I thought of this immediately. Why no attempt to capture? Wouldn't justice be better served by having a proper trial?The U.S. special forces team that hunted down Osama bin Laden was under orders to kill the al Qaeda mastermind, not capture him, a U.S. national security official told Reuters.
"This was a kill operation," the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan.
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I admit I'm a little skeptical about this whole thing... However, where would a trial be held? Who would preside? How long would it have lasted? How much uproar would it have caused? How much political wrangling? After all, he was a Saudi, wasn't he? And, if convicted and sentenced to death, wouldn't that have made him a martyr for so many nuts out there?
ReplyDeleteThere are loads of others who will try to step up in his place. However, he had the funds to finance his madness, whereas others may not be willing to spend their money on such things...
No, this is probably better -- although it does seem rather un-American, doesn't it?
Oh, and have you read some of the comments from GWB? He makes it sound as though he had something to do with the operation, although I'm sure he had nothing to do with it!
I wasn't surprised by an assassination, which means that on some level I always knew the government would have this sort of mission in the wings.
ReplyDeleteWell, Classof65, after WWII we managed to have trials of heinous war criminals responsible for the murder of MILLIONS. These were the Nuremburg trials and they demonstrated to the world that we were a people of law and not rampaging revenge. Justice was served. Those found guilty were hanged and some (who had been arrested and imprisoned) were actually acquitted or received more lenient sentences.
ReplyDeleteAs it is, Bin Laden is a martyr already.
And, to my mind, the whole business is highly suspect. You know, in 2007, Benazir Bhutto claimed he had already been murdered. You can hear that on video right here.
I'm aware of the Nuremburg trials, but the situations are not quite the same. In WWII many countries were involved, not just the US. And the Germans and Italians were not likely to attempt to retaliate with suicide bombers...
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are still neo-Nazis who consider Hitler to be their "saint" and who act as though they would like to retaliate for his death.
The world is far different today than it was in the 40s. In many ways I think the 40s were better...
If I may make a fairly direct statement in regards to this:
ReplyDeleteDid the people in the hijacked planes get a trial? How about the people in the WTC and Pentagon?
They didn't get a trial. They were not treated in a just way. And the families and friends of those who perished remember that. I don't think it does well to lose sight of the people here, in NY and DC and PA, who died and left grieving people behind.