I'm so glad Obama opted for a SEAL mission over a drone attack

[liberalpragmatist]

A drone attack on the compound - or a B-2 bombing mission - would have resulted in a giant crater in the ground, no proof of his death, and given the families in the compound several women and children dead as "collateral damage." It might even have risked casualties from outside the compound. Even if legally permissible, it would have morally questionable and left huge questions.

A clean, surgical, special ops mission was a far better option. Riskier, to be sure, in that American lives were more at stake. But Obama made the right call here.

[bbinacan]

1. Yes he did. n/t

[Diamonique]

2. Exactamundo!

[former9thward]

3. I think that was the best decision of this operation.

Not so sure about the quick dump of the body.

[Pirate Smile]

6. I'm so glad we got rid of the body quick and the way we did. It is actually brilliant.

No shrine. No long discussion of who takes it, where it goes, etc.

If we had captured OBL, things would be a circus right now.

If we still had the body, I think there would be a lot of unnecessary drama there too.

Just MO.

They were really so damn smart in this entire operation.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. The only thing I wonder is if we could have quickly buried him

In an unmarked, undisclosed spot. The sea burial isn't normal and has led to some criticism from Islamic scholars.

Not a huge deal, to be honest, but I wonder if they could have just quickly buried him somewhere in Afghanistan (from where the operation was launched).

[CakeGrrl]

11. Islam requires that the body be buried within 24 hours of death

...so it was down to the manner of disposition. They've maintained that they consulted knowledgeable people, so maybe the burial at sea is a matter of whom you ask.

I think they're taking great care not to inflame the issue beyond bringing bin Laden to justice.

[TTUBatfan2008]

4. Another thing...

The SEALs were able to recover a ton of intelligence material from the building, which will hopefully lead to the capture of other high ranking Al Qaeda members.

[Sky Masterson]

5. I've got a total boner for the movie!

Navy Seals, F_ck Yeah!

[66 dmhlt]

7. Michele Bachmann: "They used seals?!? Why didn't they use humans? ...

I had NO idea those cute little critters could be so well trained! But how in the world did they pull the trigger?"

[mikekohr]

8. It Also Gave Bin Laden 20 Minutes to Realize Death Was Coming Up His Stairs To Get Him

A HellFire Missile or 2,000 lb bomb would have been instantaneous. He deserved every agonizing minute to contemplate his demise.

[OhioBlue]

10. I agree. Pres O did the right thing... n/t