Capturing Bin Laden Carries Risks

Los Angeles Times ^ | March 7, 2003 | Richard A. Serrano

[sarcasm]

WASHINGTON -- In the war on terrorism there is no greater prize than Osama bin Laden. But the question nags: What would the United States do with him?

Thursday morning that quandary surfaced when rumors swept Washington that the Al Qaeda terrorist leader had been cornered in an area on the Afghan-Pakistani border, where U.S. and Pakistani forces are reportedly searching. The White House even called the CIA to check it out, only to be disappointed.

< SNIP >

"He might see himself more as a martyr before a military trial," Vagts said. "Al Jazeera could portray that as a kangaroo court. A lot of people suspect the U.S. military trial system, especially in Europe. So from a martyrdom standpoint, a closed-door trial on Guantanamo Bay would feed all sorts of suspicions."

[sarcasm]

A lot of people suspect the U.S. military trial system, especially in Europe.

Unprintable comment.

[Cindy]

"In the war on terrorism there is no greater prize than Osama bin Laden. But the question nags: What would the United States do with him?"

Our household doesn't find this nagging a question and anyone with a tiny bit of common sense doesn't find this a nagging question either.

[exnavy]

"what would the United States do with him"

I'll bet the citizens of the US can come up with some suggestions!

[ECM]

Who in the hell thinks this is a nagging question?

If we don't (literally) crucify him (with nails) and sew him up in pigskin after weeks and months of abject torture I'd be very, very upset.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Oh brother, I guess we should just let him go. I can't believe someone write this kind of crap with a straight face.

[The Great Satan]

In the war on terrorism there is no greater prize than Osama bin Laden.

Actually, no. There's a much bigger prize: the actual author of the 9-11 attack and every major attack on the US since the end of the Gulf War, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whom we just caught. Bin Laden's just an infomercial pitch man -- he couldn't organize his way out of a paper bag. Even if he is alive, which is unlikely, he was strictly a second-tier player before, and now he's not a player at all.

[donmeaker]

I think that a nice isolation chamber in antarctica would be very nice. Keep him there for about 2 years, and then reveal we had him as an october surprise.

if you saw the movie 7, about the 7 deadly sins, I figure that 4 or 5 of those examples would be good starts.

[AFPhys]

Somehow I don't think we're going to find ourselves with a dearth of choices if OBL somehow manages to reassemble from the bits and pieces at Tora Bora. It seems we would be more in the mode of a plethora of riches ... we could start a brand new thread asking for suggestions, and could probably get about a million new posters helping us out!

[fhayek]

Sloth. That's the one I would use. ;^}

[goldstategop]

This is the kind of anti-America garbage I've come to expect from the Los Angeles Slimes. Its fairly safe to say Bin Laden's dead but on the slim chance he turns up to have been alive all along I would think a couple of bullets and burying him in pigskin in an undisclosed grave high in the Himalayas should take care of any chance of him becoming a martyr to Islamonazis. I could give a rat's ass about the "quandary" the Slimes and its scum pals on the American Left and the Eurotrash think we would find ourselves in.

[MEG33]

I just want him dead..confirmed dead. This article is just another fuzzy filler. If we have to try him ,we try him.

[Dustoff45]

If we could quietly bring OBL into custody, and process him through the military tribunal system, so what if it was kept quiet. Those that were in league with OBL would know the truth and be all the more filled with the fear and awe of Liberty.

There is probably a wealth of intelligence that OBL's arrest/capture is a trigger for many terrorist events. Why throw gas on that fire.

[GalvestonBeachcomber]

Is the ACLU going international now?

[Non-Sequitur]

Simple answer. Instead of taking him alive just take him dead. Who cares if the rest of the world doubts that we got him, we'll know.

[openotherend]

I think a good perp walk in an orange jump suit might be just as demoralising to the radical fundamentalist world wide.

[Jim Noble]

>> But the question nags: What would the United States do with him? <<

Interrogate Zawhari and KSM.

Binny?

Kill him where he stands.

[DrCarl]

What would the United States do with him?

Let him keep his promise to die this year. Aid him in the fullfillment of this desire immediately upon capturing him.

Pretty straight forward.

[DugwayDuke]

The LATimes must have walls of vending machines to dispense "Depends" undergarments to their writing staff. They must wet their pants on a such a frequent basis over concerns about "what the world will think of the United States?" that they would not have time to write this material without a constant supply of "Depends". They seem to be far happier decrying how the United States has lost the "good will and sympathy of the world" over 9/11 than they are about an effective response to terrorism.

I say wring Osaama dry extracting all useable knowledged of terrorism, try him by military tribunal, and publically execute him. There should be no shortage of military personnel willing to perform these tasks. After hearing the President last night state his clear intention to do what is necessary to defend the United States, I have no doubt that this President will do just that despite any limp-wristed, panty wetting, liberal wailings such as this.

[NYFriend]

Give him Linix and see if he can take on Microsoft? Evil v. Evil, no holds barred.

[irish guard]

Oh I can just see the bed-wetting lefties already fretting. This is an easy job....photograph every interview. Let all the lefties see how gently we actually treat POWs...then to the horror of the lefties, when we are finished, let Rudy Guiliani ring in the New Year by tossing him off the top of the Empire State Building as the big ball drops on Times Square!