I don't think this was a "targeted assassination".I think they would have much rather had him alive.

[howard112211]

The Roman Empire would parade defeated barbarian leader through Rome in chains, and have them drop their weapons before the feet of the emperor. I would assume that many of the political establishment would have preferred a similar stunt with OBL, like what happened with Saddam.

[leftstreet]

1. Your Honor, the defense calls: Donald Rumsfeld. (I think not) n/t

[Vincardog]

10. And have all the pictures of aWoL holding hands with him coming our at trial?

[Uben]

2. The mission was to kill, not capture

...at least that's what I got out of it.

[robinlynne]

3. I frankly would not like to spend that moeny on a trial. rather spend it on food.

[rustydog]

4. when your target shoots at you, there is a "possibility" the target

will be killed in the exchange of gunfire.
You may want to take him alive, but on his turf, in a heavily fortified compound, in an area protected by elite Pakistani military, the reality is the target could have been and was in fact, killed in the fire-fight.

[Avalux]

5. Dead as a doornail, not captured.

I feel as if he had too much information detrimental to the US. And if I may don my tin-foil hat, it's not too unreasonable that he may have been on the CIA's payroll at one time.

[GreenStormCloud]

6. He was given a chance to surrender. N/T

[hlthe2b]

7. I don't really... I do believe they would have captured alive if possible..

But, I think they are secretly sighing a sigh of relief that he came out of this dead. After all the BS they have had to take from the RW about trying the others involved in 911 and all the hysteria that doing so on American soil would unleash a violent backlash (of "biblical proportions"), he would very likely have languished with the others at Gitmo. Killing him in a firefight lessons the opportunities for his followers to create a martyr. Executing him, on the other hand, would likely be the ticket they need to foment more hate and potentially recruit more misguided followers.

[Poboy]

8. Too many diabolical secrets would come out. He had to 'die'.

[coalition_unwilling]

9. Here's a piece you should read from Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-kill-idUSTRE7413H220110502

It was an extra-judicial assassination. Sets a very bad precdent, imho.

[Ganja Ninja]

11. I prefer having him dead.

No more questions, accusations, debates about how to try him or trial. No statements from the accused or publicity of any kind. Just dead. The end.

[RandySF]

12. Nope

The order was to kill him. I would have preferred to capture him, drag him back, try his ass and then fry him. But it wasn't my call.

[truedelphi]

13. They could not have targeted him and brought him in alive.

Osama has been dead since 2007.

Google YouTube + "David Frost" + Bhutto and listen to her talk about the death of Osama bin Laden, way back in 2007.

[damntexdem]

14. True, then it would have been more fun burying him at sea.

;-)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. This is cheaper and less disruptive

We would not have paraded him in chains. He would have been secreted in, like Noriega.

We turned Saddam over to Iraqis, for a Trial by Shiite. The Sunni Saddam's fate was locked in.

:hi: