I suppose that those who are not in agreement with Osama bin Laden being killed wanted him captured and interrogated, then put on trial, sentenced and jailed – whatever. Whether or not there was an opportunity to capture him alive is only known to those present and U.S. officials, but even if in fact he could have been captured, I believe that killing him was the right thing to do. One can only imagine all the baggage that having him in custody would have presented, and this country really didn’t need that. The decision to kill him was the correct one. That is of course, unless he’s been captured and taken to a secluded, high-security location for interrogation and subsequent assassination. Conspiracy theorists are probably making those assumptions. Personally, I believe the government is telling us the truth.
I heard on CNN that he was given an appropriate “sea burial,” in accordance with Muslim law. His body was presumably washed, then wrapped in a white cloth, Islamic prayers were said, then the body was placed on a flat surface and allowed to slide down into the ocean. That was very nice, and I can understand (for political reasons) why this was done. But in my view it was totally unnecessary. None of the people whose lives were taken from them on 911, or those in previous and subsequent terrorist acts in which Osama bin Laden had a hand were given any respect by this Muslim terrorist freak. He certainly was not deserving of any respect. And if Muslims would have had a problem with his captives simply dumping his body into the ocean from a helicopter or disposing of it in the most matter-of-fact way, then the hell with them. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States made the right decision to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to an online poll on www.reuters.com on Monday that also gives President Barack Obama a boost.
U.S. special forces killed bin Laden in Pakistan on Sunday, bringing a dramatic end to the long manhunt for the man who was the most powerful symbol of Islamist militancy.
Seventy-nine percent who participated in the poll said Washington made the right decision to kill bin Laden, compared with 14 percent who said no and 7 percent who were not sure.
But only 25 percent said they felt safer after the death of the al Qaeda leader, compared with 59 percent who said they did not.
Obama got a fair amount of credit for killing bin Laden, with 37 percent saying he deserved the most credit, while 13 percent said his Republican predecessor, President George W. Bush, should get the credit. Some 50 percent said neither should get credit for the raid.
A slim majority of respondents, or 51 percent, said bin Laden’s killing had not changed their perception of Obama’s leadership. But 29 percent said it made them feel more favorable to him and 13 percent said they now feel much more favorable. Seven percent said the killing made them feel less so.
Forty-three percent voted that Obama is handling the war on terrorism effectively, compared with 26 percent who said he was handling it ineffectively. Thirty-one percent said they were not sure.
The poll questions were each answered by some 1,200 to 1,300 U.S. and foreign readers of Reuters.com.
(Writing by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Philip Barbara)
