Spurlock on the hunt for Bin Laden

[MTK]

Should be an interesting movie

http://origin.mercurynews.com/movies/ci_8969064

[jsarno]

I'm not convinced he's actually still alive.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I'm not convinced he's actually still alive.

Well he does seem to be releasing new jihadi albums that describe recent events in Iraq, Israel, and elsewhere. Could he be dead? Sure. I think both sides have an interest in convincing the public he's alive.

I certainly want to see the movie when it comes out. I saw some pretty funny previews of the film.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I'm not convinced he's actually still alive.

If there's anything I've learned from watching movies it's that one should never assume the villain is dead.

[dmek25]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I'm not convinced he's actually still alive.

i thought this for the longest time. but now it serves President Bush no political purpose to conceal it. unless he is waiting to make an announcement right at the end of his tenure. trying to save alittle face

[724Skinsfan]

What political purpose would it ever have served to keep him alive or at least not capture him? I have a hard time believing that they had him and let him slip through the cracks again and again just to play some public opinion manipulation game. Obviously they don't play that game very well.

[firstdown]

I agree 724Skinsfan. With all the flack Bush has received with people saying he has ignored looking for Bin because of the war it would be a hugh plus if he could catch or kill him.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I agree 724Skinsfan. With all the flack Bush has received with people saying he has ignored looking for Bin because of the war it would be a hugh plus if he could catch or kill him.

Or, he could be a decent enough to forget about the political pressure and not announce the death or capture of OBL. I'm sure a bunch of radicals would be quite angry if we captured or killed him. I'm not saying we've captured or killed OBL, but I think it's at least remotely possible.

[cpayne5]

There are also pros to not catching him, too. While he is still alive he will be the leader of Al Qaeda; he will call all the shots. This is not something you would want to disrupt *if* you were able to intercept every piece of communication he has outside of his cave (and act on it).

If you kill him, you lose that intel. Not only will it throw a very volatile group into a chaotic state (more so than they already are) with multiple factions jockeying for control, but you would also need to act quickly and try to get yourself into a position with the new leader(s) and start intercepting communications like you were with UBL. The bottom line is that by keeping UBL alive may keep us safer than killing him.

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

There are also pros to not catching him, too. While he is still alive he will be the leader of Al Qaeda; he will call all the shots. This is not something you would want to disrupt *if* you were able to intercept every piece of communication he has outside of his cave (and act on it).

If you kill him, you lose that intel. Not only will it throw a very volatile group into a chaotic state (more so than they already are) with multiple factions jockeying for control, but you would also need to act quickly and try to get yourself into a position with the new leader(s) and start intercepting communications like you were with UBL. The bottom line is that by keeping UBL alive may keep us safer than killing him.

This was often the argument for keeping Sadam Hussein in power, as well. Yeah, he was a psycho, but he's a known psycho.

[SmootSmack]

Better the devil you know, I guess.

Spurlock is going to take Bin Laden to McDonalds, give him a supersized Big Mac meal, clog his arteries, heart attack, done.

[redsk1]

Originally Posted by dmek25

i thought this for the longest time. but now it serves President Bush no political purpose to conceal it. unless he is waiting to make an announcement right at the end of his tenure. trying to save alittle face

Conspiracy theorists?

I think GW would come out w/ the good news the second it was confirmed.

[dmek25]

how do you think his approval ratings would be, if in one of the last days in office, he announced that he had Bin Laden? he would like a hero

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by dmek25

how do you think his approval ratings would be, if in one of the last days in office, he announced that he had Bin Laden? he would like a hero

Bush's ratings would go up, but he wouldn't be a hero. Iraq and the economy have left a sour taste in everyone's mouths. In any event, I'm sure this won't happen. Weren't a lot of lefty conspiracy theorists convinced he was going to announce Bin Laden's death/capture right before the last election?

[SeanTaylor21]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I'm not convinced he's actually still alive.

Yeah, he's probably dead.
Osama bin Laden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A lot of reports on his death near the bottom of the link.