Is Bin Laden really dead?

[mistermack]

Is Bin Laden really dead?
How do we know? There is no body to be independently examined.
He may be in some CIA safe cell, being tortured as we speak. Drop a body off the ship, and keep Bin Laden for special treatment.
It will be interesting to see what proof comes out, and whether we are expected to just take their word for it.
Does anybody know what proof has been offered?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Several of his sub-groups have confirmed it. If Al Qaeda is saying he's dead, that's good enough for me. This one time.

[Ian]

That's the only conspiracy theory related to this that I can possibly accept as plausible, albeit still highly unlikely. If he were somehow taken alive, it wouldn't be a great thing for the Obama administration to share with the world. His imprisonment/trial would turn into a circus, and he'd be a living rallying point for what's left of his supporters. It's not hard to envision some terrorist attack someplace wherein the terrorists make a demand involving his release, to which the US cannot possibly comply. The world knowing he's dead make things much, much simpler.

Besides, it should be plainly obvious that the US government leaks information like a rusty old bucket and always has. Very little stays classified forever, and certainly not a huge and explosive secret like that. That's how I know the moon landings actually happened, and why 9/11 wasn't an inside job: it would take an enormous amount of people to pull it off (far larger than the amount of people needed to assassinate JFK, a conspiracy theory I CAN get next to), and how the hell does a deceit like that stay so well hidden for so long? It doesn't. So even though the story's only a couple days old, I'm also pretty convinced that Bin Laden was in fact shot dead and subsequently turned into shark poo.

[Gawd]

Is Bin Laden really dead?
How do we know? There is no body to be independently examined.
He may be in some CIA safe cell, being tortured as we speak. Drop a body off the ship, and keep Bin Laden for special treatment.
It will be interesting to see what proof comes out, and whether we are expected to just take their word for it.
Does anybody know what proof has been offered?

Well, the Americans backtracked about Osama bin Laden being armed and fighting back and changed their story to him being completely unarmed. Take that what you will.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Is Bin Laden really dead?
How do we know? There is no body to be independently examined.
He may be in some CIA safe cell, being tortured as we speak. Drop a body off the ship, and keep Bin Laden for special treatment.
It will be interesting to see what proof comes out, and whether we are expected to just take their word for it.
Does anybody know what proof has been offered?

Well, the Americans backtracked about Osama bin Laden being armed and fighting back and changed their story to him being completely unarmed. Take that what you will.

First reports are always wrong. Like your birth certificate.

[Warren Dew]

That's the only conspiracy theory related to this that I can possibly accept as plausible, albeit still highly unlikely. If he were somehow taken alive, it wouldn't be a great thing for the Obama administration to share with the world.

I think the probability that he was taken alive is lower than the probability that it was really his long lost twin brother that no one had ever heard of, which is to say, next to nonexistent. He wasn't the type to surrender, and you really don't send SEALs in if you want to take an enemy alive anyway.

[rachelbean]

Yes. You're welcome.

[mistermack]

I only suggest this as a possibility. You can be absolutely certain though, that this course of action WAS discussed beforehand, along with killing him on site.

Whatever happened, they would not want to take him alive, to be publicly imprisoned and tried. That would be disastrous for the US in so many ways. So the only two options left, are to kill him on site, or do what I suggested.

I would opt for killing him onsite myself, and they probably did, but I wouldn't put it past them to do the other.

The only thing that makes me think he really is dead, is that they didn't kill his wife, who apparently witnessed his "killing".
But she is in Pakistani custody, and I haven't heard of any other surviving witnesses to the actual killing.

[kiki5711]

I doubt very much they would want to take him alive. What is he gonna say? Errr, my beard is itching and my ass is reallllly dirty, do you have any baby wipes?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"You have the right to remain permanently silent." I think Saddam sealed OBL's fate in this matter.

[kiki5711]

Unofficial version of the capture:

Hey, you muther fucker! You feel lucky today? bam, bam!!!!

[JimC]

If the US for some weird reason made this up, and in a few weeks Bin Laden popped up on video, basically saying "liar, liar, pants on fire" it would be a massive embarresment for the US.

The possibility (however remote) that they in fact captured him, and are lying about his death for whatever complex reason is higher than the straight-out lie

[Arse]

One of Bin Laden's bitches was there at the time, so I doubt there's any prospect that they captured him alive. She'd likely blow the whistle if they had.

And btw, even if they have captured him alive for interrogation purposes, he'll be dead soon enough.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If the US for some weird reason made this up, and in a few weeks Bin Laden popped up on video, basically saying "liar, liar, pants on fire" it would be a massive embarresment for the US.

The possibility (however remote) that they in fact captured him, and are lying about his death for whatever complex reason is higher than the straight-out lie

He's vacationing next to JFK and Elvis right now. This is his reward for allowing the imperialistic Americans to launch yet another series of wars on the world, an activity they have indulged in since at least the 15th century BC. [/sandy]

[kiki5711]

when the news announced pictures of "inside OBL's mansion, I was expecting to see a mansion. It is a dump.