Bingowings said:
Bin Laden should have been put on trial and if found guilty locked up somewhere with a view of the Manhattan skyline.
Everyday he would be reminded that 9/11 accomplished nothing.
Instead he is a Bin Laden shaped beacon for everyone with an axe to grind against America and her allies.
I don't believe bin Laden would have thought that at all. Bin Laden would have been more of a rallying cry for Islamists if alive. If would have exalted him to a far greater status. 9/11 may not have done what he wanted, but it sure did alot, and for that he may have been pleased.
Warbler said:
Mrebo said:
I think Bush was right that bin Laden wasn't the that important a target
tell that to the friends and family members of the 3000 people he murdered(not to mention the friends and family member of people that died in other attacks like on the USS Cole).
Though Warbs has been driven out like snakes from Ireland, I'll respond. Sorry, Warbler, but this is a really really weak point. As St. Patrick CP3S (sort of?) alludes to, national security is not about personal feelings. Do you know how many Americans have lost love ones due to any number of world people we don't kill or even friendly with? I think it would be extremely pathetic to kill bin Laden to make families of the deceased somehow feel better. He was a legitimate target, but ultimately not that important. Killing him has not and will not end the military conflicts in the Middle East spawned by 9/11.
Warbler said:
Mrebo said:
I don't agree that bin Laden and Hitler are more inspirational now, however.
if anything, Bin Laden was more of an inspiration while he was alive.
I also think this is true.
One the reasons 911 happened, was because of our weak response to the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the Cole attack, and the embassy bombings. Call our response to 911 what you will, but it certainly wasn't weak.
While we might have been able to head off 9/11 or kept al Qaeda busy away from the US, 9/11 didn't happen because we didn't react more strongly.