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Comment by lanceusa | Hacker News Reader

I'm going to offer a healthy bit of skepticism here but it frightens me the way this is being reported.

Specifically: "...justice has been done". American military and C.I.A. operatives had ...shot him to death.

Obama: "I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice."

Obama: "His demise should be welcome by all who believe in peace and human dignity."

Is that how we conduct justice now? I am not satisfied by this outcome. I would rather have had him in custody showing we hold the higher ground when it pertains to morality and justice. Its no surprise to me now that our morality and judgment is an illusion which I thought, ever since I was a kid, was what made America great. The fact that Obama plays off people's emotions in his speech to gain support for this outcome is purely disgusting.

And lastly, you believe this because the media and Obama says its so?

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> Is that how we conduct justice now? I am not satisfied by this outcome. I would rather have had him in custody showing we hold the higher ground when it pertains to morality and justice.

I'm confused as to what you're unhappy about and who you're blaming for this outcome. Some courageous soldiers attempted to get an elusive mass murderer and bring him to justice. During the attempt there was a firefight and he was killed in the exchange.

It is obvious that this outcome is upsetting for a lot of people, but not for the same reasons than yours. This man caused a lot of griefs to many families, not only in the U.S., but also throughout places in the world where Al Qaeda has stricken, (including Afghanistan). Some scars are still not completely healed.

Those words, "His demise should be welcome by all who believe in peace and human dignity", simply serve as solace for the fact that they were unable to take him alive.

Now, turning this into an Obama thing is your own prerogative. Was he taking credit/responsibility in the video? To some extent certainly, but I didn't perceived him trying to play with people's emotions.

     This man caused a lot of griefs to many families

A lot more people die each year from heart disease, and yet, what's the budget for health-care versus military?

Your government did a lot more damage to the US by the corrosion of your constitutional rights, actions received with cheers and applauds ; because 2000 people or so died in the 9-11 attack.

But every 34 seconds a person dies from heart-disease in the US. Do the math.

     Some scars are still not completely healed.

Oh, get over it -- I'm pretty sure the American soldiers that invaded Irak (based on bogus WMD stories) left a lot more scars.

I'm not American, I don't even live in the U.S. You have no idea where I'm writing this from, so please stop making assumptions.

The world is rather a complex place. People die every day from various causes on the planet. It still doesn't justifies people like you stepping on a pedestal to ask them to be philosophical about someone who wronged them, just because people die from heart attacks every day.

The present issue is Osama Bin Laden, not heart diseases or any of the other issues you're trying to bring to the table. If you like to open Pandora's boxes, we might as well just close the discussion.

The fact remains that Osama Bin Laden and what he represented were wrong for the world and now he's dead. Many of us who were not particularly affected by his actions think that they are particularly laudable for dictating to others how they should react. I don't know you, so I will refrain from painting a portrait of what I perceive you to be, based on your speech. I will just ask you to please be a bit less sanctimonious.

    Osama Bin Laden and what he represented were wrong 
    for the world and now he's dead

Truly I don't know you and where you are from, but from where I'm standing: Osama bin Laden is now a martyr, he's now more relevant than ever (post 9-11) and true justice was not served.

One way to crush the free will of people, taking away their rights, is to make them fear an invisible enemy. My parents saw it happen in my country; my grandparents saw it too.

So dance on the streets if you want, but tomorrow you'll realize nothing changed for your well-being, and in fact the "terror" continues, because people allowed it to happen.

Listen, Obama is just the messenger, fine. But please, know your history. America is no innocent player in this affair (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver).

Thirst for death only perpetuates further violence and hatred which will lead to more grieving families. I never implied to let the guy go but we should be maintaining the moral higher ground here.

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” -Gandi

Please, allow me to express the following opinion without reprise and then I am finished: He should have been taken alive at all costs. I think my kids would have been safer if we had.

> He should have been taken alive at all costs. I think my kids would have been safer if we had.

So, the choices for you were take him alive or just let him go?

Frankly, I don't know if you realize how that sound. You completely dismiss the fact that some people actually risked their lives to do this. This is not the scenario of a bad war movie we just sat back in our living room to watch and are now reviewing on imdb. This is reality, actual soldiers, with real guns and live ammunitions, no director, no camera.

What if you were the guy facing an armed Bin Laden, would it be so easy to reflect the way you do at the moment?

> So, the choices for you were take him alive or just let him go?

Did you see that fortress? Where exactly was he going to go?

It was an old crippled man within some 18 feet high cement walls, surrounded by 40 Navy SEALs. It would have been impossible to NOT apprehend him, unless he had a cyanide pill.

US wars since the last decade have killed close to a million people, most of them civilians. This just cannot be justifiable. Or are you suggesting that the live of an American is far more valuable than the live of an Arab?

Of course it is justifiable. The 9/11 attack was spectacular, something which a writer could imagine in fiction. That act stole peace from the world. The following invasion of Afghanistan had and still has almost unanimous support. It also was a direct response to 9/11. So one can say, it was Bin Laden who really killed those civilians both in America and Afghanistan.

Now Iraq maybe is another story.

Agree.

Rejoicing in the assassination of anyone, even such a criminal, seems crass.

All the congratulatory uproar strikes me as a little bit surreal.

Think what the sympathizers to OBL would do if they knew that he was in custody and still alive? Nothing breaks their will better than to kill him swiftly.

I share your feeling in terms of being circumspect about the claims of "justice" and cynical about our leaders' motives. But I have to think it's better that he wasn't taken alive. Can you imagine the media & political circus that would have resulted? And the mock trial we would have had for him? The last thing we need to do is parade him on TV for 3 months and give him worldwide martyrdom. American reactions are bad enough as it is.

Given knowledge of his whereabouts, the prosecution of a terrorist mastermind and financier was the only option, though I suppose whether it would be better to try and execute him or kill him in combat is debatable.

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