Capturing bin Laden will not save lives, it may actually cost lives

[bluestateguy]

Let me start by saying that I certainly belive that if bin Laden is captured he should receive the death penalty, and be subjected to a brutal execution, but that is not the point here.

If he is captured, whether by US forces or the forces of another country, there would likely be some kind of significant retaliatory action by Al Qaeda in the short-term aftermath. The US also might face a ransom style attack from Al Qaeda involving hostage taking as they demand his release from US custody.

Then there's politics. If bin Laden is captured or killed George W. Bush will become significantly more difficult to defeat this fall. If he is elected in November, he will take it as a popular mandate for his foreign policy and act accodingly. Remember, this is an arrogant, frat boy president. He will then start preemptive wars, under one pretext or another, in Syria, Iran, North Korea and maybe even Cuba. The draft will be reinstated and more lives will be lost in America and in other countries.

The point here is that the capture of bin Laden, desirable as it may be, may cost more lives over the long run than it would save.