[Alberta's Child]

Maybe — but if that were the case, then al-Qaeda could have been fabricating “failed capture/kill attempts” as recruiting tools for years, right?

[Tex-Con-Man]

Osama himself used the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) as a recruiting tool. The world press takes jihadists seriously when they end up with American helicopter parts or soldiers.

I'm just saying the decision had huge downsides, and was not an easy one to make.