"Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed."   
      
   -- Whitehouse spokesman Jay Carney, reading from a brief account that was   
   provided by the Defense Department.   
      
   I am by no means defending Osama bin Laden or the violent life that he chose   
   to lead. All of my regular readers know that I am totally opposed to all   
   forms of violence, whether it is war, inner city violence, domestic   
   violence, or any other form of violence. I have in fact led a peaceful life   
   myself. I don't own, have never owned, and would not own, a gun. Guns make   
   me very nervous.   
      
   However, the fact that Osama bin Laden was unarmed, and that the compound in   
   Abbottabad, Pakistan was filled with dozens of American Navy Seals and CIA   
   operatives, is even more proof to me that they could have captured Osama bin   
   Laden alive if they had really wanted to.   
      
   The point is, they were sent in with the mission to kill Osama bin Laden,   
   and not to capture him. On Monday, President Obama's chief counterterrorism   
   adviser, John O. Brennan, stated "If we had the opportunity to take Bin   
   Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were   
   able and prepared to do that."   
      
   In contrast, on Tuesday, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency,   
   Leon E. Panetta, said that their orders were to kill Bin Laden. However, he   
   also added "But it was also, as part of their rules of engagement, if he   
   suddenly put up his hands and offered to be captured, then they would have   
   the opportunity, obviously, to capture him."   
      
   So despite the violent commotion that was occurring on the lower floors of   
   the building, when they finally encountered bin Laden himself, he was   
   unarmed. While news reports claim that one of his wives threw herself at the   
   American who first entered the room -- and was wounded in the leg as a   
   result of her actions -- it still seems to me that there was ample   
   opportunity to capture Osama bin Laden alive. I really have to wonder how   
   much personal emotions towards bin Laden led to his execution, assuming that   
   he really is dead.   
      
   Concerning the issue of physical evidence, as I noted in a previous post,   
   even if they release a photograph of the deceased bin Laden -- which they   
   are now inclined to do according to the latest news reports -- there is so   
   much photographic forgery on the web, that I still don't think that it will   
   satisfy everyone, such as hardened skeptics like myself who place very   
   little faith and trust in secular governments.   
      
   Violence -- all forms of violence -- is a terrible thing; but let me be   
   honest with you. The way that I see so many Americans now celebrating the   
   alleged death of Osama bin Laden in the online news media equally sickens   
   me. I find their obvious glee -- because of their belief that revenge has   
   been achieved -- utterly repulsive. Celebrating the death of anyone -- no   
   matter how evil of a life they may have led -- simply demonstrates the   
   darkness of the human soul, and we should take no pride in it whatsoever. As   
   the Prophet Jeremiah was inspired by the Lord to write:   
      
   "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can   
   know it?"   
   Jeremiah 17:9, KJV   
      
   Celebrating the death of one's perceived enemies certainly is not a   
   Christian virtue according to the teachings of Jesus Christ; and anyone --   
   particularly Christians -- who is engaged in any acts of celebration at this   
   time, really needs to examine their own heart.   
      
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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