Bin Laden is dead

[Dylan & Marianne]

I wonder what this death will achieve
Sure it's symbolic for misgivings of the past
Perhaps it might have the negative effect of inspiring reprisal
Personally ,I'm not sure how I feel about his death apart from wariness and a sense of forboding of what's to come

[colinbm]

They can chop off an octopus's tentacle, but you still have an octopus
Col

[Scotty72]

I find it sad that anyone can rejoice the deliberate assassination of a human being.

No doubt, he probably was one of the most horrible criminals of all time but, to take pleasure in death shows a complete disregard for humanity.

I can accept that perhaps the military had no choice if he fought back but, better for the human race would have been to take him to trial and allow the world to seek justice.

Revenge killing and the celebration of it just takes us back to the stone-age.

[Bear Dale]

I find it sad that anyone can rejoice the deliberate assassination of a human being.

No doubt, he probably was one of the most horrible criminals of all time but, to take pleasure in death shows a complete disregard for humanity.

I can accept that perhaps the military had no choice if he fought back but, better for the human race would have been to take him to trial and allow the world to seek justice.

Revenge killing and the celebration of it just takes us back to the stone-age.

Ug Ug ............ Just call me Fred Flinstone then.

[Kym]

Most Americans I know are quite sober about this and are glad he's gone but still remember those who were killed.

We need to remember the innocent Aussies and others killed in 9/11, Bali 2002 and other terrorist incidents.

[Scotty72]

Most Americans I know are quite sober about this and are glad he's gone but still remember those who were killed.

We need to remember the innocent Aussies and others killed in 9/11, Bali 2002 and other terrorist incidents.

Of course but, do we, in a civilised society, allowed the aggrieved to go around extracting brutal revenge.

It is a very fine line between a civil society and anarchy; sometimes, we dance very close to that line.

[Kym]

Of course but, do we, in a civilised society, allowed the aggrieved to go around extracting brutal revenge.

We don't and Obama did not, he sent a small team in to capture OBL and when OBL fought back he died. It would have been safer to bomb the place with a drone.

[pollen]

Yes it's quite sad that a lot of people are celebrating over death

Good riddance if he was what they said he was, though it's impossible to not draw parallels between Osama and Goldstein from 1984

[peterb666]

Of course but, do we, in a civilised society, allowed the aggrieved to go around extracting brutal revenge.

It is a very fine line between a civil society and anarchy; sometimes, we dance very close to that line.

I don't think we have a very civilised society. We just have pockets of civilisation here and there. We are quite lucky in Australia and I am glad I live here rather than many other spots in the world. Animals kill because they need to. People take it to a much lower level.

I don't support killing but the outcome was inevitable. Look at what happened to the former leader of Iraq. Wether it was an assassination or not, the end result is the same but with slightly less of a circus performance in-between.

[Bennymiata]

Personally, I was disgusted at the throngs of cheering "people" in the USA that we saw on various news broadcasts.
If they would have had the body, I'm sure they would have taken great delight in dragging it through the streets like they did in Lebanon when the captured and killed the Israeli soldiers.

It seems they aren't much better in the US than in uncivilised countries.

While his death may be celebrated in the west, the fact is that his home is now a shrine to terrorists and Usama is now a matyr for their cause, with many more to try and follow in his footsteps.

Latest reports are saying he wasn't even armed, although the US soldiers were under heavy gunfire, so why didn't they just capture him instead of making him a matyr?

[Kym]

Latest reports are saying he wasn't even armed, although the US soldiers were under heavy gunfire, so why didn't they just capture him instead of making him a matyr?

I'm guessing you have no military training. If you're under fire you shoot back.

I'd be surprised if he were not armed, and if he were then those around him certainly were not and in the middle of a firefight you shoot first.
Also if unarmed it did not mean he did not resist.
In the end it matters little given the scenario of an heavily armed compound.

Being totally pragmatic, capture was probably never a viable option.

