# Obama announcing death of Osama bin Laden \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435 "2011-05-02T02:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/461 "2011-05-04T06:11:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Do we know yet why actor/muscleman The Rock seemed to know about the raid sooner than anyone else outside of the White House or Langley? Presumably, Chuck Norris told him. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/462 "2011-05-04T06:42:28Z")
The worst thing about being on SEAL Team 6 is that you can’t tell anybody you’re on SEAL Team 6. That’s got to be a special kind of torture. The guy who got the kill shot on bin Laden must be dying to brag about it, but never can. At least his team will know, and maybe his name will be whispered among SEALs in general. The hell of it is ios that even if he told people, they’d think he was full of shit. “I was on SEAL Team 6. I’m the one who shot bin Laden.” “Yeah, right.” :rolleyes: “No, seriously. I really did kill bin Laden. It was me.” “Uh huh.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/463 "2011-05-04T07:32:23Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Even if you loathe her position on domestic politics, everyone of every political stripe should really watch the first segment of Rachael Maddow’s show this evening. She lays out the case against Pakistan, digging up some really obscure but powerful information to support it. Link: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#42869391](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#42869391) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/464 "2011-05-04T09:59:43Z")
> [@Thalion](#): > > That’s very wise. I’m also glad to hear that they are treating his body with reasonable respect and in accordance with Islamic tradition. Anything else would only make things worse (no matter how tempting the alternatives may be). Unfortunately a burial at sea isn’t in accordance with Islamic rites. Sea burial is only allowed in very specific circumstances, which Osama’s death doesn’t meet. Do I think it’s the best viable solution? Most likely. But it will and has caused anger. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/465 "2011-05-04T10:11:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I think whether this burial is going to be considered appropriate by moderate Muslims will be one of the more interesting questions to be answered over the next few days. I do not live in the US. I live in a country that neighbours a Muslem majority country. One of my muslem friends has already posted on his facebook that were the Prophet to still be alive he would not take Osama as amongst his followers. Of course the same person is still annoyed at the “jubilation” shown in the US over the death of a monster of its own creation. One of the comments there shows a lot of anger along the lines of the US spitting on Islam by the burial. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/466 "2011-05-04T13:09:52Z")
A _Time_ photo collection on the White House Sit Room over the years: [http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2069435,00.html?xid=rss-photoessays&utm\_source=feedburner&utm\_medium=feed&utm\_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fphotoessays+(TIME%3A+Top+Photoessays)](http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2069435,00.html?xid=rss-photoessays&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fphotoessays+%28TIME%3A+Top+Photoessays%29) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/467 "2011-05-05T01:34:37Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The worst thing about being on SEAL Team 6 is that you can’t tell anybody you’re on SEAL Team 6. That’s got to be a special kind of torture. The guy who got the kill shot on bin Laden must be dying to brag about it, but never can. At least his team will know, and maybe his name will be whispered among SEALs in general. The hell of it is ios that even if he told people, they’d think he was full of shit. > > “I was on SEAL Team 6. I’m the one who shot bin Laden.” > “Yeah, right.” :rolleyes: > “No, seriously. I really did kill bin Laden. It was me.” > “Uh huh.” I’m not so sure. I look at these guys like they’re Jack Bauer clones. Duty is probably so ingrained into them that the urge to brag about even this would probably never occur. The only ones they’d want to impress anyway already know about it; no one else matters. You can find bin Laden T-shirts for sale here, particularly in and around the Little Arabia section on lower Sukhumvit Road. The Thais sell them knowing he’s a terrorist, but they often simply do not understand how offensive he is to Westerners. Many West and South Asian tourists buy them, that’s all they know. I wonder if the shooter would like one as a souvenir. > [@bengangmo](#): > > Unfortunately a burial at sea isn’t in accordance with Islamic rites. > > Sea burial is only allowed in very specific circumstances, which Osama’s death doesn’t meet. > > Do I think it’s the best viable solution? Most likely. > > But it will and has caused anger. The Thais seem to be confused about this whole burial-at-sea business. Several have asked me about it with quizzical looks on their faces. I’m not sure what their own navy does, although it probably hasn’t seen much battle action since that time in the 1950s when their ships started shooting at each other. But the typical conversation the past couple of days has gone someting like: “What on earth is this burial at sea?” Me: “It’s a naval tradition. It’s usually done ceremoniously, but hopefully in this case they just did the two-man toss overboard.” Then they slink away slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/468 "2011-05-05T01:52:05Z")
