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austinrealtor wrote:One of the best counter-arguments I've read to the specious claim that killing bin Laden was somehow a violation of international law ...

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2011/ ... n-20110516" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No soldier had a duty to take the slightest risk to his own life because Osama bin Laden promised to be good from now on.

If Bin Laden wanted to surrender, he could and should have done it sometime in the last decade. He could not do it by raising his hands during an attack on his compound.

It is pure foolishness to suggest that by going in on the ground, the U.S. turned its soldiers into policemen required to give Bin Laden "due process," place him "under arrest" and read him his Miranda rights.

Surrender isn't a human right. It's a privilege of lawful combat. Terrorists ... forfeit the special rights earned by lawful combatants, including the right to stop the shooting by raising one's hands in purported surrender.

Men who make war on innocent civilians and behead their prisoners live by a different law. They should expect to die by it as well.

AR,

In general I've agreed with most of the posts of yours I've read. And while I agree that there's a difference between a soldier and a police officer, the POV of the quotes you've posted don't sit well with me.
I think OBL should have died a long time ago. But the whole kill order thing sits wrong with me. While I agree that he had forfeited any rights he might have had, I think that we should have held ourselves to a higher standard. I've got no problem with the fact that he died, and that it was one of ours that killed him. And if he wouldn't have come along without a struggle, that's OK. But I would have much rather seen him put on trial in NYC. A trial is as much about the victim as it is the criminal. I think we deserved our day in court, and I think that it was "Cleaner" for some that are higher up to not have that happen.

I'll wave the flag with the best of them. I love my country, and I love my wife. I'm just not happy with everything either one does. I won't be leaving either one of them any time soon. But this action just sat wrong with me. Not because of OBL, but because I think we lowered the bar for ourselves in doing what we did. I may be naive, but I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror and look my children in the eyes and tell them I did what I felt was right and for the right reasons. If I had ordered an execution without the benefit of a trial... I don't think I could do that. Even my 13 YO told me when the news was in full swing that it sounded more like vengeance to him than justice. I told him that sometimes they can be the same thing, but celebrating a man's death was never right. And we left it at that.