# Osama bin Laden is Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437 "2011-05-02T02:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**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, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/201 "2011-05-02T17:23:30Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > If I had the say, I would have constructed a Gay Christian Wedding Chapel on his grave. Gay _Jewish_ Wedding Chapel. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/202 "2011-05-02T17:24:55Z")
Found his house on Google Earth: 34 10’ 09.36 N 73 14’ 33.29 E I’m not impressed, a million dollars doesn’t go very far I guess. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/203 "2011-05-02T17:31:36Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > The buried at sea thing seems strange to me. Were they afraid his body would be stolen if they buried him in Afghanistan? And if it was, so what? I think they buried him at sea so that there would be no memorial. No place for radicals to go and worship his body/final resting place. It was in an effort to not make him a martyr. How many hundreds or thousands of people visit Jim Morrison’s grave in England. It would be like that x lots and lots. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/204 "2011-05-02T17:33:53Z")
> [@llcoolbj77](#): > > I think they buried him at sea so that there would be no memorial. No place for radicals to go and worship his body/final resting place. It was in an effort to not make him a martyr. How many hundreds or thousands of people visit Jim Morrison’s grave in England. It would be like that x lots and lots. None. Morrison’s grave is in Paris… ---
**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, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/205 "2011-05-02T17:35:47Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > None. Morrison’s grave is in Paris… We’re talking about Morisson fans here, all giggles and strange visions. They may have erred from their intended path a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/206 "2011-05-02T17:37:29Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Found his house on Google Earth: > > 34 10’ 09.36 N > 73 14’ 33.29 E > > I’m not impressed, a million dollars doesn’t go very far I guess. How do you know that’s it? I don’t see the wall described in reports, and the label seems to be saying that this building is a mosque. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/207 "2011-05-02T17:37:34Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > None. Morrison’s grave is in Paris… :smack: I knew it was somewhere european-ish. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/208 "2011-05-02T17:39:28Z")
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osamas-legacy-american-drift\_n\_856365.html](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osamas-legacy-american-drift_n_856365.html) Excellent article for perspective called American Drift. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/209 "2011-05-02T17:41:25Z")
and , I’ve seen several articles talking about the positive financial effect of this announcement. WTF??!! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/210 "2011-05-02T17:41:39Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > How do you know that’s it? I don’t see the wall described in reports, and the label seems to be saying that this building is a mosque. You mean its not labeled Osama Bin Laden’s house? 🙂 [The picture](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/02/world/asia/abbottabad-map-of-where-osama-bin-laden-was-killed.html?ref=asia) was from the New York Times and I found the exact area in Abbottabad. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/211 "2011-05-02T17:43:19Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Based on the fact that bin Laden didn’t attack the US for over a decade after we put troops in Saudi Arabia (August, 1990 - Desert Shield begins; October, 2000 - USS Cole is bombed). Don’t forget the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, and his reported financial involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center attack and a bombing of a hotel in Yemen in late 1992. I’m not an expert on this stuff, but bin Laden had more than one inspiration and he was pretty clear about being offended about U.S. soldiers being in the Middle East. That being said, I am not convinced by the argument that he would have become a terrorist anyway (and that he would have targeted the U.S. no matter what). His longstanding hatred of the Saudi royals - he refused to even call the country Saudi Arabia, apparently - and the fact that several early AQ attacks targeted American soldiers attests to the fact that the stationing of U.S. there was a big deal. > [@lieu](#): > > Which body of water I wonder, The Arabian Sea? The North Arabian Sea, according to reports. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/212 "2011-05-02T17:47:52Z")
I’m glad he’s gone, but it feels weird how many people are celebrating the death, (I mean on Facebook and such). I know I’m not in a celebratory mood. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/213 "2011-05-02T17:51:25Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > First of all Mr Bush said, if the Taliban surrendered Bin Laden, there would be no invasion. OK we spent 10 years looking for Bin Laden in a place he wasn’t. Yeah he might have been in Afghanistan for awhile, but still. When Bush said that, bin Laden _was_ still in Afghanistan. ObL didn’t slip away into Pakistan until after the invasion and the [Battle of Tora Bora](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tora_Bora). > [@](#): > > In the end it was Pakistan that was shielding it. The man was living a few miles from a big Pakistani military base, means at least there was tacit approval from some element of Pakistan. > > Which means, Pakistan knew and didn’t care or they didn’t know. Great feeling for a nation with nukes, that can be duped so easily. Yeah, [Abottabad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abottabad) is _not_ some cave in the “tribal areas”. I do wonder what kind of messages are going back and forth between U.S. and Pakistani leaders right now. > [@](#): > > Last what was Bin Laden doing these last years? Planning or nothing? In that case how much of a master mind was he? Or was he merely the bankroll for smarter, not as famous people? [News reports](http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/index.html?hpt=T1) do quote U.S. officials as saying “quite a bit of material” and “a robust collection of materials” were recovered from the site. I don’t expect to see any of _that_ stuff on Wikileaks anytime soon, but IF bin Laden still had any control over what Al Qaeda or any part thereof was up to that could be a real find for the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/214 "2011-05-02T17:55:12Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > [News reports](http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/index.html?hpt=T1) do quote U.S. officials as saying “quite a bit of material” and “a robust collection of materials” were recovered from the site. I don’t expect to see any of _that_ stuff on Wikileaks anytime soon, but IF bin Laden still had any control over what Al Qaeda or any part thereof was up to that could be a real find for the U.S. This is the only thing that makes me happy today. It’s not as if I didn’t want the guy dead, it’s just that it’s been so long, and I don’t have the “blood lust” I once might have had. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/215 "2011-05-02T17:57:09Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > [News reports](http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/index.html?hpt=T1) do quote U.S. officials as saying “quite a bit of material” and “a robust collection of materials” were recovered from the site. I don’t expect to see any of _that_ stuff on Wikileaks anytime soon, but IF bin Laden still had any control over what Al Qaeda or any part thereof was up to that could be a real find for the U.S. For that matter, even out-of-date information could lead to more current things down the road. He obviously wasn’t using the computers to stay in touch with anybody but there could certainly be valuable information there. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/216 "2011-05-02T17:57:37Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You mean its not labeled Osama Bin Laden’s house? 🙂 > > [The picture](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/02/world/asia/abbottabad-map-of-where-osama-bin-laden-was-killed.html?ref=asia) was from the New York Times and I found the exact area in Abbottabad. Are you sure? The area you found does not look anything like the area described on the NYT page. At least to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/217 "2011-05-02T17:58:35Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > What is really weird is that to my students (16-18), it’s a non-event. Some guy that’s supposed to be really bad died. It doesn’t mean anything to them. I blame our schools. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/218 "2011-05-02T18:03:18Z")
Here’s a picture of ObL’s compound posted by the guy who tweeted the event: [ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs](http://yfrog.com/h7w4izmj) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/219 "2011-05-02T18:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Which body of water I wonder, The Arabian Sea? Bay of Pigs. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437/220 "2011-05-02T18:11:10Z")
MSNBC has [pictures](http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/02/6569239-osama-bin-ladens-hideout-revealed) galore of the compound, wrecked heli, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/580437.md?page=12)