their Allies what was going on, why should they? Secrecy is vital for an operation of this nature- and it's just as well the US didn't inform Pakistan, since it looks like they've been harbouring OBL for a number of years.

I find the sanctimonious moral high ground being adopted by some contributors here little short of nauseating.

I said that some people should be allowed to celebrate the death of Osama- tell a relative of a 9/11 victim that they shouldn't celebrate, if that is what they want to do; or suppose you had lost your family in the death camps- when Heydrich was assassinated, would you not have celebrated that?

I feel nothing but relief that the USA have finally got their man, and I salute the bravery and professionalism of the Special Forces who carried out the operation.

In the short term, there may well be some revenge attacks, and we need to be vigilant about that. But in the long term- yes, I agree with Obama- the world will be a safer place without Bin Laden.

[Uncle Monty]

I find the sanctimonious moral high ground being adopted by some contributors here little short of nauseating.

You mean like saying we need to show we're morally superior to the terrorists, and that we don't approve of summary executions by "our" side?

How is that sanctimonious?

[amateur51]

I see that it has just been announced that terrorist suspects have been arrested at Sellafield.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13268834

[Mr Pee]

You mean like saying we need to show we're morally superior to the terrorists, and that we don't approve of summary executions by "our" side?

How is that sanctimonious?

Execution? What execution? From the reports, OBL died in a firefight, while reaching for a weapon, and using one of his wives as a human shield. He wasn't tied to a post.

He sent hundreds or even thousands of deluded young men and women to their deaths- he might just as well have "executed" them himself-whilst he was safely tucked up in a million dollar compound miles from any actual combat. And I'm supposed to feel sorry that he finally got what was coming to him?

[amateur51]

I find the sanctimonious moral high ground being adopted by some contributors here little short of nauseating.

That's your first mistake Mr Pee - I don't give a tinker's toss what you think - you have proven yourself to be morally bankrupt on many occasions. Stick to glossy technology - that's more your line

In the short term, there may well be some revenge attacks, and we need to be vigilant about that. But in the long term- yes, I agree with Obama- the world will be a safer place without Bin Laden.

Matron, the screens - he's got his crystal ball out again.

Obama's excuse is that he's running for re-election, Mr Pee. What's yours?

[amateur51]

Execution? What execution? From the reports, OBL died in a firefight, while reaching for a weapon, and using one of his wives as a human shield. He wasn't tied to a post.

He sent hundreds or even thousands of deluded young men and women to their deaths- he might just as well have "executed" them himself-whilst he was safely tucked up in a million dollar compound miles from any actual combat. And I'm supposed to feel sorry that he finally got what was coming to him?

So why didn't 'the heroes' use a tazer? It's worked for the Met after all.

Oh sorry, if they'd used a tazer it would have implied that they'd meant to take him alive.

All very convenient isn't it.

Plus the official story will play better in the forthcoming film and TV special, won't it.

[Uncle Monty]

Execution? What execution? From the reports, OBL died in a firefight, while reaching for a weapon, and using one of his wives as a human shield. He wasn't tied to a post.

He sent hundreds or even thousands of deluded young men and women to their deaths- he might just as well have "executed" them himself-whilst he was safely tucked up in a million dollar compound miles from any actual combat. And I'm supposed to feel sorry that he finally got what was coming to him?

I don't see that calling it by a cuddly term like "firefight" makes a lot of difference. He was shot in the head indoors at close range. Do you think they went in determined to take him alive?

No one is "sorry" to see the back of him. He appears to have been a loathsome specimen. He should if at all possible have been captured and put on trial, so that the whole world could see the nature and extent of his awfulness. As it is, the US being gung-ho for a change seems likely to have all sorts of nasty consequences, and nothing positive achieved except the killing of a figurehead.

[amateur51]

I don't see that calling it by a cuddly term like "firefight" makes a lot of difference. He was shot in the head indoors at close range. Do you think they went in determined to take him alive?

No one is "sorry" to see the back of him. He appears to have been a loathsome specimen. He should if at all possible have been captured and put on trial, so that the whole world could see the nature and extent of his awfulness. As it is, the US being gung-ho for a change seems likely to have all sorts of nasty consequences, and nothing positive achieved except the killing of a figurehead.

I agree completely, Uncle Monty! We ain't seen nothing yet

And he was just a figurehead, of a franchise operation called Al Qaeda. I found this book a very useful read:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Qaeda-True-Story-Radical-Islam/dp/0141031360/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304425870&sr=8-1

[aeolium]

There's nothing sanctimonious about deploring what appears to have been an assassination, since on the latest reports there was no 'human shield' and bin Laden was not armed. An assassination is nothing less than unlawful killing, and using unlawful means to enforce the law simply undermines the overall concept of the rule of law - particularly when a superpower does it. Targeted killings, such as those of the IRA suspects on Gibraltar and alleged Palestinian terrorists using helicopter gunships, are justifiably condemned because they are not supported by international law. Terrorism is a crime, and terrorists where possible should be arrested and tried - unless we want to end up with a sort of Dirty Harry style of law enforcement.

[Flosshilde]

Y'all seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, right? If Mace Windu had killed Chancellor Palpatine when he had the chance, a whole host of problems could've been avoided. When confronting evil, it's best not to pussy out, but end it.
That's what God wants.

Note also that in Michael Bay's movie, The Transformers (2007), the evil Decepticons pretty much wrecked a city and at the end of the movie, their remains were tossed in the ocean as a cover-up by the military. This corresponds to my theory that Michael Bay was sent by God. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness to that light.

Donnie, normally I enjoy your posts & find that they have a great deal of humanity, in an odd sort of way. However, with this one I feel that you are way off beam - taking your moral & political cues from fantasy films produced in Hollywood is somewhat risky.

[Uncle Monty]

Donnie, normally I enjoy your posts & find that they have a great deal of humanity, in an odd sort of way. However, with this one I feel that you are way off beam - taking your moral & political cues from fantasy films produced in Hollywood is somewhat risky.

Well, yeeesssss. . . but. . . the way the US government and military conduct their "foreign policy", it's quite hard to tell whether they get their ideas from Hollywood, or the other way round

Perhaps that's what ol' Donnie was hinting at. I couldn't actually tell

[Donnie Essen]

Which god would that be, in this instance ?

You got me there, sir. I'm a Christian, but I don't have the time to be sitting around reading the bible.

I agree with all what the folks are saying about the rule of law, but I doubt much fuss will be raised out in the real world. It was way cooler the way they did it, though, and it'll probably make a pretty cool video game.