Am I The Only One Who Thinks Killing Osama Wasn't The Right Thing To Do

[The Neo Nerd]

Am I?

Is snuffing the flame that burns in any individual EVER a good thing?

I know he is a terrible person who has committed or atleast planned horrible atrocities and he sure as hell deserves to be punished for his crimes against humanity. But he can't be punished now, he cant be made to suffer for his crimes, he can't be tortured (which he richly deserves) and no information can be extracted from him.

I guess as an atheist i personally see this life as IT and there's nothing more. To end a life seems like such a waste.

Perhaps living in Australia i am far enough removed from the atrocities that i have no feelings either way.

I don't know, what do the rest of you think?

-Q

 

[Gharib]

Am I?

depends, did they really kill him?

Is snuffing the flame that burns in any individual EVER a good thing?

in general killing those who are proven to deserve it is not a bad thing.

I know he is a terrible person who has committed or atleast planned horrible atrocities and he sure as hell deserves to be punished for his crimes against humanity.

do you have any evidence of his crimes against humanity?

But he can't be punished now, he cant be made to suffer for his crimes, he can't be tortured (which he richly deserves) and no information can be extracted from him.

no one should be killed for defending their land and their people from invading terrorist who kill innocent people.

I guess as an atheist i personally see this life as IT and there's nothing more. To end a life seems like such a waste.

i as a muslim believe otherwise about this life being as IT

 

[Kilgore Trout]

When you reduce it to the question of whether killing a murderous sociopath is better than protecting people by ending his existence, the answer becomes clear.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

do you have any evidence of his crimes against humanity?

You don't accept admission of guilt? I believe Osama voiced over and over his part in killing civilians in the twin towers etc...

 

[Revoltingest]

Is snuffing the flame that burns in any individual EVER a good thing?

It seems that there are 2 kinds of people in this world....
1) Those willing to go to war & kill in order to avoid being killed or conquered
2) Those who don't believe in violence, even in self defense
I like the first option. There are those who would do us harm, & their death to avoid ours is a good trade.
As for the pacifists, I don't condemn them as "wrong", but I find their philosophy rather dysfunctional...
...they survive only because others are able to defend them.
For the moment, let's ignore the fact that some wars & acts & morally murky. Killing Usama could even
worsen things. But ultimately, if a country commits to defending itself against attack, then some foes
will die. I'm OK with that.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

For the moment, let's ignore the fact that some wars & acts & morally murky. Killing Usama could even
worsen things. But ultimately, if a country commits to defending itself against attack, then some foes
will die. I'm OK with that.

The harsh reality of the world is lost on many people. Especially, when the results of this harsh reality impinge on their agenda.

 

[The Neo Nerd]

When you reduce it to the question of whether killing a murderous sociopath is better than protecting people by ending his existence, the answer becomes clear.

Burying him in a dark dank basement never to see the light of day will protect people as well.

I guess this echoes the sentiments i expressed in my discussion with Pegg on god killing all those people.

When there are alternatives i believe that killing someone is the wrong thing to do.

I'm sure you could come up with some great exceptions, but in this case there were alternatives.

-Q

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Burying him in a dark dank basement never to see the light of day will protect people as well.

I guess this echoes the sentiments i expressed in my discussion with Pegg on god killing all those people.

When there are alternatives i believe that killing someone is the wrong thing to do.

I'm sure you could come up with some great exceptions, but in this case there were alternatives.

-Q

Killing a symbol can often be more effective than the actual act of killing the person themself.

 

[Dezzie]

I kind of feel the same way Quaxotic. When I found out he was killed, I didn't really react to it at first. Throughout the day, I became a little bit more upset. People were celebrating his death all over the place. People on the radio were all happy about it and what-not. I walked by someone's car and they had the daily paper, with Osama's face on it, with the headline DEAD, in their windshield. I understand people can celebrate any way they want but... I don't know. It's a bit much in my opinion. No one's death should be celebrated like that. I am sure I would feel differently if I lost a family member on 9/11, but I didn't. I am sorry for those who did. It's absolutely horrible, but when we celebrate this man's death, we are on his level in my opinion.

 

[Magic Man]

Am I?