Is there still a live link to the Rachel Maddow video? ---
**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 5, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/469 "2011-05-05T01:57:22Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Is there still a live link to the Rachel Maddow video? Are you posting to the right thread? There has not been any reference to Maddow here. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/470 "2011-05-05T01:59:49Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Is there still a live link to the Rachel Maddow video? Yes. [**Big T** posted it above.](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13760651&postcount=463) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/471 "2011-05-05T02:35:31Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Are you posting to the right thread? There has not been any reference to Maddow here. Read the thread first. It has been referenced. 😉 ---
**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 5, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/472 "2011-05-05T02:38:42Z")
Well, I did search all 3 pages for the word “maddow” and had no hits… Eh, maybe I typoed the name. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/473 "2011-05-05T02:53:49Z")
> [@gardentraveler](#): > > Yes. [**Big T** posted it above.](http://boardstest.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13760651&postcount=463) Huh. Chrome returned an empty page. Works OK with Opera, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/474 "2011-05-05T02:57:08Z")
Warning: Gruesome photos of the victims and shooting. Not Bin Laden, though. [Dead bodies and so forth.](http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/bin.laden.compound/index.html?hpt=T1) ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/475 "2011-05-05T05:11:44Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The worst thing about being on SEAL Team 6 is that you can’t tell anybody you’re on SEAL Team 6. That’s got to be a special kind of torture. The guy who got the kill shot on bin Laden must be dying to brag about it, but never can. At least his team will know, and maybe his name will be whispered among SEALs in general. The hell of it is ios that even if he told people, they’d think he was full of shit. > > “I was on SEAL Team 6. I’m the one who shot bin Laden.” > “Yeah, right.” :rolleyes: > “No, seriously. I really did kill bin Laden. It was me.” > “Uh huh.” From what I understand from the couple of SEALs I have met, and from one news report interviewing a former SEAL, his name will not be released, but everyone in the Special Ops community (Delta Force, SEALs, etc.) will know who it was. There are only about 200 members of SEAL Team 6 (Which of course, does not exist. ;)), only a small percentage of them went on the mission, and all of the ones assigned to perimeter guard or suppressing the ground floors know who went upstairs. Plus, they do second by second debriefs, and the missions are reviewed by everyone, so they can learn from what did and didn’t go right. The guy will not be able to go into a bar and pick up a girl with that line, but he will be known to his peers and will probably never buy a beer again. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/476 "2011-05-05T05:31:19Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > The guy will not be able to go into a bar and pick up a girl with that line, but he will be known to his peers and will probably never buy a beer again. Why? It’s not like Bin Laden was holding off the entire SEAL team with his mad ninja skills. Why would they care who took the shot? Seems like the whole team would be honored, but nothing special about the one guy who did what was probably the simplest part of the whole mission. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/477 "2011-05-05T05:59:51Z")
Sure, any of them could have done it, but who gets remembered and feted the most, the defensive linemen that stopped the last drive for all 4 downs, or the kicker that hit the 40 yard field goal for the 1 point win? In a close knit community of highly skilled, highly competitive people, the ones that get to finish the job get remembered. They will all know they could have done it, but that guy did, so he deserves recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/478 "2011-05-05T17:17:29Z")
Our top story tonight… Osama Bin Laden still dead! Anyone else expecting to hear this on the news every night? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/479 "2011-05-05T17:32:24Z")
Why not? We heard about Generalissimo Francisco Franco from a news-anchory person for at least a year. (pst, he’s still dead.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435/480 "2011-05-06T03:02:59Z")
Ebert tweeted today: Bin Laden was not armed when he was killed. Neither was anyone in the World Trade Center. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-announcing-death-of-osama-bin-laden-edited-title/580435.md?page=25)