I just read this whole entire thread again and as skeptical I am on just about every CS known to man, this whole killing of Osama is starting to bother me. The very few people on this board that know me know that I don't have a spnspiracy bone in my body..................................
Anyway, I agree with the whole if you're getting shot at shoot back stuff, however, I really wish they took this guy alive. Truthers will not shut up now about how we killed Osama to cover up his knowlege of how our own Government was responsible for 911. I have been reading the yahoo story comments and it's hard to debunk these kids right now. Specially since they put the body out to Sea within 24 hours (yeah Islamic custom whatever, if the guy killed / murdered thousands of people, which I believe he did, I think an exception could have been made).
Having spoken to my students (who are UAE nationals) they are in two camps. About half think that it was faked. That is because there is no video, and apparently they have a fake photo which was making the rounds of the internet. And half believe it was real, but they want to know why there are no photos and why they buried him at sea.
Having discussed it with them, I asked a "what if" question. What if they kept his body, put it on display, burned it etc??? The response (even from students who believe he was a terrorist who deserved to die) was one of shock and outrage. They claim that he is muslim (only allah can decide if he isn't) and that if he isn't buried in the right way it would lead to international outrage over his treatment. So to them, he had to be buried "properly."
So the idea that an "exception" could be made is kind of inaccurate. I think it was extremely important that we upheld the burial traditions/rules of Islam so as to not offend moderate muslims.
I believe that they should have filmed the burial and that the government should release the tapes to show that he wasn't desecrated. (though as an american, i can honestly see the desire to piss on his grave, or stick a ham sandwich in his mouth.)
I have a few questions...
me too
1.) Is this going to spawn a massive terrorist response? (ie bombings, threats)
I believe it will. I personally think there will be some quick responses by local cells of Al Q in many different islamic countries (nothing very dangerous) and that there will be attacks timed with July 4th.
2.) Does anyone else who considers themselves a skeptic on this board feel they should have kept the body (even knowing it would become a memorial to many radial islamic fundamentalists)
It would have given certain groups of people the reason to be outraged. It would be a rallying point to certain groups. I had one student tell me today that he would take a Haj (religious pilgrimage) to wherever he was buried because he considered him a hero. By burying him at sea, it removes that shrine. Of course I also think it shows exactly what we think of him. We give him the proper burial, and then dump him just like the trash from the ships. That message that he is trash is what I have taken from it.
3.) Is his death going to solve or qwell any of these conspiracy theories regarding 911?
Nope. It will probably intensify it. The gubmint killed him so he couldn't tell how the CIA paid him to do it.
Or
the gubmint had him on ice for years and he died, so they needed a way to get rid of him.
4.) Does anyone else who considers themselves a skeptic on this board feel there is more to this story than we are getting?
Yes. I think there may be many more parts of it. Personally I wonder if he was wounded, and then some well intentioned Seal just capped him...
I would have liked to see him captured, tried and executed for his crimes. This smacks of an assassination/kill team which violates everything that america stands for.