[Kym]

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/...tation/238257/

MLK mis-quote fixed...

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

The first sentence was not MLK

[JM Tran]

I'm guessing you have no military training. If you're under fire you shoot back.

I'd be surprised if he were not armed, and if he were then those around him certainly were not and in the middle of a firefight you shoot first.
Also if unarmed it did not mean he did not resist.
In the end it matters little given the scenario of an heavily armed compound.

Being totally pragmatic, capture was probably never a viable option.

No switch or option for 'set phasers to stun' on those assault weapons I'm afraid

[Scotty72]

Americans are now slowly being caught out in their own spin...

This, it seems, was never about truth, justice and the American way... it was clearly a cold-blooded hit.

I guess no American will ever face court over this.

It seems international (or even US) law doesn't apply to the USA.

Scotty

[zollo]

pfft right or wrong the quotes 'you live by the sword, you die by the sword' or 'play with (gun)fire, you'll get burned' comes to mind. binLaden would have known that with navy seal hunting him it was only a matter of time.

[William]

I should'nt even reply to this thread , Dead , Gone , And who cares , Good riddence I reckon , Trouble is the retubutance we may get from his followers in the future , Glad I'm getting old and won't have to worry , I think about my Kids and the future

[soulman]

I'm guessing you have no military training. If you're under fire you shoot back.

Soldiers are supposed to follow their Rules of Engagement, which do vary. Standard rules for marines include this:

Level 4: Assaultive (Bodily Harm). The subject may physically attack, but does not use a weapon. Use defensive tactics to neutralize the threat. Defensive tactics include Blocks, Strikes, Kicks, Enhanced pain compliance procedures, Impact weapon blocks and blows.

With no disrespect to the soldiers, who are brave men that sometimes do gruesome things on our behalf, I'm sure they could have taken him alive had it been a command priority. It doesn't seem as though they wanted that, which I think is a great shame because he is far more powerful to the enemies of the US now than he would have been as a hateful old man rotting in a prison cell. They've missed a great opportunity - by not putting him on trial - to show Bin Laden to the world as the bitter & twisted mass murderer he was. Geoffrey Robertson sums it up pretty well I think.

...it was clearly a cold-blooded hit...

Robertson calls it a summary execution, which is very much what it looks like.

The way some people are celebrating it makes it very difficult to see the way in which they differ from those they profess such hatred toward. One of the big problems with ignoring your own laws when dealing with your enemies is that it disallows legitimate claim to any kind of moral high ground. Not that this minor issue seems to ever plague the seppos too much.

[pollen]

There is a lot of speculation that the primary special operations team involved was the (Name Classified) team formerly known as DEVGRU and before that, SEAL Team 6. The name keeps changing for security reasons but they are basically the best SEAL team

This (Name Classified) team is a Tier 1 US special operations unit (the other is Delta Force. Other SEAL teams are tier 2 special operations units) and are referred to as "Black operatives", i.e. their operations fall outside the scope of US and international law

If this speculation is correct, standard military rules of engagement do not apply - their orders likely came straight from the top as soulman describes above

And it's most probable that it was (Name Classified)/SEAL team 6 as this falls within their normal operational responsibilities (i.e. everything)

[Bally]

From a queenslander

It must be a hoax, everyone knows you can't take out a Bin on a public holiday

[Chilli]

No offense to anyone but I don't find any of this funny. Obama was a criminal on a grand scale AND so is America. Killing is killing. It can be justified for me but not for you mentallity !
What is all the "in God we trust" and "God bless America" and stuff the rest of the world. Bombing everything and everyone. Who made them the world police ?
I am sickened to my stomach over this entire story and quiet frankly dont even beleive it.
Who wants to see a photo of a dead Osama ? anyway with the little knowledge I have of photoshop and digital editing, imagine what they can do with a photo with all their fancy equipment.


I hope i am not asking to be banned, it was not my intention and i hope i have not offended my forum members.