Quote:
Originally Posted by funkychinaman
The news now is that OBL was unarmed, but "resisted." Part of me knows that we're safer with him dead and not an inviting target for some rescue mission, but another part of me wonders if could've gotten him alive and gotten more intel out of him if the SEALs had responded with a taser or rifle butt instead of a double-tap to the noggin.
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Think about it...
(1.) Bin Laden was chronically ill (which is why I personally had always believed he might be dead before now) and almost surely not physically capable of planning any day-to-day operations within the Al-Qaeda leadership or broader network. Even if he was physically able to continue his work, it would be too risky for other Al-Qaeda members to work with him due to his most-wanted status. His role in Al-Qaeda since Tora Bora has almost surely been as a symbol, not much more. Therefore, what useful intel could he provide that any of his subordinates could not?
(2.) His death has greater political significance than his capture ever could: Obama always said that we would leave Afghanistan when we were sure Al-Qaeda was destroyed and Bin Laden
killed. There was always an implication that when the latter happened, the former would be accomplished (obviously, this is not true in reality, but symbolically, such a claim has resonance in the U.S.). Obama obviously would prefer we left Afghanistan given that we're never going to defeat the Taliban and the war is a drain on our resources. Now that Bin Laden is dead, he can claim we "won" in Afghanistan.
(3.) If Bin Laden had been captured, what do you think Al-Qaeda would do to get him out? Obviously, there is still a (perfectly legitimate) fear that they'll retaliate for his death, but isn't it still preferable that we not have to be put in a position where we have to choose between releasing Bin Laden and sacrificing lives?
Sorry, but I think Obama made the right call this time. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit, but I would expect that he and his staff carefully considered the value of Bin Laden alive vs. Bin Laden dead before they made the decision. Besides, considering Obama's reputation, did you really expect him to greenlight this kind of operation? That's what's so beautiful about it - the most liberal President we've ever had has just authorized the killing (without due process) of the world's most evil terrorist. Obama may talk naive bullshit on foreign policy and terrorism, but Carter, he ain't. Good for him.