Is snuffing the flame that burns in any individual EVER a good thing?

I know he is a terrible person who has committed or atleast planned horrible atrocities and he sure as hell deserves to be punished for his crimes against humanity. But he can't be punished now, he cant be made to suffer for his crimes, he can't be tortured (which he richly deserves) and no information can be extracted from him.

I guess as an atheist i personally see this life as IT and there's nothing more. To end a life seems like such a waste.

Perhaps living in Australia i am far enough removed from the atrocities that i have no feelings either way.

I don't know, what do the rest of you think?

-Q

I'm not against killing certain people. It can be the best way to go. I am not celebrating his death like some people are, but I think it was a good outcome in this situation.

My question to you is why you think we shouldn't kill someone no matter how bad they are, but we should torture the hell out of them. That seems to conflict to me. Why do you think it's OK to make someone suffer a lot but not to kill them?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I'm not against killing certain people. It can be the best way to go. I am not celebrating his death like some people are, but I think it was a good outcome in this situation.

My question to you is why you think we shouldn't kill someone no matter how bad they are, but we should torture the hell out of them. That seems to conflict to me. Why do you think it's OK to make someone suffer a lot but not to kill them?

I think that you misread the post.

 

[Magic Man]

I think that you misread the post.

Really? What did he mean by the parts in bold then?

I know he is a terrible person who has committed or atleast planned horrible atrocities and he sure as hell deserves to be punished for his crimes against humanity. But he can't be punished now, he cant be made to suffer for his crimes, he can't be tortured (which he richly deserves) and no information can be extracted from him.

-Q

 

[Marble]

You don't accept admission of guilt? I believe Osama voiced over and over his part in killing civilians in the twin towers etc...

Question is which of the Osma videos are true and which fabricated...

I would have prefered to see him before the court, but I do not think anybody wanted that.
He would have been able to tell many interesting things about the Bush clan and their connection with the Bin Laden family.
Remember when after 9/11 members of the Bin Laden family were allowed to leave the USA without the FBI getting a chance to question them?

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Really? What did he mean by the parts in bold then?

He said that he can't be tortured, but he deserves it.

That's a huge difference from saying that he should.

 

[Reptillian]

I agree that a fair trial before a jury of his peers would have been preferable to executing him while unarmed in front of his family. I think most people tend to conflate revenge and justice. Sure he wasn't a nice guy, but I'm against the idea of justice being served by police barging into the homes of accused criminals and shooting them instead of arresting them. I wonder whether it was necessary to shoot him...I'm guessing they had the opportunity to take him alive, but instead chose to execute him on the spot. I find that worrysome.

 

[sandandfoam]

I am against killing people, even those I consider vile.
Even allowing that I am against killing I think that when a state is going to take someones life it should follow a trial.
Civilized societies don't shoot unarmed people in their bedrooms without a trial and dump their body in the ocean. No matter how heinous their crimes.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I am against killing people, even those I consider vile.

Even allowing that I am against killing I think that when a state is going to take someones life it should follow a trial.

Civilized societies don't shoot unarmed people in their bedrooms without a trial and dump their body in the ocean. No matter how heinous their crimes.

Yeah they do.

 

[beenie]

i have so many mixed emotions on this one.
it's unfortunate we'll never know exactly how this all went down (was he armed and resisting? was he shooting as well? did he use his wife as a shield?) sure, we'll hear a "report", but we'll never know for sure, and that's what disturbs me.

celebrating his death in the same fashion that those groups of Muslims allegedly celebrated the Towers...well, that bothers me a bit too.

all in all, a trial would have been the best solution, but it would depend on a confirmed report as to what happened to even consider it as a possibility.

 

[Magic Man]

He said that he can't be tortured, but he deserves it.

That's a huge difference from saying that he should.

Oh, I see. No, unless I'm mistaken, what he said was that now that he's dead, he can't be tortured. The implication is that we should have kept him alive so that he could be tortured like he deserves. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean "We shouldn't torture him, even though he deserves to be". If he did, then ignore my original question.

 

[esmith]

Could he have been taken alive? There are only a few people that know the answer to that and they will not answer that question until many years in the future. As far as I am concerned, a double tap and let God sort it out works for me.