All the new details of UBL's death....

[myboynoah]

Of course. But these details were not important at all. Brennan had no reason to state that he cowered behind a woman shield.

Even worse, did he call that place "lavish?" That guy is a one-man hyperbole machine.

[happyone]

Of course. But these details were not important at all. Brennan had no reason to state that he cowered behind a woman shield.

agreed

In general people need to keep their mouths shut until all the information is in and the debriefs are done. I don't care how many reporters are clamouring for details. I simple I don't have that information would suffice to answer their questions.

[Surfah]

agreed

In general people need to keep their mouths shut until all the information is in and the debriefs are done. I don't care how many reporters are clamouring for details. I simple I don't have that information would suffice to answer their questions.

Exactly.

[myboynoah]

I just got to believe they went in there with the intent to kill him. I guess they can't say that, but I bet there is a presidential finding to that effect. Him being dead is the easiest and smoothest outcome. Did we really want to capture him? Where would be put him? Guantanamo? Would we really have put him on trial? Killing him was the only realistic outcome. They already knew how they were going to dispose of the body.

I think a lot of the second guessing, particularly from the right (and I wish they would stop), comes from the certainty that had this happened under Bush's watch, Obama himself would have been the first to raise these same questions and to condemn the very same approach.

Good on you, Obama. The view is very different from the chair.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Of course. But these details were not important at all. Brennan had no reason to state that he cowered behind a woman shield.

I disagree. This statement served a psychological purpose. Making him look like a coward will go a long way toward eliminating him as a martyr from the jihadi psyche. They tend to bet on the strong horse, and if he looks like a whiny little punk they will think twice about revering his memory.

If it comes out that he sent his family out of the room, sat up, and put a pillow over his face a la the old man in Godfather 3, then we are going to look like marauding savages.

[Surfah]

I just got to believe they went in there with the intent to kill him. I guess they can't say that, but I bet there is a presidential finding to that effect. Him being dead is the easiest and smoothest outcome. Did we really want to capture him? Where would be put him? Guantanamo? Would we really have put him on trial? Killing him was the only realistic outcome. They already knew how they were going to dispose of the body.

I think a lot of the second guessing, particularly from the right (and I wish they would stop), comes from the certainty that had this happened under Bush's watch, Obama himself would have been the first to raise these same questions and to condemn the very same approach.

Good on you, Obama. The view is very different from the chair.

I agree with everything you said.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Good on you, Obama. The view is very different from the chair.

Agreed. It is funny how that happens.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I just got to believe they went in there with the intent to kill him. I guess they can't say that, but I bet there is a presidential finding to that effect. Him being dead is the easiest and smoothest outcome. Did we really want to capture him? Where would be put him? Guantanamo? Would we really have put him on trial? Killing him was the only realistic outcome. They already knew how they were going to dispose of the body.

I think a lot of the second guessing, particularly from the right (and I wish they would stop), comes from the certainty that had this happened under Bush's watch, Obama himself would have been the first to raise these same questions and to condemn the very same approach.

Good on you, Obama. The view is very different from the chair.

Exactly. I can't believe this is even an item of debate in the media.

[Indy Coug]

They went in purely so they could have definitive proof that he was dead. There was no thought of capture. The media seems to either have the idea that the US might have taken him alive if things had gone perfectly or that they SHOULD have taken him alive with all this handwringing about the details of his demise.

[Green Monstah]

All the hand wringing over whether or not he resisted etc... is interesting. You don't hear much of that talk when we light up a house with a predator drone strike and kill 12 including women and children. Seems to me this type of strike actually preserved a few lives.

Very good point.

[pellegrino]

Exactly. I can't believe this is even an item of debate in the media.

they'll beat this horse well after it dies. PETA should prepare a lawsuit for animal cruelty, because anything related to OBL's death will be THE story all summer.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I just got to believe they went in there with the intent to kill him. I guess they can't say that, but I bet there is a presidential finding to that effect. Him being dead is the easiest and smoothest outcome. Did we really want to capture him? Where would be put him? Guantanamo? Would we really have put him on trial? Killing him was the only realistic outcome. They already knew how they were going to dispose of the body.

I think a lot of the second guessing, particularly from the right (and I wish they would stop), comes from the certainty that had this happened under Bush's watch, Obama himself would have been the first to raise these same questions and to condemn the very same approach.

Good on you, Obama. The view is very different from the chair.

Just imagine if we did bring him back alive. Everyone across the political spectrum would have wanted to draw and quarter him after he was placed on the rack. College campuses across the country have been wringing their hands for years over the treatment of a poor ol KSM and all of that would have been forgotten once the true target of our vengeance was found.

[myboynoah]

They went in purely so they could have definitive proof that he was dead. There was no thought of capture. The media seems to either have the idea that the US might have taken him alive if things had gone perfectly or that they SHOULD have taken him alive with all this handwringing about the details of his demise.

Excellent point. They wanted to make sure he was dead and a bomb or even a missle from a predator was going to make it very difficult to do that. Shooting him, carrying out his 6'7" body and taking a DNA sample was probably the only way to get this done.

Do you think they really did the Islamic burial rites? C'mon, really? On the Carl Vinson? I'd hope to think they wrote rude comments on his forehead before they zipped the weighted bag shut. Something like, "Pork, the other white meat."

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Excellent point. They wanted to make sure he was dead and a bomb or even a missle from a predator was going to make it very difficult to do that. Shooting him, carrying out his 6'7" body and taking a DNA sample was probably the only way to get this done.

Do you think they really did the Islamic burial rites? C'mon, really? On the Carl Vinson? I'd hope to think they wrote rude comments on his forehead before they zipped the weighted bag shut. Something like, "Pork, the other white meat."

Sounds like he didn't have a forehead anymore.

[scottie]

What's yall's opinion on whether death photos should be released? I think they should, with the open head wound portion of it blurred out so it isn't as gruesome maybe.