# bin Laden is dead? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436 "2011-05-02T02:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/101 "2011-05-02T12:54:27Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > One shot to the head? That’s up close and personal. Navy seals get it done! That’s the story? That he was shot one with one bullet in the head? Weird. This story’s got more holes than his body. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/102 "2011-05-02T13:11:37Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > No, I agree with you. I mean, good riddance and all, but I’m not about to go shoot fireworks. > > Seeing photos of a big, cheering, U.S. mob just seems wrong. I hate when I see other countries do it, and I sure don’t want us to do it. Just want to third this. Yes, a rabid dog needs to be put down and I applaud the people who accomplished that difficult task. But images of mobs cheering over someone’s death isn’t pretty when other countries do it. Americans should set the example we want the rest of the world to follow. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/103 "2011-05-02T13:30:07Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Just want to third this. Yes, a rabid dog needs to be put down and I applaud the people who accomplished that difficult task. But images of mobs cheering over someone’s death isn’t pretty when other countries do it. Americans should set the example we want the rest of the world to follow. And a fourth. And **Michael Ellis** , wishing a poster would kill himself simply because he declines to echo your jingoistic sentiments? Just slightly overe the top, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/104 "2011-05-02T13:36:22Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > That’s the story? That he was shot one with one bullet in the head? Weird. This story’s got more holes than his body. No, it was a double tap. He was on the second floor of the building, the SEALs burst in and told him to surrender, and “he didn’t”. I don’t know if that means he picked up a gun and started shooting back, or what, but they shot him in the head and then once more point blank to make sure. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/105 "2011-05-02T13:37:11Z")
I’m also uncomfortable with the celebrations. To me, it trivializes the accomplishment. I’m glad they got him, I’m thankful to the people who found him and went in there and killed him, I think the world is a better place without Bin Laden. It’s not a football game, though. Showing the same level of glee that we’d normally reserve for a good win at the Olympics seems off the mark. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/106 "2011-05-02T13:46:03Z")
The people outside the White House were mostly drunk college kids, so they’d probably have been just as happy to celebrate anything. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/107 "2011-05-02T13:53:20Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > And a fourth. > > And **Michael Ellis** , wishing a poster would kill himself simply because he declines to echo your jingoistic sentiments? Just slightly overe the top, don’t you think? Angry, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/108 "2011-05-02T13:56:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No, it was a double tap. He was on the second floor of the building, the SEALs burst in and told him to surrender, and “he didn’t”. I don’t know if that means he picked up a gun and started shooting back, or what, but they shot him in the head and then once more point blank to make sure. This story has the smell of bullshit all over. Considering how a totally hollow claim like his Kenyan/Atlantean birth is still running, the Obama administration has some serious work to do here to clear it, cause it really smells fishy. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/109 "2011-05-02T14:09:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No, no, use a skull. A guy named **Regallag\_The\_Axe** just _has_ to drink to the death of his enemies out of a skull. 😃 Now all we need to make it complete is to hear the lamentations of his women. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/110 "2011-05-02T14:13:47Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Angry, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. Dang, now you tell me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/111 "2011-05-02T14:18:28Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > This story has the smell of bullshit all over. Considering how a totally hollow claim like his Kenyan/Atlantean birth is still running, the Obama administration has some serious work to do here to clear it, cause it really smells fishy. Sit back for a second. Do you _really_ think the White House would fake bin Laden’s death? A new audio tape from him would all but assure the election of whoever the GOP nominates in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/112 "2011-05-02T14:20:45Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I’m also uncomfortable with the celebrations. To me, it trivializes the accomplishment. I’m glad they got him, I’m thankful to the people who found him and went in there and killed him, I think the world is a better place without Bin Laden. It’s not a football game, though. Showing the same level of glee that we’d normally reserve for a good win at the Olympics seems off the mark. It is this sort of attitude that smacks of some sort of northern European/Western cultural self perceived superiority. There is no need to ration our glee. Quit being so uptight. I can remember when rock’n’roll was the music of the devil. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/113 "2011-05-02T14:20:54Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No, it was a double tap. He was on the second floor of the building, the SEALs burst in and told him to surrender, and “he didn’t”. I don’t know if that means he picked up a gun and started shooting back, or what, but they shot him in the head and then once more point blank to make sure. That “building” in Pakistan, positioned where it is in Pakistan, is what gets me. In US terms, Bin Laden was living in the lap of luxury on a Chevy Chase estate, going to Walter Reed weekly & waving to Annapolis Cadets for years. Years! Pakistan: the country GWB armed to the teeth & funneled huge amounts of $ into. Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/114 "2011-05-02T14:21:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > …A new audio tape from him would all but assure the election of whoever the GOP nominates in 2012. Somewhere there’s an impersonator and a GOP recording engineer working on this. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/115 "2011-05-02T14:24:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sit back for a second. Do you _really_ think the White House would fake bin Laden’s death? A new audio tape from him would all but assure the election of whoever the GOP nominates in 2012. Well, my extensive contacts in intelligence are saying the whole “shot in the eye by Navy SEALS” thing is indeed a red herring. It was actually ninjas, and a well-placed throwing star. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/116 "2011-05-02T14:26:56Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Somewhere there’s an impersonator and a GOP recording engineer working on this. They’d have to. Right now the GOP Presidential Campaign hopes are folding faster than Frank Langella’s in “[Dave](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106673/)”. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/117 "2011-05-02T14:29:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sit back for a second. Do you _really_ think the White House would fake bin Laden’s death? A new audio tape from him would all but assure the election of whoever the GOP nominates in 2012. I doubt that the White House would be foolish enough to do that. But this is the country where a non negligible part of the pop thinks, or rather pretends thinking, that their Prez isnt a proper citizen. So, if you are about to deliver the news that you offed your Public Enemy number one, try not to make it look as though it is bogus. The details leaked so far sound fishy. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/118 "2011-05-02T14:32:13Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I doubt that the White House would be foolish enough to do that. But this is the country where a non negligible part of the pop thinks, or rather pretends thinking, that their Prez isnt a proper citizen. So, if you are about to deliver the news that you offed your Public Enemy number one, try not to make it look as though it is bogus. > > The details leaked so far sound fishy. So what are they supposed to do if a story is true but sounds improbable (to some ears at least)? Make up an untrue but more probable cover story? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/119 "2011-05-02T14:32:56Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > In US terms, Bin Laden was living in the lap of luxury on a Chevy Chase estate, I figured he was living in a mansion just outside Dallas/Ft. Worth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436/120 "2011-05-02T14:42:13Z")
I understand the celebrations because I know a lot of people were a lot closer to the tragedy than I was. However, my first reaction was not joy, but rather a simple acknowledgment that an evil man was put to death, and the satisfaction that comes with knowing that he deserved his end. (I had the same reaction when Ted Bundy was executed. It was deserved, but I didn’t exactly whoop in joy.) What joy I MIGHT have felt was tempered by the sober reality that this thing isn’t over. America is still at odds with the Middle East, and we are engaging in a dangerous game of one-upmanship. They up the ante, we up the ante, and the monkey chases the weasel. Meanwhile, peace eludes all of us. And that is a tragedy for all of us. I’m similarly sobered by the partisan reactions to the news that should have unified us, at least briefly. But, no, we can’t even come together to discuss the death of our COMMON enemy without some asshole bringing up the next Presidential election. Can we not tear the “Ds” and “Rs” stamped on our foreheads for one moment of solidarity? This blind partisanship that has divided the world and my country is rearing its ugly head yet again. And I find it all terribly depressing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-is-dead/580436.md?page=7)