Quote Originally Posted by thepiedpiper View Post

I'm still not really sure what to think about the whole Osama incident and am still reserving full judgement. Now to make my stance clear I believe Osama was a real person and the head of Al Queda. I'm still not sure if he was killed on Sunday but he may have been dead for some time. I don't believe he is still alive as making up the raid and killing completely would be preposterous.
I personally think he could have been dead for some time firstly due to the timing of the killing (in line with re-elections) and also due to the reluctancy to release photographic or video evidence. I believe Reuters has already annonouced that photo's where taken at the scene and video was shot of Osama's burial at sea. The Whitehouse have said these have not been released due to possible retaliation from Al Queda and the Taliban based on the graphic appearence of Osama post mortem. This all makes logical sense at first glance but when compared to Saddam Hussien's execution being recorded and posted online within hours back in 2006 it seems unlikely that the US government would be so reluctant to show the world their accomplishment.

I'm am still undecided however due to firstly the Government being a different one from 2006 and also due to Obama's run in office. As I am not a US citizen I seldom follow Obama but I have come to the conclusion that his intentions are generally good compared to past presidents. He may not have worked the miracles expected of him before entering office but his determination behind universal healthcare alone leaves a good impression with me so him dishonestly announcing Osama's death would be out of character for me.

There is another think that I have found worrying though. Despite the obvious worry of retaliation from Al Queda and similar Jihadi groups there seems to be a rather harsh undertone from US Goverment spokespeople when referring to Pakistan. Over the last 10 years the US and UK in my opinion have worked hard to form alliances with Pakistan but I have seen over the last few days various comments suggesting distrust of the Pakistani Government. As their Government is Military based and the head of state was not elected through Democratic voting there should be more cause for concern with how volatile this government could be. I'm sure the last thing The US want is to loose an ally in the Middle East and potentially gain an enemy.

On a final note in reply to Bigdicki, although I believe Obama was born in Hawaii your comment on Kenya not existing in 1961 is incorrect. In 1961 Kenya was Colonial Kenya i.e. it was part of the British empire and that had been since 1890 when the British Empire took Kenya from Germany.
Ok, no video of the execution of Saddam Hussein was aired by the US military; it was the Iraqi government who aired footage leading up to it (but not the actual execution). Someone recorded it on a phone or something and put it on the net, but that's not the government. However, the Bush led government did release snuff photos of Saddam's two boys' dead bodies. Which caused a stir in Muslim communities as I remember. Two big differences with Obama 1) he's not as egomaniacal as Bush and 2) he learns from mistakes.

Pakistani military CLEARLY was protecting Osama... he was a mile from their training headquarters... in a fucking mansion. THAT is why government officials are blasting those liars.

And although I respect the correction, clearly I meant that Kenya was not an independent country and so he couldn't have been born in or have a birth certificate from the Republic of Kenya. I believe it was called British East Africa during that time.

Now... back to looking at some fine t-booty and drinking my after-work Tanqy & tonic.