Should Bin Laden have been taken alive?

[Gandalf]

The other Bin Laden thread is very interesting, but it kind of lost its way after about the third of its several hundred pages, admittedly that was partly because of me. Anyway I have decided to start another Bin Laden thread, but following a slightly different theme. Basically do you think it was right to shoot an unarmed man in the head? And do you think that he should have been captured and given a fair trial?

The first thing that bugs me about this whole sorry affair is that US forces went into a sovereign nation and assasinated someone. Now okay, maybe they were worried that Pakistan might have been supporting Bin Laden etc, but that strikes me as decidedly dodgy. I'm not sure of the legal ramifications of this. The former German Chancellor has apparently called into question the legality of the procedure. However, as is usually the case, law doesn't really apply to superpowers.

The other thing that bugs me is the fact that Bin Laden's wife was seemingly able to get away with a bullet to her leg and yet the unarmed Bin Laden needed a bullet to the head. It just seems to reek of vengeance rather than any sense of trying to bring a man to justice. A case of shoot first and then sweep it all under the carpet. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that it would have been far more proper to lead by example and bring the man to justice in a court of law. I am sure I am not alone in wanting to know what Bin Laden knew and to see how he would defend himself. It makes me wonder how solid the case against him really was and how dangerous he might of been had he been able to open his mouth and present his case.

What are your views on Bin Laden's demise? It seems to me that it could and probably should have been handled far differently. That he seems to have been captured and then assasinated anyway troubles me greatly.

Thoughts?