You can argue this every which way, and I am not really the best person to be doing it either. He is now dead, but what he represented is still very much alive. I believe he should have gone to trial – just as Saddam Hussein did before him. You, and others don’t believe that and I can accept that.

Life will continue to go on…:)

Isn’t there a key difference between this case and that of Saddam Hussein? Bin Laden openly admitted to his “crimes” whereas Saddam pleaded not guilty, so far as I recall. Finding Bin Laden guilty after enless months would have served only to confirm what we and the world already knew by his own admission.

Only just…….but I am certainly more golden than you!!:p Anyway back to the serious debate here. Do you accept my wager?

Sky High – SWHTF – something will hit the fan 😉

Tsch, tsch – of course!!:o

I am sure they have no choice but to show us all something. And I’ll take a little bet with you that whatever the US provides the conspiracy theorists will never be satisfied and probably not even if presented with his body exhumed from a watery grave!!!

Sorry, S.W.H.T.F.?:confused:

I believe he was killed. To be honest, how, does not concern me particularly. But on your first point I think you are misunderstanding me. I do not for a moment think that publicising the images will deter the extremists – quite the opposite in fact. Hence my comments about publicity.

I can’t see how you could possibly conclude anything remotely like that from my comment.:confused: And I did ask you what you would do in the circumstances.:)

Area 51, Roswell?:confused: Isn’t that all a bit old hat now? But yes everyone wants proof but I don’t envy the Americans. It is no win, no win. If they splash gruesome images and videos they will be criticised for salacious publicity and the Islamic terrorists will make as much publicity from it as possible. If they publish “sterilised” images they will be criticised for doctoring and faking, if they publish nothing you and thousands of consipracy theorists will never be convinced. So what what you do in this situation, Linc?

There are difficult points on both sides of this argument and whilst I cannot disagree with your last sentence, perhaps this is/was an exceptional case. By his own admission Bin Laden was responsible for multiple and cold blooded killings of innocent civilians and I am not convinced that a show trial, which is what it would have been, lasting months if not years would have served any purpose other than to have paraded Al Quaeda and its works together with its iconic “leader” for months on end.

Maggie Thatcher’s comment about the oxygen of publicity is still very apt.