The SEALS has no idea what they were going to encounter inside that compound. Accomplishing the mission without losing a single member of the team is near incredible, and such a credit to those who put their lives on the line so we can debate what they should have or should not have done on that mission. Thing is, unlike criticizing an NBA coach (which is easy, since no regular poster on a forum will ever be an NBA coach), most every healthy US citizen has the option during their life to put on the uniform of the USA and serve their country. I never made the choice to do so, so I don't think it's wise of me to pretend that I know how a soldier should react in any situation, let alone while raiding OBL's secret compound.
My post had nothing to do with the soldiers, but rather with their commanders. I am simply of the opinion that the Administration (rightly) thought UBL was better dead than alive and gave the orders to end him. It makes me happy, because the mission was risky enough and having to take him alive would have put these operators at even more risk.
I agree. I guess I was posting to you, but also addressing those in the thread who seems to know better than the SEALs and their commanders.
Maxi, you are correct. There was statement on fox and cnn that this was indeed a mission not to capture. These guys were to go in and kill Osama, period. The last thing we wanted to do was to have some trial before the world stage. There would be far too many left wing libs crying for "fair treatment" too many Muslim brothers calling for him to be freed, protests etc.
The "We need to show the Muslim world how civilized that we are" line of attack on Bush had an expiration date of 1/20/09.
Your standard "I can't compete so this is my attempt to escape" line. Sometimes you also go with "I get your game" or "I know what you're trying to do." In the olden days of the Internet, people trying to escape when unable to defend their position would say things like "I don't have time for this, I have a life!"
No, it's trying to find the nuance and finer points of life that make our understanding that much greater, not "moral relativism run amok." What's the value of anything if we don't take it apart, put it back together and learn from it? Maybe you misread what I wrote, so I won't accuse you of putting words in my mouth. I said he represented difficult ideas that the Western world must come to terms with instead of just ignoring. And the fact that people are willing to follow his illegitimate methods is something worth exploring, wouldn't you think? What Minstrel said is pretty much what I was getting at.
Don't forget "agree to disagree!" Which to me means, "I have become physically tired from ignoring your arguments so I am going to get up and get a sandwich."
I don't know that this answer has been given yet (sorry if it has), but it brings up a big question for me All the talk of "torture", "illegal interrogation techniques", etc. doesn't really matter to me b/c I think it's legal to begin with. But that's not the point. For those who DO think things like (a) Gitmo shouldn't be around, (b) we should either try these people with our rights (like the right to plead the 5th, etc) (c) that no one should be subject to "advanced interrogation techniques"....if it's proven that any actionable intel came sole-source from this, does it change your mind at all about the legality/necessity/etc. of it? Why or why not?
I find very little legitimacy in international law. In my opinion, international law comes down to power. The capability to harm other countries and the will to do so. Even when there are signatories to an international accord, there has to be steel underneath the glove if one side defects. I don't BLAME countries and non-state actors from chafing under the existing world order, but I don't need to blame something to hope that it is crushed. Ed O.
He attacked America. He admitted it and proclaimed he would attack again. At that point he should be killed, not captured. I'm not a measured response kind of guy. Either run away or destroy the threat, depending on your capability or frame of mind. And fuck his "ideas". They are of no interest to me. Just another rich, spoiled brat that grew up to be an asshole with a god complex.
He attacked America. He admitted it and proclaimed he would attack again. At that point he should be killed, not captured. I'm not a measured response kind of guy. Either run away or destroy the threat, depending on your capability or frame of mind. And fuck his "ideas". They are of no interest to me. Just another rich, spoiled brat that grew up to be an asshole with a god complex.
How would we know, given that (according to some of you) we can't believe anything the government says? barfo
