Clearing up misconceptions regarding Anwar al-Awlaki

[Maedhros]

33. You're right - that was phrased incorrectly.

I'll edit the OP to better reflect what likely happened: the objective of the raid was not to capture, but to kill Bin Laden.

There are conflicting reports about what happened during the raid, but it appears Bin Laden was unarmed when he was killed. This, IMO, was a big mistake - he should have been captured and brought to justice, so the American people could have had some closure for 9/11.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/osama-bin-laden-killing-media

Other reports deepen the confusion. The consensus became that bin Laden was unarmed when the SEALs shot him, but who else was in the room? An early May broadcast from NBC News matches neither CBS nor The New Yorker on that count. "As the SEALs stormed up the stairs two young girls ran from the room," NBC reported. "One SEAL scooped up the girls and carried them out of harm's way. The two other SEALs rushed the bedroom door." In this version only one of bin Laden's wives was in the third-floor room where he was killed. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported the prior day that one of bin Laden's sons was also there: "The son was shot dead in that room, too." (NBC and others reported the son was killed on the second floor.) According to the AP report, bin Laden acted aggressively when confronted: He had "appeared to be lunging for a weapon." According to a Fox News report, bin Laden had acted "scared" and "completely confused" and in a "cowardly manner."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-killing-us-story-change

Asked on Wednesday: "Is the fact of a firefight solid?", Carney said: "You heard the account that I read yesterday, and that is information that I provided. And I'm not – I'm just simply saying I'm not going further than that."

He had said at a White House briefing on Tuesday that Bin Laden had not been armed. "On the first floor of Bin Laden's building two al-Qaida couriers were killed, along with a woman who was killed in crossfire," he said. "Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building. There was concern that Bin Laden would oppose the capture operation – operation rather, and indeed he did resist. In the room with Bin Laden, a woman – Bin Laden's – a woman, rather, Bin Laden's wife, rushed the US assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed. Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed."

The story changed so many times, it's hard to trust the "official" version.