Radio Netherlands Worldwide

It is important to note that the SEALS were not ordered to kill Bin Laden so this was not an assassination nor an execution. They were sent on a mission into unknown unknowns with rules of engagement that were lawful in dealing with criminals who have not met the Geneva conventions (for example, they do not wear uniforms). Those rules were to (a) not kill any innocent bystanders; (b) not shoot Bin Laden IF he actively surrendered; and (c) to protect themselves. The only U.S. or international law that was broken was that the United States entered a foreign, sovereign, territory without (apparently) their specific permission. Under the circumstances (even Pakistan's President is on record for being grateful for the help of the U.S. in getting terrorism under control), probably not a huge deal. Another important element to take into consideration about the entire fight on terrorism is that the Geneva Conventions were intended to PREVENT soldiers acting exactly as Bin Laden's merry murdering men behaved. IF one is going to fight a war and one meets the convention, then one has a right to certain civilized privileges if one is later captured (that's what Geneva is trying to do, prevent innocents from being used as shields, among other atrocities). These al Queda men did not meet those conventions. So, in many ways, giving them the same privileges despite their not meeting the required conventions is certain to make wars much worse in the future. Finally, most people in the world do not know that every single American soldier is water-boarded during training. It is not torture but a clever way to make a person feel as though he is drowning while he is actually perfectly safe. The method is NOTHING like has been described in recent stories (NOTHING like the Spanish Inquisition-style, etc.) Only three al Queda terrorists were ever waterboarded, and none of that happened at Guantanamo but by trained interrogators of the CIA under controlled conditions. The soldiers who acted so shamefully at Abu Ghraib were brought to justice and served time for their CRIMES. It is a crime to torture captured enemies or to shoot unarmed people in the U.S. Americans do not torture anyone. It is against our laws, our principles and our military code. Mr. bin Laden did not actively surrender when asked to; and was shot because there was no way to know if he was armed or not. That is not an execution. That is a military necessity during a war.